Maine Memory Network

Potato pickers, Caribou, ca. 1930

Contributed by: Caribou Public Library Date: circa 1930 Location: Caribou Media: Photographic print

Loom Picker Company order, Biddeford, 1896

Contributed by: McArthur Public Library Date: 1896-02-11 Location: Biddeford; Saco Media: Postcard

49 Brattle Street, Portland, 1924

Owner in 1924: James E Pickering Use: Dwelling - Single family

54 Sheridan Street, Portland, 1924

Owner in 1924: Nettie M. Pickering Use: Dwelling - Two family

Alterations & additions for Carroll Corp., Portland, 1925-1929

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1925–1929 Location: Portland Client: Caroll Corporation Architect: John P. Thomas

Alterations to Kimball Block, Portland, 1903-1925

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1903–1925 Location: Portland Client: Eastman Bros. & Bancroft Architect: John P. Thomas

Laboring in Maine

Workers in Maine have labored in factories, on farms, in the woods, on the water, among other locales. Many of Maine's occupations have been determined by the state's climate and geographical features.

Biddeford, Saco and the Textile Industry

The largest textile factory in the country reached seven stories up on the banks of the Saco River in 1825, ushering in more than a century of making cloth in Biddeford and Saco. Along with the industry came larger populations and commercial, retail, social, and cultural growth.

Presque Isle: The Star City - Harvesting Potatoes - Page 6 of 13

"In 1960 a picker was paid around 25 cents per full barrel. It wasn't until around 1980 that potato pickers could earn a dollar per barrel."

Presque Isle: The Star City - Harvesting Potatoes - Page 5 of 13

"If the section is too long, the picker would get behind and probably would get discouraged. The unpicked potatoes would be in the way of the truck…"

Aroostook Potato Harvest: Perspective of a Six Year Old
by Phyllis A. Blackstone

A child's memory of potato harvest in the 1950s