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September 5th, 1960  |
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Information donated to FAWI by Polly Kaufman* |
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MR. VACATIONLAND AND WHY WE CAN'T FORGET THE LADY
FROM RUMFORD
& Margaret Chase Smith's Franco-American Heritage
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| *Lucia Cormier (1909-1993) is featured on our
new branch of the Portland Women's History trail because she was the first
and only to date woman district collector of customs in Maine. President
Kennedy appointed her in 1961 after she agreed to run against Margaret
Chase Smith for the U.S. Senate in 1960, the first time two women had run
for the U.S. Senate. She held the position until her retirement in
1974. She was a former modern language teacher in Rumford, served
six terms in the Maine House and was the first woman minority floor leader
in 1959. She was on the front page of Time Magazine in 1960 and if
you want a copy of that, ask the Margaret Chase Smith Library.
I have some clippings of her career that some students found for me. If you want me to send them to you, give me an address. Someone should do a full story of her. She is an interesting person. She was four years older than Muskie so you can't really say she was his protégé, but maybe you could say he was her protégé!! The new trail is in draft form and should be out in the spring. We are working with MCA on it. I'll send Xeroxes of the clippings but we can always use more info if you find it. P. Polly Kaufman |