LEWISTON — Photos of classroom in Lewiston-Auburn parochial schools. Turn-of-the-century French-language textbooks. Original handwritten examples of children’s work from the 1910s.

These can all be seen in the “Back to School” display, the first in a new series of monthly window exhibits presented by through the Franco-American Collection at the University of Southern Maine’s Lewiston-Auburn College.

Together, they paint a picture of the experiences Francophone children had growing up in an era when they were forbidden to speak French in the public school system. They also underscore the important role Catholic schools played in preserving and promoting Franco-American culture.

Besides the exhibit, the Franco-American Collection has many tems relating to education in Lewiston-Auburn, particularly the parish schools that have existed since the 1870s, as well as life in orphanages, school plays, first communions and family life in general.

Many of the Collection’s oral histories also contain vivid, firsthand accounts of Franco-American childhood.

The Collection, overseen by new coordinator James Myall, is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday. For more information, call 753-6545 or visit www.usm.maine.edu/lac/franco/.

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