“Is Lewiston going foody?” is what classical and medieval studies professor Margaret Imber posted on Facebook after a Japanese restaurant opened in the former Ames department store space in the Lewiston Mall.

The special board at Marché, a short walk from campus at 40 Lisbon St. Photograph by Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College.

Over the generations, landmark eateries like Gene’s, Steckino’s, The Warehouse and No Tomatoes have defined local dining. We thought it time to offer a refresher course.

So here are a few current downtown scenes from photographer Phyllis Graber Jensen. The featured restaurants are Fuel, Marché and Mother India, all on Lisbon Street; Fishbones American Grill, two streets down, closer to the Androscoggin, on Lincoln Street; the Bread Shack, in Auburn; and an old friend, Luiggi’s Pizzeria, where the pizzas are famously “all made with meat unless ordered otherwise.”

As adventurous restaurateurs treat chowhounds to cuisines from French to Greek to Indian, these are good days to have an appetite in the Twin Cities — so much so that Mikey Pasek ’12 launched College Night in Town, an evening of gourmandise and other downtown attractions for Bates and other area college students during Short Term.

The map below offers directions to all the eateries featured above and during last spring’s College Night in Town, plus a newcomer, Forage Market, at 180 Lisbon St.

Lewiston Facts

The Carnegie greenhouse helps grow seedlings for the local Lots to Gardens urban agriculture program.

One hundred and fourteen alumni live in Lewiston; another I07 live in Auburn.

Of Bates place names, Garcelon Field and Mount David carry the oldest Lewiston names.

Lewiston-Auburn sent five first-year students to Bates in 2011–12.

If you apply for a job cleaning houses or rounding up shopping carts, should a high school diploma or General Educational Development certificate be an essential qualification?

Yes, according to employers in Lewiston and elsewhere in Maine. “Employers assume a basic level of literacy if you have that,” says Chip Morrison, president of the Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce.

No, say many members of Lewiston-Auburn’s growing Somali community.

Since 2001, some 3,500 refugees from violence in Somalia have settled in Lewiston, and the GED requirement imposed by some employers often bars these new Mainers from work they’re well-equipped — even overqualified — to perform. “You don’t actually need the GED to push carts at Hannaford,” says Ismail Ahmed, a Somali immigrant and consultant to employers seeking to hire Somalis.

These contrasting perspectives provide evidence of a cultural divide that Bates students explored in a high-profile research project last fall. Their work followed on the heels of a state Department of Labor report that found severe unemployment among Somalis of working age, with only 49 percent finding work between 2001 and 2006.

Wanting better insight into the obstacles facing Somalis in the job market, the Chamber and Lewiston’s branch of the state-run Maine CareerCenter asked members of a senior anthropology seminar at Bates to investigate.

Supported by $2,000 in grants from the Harward Center for Community Partnerships, the students spent weeks asking Somali job-seekers and employers about impediments to regular employment for the Somalis. And the students’ report, Perceived Barriers to Somali Immigrant Employment in Lewiston, could be summed up by the famous line in Cool Hand Luke: What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.

Employers and would-be employees alike cited the Somalis’ lack of English skills as the single biggest employment barrier. (Perhaps surprisingly in a society still aching after Sept. 11, religious prejudice was not termed a major obstacle, although certain Muslim beliefs such as the untouchability of pork did pose practical problems for some employers.)

But there are other differences that create barriers to Somali employment.

Maine employers are integral members of a U.S. economy that’s money-based, heavily systematized, rigorously clock-oriented. The Somalis, in contrast, as the report notes, have a “flexible, spiraling” sense of time that doesn’t play well in the world of the time clock.

And they come from a system of exchange based less on the bottom line and more on personal forms of reciprocity such as swapping goods or favors. For instance, Somalis are more likely than most Americans to lend each other money at no interest, buy groceries together in bulk, or arrange work shifts so that parents can trade off minding the children, says Julia Merriman ’09 of Villanova, Pa., who served as one of two principal investigators on the project.

“It’s less about competitiveness, and more about pooling resources to gain as a community,” she says.

For these new Mainers, the employment situation feels urgent. “They have families to take care of,” says the other investigator, Daisy Hackett ’09 of Ipswich, Mass. For them, getting a GED can’t be a top priority. “They’d rather just get menial jobs that they can do without even speaking English.” (The report also says that English literacy isn’t always an issue, citing a pharmacy technician whose non-U.S. degrees aren’t recognized here.)

This cultural divide — “a big clash,” in the words of associate professor Elizabeth Eames, an anthropologist who led the Perceived Barriers project — afforded an excellent case study for the 17 students in Eames’ “Production and Reproduction” seminar, which studies comparative economics.

Working primarily with 20-member focus groups, the students interviewed job-seekers from the Somali community, local employers, and mediators between employers and potential immigrant employees.

Toward easing the situation, the report advocated “best practices” devised by some employers, such as “conversation partners,” native English speakers who pair up with a Somali employee to help relieve communication difficulties.

Among the employers she interviewed, Merriman says, “people were happy to share what worked and what didn’t, and that was just a great forum for conversation.”

The class presented its findings publicly at a Chamber luncheon in December, and the printed report appeared in January — by which time the deepening economic recession had moved the goalposts way down the field.

The overall unemployment rate locally jumped from 4.7 percent in December 2007 to 7.4 percent a year later. And with growing numbers of well-qualified workers in the unemployment lines, barriers to Somali employment that were high to start with suddenly grew even taller.

Still, the report and its recommendations for helping employ Somalis will remain viable beyond the economic slump. “This report should not collect dust on the shelves of the powers that be,” says Ismail Ahmed.

In fact, in the state with the nation’s oldest population, immigrants like these will eventually become essential to Maine’s workforce — although that doesn’t help Somali families who need jobs now. “Here is a workforce that is just working in,” says Ahmed. “It will take awhile, but they will be very productive in the long run.”
By Doug Hubley, photograph by Phyllis Graber Jensen

AUBURN

Lori A. Shaw Blackwelder of 149 Lake St. earned a bachelor of science degree with an interdisciplinary major in biopsychology. A dean’s list student, she was nominated to Sigma Xi, the scientific research honor society, and conducted research with John Kelsey, professor of psychology. She also worked as a volunteer in the family practice clinic at Central Maine Medical Center. A graduate of Plano  Senior High School, she is the wife of Thomas Blackwelder.

Nancy Audet Bullett of 23 Towle Ave. graduated with a bachelor of arts degree, magna cum laude, in women’s studies and political science, earning honors in both subjects. She was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society; earned dean’s list status in each of her semesters at Bates and was named a Dana Scholar and a Ruggles Scholar. A graduate of St. Dominic Regional High School, she is now special initiative coordinator and HIV prevention coordinator for the AIDS Coalition of Lewiston-Auburn.

Brent Robert Radcliffe earned a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy. He was a dean’s list student. A graduate of Holderness School in Plymouth, N.H., he is the son of Claire and Russell Radcliffe, both of Auburn.

FARMINGTON

Eric William Cullenberg of 6 Fairview Ave. earned a bachelor of arts degree in East Asian languages and cultures. A dean’s list student, he spent his junior year studying in Japan, was a member of the popular vocal group the Deansmen and performed a solo in a College Choir concert. He is a graduate of Mt. Blue High School and the son of Sharon and Ronald Cullenberg.

GILEAD

Shilo Lee Hutchins earned a bachelor of arts degree in sociology. A dean’s list student, she served as captain of the field hockey team and played varsity softball. She spent part of her junior year studying in Australia and was a volunteer at Tri-County Mental Health Services and the Sexual Assault Crisis Center. A graduate of Telstar Regional High School in Bethel, she is the daughter of Elaine and Jeffery Hutchins.

GREENE

Jo Ann Darling graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree in anthropology and women’s studies, earning honors in both subjects. A dean’s list student, she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. She has been active in numerous community and social-action organizations, including the Auburn Historical Society, the Josselyn Botanical Society and the Maine Archeological Society. A graduate of Stambaugh (Mich.) High School, she is the wife of Leslie Eastman.

Karen Ann LeComte of Key Hill Road earned a bachelor of science degree with an interdisciplinary major in biopsychology. A dean’s list student, she was elected to Sigma Xi, the scientific research honor society. She conducted research with Nancy Kleckner, assistant professor of biology; worked as an athletic trainer and was a member of the Health Sciences Society. She has been accepted at the University of Vermont Medical College. A graduate of Salem (N.H.) High School, she is the wife of David LeComte of Greene and the daughter of Arlene and Richard MacLean of Crofton, Md.

LEWISTON

Benjamin Michael Clark of 2 Elaine Ave. graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of science degree in mathematics. He was a dean’s list student. A graduate of Lewiston High School, he is the son of Elaine and Brian Clark.

Melissa Joan Margarones of 210 College St. earned a bachelor of arts degree in English. She was a member of the Representative Assembly, the Student Health Link and the rugby club, and she served as a campus tour guide and a mathematics tutor for middle-school students. She spent part of her junior year studying in France. A graduate of Governor Dummer Academy in Byfield, N.H., she is the daughter of Viola and John Margarones.

NORWAY

Brian Andrew Ketchum of 29 Huntington St. earned a bachelor of arts degree in economics. A graduate of Oxford Hills High School, he is the son of Rosalie and Roger Ketchum.

POLAND

Danagra Georgia Ikossi of Poland Corner Road graduated cum laude with a bachelor of science degree in biological chemistry. A dean’s list student, she served as co-coordinator of the riding club. She is a graduate of Hebron Academy and the daughter of Dr. Maria Ikossi.

RUMFORD

Matthew Scott Irish of 2360 Swain Road graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in English. A dean’s list student, he was a member of the baseball and football teams. He is a graduate of Mountain Valley High School and the son of Janice and Lewis Irish.

RUMFORD POINT

James Daniel Ippolito of Route 5 earned a bachelor of arts degree in English. A dean’s list student, he was a member of the varsity ski team and a staff reporter for the college newspaper, The Bates Student. He is a graduate of Mountain Valley High School and the son of Jolan and James Ippolito.

SABATTUS

Angela Rolande Martin of Fisher Farm Road graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in English. A dean’s list student, she conducted research with Stanton Wortham, assistant professor of education, and Laurie Teal, assistant professor of English. She was a publications assistant in the Office of College Relations and a substitute teacher for the Lewiston School Department. A graduate of Lewiston High School, she is the daughter of Albert and Ginette Martin and the late Madeleine Martin.

TURNER

Jessica Stover Talbot of Poplar Hill Road, formerly of Bowdoinham, earned a bachelor of arts degree with an interdisciplinary major in environmental science. A dean’s list student, she was a member of the Environmental Coalition and the Freewill Folk Society, and she spent part of her junior year studying in Nepal. She is a graduate of Mt. Ararat School, Topsham, and is the daughter of Jennifer and James Talbot.