Anna was born on August 26, 1897, possibly the first child of her parents, who were married in 1896. In the 1910 census, the family was listed as living at 56 Glenallan Street, just a short walk from the mill. In 1914, the family left Winchendon and moved to the Taftville section of Norwich, Connecticut, and went to work at Ponemah Mills.

Known initially as the Taftville Cotton Mill, most of its original workers were Irish immigrants. During the Panic of 1873, unemployment rose and wages dropped, causing a contentious relationship between workers and management, and finally a strike. In response, the company cut wages even further and told the workers that wages would be restored if they agreed not to join a union. Eventually the company replaced the workers with French Canadians. At one point, the village was more than 70% French Canadian.

In 1917, Anna married Mathias Paradis, then a fellow worker at Ponemah Mills. Her father died in 1947, and her mother died in 1951. Mathias died in February of 1977, at the age of 80. Anna died on January 19, 1992, at the age of 94. They had five children. The youngest, Sharon Mozden, was adopted. When I contacted her, she told me she had never seen the Hine photos of her mother.

Alice Dugas was born on April 8, 1900. She married Julian Gale in 1923, and they had three children. Julian died in 1960. Alice Dugas Gale died on November 28, 1998, at the age of 98. I found her son, Fred Gale, who lives near Norwich. He was also unaware of the Hine photos.