Document text
ORJAiINAL MSS. OR FIELD NOTES (Check one)
PUB. Living Lore in New Euland
(Maine)
TITLE William 9reen. French Canadian
WRITER Rolert Grady
DATE WDS. PP. 5
CHECKER DATE
SOURCES GIVEN CO Interview
COMMENTS
LIalne
Livine Lore
Old Town 1
PERSOLAL hiSTORY CP WILLI:AL CREEL, FRENCI. CAEADIAN
Green, irenc_ American. Lived in Canada when younz, but
born in Van Euren in leOZ.:. 76 -:ears old. Lives with his wife and
married son, Adam, who is their oniChild. The couple Lid adopt a
child named Flolenc about P ort years aLo. Florence, who was aeout
four years oio when she was ado was one of about ten children
lad been brou ht to the church frea some orphan asylun. The
who
castor: of brinrhnh orphan children here and to other parishes as
well, I seppose) was followed for several years. Larried persons
whom the paris:e. priest thought would make satisfactory foster arents
were allowed to adopt one of the children. Florence, althouLeh she
wasn't French, was brou7ht In--) a Catholic and snohe French. She
attendee th
convent echool.
She worked in a local dry Goods store
when he was about sixteen. She was very Food leokinL: and a very good
inciu inE r. and rs. Green, th she was an
In.
or
.LiVer,"
ean, but
_en she
VJUS
,eiliteen her bona fide parents turned up
with proofs of their claims. The Greens didntt like to :_4-ve her up
eet the choice was finally put ul to Florence and she reluctantly
choose her actual arents, and returned to Kassachusetts with then.
Green cried when she left.
Kr. Green came to Old Town to live
years,
in litO, but he
been here before at different times to worn. He worked in the
Portsmouth. Navy Yard at Portsmouth, N.11. or a year just before he
cane to Old To; to sten. he went to school in Van Tluren about six
ars w.L.,
c was a
Can read and write in both French and
had a proncenced accent when he fireet, came to Old Town
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Living Lore
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but that has entirely desappeared. He could speak English when he
came here. He used to wor2_ a lot here as a brick and stone mason.
His boy, Adam, worked with him. Is a good catholic. Mr. Green is
about 5 ft. 10 inches tall, slightly stooped, tanned, white hair.
His mind is quite clear, but he seems to be growing weak. He used
to talk so that any one could hear him half a block away. His son
Adam does old jobs. Worked on the WPA last winter. Was working in
Basin Mills on the foundation of a house last fall and slipped break-
ing a bone in his leg. Said he slipped down a little bank not over
a foot high. Lad his lea in a cast for a month and fears he will
have to 71,o back to the hospital to have a piece of cartila:e removed.
Adam used to work as a painter in the E.M.White canoe shop. Three
of the canoes he painted while there were displayed in the window af
a local drug store about 20 years ago. The coloring scheme was
very unusual and original. The design on one showed life sige
dragon flies, on another the design was drifted autumn leaves in
natural colors. I thought of the other design yeasterday, but it has
slipped my mind for the time. On the bow of each canoe the pattern
it{as utilized to form the artists name. The name didn't show up
plainly, but it was blended into the design. The canoes excited
much favorable comment.
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(The conversation got around to Wedge again, and I re-
marked that the name didn't sound French.)
Mrs. Green: "That is the English of it. In French it would
be coli4.
Mt. Green: "Yes, Green wouldn't be called a French name,
either. In French it would be Grenier. I always had to explain
how that was spelled, so I started to use the English way of it.
The lawyer up hare couldn't spell it."