Maurice Robert Gravel was born on May 13th, 1930, in Springfield, Massachusetts. However, his parents, Alphonse Gravel and Marie Bourassa, always called him Mike. Mike’s father and mother were working-class French Canadian immigrants, and they lived in a working-class neighborhood. His father was a painting contractor, and when Mike wasn’t helping with the house painting and construction business (along with his brothers), he volunteered in local Springfield politics. His political involvement as an adolescent initiated a life-long interest in politics and government.