Freeman, Anne (Desjardins) oral history interview

Anne Freeman was born Anne Desjardins on November 21, 1912, in New Canada Plantation, Maine. Her parents were both at one-time schoolteachers, but were farmers when she was growing up. She attended the New Canada public schools until fifth grade, grade school at the convent in Fort Kent, Maine, and graduated from Fort Kent High School. After schooling, Anne began work for J.C. Penney in Fort Kent. There she met a clerk at the A&P by the name of Joe Freeman. Joe eventually became manager of the A&P, and they moved to Presque Isle. They bought a tea house in Presque Isle, expanded it, and renamed it the Presque Isle Grill. During World War II, they were busy feeding the soldiers that had returned from Europe, and they fed the prisoners that worked in the Northern Maine fields. In the late 1940s, they sold the restaurant and opened a Pepsi bottling plant in downtown Presque Isle. Anne and Joe were Democrats. They were strong supporters of Ed Muskie and the Democratic Party in Maine