Webber, Curtis oral history interview

G. Curtis Webber was born August 29, 1933 in Lewiston, Maine and grew up in Auburn. He attended Edward Little H.S., class of 1950 and one year of prep school at the Loomis School in Windsor, Connecticut. Like his father, he attended Bowdoin College and Harvard Law School. In 1958 he joined Frank Linnell’s law firm and continues in the current firm: Linnell, Choate & Webber. In 1965 he was Auburn city solicitor

Nute, Alice oral history interview

Alice Nute was born July 25, 1915 in Houlton, Maine. Her father was a forester; her mother was a teacher who graduated from Bates. Nute went to Ricker Junior College and worked in the Kerry Library in Houlton. She moved to Augusta after college and worked in the state law library from November 15, 1943-May 12, 1978. When she retired, her title at the library was “Deputy Law Librarian.” She married Floyd Thomas Nute, who was Muskie’s press secretary around 1954 when Muskie was governor of Maine

Clifford, Robert oral history interview

Robert Clifford was born in Lewiston, Maine on May 2, 1937. He attended the public schools including Lewiston High School. He then went to Bowdoin College followed by Boston College Law School. He served in the Seventh Army stationed in Ludwigsburg, Germany. He then practiced law with his father, two brothers and a cousin. He served three one-year terms as alderman. He was president of the City Council from 1968 to 70. He was the mayor of Lewiston from 1971 to 1972. He served two terms on the Maine State Senate. He was chairman of the Lewiston Charter Commission from 1979 to 1980. He was appointed to the Maine Superior Court in 1979. He was First Trial Court Chief Justice of the Superior Court from 1984 to 1986. He was then appointed to the Maine Supreme Court

Berube, Georgette oral history interview

Georgette Berube was born in Lewiston, Maine and attended parochial school, graduating from Lewiston High School. She also attended the Auburn, Maine School of Commerce. In 1970 she was the first woman elected to the Maine legislature from Lewiston. She served in the Maine House of Representatives until 1982, at which time she ran for governor and lost in the primary. She served in the Maine Senate from 1984-2000

Clifford, Jere oral history interview

Jere Clifford was born in Lewiston, Maine, in 1927. Clifford’s maternal grandfather was the District Attorney of Suffolk County, Massachusetts who prosecuted John Fitzgerald, John F. Kennedy’s grandfather. Clifford’s paternal grandfather built Lewiston City Hall and Bangor City Hall. Clifford attended Pettengill, Wallace, Frye, and Jordan schools and then Lewiston High School. He began the V-12 Naval Officer training school at Bates, then attended Tufts University and Boston University Law School. He did his internship in Washington D.C., and later practiced law with his father in Lewiston. He served as an alderman in 1952 and on the Lewiston Development Corporation and Corporation Council of Lewiston. He is married with two daughters and one adopted son

Lavoie, Estelle oral history interview

Estelle Lavoie was born in Lewiston, Maine on November 23, 1949 and grew up in Lewiston, the youngest of three children. Her father worked as a building contractor until his death in 1964, after which, her mother worked part-time as a bank teller. She attended St. Peter’s elementary school, Jordan Junior High School, Lewiston High School. She attended Bates College (class of 1971) while living at home, spending her junior year studying in Switzerland. At the end of 1972, she went to work for Governor Ken Curtis. By September of 1973, she had been hired as part of Ed Muskie’s staff, working as a caseworker, and eventual his Legislative Assistant. She attended law school at American University from 1978 to 1981, and remained on staff when Mitchell took over until the fall of 1983. She joined the law firm of Preti, Flaherty, Beliveau & Pachios, in June 1984. Her practice has evolved from health law to other political practice issues. She served on the Democratic State Committee from 1986 to 1990, and was a 1988 delegate to the National Convention

Bowen, Elsie oral history interview

Elsie Bowen was born in Morrill, Maine (a small town of fewer than 1000 people). Her father, Ernest Bowen, was a farmer, and her mother, Flora Knowlton Bowen, was a housewife. She was the third eldest of 10 children. They lived on a farm, where Elsie continues to live today. Elsie considered herself “non-political” and actually worked for both [implied Democratic and Republican] parties. She worked in Ed Muskie’s office when he was governor doing bookkeeping and secretarial work. Elsie and her parents were involved in community groups (church, ladies groups, and the 4-H horse-back riding club). Elsie attended and graduated from (in 1939) Belfast Crosby High School about 10 miles away from Morrill. She never married. She began doing secretarial work in her last year of high school, and continued doing so after graduation at Belfast Manufacturing Company. Eight years later she moved to Augusta to work for the Department of Education and then for Governor Muskie in 1954. After Muskie’s term as governor, Elsie Bowen stayed on to work for other governors including Haskell, Clauson, Reed and Longley. After that, she went to the Clerk of House office (in the State House), and then she retired. She came out of retirement when Rodney Quinn asked her to begin working again in the Deputy Secretary of State office

Poulin, James E. oral history interview

James E. Poulin was born March 23, 1910 in Waterville, Maine to Dr. James Poulin, Sr. and Mary (McGinn) Poulin. His father was a physician and his mother was a nurse. He attended Colby College and then went to medical school at Georgetown University School of Medicine. He did his internship and residency at the University of Maryland and later went to The Johns Hopkins University. After college, James settled in Waterville to raise a family and practice medicine

Clifford, William H. oral history interview

William Clifford was born in Lewiston, Maine in 1929. He attended Frye School, Lewiston Junior High School, Jordan Grammar School and Lewiston High School where he graduated in 1946. He then attended Bowdoin College. He served in the army for two years during the Korean War. He attended Boston University Law School under the G.I. Bill. He was the assistant County Attorney under Larry Raymond and then the County Attorney for six years. He served in the 105th Legislature. He also served in the Senate from 1970-1971. He practiced law with his father from 1956-72

Reed, Carlton Bud oral history interview

Carlton Day “Bud” Reed was born in Bath, Maine in 1930 and raised in Woolwich, Maine. He attended Colby College, graduating in the class of 1953, and worked on Muskie’s 1954 gubernatorial campaign. Reed was elected to the Maine House of Representatives in 1958. Losing his bid for reelection in 1960, he ran for the Senate in 1962 defeating Rodney E. Ross, Jr. Reelected in 1964, Reed ran for the Senate President’s post. Barry Goldwater’s landslide defeat in that year helped the Democrats gain control of the Maine Legislature for the first time since 1911. Following his term as Senate President, Reed served two more terms in the Maine Senate, one as minority leader. When he left the Senate, Reed returned to Woolwich as a partner in the firm of Reed & Reed, general contractors. He has been on the boards of Key Bank, University of Maine, Central Maine Power, and the State’s Board of Education