Cape Breton's Magazine

goes to be farming, or take care of cat? tle, or anything like that. (Let's go back to your father. He never did go back to Italy.) No, I never went back to Italy. I always felt that--I was disappointed, (and) I felt if I had gone back, I'd probably--it'd be more disap? pointing, and I'd want to stay there may? be, and I'd stay there, see. And I had a family, and I said, not to make this a disappointment, and I just stayed.... (No, I meant your father.) My father didn't go back--my father came back (to Cape Breton) in 1910. He came over here for (just) another 5 years. See, that would be the last 5 years. But then the war broke out, in 1915. And he didn't make it (back.) They decided to stay here. That's when they sent for us. (And what did he do for his livelihood?) In Sydney. Oh, a steelworJcer. All his life, yeah. He started at the steel plant in 1904, and he worked in the steel plant till 1958. He was 76 when he retired in January, 1958. He didn't want to retire. Oh, no, he went to see his friend Jim Nicholson, and he almost cried. He said that he was just as good as a young man, and he didn't see why they had to let him go. He said he couldn't stay home, he didn't know anything else, and he wanted to keep on working. And Jim Nicholson said, "You know, you must realize, you're 76. You had more than your share. We know that you're capable--you're better than the young ones. But," he said, "you've just got to go." So, he went. And he died that year in July--6 months later. (You were 12 years old when you came here --had to go to school, I suppose.) Oh, yes, I went to school in those days--Holy Redeemer. They were nuns, and they were also teachers. (You learned English.) Well, the trouble that I had when I came here was that, being 12 years old in Ita- WHERE GOOD FOOD AND GOOD TIMES COME TOGETHER 'Y ROADHOUSE RESTAURANT f' 500 George Place, Sydney, NJ'fe, (Across from Centre 200) |[ Dancing: Monday through Saturday )| SYDNEY'S NEWEST RESTAURANT AND ENTERTAINMENT HOT SPOT PHONE: 564-8844 ly, and coming here, I didn't know the language. And they had to start me with the prime class, be? cause I had to learn the lan? guage. I went up to the 4th Grade in Italy; well, that's equal to about Grade 8 or 9 here. 'Cause your decimals and all fractions, you un? derstand in Grade 2 in Italy. It's way--way, way ad? vanced. If you make a grade in one year, you're pretty clever. And the classes were from 8 to 1-- the morning. No school in the af? ternoons. (In an? other conversation Dominic explained that, in Italy, the afternoons were available for learning some sort of trade or farm? ing. When a stu? dent finished high school he could decide, then. whether to contin? ue to pursue scholarship or his I found the system (here) bad be? cause, you see, I couldn't advance any more in educa? tion. That was it, I was 12. It took me 3 years before I could understand the English pretty good. By that time I was 15, coming to 16. Well. you see, I didn't go to school any more because I figured by the time I'd get to Grade 10 or 11, eh? (You'd be an old man!) Be old At the same time, I was studying mu? sic. Violin. With a teacher here Highland Office wW' Products _--_ YOUR COMPLETE Canon BUSINESS MACHINE DEALER BALES'ERVICE'ASING Canon PLAIN RIPPER COPIERS 'tz 4835SERIES ?? Up to 5-Colour • Screening ?? Recirculating Document Feed ?? 35 Copies a Minute Duplexing Automatic Paper Selection Reduction/Enlargement (Zoom) #>-;%-f<'-ff • Halftone 'i'C?llrll Reproduction • Memory Reception Stores up to 14 Pages 64 Shades of Grey • Ultra High Quality Processing System • Speed Dialing (124) Canon State-of-the-Art | Electronic Typewriter /A I 4000-Character '~ Correction Memory • "UNDO" h ey 8-Line Back-lit B Liquid Crystal D>>play I Spellcheck | Corrector ' Highland Office Products Call Today For CQQ OCVT A Demonstration 0057"'?? / I 803 Grand Lake Road Sydney, N.S. BIP 5T3 Serving All of Cape Breton with Quality Business Machines