McInnis, Austin and Frances oral history interview

Authors

Andrea L'Hommedieu

Document Type

Oral History

Publication Date

9-13-2000

Interview Number

MOH 220

Abstract

Daniel Hassed “Austin” McInnis was born in Rumford, Maine in 1914. His father was an electrician and his mother worked in the batting mill. He made money during the Depression working as a caddy. He attended Bentley College and then returned to Rumford to work in the mill. From there, he was hired as an accountant at a Chevrolet dealership and worked there until he retired.

Frances (Kowalzyk ) McInnis was born on March 15, 1923 in Rumford, Maine. Her parents moved to Rumford around the same time that the Muskies moved there, attracted by the promise of mill jobs. She went to a French parochial school and then joined the military service. Ed Muskie was her high school English teacher during the one year he taught high school after graduating from Bates. After serving in the military, she became a teacher.

Scope and Content Note

Interview includes discussions of: Rumford, Maine community; beer gardens and prohibition; school with Ed Muskie; Lucille Hicks Abbott; Ed Muskie in high school, including sports, academics, and social life; Charlie Kayler; class reunions; Ed Muskie’s siblings; the Great Depression and its effects on Rumford; Frances’ family and their friendship with the Muskies including shared Polish ancestry; life for the Kowalzyks in Russia and Poland; Frances’ mother, who was Ed Muskie’s godmother; Ed Muskie’s relationship with Frances’ mother: her loan to start up his law practice; Vito Puiia; Stephen Muskie and his tailor shop; Ed Muskie’s relationship with Lucy (Muskie) Paradis; Austin’s charcoal sketch of Ed Muskie that was put up at one of his banquets when he ran for governor, and his sketches of other Maine politicians; George Mitchell; and Lucia Cormier.

Use Restrictions

Copyright Bates College. This transcript is provided for individual Research Purposes Only; for all other uses, including publication, reproduction and quotation beyond fair use, permission must be obtained in writing from: The Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library, Bates College, 70 Campus Avenue, Lewiston, Maine 04240-6018.

Recommended Citation

L'Hommedieu, Andrea, "McInnis, Austin and Frances oral history interview" (2000). Edmund S. Muskie Oral History Collection. 249.
https://scarab.bates.edu/muskie_oh/249