July 2007

The Franco-American Collection at USM’s Lewiston-Auburn College, 51 Westminster Street, Lewiston, will host an open house on Saturday, August 4th from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., in conjunction with Lewiston’s Festival Franco Fun weekend. The event will feature an audio-visual presentation, tours of the Collection, an art exhibit, and refreshments. Admission is free.

Two documentaries will be shown. The first is an amateur film of a 1947 St. John the Baptist parade through New Auburn and Little Canada on the occasion of the Jacques Cartier Institute’s 75th anniversary. The second is an award-winning documentary by former Bates College professor Robert Branham, and students Lyn Francoeur and William Sturgis called Roughing the uppers : the Great Shoe Strike of 1937. This effort to obtain union recognition, better working conditions, and higher wages rocked Lewiston-Auburn and gained international attention 70 years ago.

Inside the Collection, photo albums of Bates Mill workers from the 1940’s to the 1960’s and of Sts. Peter and Paul parochial school children from the 1920’s to the 1940’s will be on display. In the Atrium Gallery, there is an exhibit of the works of students of well-known local art teacher Mercedes Gastonguay. Her new historical tableau, a 46x54 inch oil painting entitled A la mémoire de nos ancêstres ( In memory of our ancestors ) will also be featured. Café L-A , whose walls are decorated with vintage photos of Franco-American life, is offering special traditional treats : snack size tarts of maple syrup and walnuts, and of raisins and molasses. Finally, there will be the opening of the new Franco-American section at the campus’ bookstore. It features a selection of recent books by F-A authors in both French and English; posters including prints of Mercedes Gastonguay’s tableau; and note cards decorated with local scenes from the past.

For more information please call Collection Coordinator Donat Boisvert at 753-6545 or visit the Collection’s web page at www.usm.maine.edu/lac/franco