University of New England

English major Camille Smalley to discuss the 'Bad Girls of Saco' at Dyer Library April 15th

SACO, Maine - University of New England English major Camille Smalley '08 will present a program titled "Saco's Bad Girls and the Maine Industrial School for Girls" on Tuesday, April 15, 2008 at 7 p.m.at the Dyer Library, 371 Main St., Saco.

The lecture is based on Smalley's University of New England Women's Studies thesis. In the fall of 1906, two teenage girls from Saco girls were found guilty of "falling into habits of vice and immorality." Both girls were then sentenced to the "custody and guardianship" of the Maine Industrial School for Girls.

Smalley first began pursuing the topic of the industrial school almost two years ago when she took a class taught by Elizabeth A. De Wolfe, Ph.D., associate professor of history. The idea for Smalley's thesis grew out of two snippets from the Biddeford Daily Journal, which appeared in issues published in September and October of 1906.

Admission is by donation, $5 is suggested. Call 283-3861, ext. 2, for more information.

(Press release posted April 7, 2008)