I have always taken my college education for granted. But I shouldn’t, if I think of my parents’ route to get theirs.
My father’s parents arrived in Rumford from Calabria, Italy, with a baby in tow. Neither could read or write and never really learned to speak English. Of the 11 children, my father was the only one to go to college. Some of his siblings finished high school, but others left before they graduated to work in the paper mill. The older brothers helped support the family.
After returning from the Navy after World War II, my father went to work, along with his brother Tudie, in his brother-in-law’s shoe repair shop on Congress Street in Rumford. After he met my mother, who was a teacher at Stephens High, she encouraged him to go to college and use his GI bill.
As a young married man, he attended Farmington State Teachers’ College and came home weekends. After a year and a half there, he transferred to the University of Maine at Orono, where he majored in education and played football. His black and white graduation pictures in an old scrapbook show his mother and six of his siblings and in-laws proudly standing with him, dressed in his graduation gown. They were always so proud of their baby brother – and he appreciated their support. Later on, he received his master’s degree and doctorate, both while having a family and working full-time, often with a second job. He commuted to Boston University for his doctorate once a week and later had to spend an entire semester there, so he stayed at the Boston YMCA. Being a family man, he was very homesick.
My mother’s parents emigrated from New Brunswick, Canada, to Auburn, Maine, where they both worked in shoe factories. Although not having much money, my grandmother, a spunky woman, was determined her four daughters go to Bates College. So determined that she went over to visit the president to make financial arrangements with him. It worked.
My mother and her sister Gennie walked from Auburn to Lewiston, a lengthy walk, every day to get to Bates. If they wanted to go to chorus, they’d walk back together again at night. Although getting there was a hardship, my mother was ever proud of being a “Batesie,” even after she had gotten her master’s.
My parents expected me to go to college right after high school. I liked the idea of a prestigious women’s college, but my parents disliked the idea of loans, so were willing to finance my education at University of Southern Maine and later at University of Maine in Orono.
Looking back, I had very good professors and classes at both universities. As I tell my students, you can get a valuable education almost anywhere if you choose the right classes.
Now when I glance at my grandparents’ pictures, I will remember the route to get to college and try to appreciate my education. For in this uncertain world, no one can take that away.
— Special to the Telegram
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