A work in progress by: Taylar Donaldson

Hi there! My name is Mary Kathleen!

I am a detective! I like things that are clues. Clues help us solve mysteries! This is my Spy glass!

Today we are going to my Meme’s house. I love my Meme! Meme is the French word for grandmother! What do you call your Grandmother?

When we get to Lewiston ME I see lots of places before we get to Meme’s. We go by the big museum that used to be a factory. My Meme told me that it honors the people who used to work there and lived here. She says lots of my family worked in mills including her!

She told me she used to live In Canada and there was a big train that came all the way to Lewiston from there! Before she came to Maine to work in the mills she lived on a farm with her family and lots of animals!

She said that her family had a hard time on the farm because they didn’t make enough money. Then someone told them that if they rode the train to Maine they could have jobs in the mill where they could earn lots of money and the town was full French-Canadians and was called “little Canada”!

Meme says that the Mills were very big a full of People just like her! Meme said “The mills hired us Francos because we are such hard workers!” I told Meme “I bet those mills have lots of mysteries!” She laughed and said “I think you are probably right”

Out the window I see The biggest church ive ever seen! It is called Saint Mary’s. My Meme told me it used to be VERY IMPORTANT to the French-Canadians who moved here because everyone went and everyone knew everyone else and they were all Catholic. Now my Meme Says it is a center and theater dedicated just to us, Franco-Americans!

A Franco-American is just a person who came From Canada whose ancestors were French but now live in America and have both American and French- Canadian traditions!

When we pass Saint Peters Cemetery I get sad because Meme says she has friends that are buried there and we have family buried there too. “Mostly Francos” she said.

There are so many places here that help my Meme tell me stories. I like learning about Franco-American life here in Lewiston Maine!

Finally We arrive at Meme’s! When I walk in She greets me with a big hug and kiss. Her kitchen smells soooo good! She goes over to the stove while pepe puts my bags up stairs. Meme Made Putine! My favorite snack! French fries with cheese and gravy! A very tasty Franco-American treat!

When I am done I tell Meme that I am going to find a mystery to solve! She laughed at me and mumbled something in French! I want to learn French too even though my mother doesn’t know much French I want to learn so I can talk with my Meme. Meme Continues to clean the dishes in the kitchen. She spends a lot of time there cooking and cleaning, Playing cards with Pepe and reading her Lewiston Sun Journal!

As I climb the stairs I pretend I’m a mill worker And I hammer on all the steps and railings all the way up!

When I reach the top I am a detective again and I search for a new mystery!

AH HA! I see something very peculiar in a basket under the table in the hall. It looks like this:

This is Surely a mystery!

I grab the wooden object and begin my Investigation! I run my fingers down each side of the smooth wood. The ends have scoops in them like a spoon but this is much to big to eat with!

In the same basket there are some music books. I mark them as a clue!

I bring it to the toy room for further examination! Do you know what this object could be? Those are some good guesses!

Does it look like any of these toys?

Its not like any toy I’ve seen! Lets go back to the hall to investigate!

I ran right into Meme! “Oh my” Meme says “that thing is very old” She pats my head and keeps walking. I mark her as a clue!

I scoot down the hall to the top of the stairs pretending I’m the big train coming all the way from Canada! ChOoOo ChoOoOoOo!

When I go down the stairs I clap the wooden thing down the railing! It makes lots of noise!

All of the sudden Pepe picks me up and swings me around like were dancing a really fast dance! He grabs the wooden mystery object! “These are my spoons” he says. “but they are much to big to eat with Pepe!”

Pepe puts me down and we sit at the kitchen table. Can you guess what Pepe does with the wooden spoons?

He begins to make music with them! He claps the spoons together hitting them against his hands and leg to make a beat!

Meme comes in and we dance all around!

When we are done Pepe shows me a photograph of a band! He points to a young man and says “That’s me!”. He tells me all about how people play the spoons in Franco-American Music. He says everyone used to dance and sing and party the night away to Franco-American Music! What kind of music do you like?

I wish I knew my Pepe and Meme back then!

So now that the mystery of the spoons is solved Meme brings me up to bed and tucks me in. She Sings me a lullaby in French and as I close my eyes I think about the day ahead and all the mysteries there are to solve here!

“Bon nuit ma petit détective” Whispers Meme. (good night my little detective)