I’ve Danced My Life Away
Frances Alexander Schipper And Her Memories Of Camden
An Oral History by Heather Bilodeau
Commissioned by The Camden Public Library
Edited from an Interview Conducted by Ellen Dyer at the Schipper Home in Camden on May 22, 2001
Frances Alexander c. 1926
Introduction
It was a great pleasure to work on this narrative, which is drawn from a one-hour interview with Mrs. Frances Schipper on May 22, 2001. Ellen Dyer, the former archivist at the Camden Public Library, conducted the interview in Mrs. Schipper’s home in Camden. She was assisted by Barbara Dyer, who is an expert in Camden history and a lifelong friend of Mrs. Schipper.
The Camden that Mrs. Schipper speaks of was a smaller town then, and though it has seen many changes through the years the quiet, graceful qualities of a close-knit coastal village have remained. Mrs. Schipper is a wonderful storyteller, and her tales bring a piece of Camden history alive once more. These are all her words, though I have rearranged the paragraphs for continuity and edited where needed for clarity.
Preservation of the town’s history through the stories of its residents is a vital component of the mission of the Camden Public Library, and this work could not have been done without the generous support of the Cawley Family Foundation.