Family Life in Rural Maine
Up to World War II

The Page Farm and Home Museum began organizing an oral history project in September of 1995 with Museum staff and volunteers. The project was initiated to record the memories of people who grew up on or worked on Maine farms or in Maine farm communities before World War II. Volunteer Project Coordinator Mary Jo Sanger began soliciting volunteers to help with interviews and transcription in October. Twelve people were trained with the assistance of Edward "Sandy" Ives to begin the project. Since the initial training, another eight volunteers have been added.

In October 1995 we also began seeking people to be interviewed. From an initial list of twenty, we have received an affirmative response from sixteen individuals or couples. An additional twenty-five names were added with the help of Joni Averill who wrote about the project in the Bangor Daily News. As word has spread throughout the fall and spring we have been contacted by thirty-one more individuals or family members who are interested in the project, not all of these have yet agreed to participate.

Initially most of the respondents were from the Bangor area of Penobscot County and most were men. Now the potential pool to be interviewed represents a larger area of the State ranging from Madawaska in Aroostook county to Machias in Washington county and Portland in Cumberland county with the nucleus still in Penobscot county. We have also expanded the focus of the project to include the roles of women and children to help draw more women into the project to be interviewed.

We have conducted forty interviews to date with fifteen either completely or partially transcribed. We applied to the Maine Humanities Council for a grant to assist with the expense of transcription and have received that money to fund the project. Now that the weather is improving and travel should be easier we hope to conduct three or four interviews per month for at least the next six months.

Questionaire -
Please check those topics on which you would like to talk. Check as many categories that may apply.

Your role on the farm:
child
brother
sister
uncle
aunt
husband
wife
father
mother
grandfather
grandmother
hired hand
other: (please describe)

Who lived on the farm with you when you were a child (family and non-family members)?

Your position on the farm may have changed over the years as you grew up, married, etc., and you may have experience on more than one farm.
Please describe any changes here:

In what year were you born?

Where was/were the farm(s)?

For how many generations was your family farming?

How long were you on the farm(s)?

What were the main products of the farm(s)?

What were other important products?

Was there another source of income, besides the produce of the farm that helped to support you and/or the rest of your family? For example, jobs off the farm, or products of a skill or talent that you or any members of the family may have had? Did you trade or barter for goods and/or services?

Specific topics for consideration - Please check all that apply

farm chores:
haying
management
vegetable gardening
regular animal care and management tasks
animal reproduction activities
building maintenance
financial management
other:

farm chores in which children usually assisted:
haying
vegetable gardening
animal care
housekeeping
care of younger children
other:

Housekeeping methods:
food storage
refridgeration
cooking
laundry
making clothes or shoes
housecleaning
other:

Medical treatment during sickness and after accidents:
doctor's role
home remedies
preventive medicine
childbirth
other:

Education:
schools
home
other:

Childhood chores and responsibilities. Please suggest any of those you consider important

Family activities:
work
recreation
music
games
holidays or special events like birthdays, marriages, funerals
other:

Do you have any photos or other items of historical significance that you would like us to photocopy?

What other topics would you like to see us include in this project?

Would you consent to be interviewed in your home about your rural family life?
yes
no
Or respond to a more detailed questionaire on any specific topics
yes
no

Please give us some contact information:

First Name:

Last Name:

Address:

City:


State: ME AL AK AR AZ CA CO CT DC DE FL GA HI IA ID IL IN KS KY LA MA MD ME MI MN MO MS MT NC ND NE NH NJ NM NV NY OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VA VT WA WI WV WY

Phone number:

If you know anyone else who would like to participate in this project, please list them with a contact number and best time for us to reach them:

Please feel free to contact us at any time:

Patricia Henner
patricia_henner@umit.maine.edu
University of Maine
Page Farm & Home Museum
Orono, ME 04469-5787
(207) 581-4100