Summary
If you listen closely, you can almost hear the sound of the looms determinedly clacking away. Strolling through the Bates Mill on a quiet morning, one is tempted to imagine what it was like in 1945, when thousands of people put in a full day's work in this Lewiston landmark.Although the era in which the Bates, Hill, Androscoggin and Pepperell mills reigned supreme has vanished, many firsthand mill memories remain fresh, unfaded and indelibly powerful.
"If you had an old pair of overalls on starting at seven o'clock in the morning, by three o'clock in the afternoon, they were soaking wet," said Gerard Lafrance, a veteran worker who can vividly recall the overheated atmosphere inside Bates Mill on a sweltering summer day.See the full content of this document
Extract
Creative, Proud People
"You couldn't have air-conditioning because in the weave room, we had to have moisture content on the cotton; otherwise, the yarn would snap. The moisture was awful, but you needed it. So, they had all these special spray heads all over the room."
"I did almost everything," said Lafrance, who started in the weave room, where he worked as weaver, a fixer and an inspector before transferring t...See the full content of this document
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