MayMay was born in Lewiston, ME and was an only child. Her family were "circus people" working for the Barnum & Bailey circus. Her grandfather was a clown, her mother a bareback rider and her father ran the ferris wheel. She spent her childhood traveling with the country with the circus. At 15 she left for Bridgeport, CT. By her early twenties she owned a restaurant in Derbt, CT called Mum's Carhop where the waitresses delivered food on rollerskates. She had 2 sons and at age 42 came to Woonsocket and began working in the mills as a sewing machine operator. She would go on to use her sewing skills to hem the flag that is displayed in the Museum's Slater Club exhibit. At age 55, MayMay earned her high school diploma from Woonsocket High school.
Submitter's First Name
Oakland Grove
Mill Employee First Name
Mayrose
Mill Employee Last Name
Gorup
Mill Employee Maiden Name
Sheldon
Mill Employee Birth Date
Mill Employee Birthplace
Lewiston, ME
Mill Employee Workplace 1
American Tourister (Fairmount Street)
Job Title 1
Sewing Machine Operator
Mill Employee Start Date 1
1973
Mill Employee End Date 1
1973
Mill Employee Workplace 2
Sun Sack
Job Title 2
Sewing Machine Operator
Mill Employee Start Date 2
1974
Mill Employee End Date 2
1978
Mill Employee Nickname
MayMay
Mill Employee Ethnic Identity
French Canadian
Mill Employee School
Garfield Primary School
Mill Employee House Worship
St. Louis
Biography Text