Interview with John Nale by Mike Hastings

Biographical NoteJohn Elias Nale was born on September 4, 1949, in Farmerville, Louisiana, to Caroline Theresa (Boles) and Melvin Travis Nale. The family had moved to Louisiana from Bangor, Maine, returning first to Bangor and then to his mother’s home town, Waterville, Maine, during his childhood. He is a second cousin of George Mitchell; his grandmother and George Mitchell’s mother were sisters. Nale is a graduate of the University of Maine, Orono and the Franklin Pierce Law Center. Upon joining the bar, he practiced law in Waterville and Portland, Maine, including practicing law with his three brothers for fifteen years. At the time of this interview, he was practicing elder law at Nale Law Offices, Waterville, Maine. SummaryInterview includes discussion of: growing up in Waterville, Maine, as next-door neighbor of the Mitchells; the Lebanese community in Waterville; Nale’s immigrant Lebanese ancestry; practicing elder law; Lebanese emigration to the United States; visiting Mitchell in Washington, DC, to celebrate Mitchell’s elevation to Senate majority leader; recollections of Mitchell’s mother, Mary (Saad) Mitchell.