Cape Breton's Magazine

Then you see, of course, the Depression came on. And I got married, the Depression came on, there wasn't too much of a choice. So you see.... (Were you able to make a living during the Depression?) Oh, yeah, oh, yeah. Well, I had a shop. I made a good living. Because the people at that time, they didn't have cars, they had to walk. I had 3 men work? ing in the shop. And we started delivery service in 1934. I was the first one to start the delivery service. And we made pretty good money. A fair living, you know--not what you'd call--but I made a fair living. (You had children.) Well, yes, they start? ed to come one by one. By 1940 my wife had eight. (Then the Second World War came on. Did you know the war was coming?) Oh, yeah, we felt that the war was coming, oh, yes. (Did you keep contact with people in Ita? ly?) No. No, no, no. I never wrote to any? body and I didn't keep in contact. (Were there Italian newspapers?) Oh, well, a little bit with papers. But all among our? selves, the Italian people around here were always kept in contact with one an? other- -that ' s about all. (Tell me now, here in Cape Breton, the Italians--there was an interest in Musso? lini.) Oh, the Italian people, sure they were, because they had hard times before he got into power. (Mussolini came to pow? er in 1921.) The Italians had hard times under their government. The people were tired of being oppressed by the Italian government. That's why he went to power. (Someone said to me once that the people here felt that Mussolini was trying to cor? rect many things that drove Italians away from their home, the reasons they had to come to Canada.) Well that's, yes--he fig? ured that there was place enough in Italy for a lot of the Italians to stay in Italy. To give them more of a living. Well, you see, all these dictators who govern a na? tion, in any, country, there's always some good about them. See, because the people, when they tolerate them, they put them in power, they've got to receive something for it. That's how they get to power, see. (I understand that people here did speak about Mussolini in a proud way. And I un? derstand you're saying why.) You see, not only that, but he raised the standard of Italy, too, when he went to power. Ital? ians started to"do things for the Italians in Italy, were never done before. Take the Security Blanket No. This quilt was created by students at Hawthorne Elementary School, Dartmouth, N.S. Artwork used by t>ermission of the Nova Scotia Department of Education and the Dartmouth Immigration Orientation Commission. 1'1 Forestry ForSts Canada Canada "'s]' Departmentof Lands and Forests Funded under the Canada-Nova Scotia Forest Resource Development Agreement. ' ova Scotia's woodlands are a lot like a quilt. Seen from the air, our province is four-fifths forest - an 11-million-acre patchwork. Half of it is in small woodlots - the highest percentage of small private Ownership in mainland Canada. To our more than 30,000 woodlot owners this means many things: a college education for a granddaughter, the price of a new truck, lumber for a new shed, fencing for the cattle, firewood for the winter, a nice place to walk. Woodlots are a traditional source of ruralincome and stability: something like a security blanket. Woodland is also a family heirloom. But, unlike a beautiful quilt, some woodlots are never fully appreciated. An untended, overmature forest yields little to anyone, not even to wildlife. Since 1977 nearly 7,000 Nova Scotia woodlot owners have opted for forest renewal. By participating in Canada-Nova Scotia forest management programs, they are helping to ensure a brighter future for our forest heritage.