Submitter's First Name
Irene
Submitter's Last Name
Blais
Relationship to Honoree
Daughter
Submitter's Phone Number
401-769-9343
Submitter's Email Address
lblais@aol.com
Mill Employee First Name
Raymond
Mill Employee Middle Name
Louis
Mill Employee Last Name
Parenteau
Mill Employee Birth Date
Mill Employee Birthplace
St. Robert, Quebec
Mill Employee Workplace 1
Argonne Worsted
Job Title 1
Combing Room
Mill Employee Start Date 1
1938
Mill Employee End Date 1
1953
Mill Employee Photo
Mill Employee Nickname
Ray
Mill Employee Ethnic Identity
French Canadian
Mill Employee School
St. Ann School
Mill Employee House Worship
St. Ann's Parish
Biography Text
Raymond was born on a farm in St. Robert, Quebec in 1923. He was the youngest of eight children. In 1929 the family moved to Woonsocket where relatives had previously settled. After completing the 9th grade at St. Anne's School Ray went to work at the Argonne Worsted on Hamlet Avenue. He worked the 3rd shift, 10-6am for $14 per week.
In 1947 he married Jeannette Girouard from Lincoln, RI. They had 2 daughters, Irene Blais and Louise Suzzi.
By 1952 he was making $69 per week working as a baler. In 1953 he left the mill to take a job with the Woonsocket Police Department. He took a cut in pay by doing so, making only $55 per week with the department. Ray retired from the police force in 1978.