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Community in Maine, Life during the Depression is an audio documentary. The piece was written, narrated, and produced by Erica Risberg, a Ph.D. candidate in history at the University of Maine. The documentary examines the premise of a good neighborhood policy and a general sense of community that existed in central Maine during the Depression. The piece weaves together narration and personal histories to give listeners a better sense of what happened to people and how they reacted to the economic hardships of the 1930s. The oral histories used in the documentary are part of the collection of the Maine Folklife Center's archives. This is Erica's first audio documentary.

During the Great Depression, local community development and national relief organizations sometimes interacted. These women were all members of the Works' Progress Administration's Sewing Project in Millinocket, Maine, 1938. While the project was national in scope, in this case it clearly encouraged community interaction. Photo courtesy of the Maine Folklife Center. MFC Photo # 5375.