Elizabeth Brown Wilkins was born and raised in Rumford, Maine, where her father was a chemical engineer and sales service manager at the former Oxford Paper Company Mill for over thirty years. The youngest of five children, Betty graduated from the University of Maine at Orono with a biology degree. She worked in the same mill for several years before becoming a stay-at-home mom and later a high school biology teacher. An active outdoor enthusiast, Betty has participated in the Androscoggin Source to the Sea Trek. She now lives in Blue Hill, Maine.
Interview conducted on February 14, 2012 in Hallowell, Maine.
External links:
- Rumford Historical Society
- The Androscoggin River: A Living History—Industrial Relations in Jay, Maine
- The Androscoggin River: A Living History—Pollution in Rumford, Maine
Audio: click titles below to begin listening
1. Mats of foam on the Androscoggin - Interview Excerpt #1
2. Working in the Rumford paper mill in the 1970s - Interview Excerpt #2
3. Being trapped in the paper mill workforce - Interview Excerpt #3
4. The 1980s paper mill strikes and family tensions - Interview Excerpt #4
5. Anger and despair during the 1986 walkout in Rumford - Interview Excerpt #5
6. Fractures in Rumford and Jay over the strikes - Interview Excerpt #6
7. Changing attitudes toward the Androscoggin - Interview Excerpt #7