Participatory Archiving in Action

Mike Luciano is a third-generation paper maker whose roots extend to the Mayflower on his mother’s side; his father’s family immigrated from Abruzzo, Italy in 1908, joining a growing community of Italian stone masons and paper workers in Livermore Falls, Maine. Mike worked production, accounting, and human resources jobs during his 41 years of employment at the Otis and Androscoggin Mills. In 2018 he attended a story gathering at the Maine Paper and Heritage Museum where he shared his story in a video interview and contributed photographs to the My Maine Stories digital collection.

My Maine Stories is a storytelling forum produced by the Maine Historical Society in Portland, Maine, that hosts events and provides an online space for sharing recollections about life in the state. Stories include family memories about experiences at work and home as well as the impact of historical events. At the heart of My Maine Stories is the belief that the experience of every person with a Maine connection matters.