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LEWISTON — As part of the national votes for women trail, Lewiston native Camille Lessard-Bissonnette (1883-1970), is being recognized for her contribution to the suffragist movement.
The William G. Pomeroy Foundation and Votes for Women Historic Marker Grant Program awarded grant money for fabrication of plaques for five sites in Maine, including 223 Lisbon St., which was the site of the newspaper office for Le Messager, the longest-running French language newspaper in Maine. Lessard-Bissonnette was employed by the paper and wrote a weekly column in French in support of suffrage. In all, there are 41 Maine sites on the NCWHS Votes for Women Trail.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held to unveil the plaque and honor the contributions of Lessard-Bissonnette at 4 p.m. Thursday, June 2, in front of 223 Lisbon St.
Those involved in the effort said Lessard-Bissonette was “a lone voice in the French heritage culture of the state of Maine expressing her views on pro-suffrage issues,” Rhea Cote Robbins said. “She was brave to express her views about women’s lives given the lack of status of the French in Maine.”
PHOTO: Camille Lessard-Bissonnette (Courtesy William G. Pomeroy Foundation)
