1 30 3 https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/42465/archive/files/1277e2ef88d276f9c4a95c3ce57043c1.pdf?Expires=1779321600&Signature=JycHzZZRr2zDy1bLVbYT8vHt33Gx7zVzxJAzl%7EQ9oTwaQNSNNxWpt9vclYebz9a3NDn3mP9WEsPp-RFH1zzWnKGg9LxYlk43Xc7Y2uAmKj8TMwO6q7dz-k6YnjXWOL5hJdAh6WAKscIyQAkezh6UvsOJ6wp0uCtomdN-MBsxN%7EwaXKBWORhqYXlUlfeE53l4yX12n5yx6sLS-dOQduTEq9oHj50rpK8drW1Iy1K9pIePqbvb%7EOK3cPiXABDcjnXGkiTeg7yBaE-blaKzvIj65oHgTlMHJWlafQwk6qUCB9JYVDY4Y%7EPukvqVyivZfAMbLt2GN%7EJOCPjaLV1ilzn1FQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 9d13fd8e7ce0fc4e8a293fd3cb4cf62e PDF Text Text UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS LOWELL SAAB CENTER FOR PORTUGUESE STUDIES ORAL HISTORY PROJECT INTERVIEWEES: MARIA AND JOSEPH MENDONÇA INTERVIEWER: GRAY FITZSIMONS DATE: FEBRUARY 3, 2023 Biographical Sketch: Maria Rosa was born on the Azorean Island of Faial in 1945. She was one of four children (two brothers and a sister) and grew up in the village of Flamengos, a short distance from Horta, in a four-room house constructed of stone. Her father operated a small farm. She attended the public school in the village completing her education through grade 4. In 1957, when Maria was 12 years old, the Capelhinos volcano on Faial erupted, an event that altered the lives of many Azoreans. In the United States, Congress passed special legislation liberalizing immigration for all Azoreans. Aided by a Portuguese family in Lowell, which sponsored Maria and her family, the Rosas departed Faial in 1960, arriving in Boston and then traveling to Lowell, where she, her parents, and her siblings settled in the city’s “Back Central” neighborhood. Maria entered the Lowell public schools, attending the Colburn School in her neighborhood. Despite the difficulties with having to learn English without any formal support by the public schools, Maria completed her studies at the Colburn and then at the Butler Junior High School. At the age of 16 she received a work permit and obtained a job at the Hathaway Shirt Company that operated a clothing manufacturing firm in the old Hamilton Mill. She met her husband, Joseph Mendonça, in Lowell and married him in 1966. Maria subsequently worked at the Raytheon Corporation and had a son and daughter. Born in 1942 in Ponta Garça on the island of São Miguel, Joseph Mendonça moved to the United States at the age of 15, settling in Lowell with his family. His father had been born in Fall River, Massachusetts, in 1905 and therefore had U.S. citizenship, despite returning to São Miguel when he was quite young. Joseph attended a public school in Ponta Garça before entering high school in Ponta Delgada. Upon moving to Lowell, he was placed in the Butler Junior High School, but when he turned 16 he received a work permit and entered the employ of Grace Shoe Company, one a several shoe manufacturers in the city. For a number of years, Joseph worked in the shoe industry, while marrying Maria and beginning a family. He eventually attained a high school degree and began work at BASF Industries. Joseph and Maria were active 1 �parishioners at St. Anthony’s Church in Lowell as well as in the Holy Ghost Society. Joseph served as president of the Holy Ghost Society in the 1970s. They lived for a number of years in Lowell’s Back Central neighborhood before purchasing a house in South Lowell. Scope and Contents: This interview focuses on several major themes: (1) Portuguese immigration from the Azores to Lowell, as part of the “second great wave” of Portuguese immigration to the United States, beginning in the late 1950s; (2) experiencing the Capelhinos volcanic eruption on the island of Faial, beginning in 1957; (3) adjusting to life in the United States, notably in public schools prior to the advent of bilingual education; (4) Portuguese institutions in Lowell notably St. Anthony’s Roman Catholic Church and the Holy Ghost Society, as well as in the city’s Portuguese social clubs. G= GRAY M=MARIA J= JOSEPH G: It is February 3, 2023. A very cold day out there. J: Yes. G: I’m in the home of Maria and Joseph Mendonça. Thank you very much for agreeing to this interview. J: You are welcome, Mr. Fitzsimons. M: You are welcome, Mr. Fitzsimons. G: The interview will be four parts. The first part will be your first recollections of coming to Lowell. And then the second part will be about your homeland and your villages. And then, what I’d like to do in the third part, is talk about your life in Lowell, the years you’ve spent here. And finally, Joseph, this might apply more to you than Maria, but I’d like to talk to you a little bit about the Holy Ghost Society, but you [Maria] might have some things to add too. So, Maria, let me start with you. When did you immigrate from Faial, and when did you come to Lowell? M: In 1960. April 5, 1960. G: And how old were you? M: I was twelve. G: Okay, did you come with your family? M: You may need to erase that because I wasn’t twelve. I was thirteen. 2 �G: That’s okay. Thirteen. M: No, I was fourteen, and I was going to turn fifteen in June. I came in April, April 5, 1960, and I was turning fifteen on June 3. G: And what do you remember about your traveling from the Azores to Lowell? How did you come here? M: We left Faial on the boat to Terceira Island. And then from Terceira we came directly to Boston, Massachusetts. G: To Boston. And then did you come right to Lowell, or did you go elsewhere? M: We arrived in Boston, and there were some people, my parents’ friends that had sponsored us, they were there to pick us up, to bring us to Lowell. The family that, you know, sponsored us to come. G: Was the International Institute [of Lowell] involved at all in this? M: No, it wasn’t, they weren’t. G: Okay. When you first came to Lowell where did you stay? M: The first night we stayed at the family that had sponsored us. They were the brother-in-law of the man that my father was friends with, in Faial. But because he had come earlier, he wasn’t here long enough to sponsor for us. So, he asked his brother-in-law to sponsor us. So we went directly to the ones that had sponsored us, but then at night we came to the family that they were friends with my father, which they were families. They were brother and sister, you know, those two families, but the one that wanted us to come to the United States, we stayed there at their home. G: What was the name of the family that sponsored you? M: Antonio Mello. G: Antonio Mello. And he was a friend of your father? M: Yes, they had farms, you know, next to each other and they became friends. So, they were very good friends. G: Let me ask you, do you remember the voyage from Terceira to Boston? M: Yes, I was excited, you know, coming to America, because you know, in those days America was like a paradise. So, we were excited to come. I was young. So, I was excited to come to the United States. G: Were you nervous about coming? M: No, I wasn’t. I was excited! No, I wasn’t nervous. G: I see. 3 �M: And I didn’t mind leaving Faial. And I had a lot of friends and stuff, but I didn’t mind. G: Was that your first time ever leaving Faial? M: Yes. G: So, you had never been to Terceira before? M: No, it was an adventure for me. My oldest brother didn’t want to come because he was older than me, two years older than me. He was very sad to leave Faial, his friends and stuff. He was very sad for a long time when we arrived in the United States. G: Did all your family come at the same time? M: Yes, the six of us. Two brothers, and one sister. G: Okay. And were you in Back Central when you first arrived in Lowell? M: Yes. The first home that we stayed, we didn’t stay, we just went there, it was Quebec Street, you know, in Lowell. And then we came to Walnut Street. And that’s where we stayed for a while there, you know, that family. G: So, Quebec Street is in Ayer’s City [section of Lowell]. And then you came very shortly then to Walnut Street. M: That same day. We first went, because the son that went to pick us up, that family, the Boldeia you know, he went to pick us up. G: How do you spell the name? M: Boldeia, B O L D E I A. G: Okay. Were they also from Faial? M: Yes, they were all from Faial. G: So, let me ask you, what were your first impressions of Lowell? M: When I arrived to Boston, I saw all the lights from the plane. I was so excited. You know, it didn’t bother me. You know, I liked it right from the beginning. I was never sorry that I had left Faial. G: Yes, but you never saw such tall buildings. M: No, I didn’t, but you know, I was excited, you know, very excited. So, of course I had to go to school. That was a problem, because school, not knowing the language, and it was a little adjustment, you know. I recall I was sitting in front of this boy that was behind me. And I had long hair, and he pulled my hair, because he didn’t care, because he knew that I didn’t speak English. You know, I wasn’t going to tell the teacher. You know, he was being funny. G: What school was that? M: Colburn School on Lawrence Street. 4 �G: Colburn, of course. There were a lot of Portuguese students there, yes. M: Not too many at that time. G: Oh really? Okay. M: So, I started to cry. Then the teacher went to get someone from the other class that also spoke Portuguese. She’s still living. I forget her last name. Mary, her name was Mary, and she came over and asked me why I was crying. And then they moved me to another, you know, seat. G: So, one final question about arriving in Back Central. In terms of the visual qualities, the houses, the shops, did you have any initial impressions about that part of Lowell? M: Like I said, I liked it right away, and it was interesting to me. And then there was a neighbor, neighbors of ours that you know, after we went that first night and we got an apartment on Whipple Street. And then we got to know this family that was right across from the street from us. Very, very nice family. You know, they looked after us. And I used to go babysit their children. And it was wonderful. G: This was on Whipple Street. M: Whipple Street, yes. G: Do you remember the name of that family? M: Yes, Barboza Family. And the daughter lived with the mother and the father. And her name was Alice. She’s no longer with us, but her son is Steve Joncas. G: Oh! M: You know Steve Joncas? G: Yes, I do. M: Okay, that’s her son. G: Oh, you’re kidding. M: You know, yes. So, I used to be there all the time helping them and babysitting the two children that Alice had, plus had Steve, you know, the oldest one. G: And what was her relation to the Barbozas? Alice? Was she a daughter? M: The daughter, the only daughter. G: Okay, the only daughter. All right. Joseph, let me turn to you. I’m going to ask you some of the same questions. What do you remember about your voyage from São Miguel? J: São Miguel, right, by plane. G: By plane? 5 �J: Actually, we were supposed to go by boat from São Miguel to Santa Maria. That’s where the international airport used to be at the time. There was no other international airport. So, we flew a plane, a seven-person plane. G: You’re kidding. J: No, that small. Seven, eight, whatever, but that’s a small. G: You flew from Santa Maria to (--) J: No, no. From São Miguel to Santa Maria, and there then we took the plane to Logan Airport. G: Okay. And what year was that? J: It was May 8, 1958, when I arrived in Boston. It took what? Nine and a half hours. There were no jets then. But it was a great trip. I wanted to come to America because I didn’t care about studying. When I was in grammar school, I was a good student. When I went to high school, I started reading a lot of the American made magazines. You know, Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy, all those things there. So I did want to come over here when my parents decided to come to the United States. It was, but the flight was right. Had a good flight. G: Yes. You came with your entire family then? J: No. If you want the whole story, I’ll say it now. G: Please, yes. J: My father was born in Fall River 1905. G: What was your father’s name? J: Manuel Mendonça. Manny, he used to be known. And his family went back to São Miguel because they were there, immigrants like we came. So, then two, three years later my grandparents decided to come back to the states. But when they moved back there was no, a couple of sisters, and now I don’t know if it was my grandmother, or my grandfather, and they didn’t want to come back to the States. And they asked my grandparents, why don’t you leave little Manny with us, and then maybe a couple of years you come and get him, and he goes back to you to the States. That never happened. When my father finally came back to the United States, it was in 1957. So, it’s quite a story if I can. But back to your question, my oldest brother Manny, still living, he was the first one to come to the States in 1956. And my father, we had a lot of things there. We were like middle-class people. My father didn’t want to leave everything behind and come over here. Then if my brother didn’t like it, it was just one person to go back. So, I was saying, he came in 1957 by himself, because he was born in 1937. At the time the United States laws were that any children of American citizens born in foreign countries, they were American citizens. So, my brother came first, about six months later, which was already 1957, then my father and my sister came, because my sister could come alone too, because she was [born in] 1939 and the law was still there. It wasn’t, you know, six months, but it was pretty much three years or a little more. And then it was my mother, me and my two younger brothers. And that was the third wave with the family. 6 �G: How old were you? J: I was fifteen years old. G: Fifteen years old, okay. And you flew into Logan. J: I flew into Logan. G: Did somebody meet you there at the airport? J: My brother was there with my father, and my sister. And in those days, you know, the cars were big. My brother already had a car. G: Did he? He had a car. J: He had a car. G: What kind of car was it? Do you remember? J: That I don’t. I know it was the big boat in the olden days. And he picked us up, and then we came to Lowell. They already had an apartment. G: Where was the apartment? J: On Lawrence Street, next door to the old Colburn School. G: Oh, right by the Colburn. J: Right next door, and there used to be a grocery store on the bottom. It was a big block. It extended from Lawrence Street to, that’s the Concord River, right. I think Concord River. We used to live there way back. G: Is that apartment building still there? J: No, it was torn down. The other one [across the street], I believe it’s still there. But that was torn down, and I think it’s just an empty spot there now. G: I think you’re right. I think so. So, you came from São Miguel, fifteen years old. You arrive in Lowell. What were your initial impressions of Lowell? J: I loved Lowell, and it was big. Even though São Miguel, it’s a pretty big Island, and we have some big buildings there too. And the excitement of, I liked America right away. In Lowell, you know, [there are] wider streets. Everything is bigger than [in] São Miguel. Especially, São Miguel has the reputation of very narrow streets, even the big city. Even today because, you know, the old buildings. If you don’t get on the sidewalk, even the sidewalk you may get hit. So, getting over here, it was great, because I wanted to come to the States. G: So, did you have any initial impressions of Back Central, the Portuguese neighborhood? J: Yah, I remember those days. You know, I’ve been thinking about that, and it was a much better neighborhood than it is today. 7 �G: It was back then? J: Back then because there were a lot of Portuguese immigrants there. As we worked, we got a few dollars, then we bought a house, we bought a two-family home. The neighborhoods, as you know. G: Where was the two-family that you bought? J: No, no. People, you know, the immigrants after, they bought houses all around Saint Anthony’s Church, Back Central, the neighborhood. And everybody had flowers on their front lawns. And they had grapevines, to make their wine. And it was nice. It was nice there. G: So where did you live then with your family when you first arrived? J: On Lawrence Street. G: So, were you there for quite a few years, on Lawrence Street, or did you move? J: We lived there not too long. And I remember the old stove. Kerosene? Something like that. No gas. There was no gas in those days. And then we moved across the street, pretty much across the street to a two-family home. My parents knew, you know, the man that bought this here, through work, and all that, they became friends. And the apartment was a better apartment. So, we moved there. G: On Lawrence Street still? J: On Lawrence Street. That one I know, still know the address. 114 Lawrence Street. When I first went to Colburn, I didn’t have to cross the street. But then, like I said, we stayed. By the time we moved there I was out of school. There’s a story about that too. G: Did you speak any English when you first arrived? J: Well, I knew how to say “watch” through my brother from here. No, I didn’t speak English. G: But your brother had learned some English by then. J: Yah, my brother could speak English perfectly. G: No kidding. J: Yah. He went to high school to the seventh year. It was different. The system right now is the same as the American. On the olden days it was different. I did take French. When I came here, if I had gone to Quebec, Canada, it would have been fine. G: So, you spoke some French? J: I spoke some French. Today, bonjour, monsieur, that’s about it. G: So, again, both of you were students when you first arrived in school. J: Yes, there’s a story about that if I can mention it. G: Please, yes. 8 �J: Like I said, I went to Colburn School; I think in May, pretty much the beginning. So, I went to school a week later, until June sometime. G: So, 1958. J: In 1958. And my birthday is on September 4. Like the olden days until recently, nobody would go back to school until after Labor Day. So, I turned sixteen on September 4, but I know when I went back to school, I was sixteen years old. But my English was still not very good. And in grammar school you could only go as far as fifteen years old. So, when I went back to school, still through an interpreter, you know, Portuguese kid, his first name was Bernie, I guess Bernard Bettencourt. I won’t forget. Haven’t seen him. And he was my interpreter. So, Principal, Mr. Markham, went to him to say that I couldn’t stay there. You see, I went to school that morning and my parents, my brothers, and sister, they went to work, and the younger siblings went to school. So, my parents knew I went to school. But the first day I was told because I didn’t speak enough English, I couldn’t stay there. So, he sent me to back to the Colburn School. G: Why did they send you back to the Colburn? J: I think Colburn was the seventh grade, and then Butler School [on Gorham Street] was the eighth grade. And I didn’t know enough English to be there with the older kids more advanced. G: Let me ask you one thing though. You said both of you had interpreters. J: Yes. G: How were you assigned an interpreter? Who assigned you one? J: It wasn’t assigned. It just happened to be kids that spoke Portuguese and English. M: The teachers knew that they were Portuguese. J: We didn’t have, in those days we didn’t have what do you call it? They had it for years. They had some people in school. There was a name for that. I think we don’t hear about that anymore. G: Those who could help out with languages? J: Right. There was a big controversy about that, because I never believed in that either. G: So, were there any Portuguese teachers that you knew of at the Colburn? J: No. In those days there were none, the Portuguese teachers came later and we have some today. They came much later. M: No, no Portuguese. No bilingual. J: Bilingual. Bilingual. G: Bilingual instruction. J: Instructors. We had that officially in some schools, but I don’t hear about that anymore. 9 �G: But it’s interesting that you found your own interpreters basically. J: Well, the kids were there, and the teacher knew, the principal did know that they could speak both Portuguese and English. G: I see. J: And there was this young man, you know, probably a couple of years younger than I was. G: So, getting back to when you were sent then from the Colburn to the Butler, what was that like? J: No, I had been at the Colburn May and June. So that first day there, it didn’t take long there, because whoever the person, like I said, I don’t remember, spoke with Bernie and with me. I have no idea what was said, because my English was still very (--) M: Poor. G: But when you were sent, from the first day when school started at the Colburn, you were sent to the Butler. J: That same day. G: That same day. First of all, did you have to walk from the Colburn to the Butler? J: Yes, we did. G: That’s quite a walk. J: It’s still, but we were young, fifteen and sixteen years old. G: So, what do you remember about that? J: And then I was sent back to Colburn. G: You’re kidding. The principal sent you back? J: It must have been the principal that we spoke with. That I don’t remember. So, when we went back to Colburn School, you know, Bernie told the Principal, Mr. Markham. And then he said, because I was sixteen years old, I couldn’t go to that school; that I would have to go to work. And then he said you have to go to night school to learn English. So, as I said earlier, my parents, my older siblings, they all went to work and the other three, including me went to school. So that same day, you know, and jobs then, shoes, it doesn’t matter, Lowell was a magnet for jobs. The same day, because I already had friends that I made in the Portuguese American Civic League Club on Central Street, I knew some of them. So I went to Grace Shoe, because some of them worked there. I knocked at the door. I spoke with them. I went to work that day. G: Wow, right away. J: Right away. Went to school in the morning. A couple hours later I was working there. So, when my parents came home from work, that I’m not sure whether they come home first, or I 10 �was home first, but when they found out that I went to work, I told them the whole story. My parents, especially my father, was devastated because he really wanted us to have an education. Because when we went to high school there. G: In São Miguel. J: In São Miguel, it was paid then. If you were not middle class, or higher, you go four years to school and then you go work the fields, and go do some fishing, make a living from there. So, we were fortunate. We, like I said, we’re not rich, you know. So, like I said, my parents, especially my father. My mother was, but my father he was with the state [government], can you do this? Can you do that? I said, “Dad, I have to.” I couldn’t go to school, but I will go to night school, which I did. And there is a story to that too. G: Let me come back to that, because when I talked to (--) J: Yes, I don’t want to go. G: No, this is fine, but I don’t want to rigidly hold to this, but I do want to cover a little about that later. So, just shifting gears a little bit to family history, your family background. Maria, let me ask you again. You were born on the Island of? M: Faial. Flamengos was the village. Flamengos. G: How do you spell that? M: F L A M E N G O S, Flamengos Village. G: Thank you. Describe what was the village like? M: It was beautiful. It was like a valley, you know, it was very pretty. I liked it. I liked it a lot. G: Were there many people living in that village? M: Yah, I would say. I don’t know how many, but you know, fairly amount of people. G: Did you know most of the people in the village? M: Yes because it was a small village. We knew most of them, most of the people. G: Was there a church in that village? M: Oh yes. Yes, there was a church not far from us, where we lived. We’d go by foot because we didn’t have a car. Those days, no cars. So, we used to go to the church Sundays. And as young as I was, twelve years old, the teachers, the CCD teachers, they asked me to teach the preschoolers, you know, teach them by a catechism book. You know, ask questions and answers. You know, tell them. So, I remember that vividly, you know, teaching them. It was a big deal for me. I was a teacher, and I was young too, you know, but teaching the little ones, I liked it a lot. G: What was your house like? How would you describe your house? 11 �M: It was not big. You know, four rooms. Like a ranch. Let’s put it that way. Yah, four rooms, a kitchen. The bedroom, there was four of us, you know, four children. So, the girls, me and my sister would sleep in one bed, and my brothers, my two brothers on the other bed in the same room, but there was a petition there. And then there was a living room, no. Yah, a living room for visits. And then my parents had big, one bedroom. It was four rooms. G: And the kitchen. M: And the kitchen. It was four rooms all together. G: Okay. What was the house constructed with? Was it wood, or was it? M: No, it was stone. G: Stone, yes. M: Made out of stone. G: Was it a farm that you lived on? M: Not really a farm, no. My father had a farm, but you had to go out of the house to go to the farm. G: Okay. So, the farm was some distance from the house. M: Yes, not right there. G: And what was the street like where you lived? Were there houses very close to you? M: Where we lived wasn’t too many houses. You know, it was more in the outskirts, you know, the village. But, you know, there were houses there. We all got along well, you know, the neighbors and I had friends that got along good. G: What do you remember about your schooling in the village? M: I liked it. You know, the teachers were nice, especially one, she was very nice. But one was very strict. You know she was, I could say mean, because there was a girl. She was kind of, she had like a little problem learning. And the teacher wanted her to learn no matter what. And she had like, a whip, and she would hit her if she didn’t understand. She would hit her in the head. I remember that vividly. I didn’t like that. The poor thing, she couldn’t, you know, like now they have school for special needs, and she was a special needs child. The teacher didn’t understand. Well, she might have understood, but she wanted her to learn no matter what. I didn’t like that. G: Yes. So how old were you when you started school? M: Good question. G: Like five or six years old? M: No, I think I was seven. 12 �G: Seven, okay. M: Yah, I think it was the age, you know, that we start. Yah, seven. G: As Joseph was saying, was the school, it was essentially elementary school, correct, and then schooling beyond that you had to pay for? Is that correct? M: Yes, so I just have up to the fourth grade. It was the grammar school, but we learned a lot. On those four years we learned a lot. It wasn’t like you know, you had to learn the whole thing. G: I see. So, you learned obviously to read, to write, and a little bit of arithmetic. M: Oh yes, problems, you know, arithmetic, yes. G: Did you have a little bit of history as well? M: Yes, we had a book on history too. We had to learn the whole book. All the Kings, and how Portugal was discovered. G: The Kings of Portugal. M: Yes. G: Well, let me ask you about the Capelinhos volcano. What do you remember about the eruptions? How old were you when they started? M: I was, let’s say, twelve? Maybe twelve years old. And it started, you know, the earthquakes. And they started strong. And we were petrified. I remember that I was petrified. And I was crying, telling my mother that we are going to die, because we could hear and feel the roar. You know, it was like monsters underneath the ground. You know, like a roar. And I was petrified. And then we went to my grandparents’ house because my grandmother was sick, very sick. G: How far away was that house? M: No too far. Walking distance. So, we went there so she wouldn’t be alone because everybody was out in the streets, because they were afraid that the houses were coming down. G: Yes. Could you feel the ground shaking? M: Oh yes, and the ground and the roar. It was like a monster sound. So, I was petrified. So, we would take turns to be with my grandmother. Then go outside and then come in. Scream again. The next day we found out that the volcano had erupted. It was in the ocean. And good thing, because as big as the volcano was, the scientist said that had that volcano had erupted on the Island, on the land, we would have gone, be all perished. So, a good thing it erupted in the ocean. But the village near where the volcano erupted was all destroyed. They evacuated the people. G: Was your house damaged at all? 13 �M: There were a few cracks and stuff, but not a lot like some other ones near the place where the volcano erupted. G: I meant to ask you your family’s name. Your maiden name? M: My maiden name was Rosa. G: Rosa, yes. And with the volcanic eruptions there was a special legislation passed in the United States, the Azorean Refugee Act. And were you able to take advantage of that to come to the U.S.? M: Yes, that’s how we came. G: If you recall how did that work as far as, did you have to sign up to do this? M: Yah, I think we did. Yes, and the friend of my father’s, you know, they worked side by side on the farm, he already had come into the United States, and we heard about this law. G: Did you hear about that by a letter that he wrote back to you? M: I don’t know if it was a letter, but we knew if we had somebody that could sponsor us, we could come to the United States, but the person that would sponsor us had to be in the United States for five years, at least five years, had to have $5,000 in the bank at least, and sponsor us for the five years. But you know, my father’s friend that already had came, because family, his family was already here in the United States, because I guess his sister, my father’s friend’s sister was already here. I think she was born here. G: In Lowell? M: In Lowell. G: I see. Do you remember that name? M: Her name? G: Yes. M: I know the husband’s name. G: Oh, then what’s the husband’s name? M: Oh my god. G: That’s okay. If it comes to you that’s fine. M: Moldeia is the last name, but his first name is José Moldeia. José. G: José. M: She was, oh my god, I forget her name. Ricky’s mother’s name. I forget her name now. J: Right, they had the same name. 14 �G: When you came to Lowell, I meant to ask you, were there others from Faial who came as a result of the volcano? M: Yes, there were others too. G: And you met them? M: Yes. There were others that came too. Not too many. G: Did you actually know them in Faial, or did you meet them for the first time here? M: Who else that came? I forget now. G: That’s okay. Were there others from your village though, that came to Lowell? M: Later on in years they came, you know, to us. G: Some years later, yes. M: Yah, but I think we were the only ones at that time from the village that came, that I recall. G: Okay, very good. Joseph, let me turn to you. I’m going to ask you similar questions. Again, what was the village where you were born? J: Ponta Garça. G: And how far is that from Ponta Delgada? J: We used to say in Portuguese, “sete leguas.” To put that in kilometers, a legua is five kilometers; it was a good ride. G: Yes, it wasn’t within walking distance though, was it? J: No. Some people would do that in like a pilgrimage that they still do today. There’s a huge feast honoring Jesus Christ, and they go on pilgrimage, and it takes them hours to get there. G: And they walk. J: And they walk. Like they go to Santiago de Compostela, and all that. M: In those days they walked. It’s a lot of walking. J: On the olden days, you know, a bus to get there from Ponta Garça. Of course, there was a few stops would take more than an hour. But even the taxi, or something like that, close to an hour. But today they have opened some more highways thru the mountains, you know, technology today, it takes about twenty, twenty-five minutes. That’s their breakthrough. G: And what was the village like where you grew up? J: Quiet. It’s a long village. I think it’s about maybe three, four kilometers long. And when I was there, they had a couple of side streets we called canales. Quite a few houses there, but there was just one main street. And from the beginning until the end, it is a long walk. And it 15 �was nice. It was quiet. You know, people were friendly. We lived near the church, and just a quiet life. G: What was the name of the church? J: Senhora do Piedade, Our Lady of Sorrows. G: That’s beautiful. Did you know many of the people in the village? Did you know quite a few? J: The neighborhood, yes, but the whole village, no. So many people. There was about seven thousand people then. G: Seven thousand. So, that’s a pretty big town. J: Today it’s down to five, or something like that. The immigration brought a lot of us here. G: What was the major occupation of people who lived in Ponta Garça? J: There was some desk jobs. You talking about Ponta Garça only? G: Yes, Ponta Garça. J: Ponta Garça. There were a few there, but most of the people worked on the farms, or fishing. That was the two main ones there. But there were people like, you know, they had stores, or something like that. But actually, my father had a desk job there too. I think we had there sometimes. G: Did he work for the government? J: It is government. It was government as far as I know. G: So, what did he do? J: Well, he was like a secretary for that, I’m trying to convey. They used to help the people, the poor people who were there. Like the nurse would go there a couple of times. G: Yes, like social service. J: Thank you, exactly. Social service. G: I see. Interesting. J: And my father was, we call escriba. It’s a secretary. He did all the paperwork, you know, for that. G: Would you describe the village as mostly of peasants, farm people? J: It’s mostly peasants. There were some rich people there too. They owned a lot of land. They have money, but the majority I think I could say, they were, there were different ways with some people them days that they’re struggling to eat a piece of bread. G: Is that right. 16 �J: And others, like I was fortunate I never went through that. We never went through that. And there were some rich people, families. Not that many, because it was a rural town and all that. G: There were a few rich people, a small middle class, and then a large. J: A large, you know, poor people. G: Poorer people, yes. J: They work and all that, but I remember some of them really struggling to live, and of course their pay rate was lousy on those day. A lot of the people struggled. G: Was there any manufacturing, or any production of any goods there? J: In Ponta Garça, no. I think today, I’m not sure. Even today I don’t think. They have some, but it’s other parts of the Island even today, but they have a bunch, you know, that took them a while. Grocery stores, cafes. You know, you go there, and they have a lot of things to socialize and all that. G: What are your favorite memories of Ponta Garça? J: I was growing up with kids. You know, I had some friends there in the neighborhood, which was born together. Actually, I had quite a few friends, but there were two of them actually, yesterday with some friends here in Lowell we were reminiscing the things there. Because I was born on September the 4th. John Francis was born I think a week before me. And José Eugênio Quintal was born a week after me. And we, like I said, we played with the other kids, everybody, the three of us you know. G: What year was that by the way? What year were you born? J: I was born in 1942. I almost gagged on that. [Laughs] G: You went to school in Ponta Garça? J: I went to school, yah, in Ponta Garça. I don’t know if it was, must have been between six and seven, and I went to the four years of elementary school. But because, like I said earlier, my parents, you know, middle class, I did go to high school. I had to go to Ponta Delgada. G: Oh, you did, for high school? J: I did for high school. G: I see. How did you, did you take a bus there? J: No, I dormed there. G: Oh, you did? J: I lived there, but I was only there the first semester, because I did so bad in high school. It was a big thing from elementary school to high school. I went from a pretty good student to a 17 �dumb, dumb. And then I came to Vila Franca do Campo, which is a town close to Ponta Garça, and they had a smaller high school there, but it was the same thing. Actually, we call it Colégio in the Vila Franca, you know, college. But it’s not college. It means something else. And then you know, I was there. And like I said earlier, it’s okay. I don’t mind if I say that, because it’s, I’m talking bad about myself. I flunked the first year, and then I repeat it, and I was on my second year. And then I was doing good the second year. And I knew I was going to pass. I had to go, you know, if I pass and all that. But then we came here in May. So, I didn’t complete. But on those three and a half years, that’s when I learned French. It was mandatory to learn French. G: French? J: French. If I may say, I don’t know if you want this on record, on those days, if you go to high school, the first three years, no, the first two years you had to take French. From the third year to the fifth year, you had to continue French and learn English. G: Oh really, you learned English. J: It was mandatory. Everything was mandatory. And then from the fifth to the seventh years, which is the end then you go to the university, you had to keep the French, you had to keep the English. Then you had a choice, either take German or Latin. That’s the old days, but of course I didn’t get there. I didn’t even get to English because I was repeating my second year. G: Of course, yes. Did you have a favorite subject though in school? J: I was good in Geography. I was better in French than Portuguese believe it or not. G: So, you could both speak and write French? J: Pretty much. Not really that well, but I could. But Geography, I knew the whole map. You know, it’s a small country, but we had to learn even the railroad tracks through the country, and the stations. We had to learn that. We had to learn all the capitals, especially Europe, but in those days, I knew all the capitals of the world. Of course, in those days there were not too many nations like today. There were less nations. And I was good, and I liked it. History, I was pretty good too. I didn’t care too much, but I did learn somethings. Today I love history. G: When you were both young, growing up in the Azores, did you feel much of an attachment to Portugal, the Mainland? It’s government, it’s people? J: Yah, we were Portuguese. Over here we are Azoreans. And I know some people going back many years, you know, some high people, they say, “I’m Azorean first, and then I’m Portuguese.” But they were all Portuguese from the Azores. M: The Azores belong to Portugal. J: Well, there was Portuguese immigrants. M: All Portuguese. J: Now, I didn’t feel that in São Miguel, Ponta Garça. 18 �G: Yes, but you knew some people that did feel that difference. J: Yah, some people even today they’re Azoreans. M: Yah, they don’t want to be called from the mainland, you know, even though it all belonged to the same. J: Yah, I’m Azorean too, but I mean it’s not an independent country, even with the autonomy that’s been there for so many years. It’s still Portugal. It’s still a piece of Portugal. But some people like that, “I’m Azorean.” So, am I, but why brag it? G: It’s an interesting perspective. J: Yes, it is. G: Yes, very good. All right. Let me shift gears completely back to the U.S., to Lowell. And let me ask, where did you two meet? M: Through my brother, because he was very good friends with my brother. And he used to come to our house. J: I used to go to your house to paint with you. And then Jerry, sometimes they go to my house. M: That’s my brother. J: To eat with me and my parents. G: What’s your brother’s name? M: Jerry. J: Ludgero. G: Ludgero. M: Ludgero. But you know, when he came to the United States, he changed it to Gerry. It’s Gerry now. It’s easier than Ludgero. J: Okay, I will not interrupt. G: What year did you meet? J: 1960. G: Were you at Grace Shoe at that time? J: Yes, I was at Grace Shoe at that time. And Jerry, he worked at Grace Shoe too, or somewhere else? Or you came two years after I did. M: Yes. G: Maria, were you working at Grace Shoe as well? 19 �M: No, I worked at the Hathaway Shirts. After school, after I was done in school, because I couldn’t continue anymore, unless I wanted to, you know, to go to high school, but I wanted to go to work to make money. Yah, so I went to Hathaway Shirts. G: Hathaway, and you were sixteen at that time? M: Yes, I was almost seventeen when I went to work. So, I applied for that. Hathaway Shirts we used to make. They’re still famous. So, I worked there. G: I’m sorry, what year did you two meet? Do you remember? J: That I don’t remember. Like I said, we knew each other. G: It was in the 1960s though? J: It was in the ‘60s, because you came here in the 60s. M: ‘60s, yah, because I came in 60. So, it had to be. We got married in 1966. J: But I think I knew Jerry, because I was going to the Portuguese American Civic League Club, and then Jerry went there too. And I think it was there that we met. So, it could have been 61, because when you came here in 60, I think a few months later Gerry started to go to the club. He started to work. And then he chummed with other people. M: And then you used to come over to our house. And that’s how we met. J: I think Jerry and I, it could have been at the club, or at work. I don’t remember, but then I started going to her house. Yes, so we became best friends. G: Let me ask you, apart from the church, apart from Saint Anthony’s, was the Portuguese American Civic League the most important organization for you in Lowell? J: Most important? It was a place to go there, and chum with the young guys, you know, young kids, because I say that to many people. I grew up with a lot of kids my age and older from Graciosa, because in those day, and even today, no, today it’s not so much, but Graciosa I think was the number one, you know, people over here from there and Madeira, Madeiran people. Actually, São Miguel, when I came over here in 1958, was an older couple that my parents new them from Ponta Garça. And we were the second family when all of us came over here. G: What was the name of that family? Do you remember? J: I don’t remember the family. G: And what sort of things did you do at the Portuguese American Civic League? J: Play cards and have a beer behind the door. Just go there. M: Play pool probably? J: No, we didn’t have pool tables then. It was a Civic League, but by the time I came, then we understand before I came, they did have all the activities there, but it died down. But when I came, they still had the boxing gloves there. 20 �G: Did you know Arthur Ramalho? Ramalho’s Gym? J: I knew him by sight, but never really met much. G: Yes, he was big into boxing. M: Oh yes. J: I knew him a lot from the Lowell Sun. G: Okay. Let me ask you about Saint Anthony’s Church. You both started to go there not long after you arrived in Lowell, right? J: The Sunday after. M: We went to church right away you know as soon as we got here. J: Every Sunday. We didn’t miss church. M: Walking distance from where we lived, with me, you know, Whipple Street. G: You were just on Lawrence Street. J: Yah, we walked there. G: And you remember Father John Silva. J: He married us. M: He married us. G: Do you remember? What were your impression? When you first went to Saint Anthony’s what were your impressions of Father John? J: I don’t know. It’s a priest. We respected the priests there very much, and we just respect them. M: We didn’t think he was mean or anything. You know, he was our priest. J: Yah, he was our priest. M: We liked him. J: As I can remember, yah. G: I understand, I’ve heard from others, that he was very aware of the time, and it was very (--) M: Kind of strict. J: He was strict. He was strict in things, and sometimes you know, as a human being he exploded for no reason, though he shouldn’t, but then within minutes everything was fine again with him. He’d forget whatever he did. Yes, he did make some mistakes. I still make so many today. G: Well, we all do, right. 21 �M: We had that respect for the priest, you know. We didn’t, weren’t upset, or anything. It’s the priest, we respected them. You had to obey and that’s it. J: Both of the priests there, very, very much respected. We accept them. G: And he was followed by Eusebio. M: Eusebio, that was his cousin. G: Eusebio, thank you. J: They’re cousins. G: They’re cousins, and you got to know Eusebio. M: Oh yes, very well. J: Yes. Well, we became friends. But when we get to the Holy Ghost I’ll get there. G: Okay, we can hold off then. So, you got married in 1966. Were you still at Grace Shoe at that point? J: No, at that time, when Eddie was born in 69, I was at Simon Shoe. G: Oh, so you went to a different company? J: I worked in different shoe shops in Lowell. And one time, you know, I’d work on one for a couple of hours, and I went to the other one because I didn’t like it. Those days we did that. I remember working Scotty Shoe. I quit I think, I forget the one. Went to Scotty Shoe, worked there two hours. You know, it was sneakers we made there. And the smell, the rubber in the heat, it had to be in the summertime. I worked two days. I quit. From there the one by, your parents lived on the street. M: Not Nesmith Street, no. J: I worked in different shoe shops in Lowell. G: What was your job? What did you do at the different shoe shops? J: I did different jobs. I worked pretty much what we called then the Lasting Room. You know, the uppers come from the ladies’ department, and we put them on a form. And I did do different operations there through the years. G: In the Lasting Department. J: In the Lasting Department. And then pretty much in the end, when the shoe companies were getting, I was a foreman at Simon Shoe. G: Oh, you were a foreman at Simon Shoe? Did you by chance know Dimas Espinola then, because he was working also in the shoe factory for a number of years? J: I believe he did work in shoe factories. 22 �G: He was a foreman too. J: See, if I knew that, I don’t remember now. I know Grace Shoe was my first job. G: So, you wound up as foreman at Simon? Where was their factory by the way? J: On Market Street. It is the LTC [Lowell Telecommunications] on the bottom there for the worker. G: Yah, the Market Mills. J: The Market Mills, third floor? There was some other manufacturing there. G: Were there many other Portuguese working at Simon? J: Oh yah, there were quite a few Portuguese. A lot of Portuguese worked in shoe shops, different ones. And the ladies making dresses. Well, you made shirts. M: Shirts. J: But there was a lot of people in those days, you know, we all worked in shoe shops. G: What did you do at Hathaway? M: I was a stitcher. You know, the men’s shirt, you know, inside, I used to do the (--) There was the first filling. J: Seam. M: Seam, and then a second, I was doing the second. My sister used to close the sides, and I went over the second, you know, stitching. G: Were they almost all female working there? M: Mostly, yah. There were male, men there too. G: Some male stitchers too? M: Not stitchers. Mostly it was women, but they [men] were supervisors, or group leaders. G: The men were supervisors. M: Supervisors, group leaders, you know. And what do you call it? You know, carrying the shirts from one place to another. G: Were you paid by the piece rate? M: Piece work. It was piece work. The more I make, the more I made. G: Do you remember what your pay was roughly? M: I don’t know. A dollar, a dollar something an hour. G: A dollar something an hour roughly? 23 �M: Yah, I think so. G: And how many hours a day did you work? M: Eight hours, but a lot of times overtime. You know, we’d work overtime. G: Was it five days a week, Monday through Friday? M: Oh yes, the whole week. G: Joseph, what about you at the shoe company? Was it five days a week? J: It was five days a week, and I started at a dollar an hour. And I worked for that pay for either two, or something years, because if you don’t know how to speak well, or have somebody to, they wouldn’t give any, you know, up the rates. And then finally, I think I spoke up. By the time I could speak some English, but it takes a while for you to converse with people, talk with them like we are doing today. G: I do want to ask both of you about learning English but let me just finish up about for your work. Were they nonunion shops where you worked? J: Yes. They were all nonunion. M: No, I had a union. J: I had no union. G: International Ladies Garment Workers Union? M: Yah, Hathaway Shirts, and then later on Raytheon with the union. J: But the shoe shops we had no union. G: No union at all. Do you remember any attempts to organize the workers? J: Not the shoe shops. And later on, when I left the shoe business, I went to work at BASF. I worked there for twenty-two and a half years. And we tried. We, because I was involved, and we were not successful. G: Was there a vote to unionize? J: Yes, we had a couple of votes, and then it died down. But we couldn’t complain, because Raytheon had a couple of things that were a little better than us. The pay scale at Raytheon was better than BASF, but the benefits, we had the same and some were better than theirs. G: Where was the BASF Plant that you worked at? J: At Bedford. G: In Bedford. J: Bedford, Massachusetts. G: Were their quite a few Portuguese again, where you worked at Hathaway? 24 �M: Oh yes, there was a lot of Portuguese women there. G: Let me ask you again about learning English. And I think about how hard it is for me to try to learn Portuguese. M: It’s a hard language. G: So, you spoke no English when you came to the U.S. And how did you learn the language? M: I learned in school, the time that I went to school. G: At the Colburn? M: Yah, at the Colburn, yes. What I learned was there, whatever I learned. And then our neighbors from Whipple Street too. You know, the daughter of the Barbozas, you know, she had taught me a lot too. So, I learned from her, you know. G: Did you have a television set when you were little? M: Here? Yah, not when we first got here, but then we got black and white TV. G: Did that help you learn English too, watching TV? M: Yes, again, by watching TV, yah, we learned a little. But we learned with each other. G: More so with each other. M: Yes, with friends and stuff, that I hung around with, you know. G: How about you, Joseph? J: It was pretty much the same. Like I said, I did go to night school as I said. G: Yah, I wanted to ask you about your night school? Where was the school? J: Somewhere downtown Lowell. I don’t remember the building. G: Yah, somewhere in the downtown. M: Probably at Lowell High? No? J: No. G: I think there was an annex. J: Yah, it was an annex somewhere, but it’s on downtown. I don’t remember the address. G: What do you remember about your experience at night school? J: It’s a funny experience. I did go there. I didn’t know much. I could understand. I was starting to read, you know, I knew the alphabet. So, the first year in my school I did learn something. So, when I went in the second year, I was there for a couple of months, and I was doing well. You know, not like now we’re talking, but well enough that I never forgot that. There was an older Portuguese lady that went to night school a couple of months after night 25 �school started, and the teacher asked me to teach her the alphabet. I did that maybe three, or four nights. And then I said, “I come here to learn and I’m teaching?” So, I quit. And then at work, you know, some talk and this and that. And since we came here, and my father, we always had the Lowell Sun in our house. And when we got married, we still have it. I’ll cancel it once I’m over there. But I think I learned something from there. And if I may add to it, you know, with my school, and since you asked me. It was a year or so before BASF closed down, and by that time we had a lot of Asian people there. That’s when the Asians really come in. And BASF had paid teachers for anybody who wanted to go, who had to learn English, or like in those days a lot of kids quit school. They didn’t have high school. And they give us the chance to learn. We had, twice a week, a two-hour class, from 2:00 to 4:00. And our work hours were from 7:00 to 3:00. So, they would pay us that one hour and the other one I was out. So, I was there for a few months. By the time then my English was pretty good. So, I’m proud to say I do have the ring from Lowell High School. GED. G: G E D. You got your GED. Was that through BASF? J: It was through, yes. Well, we learned there. I went there. Then I had to go to high school. I applied to go there, and I went for the test there. G: What year did you get our GED? J: I think it was ‘90 or ‘92. I have the ring there somewhere. I do have a high school ring. G: Congratulations! That’s very good. J: Thank you. I am proud of that. G: Let me ask you both an unusual question. Do you dream in English or Portuguese? J: That is a good question. I think it’s mostly in English. G: Is it really? J: I think it is. M: Yah, me too. J: We speak Portuguese all the time. We have friends. G: To each other. J: To each other. M: To each other. All the time it’s Portuguese. J: When the kids are together it’s mostly English. And we have some friends that we go back and forth, English and Portuguese. G: But when you are together do you typically speak Portuguese exclusively? Or is it a mix? The two of you. J: Oh, the two of us, it’s Portuguese. 26 �M: When we speak, always Portuguese. G: Always in Portuguese. J: Sometimes we may put an English word there, which is pretty much common in Portugal today. The English has infiltrated Portugal culture, but that’s good. I got to pay attention to that. M: Pay attention in your next dream. G: In your next dream. Okay. J: That’s a great question. G: Let me ask you some questions about the changes to Back Central. And then we’ll talk about the Holy Ghost. We’ll wrap things up. But you said early years in Back Central it really was quite different. M: Yes. G: How do you think it’s changed over time? And please be candid. You don’t need to (--) J: Well, like I said, I am a proud Portuguese American. Portuguese by birth, and American by love. I’m proud to say that. And our neighborhood, you know, Back Central, it was nice and clean like I said earlier. The streets nice and clean. The house was a nice paint, and then flowers everywhere. But as the years went by, some got older, and they died. And now they’re the younger ones, like our kids, they moved out. G: Yes, your kids moved away? J: They moved away. M: One is in New Hampshire. The other one is in Salem, Massachusetts. J: And it happened to many families. So, when you move out, somebody moves in. And then we had other ethnic groups that came in. And unfortunately, it’s not all of them, no, no, because I am foreigner myself, but some of them have made a mess of Back Central Street. M: But it’s still not too bad. It’s still a good neighborhood. J: There’s still quite a few Portuguese there, older people, they live there. They’re not going to move out, but it is not the same. Even our parish is not the same. It’s too dirty and the whole thing. G: I was going to ask you about that too. But as far as the neighborhood goes, I do think people still generally consider Back Central as the Portuguese neighborhood in Lowell. J: Right, it is still considered that. There’s still a lot of us living there. G: But clearly it has changed over the years. Is there any particular time period that you can think of when you saw changes occurring more rapidly? 27 �J: That I cannot pin down. G: So, do you think it was a gradual kind of change? J: I think it was gradual. M: Yah, I think it was gradual, more gradual. J: Because as some of us move out. M: Because people moved out and others came in. J: And like I said, and I want this to be clear, it’s not everyone. G: Of course. J: Because I don’t want to say anything against. Even today, if I say too much everybody is going to know there’s an ethnic group that will trash everybody, treated them like trash. And I work with quite a few of them at BASF. Great workers. Clean people. So, it’s good and bad. Even the Portuguese had bad apples. G: Do you think, specifically the Portuguese American Civic League, has that changed over time, or is it still pretty much as you remember it? J: I think it has changed. M: For the better, I think. J: Well, you have to pay, and I don’t know. After we got married, I haven’t gone back. You know, after a year. G: You were less involved with it after you got married. J: Yah. And then we got married. I never really went back. I stopped paying my dues. I haven’t paid my dues for whatever years. G: I meant to ask you. There was of course the Civic League, and then the Portuguese American Center. J: Correct. G: Did you go to the Center much? J: No, I was never a member there. I’d go there here and there, but never went. Later years, not like, we were there, I was there last Thursday as a group of friends and all that. M: Yes. I think both clubs are doing well. G: May I ask you, what do you see as, what’s the difference if you will between the Civic League and the Portuguese American Center? J: The difference? Like today, I’m not sure, because I don’t see them. Like I said, I don’t go there much, but there’s no difference. 28 �G: There’s no difference. J: You go there to socialize with friends. Like the Center, every Friday night, they have dinners. They have entertainment. The Civic League, they have it there too. They have buffets like on Sunday. M: Which before they didn’t have it. J: I think I could be wrong on that. G: That’s okay. I just wondered what your impressions are. J: I could be wrong on that, but from what I see, like I say, from the outside, there was no difference. M: Before they never used to have functions there. Now they do. G: Which? At the Center or? M: Both, at both places, you know they’d have functions there, you know, weddings or whatever. J: If I may add to that, on those days there were not much functions. The only functions there used to be (--) M: No, now. I’m saying now. J: Now they have things there, they rent. Like Holy Ghost they rent some things for functions there. M: Yah, where before they didn’t. J: But you know, the bridal showers, and baby showers among the Portuguese people, they would go to the hall, church hall on Central Street. M: Yah, in those days, yes. J: On those days. G: Early in those days, yes. J: Early in those days. M: Yah, but now, not anymore. J: There wasn’t much, but the club was there just to go play cards and shoot the breeze. M: If you want to go for lunch there, you know, like today, I think every day they serve lunch. It’s like a restaurant. J: I think both clubs have lunches every day. M: You pick from the menu. 29 �J: It has changed a lot from that. On those days we didn’t have that. G: Right. Let me ask you about Saint Anthony’s Church. And how has that changed over the years? First of all, I want to ask you about Father Eusebio. So, what were your impressions of Father Eusebio? J: He was a good man. We were friends for a long time, but as Father John [Silva] and me, he’s human. So, he made a few mistakes that he was, he himself used to say that, and he was a great speaker, but a lousy administrator. G: Oh, I see. J: He used to say that himself. And that’s true, but never had any problems and all that, but you know, bookkeep and all that. And then over the years, actually the parishes are different than it used to be in Portugal even today, because they have the secretary for this, they got this and that. The maid. Everything is changed right now. G: Yes, all of that is gone. J: That’s all gone. M: They don’t have a maid. They don’t have a secretary now. J: I like Father Eusebio, and like I said, we’ll get more into that later on, but he was a good man. Human, like I said. I’ll leave it at that. G: And then I think it’s Father Ferreira then followed Father Eusebio. J: Yes. G: And what were your impressions of? J: He was a very good man too. He was very good. He did a lot to operate the church through the, you know. M: Renovate? G: Physical improvements? J: Improvement inside the church, because then the Concílio, what do you say that? M: The Counsel? J: No, no, I’m talking about Rome, you know, the church, the Pope. M: Vatican? J: Yah, Vatican Counsel? Back in the sixties they changed it. G: Oh, Vatican II. J: Vatican II. Thank you. 30 �G: Changing from Latin to (--) J: Yah, they change you know, the Sanctuary, everything was changed. It was supposed to be like it is now. And Father Ferreira was here, he was the Pastor, and with his knowledge and his things there, he did a great job. G: Was he a good administrator as well? J: He was a good administrator. As far as I know he was a good administrator. M: Yes, he was. He was a good man. J: But he did have others. G: He had help. J: He had help. Father John, and Father Eusebio, I’m trying to think. That’s going back a few years. I know Father John had a lady there, but to take care of him, the parish, the cook, you know. M: The cook. J: And even when Eusebio came here, I think he was pretty much alone at the rectory to do. M: Who? Father Eusebio? J: Father Eusebio. I don’t think they had secretary like that came on later on. They always had, I hate to use the word, the maids. M: Housekeeper. G: Housekeeper, yes. J: Housekeeper, right. Thank you. I don’t like that name. And then they went on, but I think Father Eusebio, you know, and Father Ferreira, I’m trying to think back. Who did he have? G: Do you remember in the 1970s when Cardinal Madeiros was here in Lowell? J: Yes. G: Was that one of the big events at the church do you recall? J: It was a big event. It was big, and then we went to Holy Ghost Park. I don’t remember. I think I have pictures of that. I’m not sure. I think we had a big day, and of course, you know, went to church. Was it a feast day? One of the feasts? It wasn’t a regular feast. G: I think it was. I thought it was. J: It was Holy Ghost? Maybe it was Holy Ghost? I remember that, but like some of the things, they’re recent, and some things I forget. But I believe on that album there’s pictures of us up there. But I remember speaking with him, you know, and all that. G: Yes. And I believe Father Glynn was the first non-Portuguese pastor. 31 �J: Correct, yes. M: Yes. G: And did you see some changes with Father Glynn at St. Anthony’s? J: Yes, there were some changes there, of course, but he was bilingual. He spoke Portuguese pretty well. G: I understand that he learned Portuguese. M: Yes. J: I think he went to São Miguel, I’m not sure, for a couple of years to learn. G: I think you’re right. J: I think it was São Miguel that he went. M: São Miguel and not the mainland? J: Not the mainland. He went there and he did, I think before he came here, he was in Cambridge. But at the time there, and the things there, yah, I want to say something right and a friend of ours, he knows. G: Did Father Glynn give services in Portuguese or English, do you recall? J: Portuguese. G: Did he really? M: He’s the one that married Debbie and Steve, right? Our daughter, but it was in English. J: Yah, it was in English. G: Oh, he married your daughter? M: Yes, in Gloucester. J: In Gloucester. G: In Gloucester? M: Yes, she wanted to be by the ocean. G: At Our Lady of Good Voyage Church? M: Yes, she wanted to be by the ocean. G: Nice. J: We had to go there. Ask Father Glynn. G: And Father Glynn? J: Yah, he did the whole thing. 32 �G: Very nice. J: The thing that I remember, I’m trying to remember the changes as you asked. G: Yes. J: Of course, the Portuguese Community was changing pretty much with our off springs. Going like from all Portuguese into English, which had to be done. Even today it’s not as much English as it should be, because we are dying, and our kids, a lot of them speak Portuguese, but they’re not, they’re Americans. M: But they’re not involved. J: English is their first language. And to go back to Father Glynn, he tried to introduce things like in English. Like to bring the young in. And he had some resistance from people that we were friends, good Catholics, good Christians, but they don’t want to see English in a Portuguese Church. And it’s still hurting today. M: The church is Portuguese. It should stay Portuguese. J: Everything had to be Portuguese. He couldn’t bring English in there. You’re in America! G: But you didn’t feel that way? J: No. Me and other friends, sometimes we still talk about that. Because I mean our own two children, you know, they’re fifty-one, fifty, whatever, the do speak Portuguese. When they grow up, you know, for a few years, Portuguese was the only language here. They learned English from Sesame Street. We didn’t teach them any English. But then, the long story on that, then English come in once we’re all together, especially with our son-in-law Steve, he’s American. M: So, we speak English all the time. J: It’s always English that we speak. G: So, when you were raising your children, when they were very little, were you always speaking Portuguese? J: Always in our house. M: Portuguese, and my mother used to mind them, and my mother didn’t know English. So, she spoke Portuguese with them. G: Wow. J: The first we spoke English with them. G: With your children? J: Yah, with our children, here in this house, I worked with this man, we became friends; he was a group leader, supervisor at BASF. And we were talking, and he came over here to do a family 33 �room downstairs. It’s still there. It’s not the same like it was. I won’t take you there. It was nice. M: It’s a storage room now. J: But anyway, he used to come here like most of the weekends, sometimes after work. He did carpentry. He did everything. So, when it was pretty much done, you know, they have, I think they’re still living, we haven’t seen them in years, two children, a boy and girl the same age as ours. And at the time Harry and the little one, they were eight, ten years old, around at the young age. M: Yah, about that. J: So, we had to speak English, because our friends and the family. G: And that was the first time you spoke? J: That was the first time we spoke English with our children in this house. G: Wow, that’s interesting. J: And then it started, and then they would speak English and we’d speak Portuguese back, make sure. M: But they can understand it. They can speak. J: But they don’t want to. They don’t speak. They speak well. They speak okay. I’m not going to say well, because they don’t speak well. I know other offsprings from friends of ours, they speak Portuguese. Ours don’t that way. They, the truth is, they don’t speak Portuguese correctly like they did as young kids. G: Interesting. J: It’s the truth. M: But they understand. G: I meant to ask you. So, you got married in ‘66. J: Correct. G: Where did you live initially? J: On Whipple Street. G: On, Whipple Street. J: Back Central. M: Whipple Street, not far from where I used to live. G: Okay. And were you renting the place there? M: Yes. 34 �J: We rented the place. G: Was it a two-family, or a single family? J: It was a two-family. We rented the first floor. And there’s like a garage underneath. It’s there. The house is still there. And the owners lived on the second floor. G: Okay. And then where did you live after that, after Whipple Street? J: Here. M: Over here. G: And when did you buy this house? M: 1969. J: A year and a half after we got married. G: Wow, pretty quick. M: Oh yah, not ‘69. Yah, a year and a half after. J: There’s a story about that too. M: A year and a half, yes. G: What’s the story? J: Well, the story is, of course in those days we used to pay rent weekly. And every Saturday, you know, Joe sometimes go to work and get the money, knock at the door. And one of them, either the husband or the wife, mostly the husband would come down, give the receipt. Everything was fine. So, one week Joe forgot to pay the rent. So, we went to church. After church, you know, a man, his name was Sam, they had died years ago, he was at our door waiting for us to come back. He wanted the rent. We knew it wasn’t him, it was his wife, but hopefully they’re both in heaven. So, I didn’t like that, because we’re there a year and a half, we paid, you know. A year and a half we didn’t have much money. That same Sunday I look in the newspaper. We saw houses. We came here, we liked the house, and we bought it. G: Interesting. M: Seventeen dollars a week, right? J: I forget the rent. M: I think it was seventeen dollars a week. G: The rent was seventeen a week? J: But the house was $17,500. G: Was that for this house? J: For this house. 35 �G: Seventeen dollars a week then, that was not cheap. M: No. In those days, no. But it was a nice house. J: It was a beautiful house. M: Nice apartment. J: That I have no idea how much we paid. Maybe it wasn’t that much. M: I think it was seventeen. J: Okay, it doesn’t matter. G: Anyway. So, Joseph, let me ask you about the Holy Ghost Society. And you told me some of this when we met a few weeks ago, but how did you first get involved with the Holy Ghost Society? J: Well, Father Eusebio got me involved. G: Oh, okay. J: I was already a member and doing things at the church. Volunteering at the church. Actually, I did run and I was the chairman of that big Feast, Our Lady of Loreto. Like I said, I was involved with the church quite a bit, and I was at the clubs years earlier. But Holy Ghost in those days, and the By Laws, they had a nominating committee. And today, long story. We won’t go there. So, Father Eusebio, who was one members of the committee came to the house and invited me to be vice president of the board. G: To the house? J: To the house here. We used to do that. You go knock at the door, a phone call, or whatever, I don’t remember the exact, but he did come over here, and he would like me to be on the board as vice president. I said, “Father Eusebio, vice president?” I was involved with the clubs, and like I said, the church, but not an organization like Holy Ghost is. I said, “Father Eusebio, I haven’t been on the board, this and that, but I know if the president fails for any reason, it’s the vice president that takes hold.” “Oh Joe, Manny won’t do that. Manny is not going to do it.” Because Manny was there for a long time. G: This is Manny Correia. J: Manny Correia. So, I was elected vice president in July. G: What year was that? J: 1974. G: You were elected vice president. J: Vice president with the rest of the board, and Manny was president, because he was repeating now two years. 36 �G: It’s a two-year term, is that right? J: Two-year term. It’s still the same. So much. We’ll leave it alone. So, when we had our first general meeting in September, so Joe was vice president for three months. I was involved, like I said, in different things, but not like that. So, Manny and one of the board directors (--) [Interview interrupted by phone]. G: All right. So, you were at this meeting. J: We were at the general meeting. The first one of the new year, the new cycle. G: Of the new year, September J: It was September. Today it’s different. They changed the whole thing. So, this starts to where I go back and forth, as of today, like so many years later, I think it was about the money in the bank. But nobody was stealing. It was something, maybe a report was done wrong. And they were going at each other, at each other, at each other. And then all of a sudden, they were yelling at each other. Manny gets up so quick out of his chair. I’m next to him. He reaches in his pocket a bunch of keys. He slams them to the table. “I know what I have.” So, he ran out the door with his wife. I was, “Manny, please come back.” He never came back. So, the next day I knocked at his door. He lived nearby here in Tewksbury. G: Oh, did he? M: On Whipple Road. J: Not too far from here. Manny, please come back. He never came back. So, I became president. G: So, you became the president. J: Thanks to Father Eusebio. G: By the way, at that time he was just assisting Father John Silva, correct? J: I believe Father John was still here. G: But he talked you into becoming the vice president? J: I accepted, like I said, for that reason. G: So, really when Father John Silva was the pastor, well there was sometime when you were with Holy Ghost, that Father John Silva was. Was there a close relationship with the church? J: Yes, very close. Actually, I’ll say something nice about Father John. As earlier we said, he was a human like I am. At one time I heard that from not really officially, that Cardinal Cushing wanted to annex Holy Ghost with the church. G: What did that mean by annexing? J: He wanted to make, you know, Holy Ghost part of Saint Anthony’s. And the Holy Ghost is independent. It’s a Catholic organization. We always worked very close. That’s the thing 37 �today. That’s all gone too. I hate to say that, but in those days, yes. We were very close. And Father John Silva told the board in those days, it’s before me, I wasn’t there, they said, “Don’t do what Cardinal Cushing wants, because if you do that, you’re going to lose Holy Ghost forever.” G: Father John said this to the members? J: To the members, to the Board of Directors there. G: To the Board. J: To the Board, he said that because the world, nobody knew. He knew better. Because when the church puts the clause in, it’s mine. G: Very interesting that Father John essentially went against the Cardinal, and said, “Don’t’ do this.” Interesting. When you were president what were the major activities of the Holy Ghost? J: Yah, different things and actually they’ll do so much, pretty much every weekend. The main one, of course, like it is today, it’s to celebrate Pentecost, and to honor the Holy Spirit. And since Queen Elizabeth, you know, she’s a saint, and she fed the poor. What we do today, it’s different than what she did. We give to the poor, but it’s different. So, we are honoring the Holy Spirit and Queen Saint Elizabeth. That’s what we do. And then that was the major thing that we did. But, you know, the membership, of course, wasn’t enough, you know, to keep the place up. We had Bingo every Tuesday night. I went there for the whole, you know, you had to go there. I mean the directors; we were all involved there. That was one of the main things. We’d have like a function here, like a dance, you know, something to (--) M: Occasionally. J: Yah, occasionally. It wasn’t really that many times. And actually, the Holy Ghost Feast in those days, it was always on Sunday, but a lot of people would go up. Today everything is different. You eat and then go home. And then we have, you know, festival the rest of the day. And a lot of people come up, and the kitchen would be open. We’d make some money on that. You know, we’d have band. G: What were the other festivals was the Holy Ghost Society involved with? They might not have run them, but they were involved events. Like Our Lady of Loreto. J: Like Our Lady of Loreto, like we said earlier, it’s the church that does that. And the festivities and everything related is done at the church, but then we go up there to dance, and the music, and sing, and eat, and all that. But the proceeds are, that has changed too. But the proceeds go to the church, and the church always paid the fee to Holy Ghost. But on those days, because it was a really non-profit organization, and through the years, you know, the Holy Ghost will make donations to the church, you know, the money would go back and forth. G: And so, but what were some of the other Festas? M: Didn’t they do Saint Anthony’s Feast up there too? J: Well, but it’s all church. 38 �M: That’s what he’s asking. G: No, no, but I was wondering. So, Saint Anthony’s Feast, that would also be. M: For many years it used to be up there, Saint Anthony’s. And when I came here until a few years, we used to have Our Lady of Fatima Feast. G: I wondered about that. So that was also at (--) M: At the end of July. And I believe we used to go up there too on weekends. The main three feasts from the church. G: Saint Anthony’s and then Pentecost, The Holy Ghost Festa. J: No, Pentecost, it’s Holy Ghost. M: It was Holy Ghost. G: Holy Ghost. J: We go to church, but it’s Holy Ghost. G: Right. M: Saint Anthony’s and Our Lady of Loreto, and I don’t recall if (--) G: Our Lady of Fatima. M: Fatima. J: The three of them. Our Lady of Fatima, I don’t remember. It used to be a smaller feast, and I don’t recall much there. Then it didn’t last long. It was a few years, then it got so small that (-). M: I think it was just Our Lady of Loreto and Saint Anthony’s. J: Right. M: In those days. G: Okay. J: You want to find out how the Holy Ghost used to survive, right? That’s the question. What’s the biggest things? G: Well, the other thing I was going to ask you though, for example, with the Holy Ghost Festa. Were there a lot of similarities, how it was celebrated here in Lowell and the way it was celebrated back in the Azores? J: In my Ponta Garça, big difference. G: What was the big difference? 39 �J: Well, the big difference over here that make the big thing in a big community, and like back in Ponta Garça, the other village or towns, and the other islands, I have no idea how they celebrate. Actually, in my house, they used to celebrate and have like people that have the crown, and they go. The kids got crown and all that. And most of the people, then they go to their houses, and they invite their friends and all that. It’s not a public thing like they do over here. G: I see. Okay. J: I think today some of them are doing something similar to here. G: So, it was a more private kind of, yah. J: It was a more private celebration. G: But there was a procession though, right, at Ponta Garça? J: They would do a procession. They go in procession to the church, and then back to their home. G: So that was similar. J: That is similar to this way. It’s the dinner that could be, but the rest of the church services exactly the same thing. But those there, like the procession, you know, the people that had the crown, they invited their family and friends. M: More private, not public. J: And that’s it. Over here it’s public. All the processions are public. M: It’s mostly all the members. J: The church feast today, like is still today, in other church is public. So, when they have a procession, even another town that wants to go, they go. There’s no invitations there. But the Holy Ghost Feast, Pentecost, yes. G: So, this is a funny thing too. I just remember from talking to Dimas Espinola about this, but at some point, in Lowell, The Holy Ghost Society introduced the bull in part of the festival. Do you remember the bull? J: I remember the bull. G: Was it just one bull? J: There’s a lot of bull about that. [Laughs] G: Was there more than one bull, or was there just one bull? M: I think it was one. G: I thought it was just one, right? J: I think it was just one, and to be honest, I didn’t go that much for the bull fighting. 40 �G: Was there a bull fighting, or was it just? J: No, no, it was just run the bull there in the park there. G: But wasn’t the bull running down Central Street as part of the? M: I don’t think it was Central Street. J: No. Everything was at the park. G: Oh, the bull was at the park. J: The pull was at the park, and they had the rope. You know, they had an arena there. It’s something like they do in Terceira. M: Another tradition from back home, you know. G: Was it from Terceira that that bull would have been introduced? J: The tradition is from Terceira, and Dimas was born in Terceira. And I’m not sure. I don’t want to say things that are not true, but I believe he’s the one who brought that bull fighting, the bull run to Holy Ghost. M: Running of the bull. J: When he was president, I’m not sure of that. He’s the one who can answer that question. That I don’t remember. G: But it’s interesting that it was something that was from Terceira. J: It is from Terceira. G: That it’s imported, briefly, for a few years. M: It’s a tradition. J: Graciosa has some of that too. M: But mostly it’s Terceira. J: And they had (--) M: Running of the bull? J: Well, that’s another on the streets. M: Yah, running of the bull. J: But the arena. What do they call that? Yah, really bull fighting. Both islands have it, but Terceira is much bigger. M: Yah, it’s the bigger. J: But they’re the ones that is out on the streets with the long robe. They have the guys, you know, holding the bull and the whole thing. 41 �G: I wanted to conclude with just asking you your view today of the Holy Ghost Society, and even of the Portuguese in Lowell. So, what’s happening today with the Holy Ghost Society? Its membership is older? J: Is the what? G: Is the membership generally older now at the Society? J: Well, there’s a lot of us, you know, what we call vida membros, you know, life members. G: Life members, yes. J: Life members. There’s a lot of older people, and but it’s still, like we were talking to one of the ex-directors. I think they still have around four hundred paid members. And the life members, because I did become, the things that are up there, I did become a life member after I became president. But we always donate something. But it’s this, but today because, you know, the house is getting older and there’s a big project coming up, they have things going on almost every weekend because they need that to raise the money. Those directors, they work hard. They work hard almost every weekend. And sometimes they have Friday, Saturday, and Sundays. All the people. People that rent every month, they go there. G: This might not be an easy question to answer, but what do you think is the future of the Holy Ghost Society? J: I hate to put it this way, but I’m going to. If they don’t straighten up as of today what’s going on up there, it will not last long. I hate to say it, but I want this to be, because things are not good as of today. G: Is it more financial, or is it also cultural? J: No. It’s cultural. I think it’s greed of some of the board members. They don’t get along. They want to show off. They want to be the, and it’s pretty bad. M: Center for attraction. J: Actually, two members of the board, it’s okay, I’m going to say that. Two members of the board, they were presidents before, each serve one term, and they quit last week, the week before, because of their clashing going on. I don’t want to mention any names because it’s not right. G: That’s okay. What was the clashing about? J: I think it’s something cultural like you said, but I think it’s, I don’t know, they want to do better, but they don’t do it. If somebody suggest something they don’t accept it. It’s their way, or no. Either their way or the highway. How does that go? One of those things like that. G: Yes, my way or the highway. J: My way or the highway, thank you. And I believe it. And unfortunately, they are all great workers, but somehow, there have been hundreds that have quit already. The board that’s there today, and it hurts. Because I’ve been involved with that for so many years, and when I 42 �see this going down the hill. And of course, a lot of the young people, they don’t want to be involved in that. G: A lot of the young people don’t? J: We still have a lot of young people there, which you know, and some of them immigrants, but not too many. They’re all off springs. Why don’t they get along well? I don’t know why. I’ve been told, like you said, culture. It doesn’t look good. G: Well, this might not be uplifting either, but let me ask you about the future of Saint Anthony’s Church. How has that changed in recent years? J: It’s not going well either. It’s not going there. And I can be on record too. G: Sure. What do you see, or what’s changed about Saint Anthony’s? J: What changed about that, you know, of course through the years, you know, like every church around the world, it’s been declining. Okay. And, of course, Covid did a terrible job over the world. But our present day today we have, there’s two people. And Father Sannella, I don’t mind going on record, he is our Pastor. But we have Deacon Carlos, he’s a one-man band show there. He does everything. Seems like he doesn’t want anybody. There’s some things here to do, he ask a few people to do this and that, but he does the whole thing by himself. He’s running the parish by himself. G: Do you think that’s by choice, or does he have no real option? J: That I don’t know. M: We have no idea. J: Because I have a lot of respect for Father Sannella, and what I know of him personally, he is a good person. We are good friends. We get along well. I just don’t know what’s going on, but Deacon Carlos is pretty much by himself. Even to decorate the church, and in the recent few months he painted the whole Sanctuary. G: He did himself? J: He did it himself. He had this father there. One time I went there with a friend of mine, you know, Saint Vincent de Paul that I’m involved there. He is way on top of the ladder by himself. Oh, my father was here. He just went home for this and that. I mean, Jesus right there, and then he can break his fall, but he could break his neck. We were petrified. I saw that. I didn’t even go there. M: We just don’t know what’s going on. J: So, I don’t like the future of our parish. M: I think they should have like a secretary. J: Because I believe when you live alone, you will die alone. And our parish, I hate to say it again, our parish, my parish is dying, because not one man alone to run the whole parish. He 43 �does all the rectory work. He has a couple of people during the week to do something in the church. M: Yah, on Thursdays he has a group of ladies to clean the church. G: Has the number of communicants at Saint Anthony’s dropped? J: Yes, it has been dropping. M: Yes, it has dropped, yes, a lot. J: But I don’t see much being done to bring people back. Like I said, I’ll repeat, Covid did a lot of damage, but through the years we had another priest over here, you know, years ago. G: Father Hughes? J: Father Hughes, he did do a lot of damage to our parish. It’s no secret. It’s not a secret. He did a lot. We still see some of it. Would you go back? Oh, I’m going here. I’m going there. I’m okay there. G: Did Father Hughes give the services in Portuguese, or was it always English? M: English. J: He did learn to read Portuguese. He did learn, but he would read the mass in Portuguese. G: Oh, I see. J: He learned a lot to read, but to make conversation, he didn’t know that well. G: This is a small point. I just want to ask. I understand that there have been over the years a small number of Brazilians at Saint Anthony’s, but never really any large number. J: No. There’s a story about that. That’s one thing, one big mistake that Father Ferreira made. When the Brazilians started to come to Lowell, they approached us. What we heard and it’s pretty much true, they approached Father Ferreira, because they wanted their service to be in our parish. But they wanted to have their masses separate from us. G: Do you know why that was? J: Right, but they’re Brazilians. They have their own culture. M: They wanted to have their own identity. G: Interesting. J: Like we are Portuguese, we want our identity. They wanted that, and Father Ferreira denied them that. M: It’s the same language. G: Father Ferreira wouldn’t do it. 44 �J: He wouldn’t do it. So, they went to Sacred Heart. And then there’s another story about that, with some of our parishioners. When Sacred Heart was dying, and I think it was Father Glynn at the helm at the time, the parishioners were supposed to come to our church, you know, the “Americans”, and the Brazilians were there. And everybody was coming. But they had a big meeting. Everything was planned. We’re going to have a big procession from there to here. And they had a big thing there. I don’t know the whole thing, but I’ve heard, and some of our members, they did so much, they didn’t want any people, other churches to join us. They were Portuguese. And some of them, were American-born, Portuguese descent. M: I was for it. J: Great workers for the church. So, when Sacred Heart parishioners heard that, they wanted nothing to do with Saint Anthony’s. G: I see. They didn’t feel welcomed. J: Correct, they didn’t feel welcomed. So that’s when they came over here to Saint Marie’s, Holy Family. M: Saint Marie’s now. They were welcomed there. G: Interesting. So, that was a kind of a watershed moment. J: Yes, it devastated our parish. Had they come to us we’d be sitting on gold. G: Do you remember when that was roughly? J: I don’t remember the year. G: It was the late ‘90s though, wasn’t it? M: Yah, probably. I think so. J: It could have been. It’s been a few years. G: I don’t think anybody has ever written about that. J: I don’t think it was much publicized. There was a friend of ours, like I said, some of the things he (--) G: Because I thought Father Glynn had an assistant who was Brazilian. That’s what I recall meeting this fellow who was from Brazil. J: We have had, you know, a few assistants from Brazil, and I think even Father Hughes did. He had a few of them. G: Oh, Father Hughes too? J: I think the first one, Father Pedro was there for a while. M: Oh yah, Father Pedro. J: He wasn’t with Father Glynn? Like I said, Tony would know all these things. 45 �G: Okay. Was Father Pedro with, was that with Father Glynn? J: He was here. He was assistant to our Parish. And the Brazilians were not with us. It could have been, like I said. But even though Father Glynn spoke Portuguese, but I don’t know if it was Father Pedro. Like I said, there’s things like I told you before. Tony would know all these things. G: Let me conclude. Thank you all very much. This is very wonderful. Thank you. I wanted to ask you just about one specific thing relating to the Portuguese in Back Central, and the Prince Pasta Plant. And because I first met Father Glynn at this time. I first came to Lowell. And the Prince Pasta workers were on strike. J: Right. G: But part from the strike then, the corporation that bought the plant shut it down. And so, Father Glynn was very active in trying to drum up community support. And by the way, then Congressman Meehan, and Senator Kennedy, really, they actually came to Lowell and rallied on behalf of the workers, and many of them were Portuguese. I just wondered if you remembered any of that? J: I don’t. M: I don’t remember. J: I read about that a lot, but as being there, as a matter of fact, you know, the University of Lowell had something down there at the mills at downtown, Foot of John Street. M: Market Mills? Not Market Mills. G: No, the Boott Mills. M: Boott Mills. J: Boott Mills, thank you. That you know, Martha’s mother, mother-in-law, she was (--) Remember there was a session at the Boott Mills, and she spoke, your sister spoke? She was very much involved on that in there. And I heard things there. And I was there, you know, we used to go together. Where was I? G: Well, I don’t know. J: I ask that, where was I? I don’t remember any of this. G: Okay. J: I remember reading things on the paper, the whole thing, but there’s things on my life that is blanked. M: I don’t remember. G: Because the one person that I met who was a Prince Pasta worker and was with the union, was Nomesia Iria. 46 �M: That’s the one. J: That’s the one, the lady. M: That’s Décio’s mother-in-law. That’s the Rodriques’mother-in-law. G: Oh really! Wow, I didn’t know that. J: Were you at that presentation at the Boott Mills? G: I was. I was part of that too. M: Oh really? J: And she was there. G: Well, you know something, I hadn’t seen her in about twelve years, and that was the first. I was wonderful to see her again. She vaguely remembered me. J: So, you knew her from that night? G: In 1997, 1998. She was remarkable I have to say. J: She was, you know. She spoke there. We knew her already in the family and all that through friends, and the daughter. And when she started speaking, I said, “Whoa! Good for you.” I was proud of her. G: Wasn’t that impressive though? M: Yes. J: It was! I was so proud of her. G: She was wonderful. J: I was there, and you were there. Wow. G: I was too. I’m sorry we didn’t meet. M: Yes, I know. There were so many people. It’s hard to know everybody. J: Yah, you were involved with the university for a while. G: Well, thank you very much. M: Oh, you are welcome. Interview ends. 47 � https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/42465/archive/files/9e198bc5b7f588bc86461fdb252628f9.mp3?Expires=1779321600&Signature=AT0cBbF3FjSuVcXyPNBhnHozcERrNun4FDumChL9hsYrS7uG4TdkhUIULfkoLb7zfbx3XPv9lmrgMtdp3l4yfWZlJFfLzLBfereYOKcw1DuIdz5iMuACFVf9wKCeJp4baAzkWzo4yzPPDv1d6NMPyyD-KjzkwWh9eQlhiQF8YOBTfKGo%7EYcB59P6ggqjO32xNnv8MIasdW9OnSSDdjVx%7E7Xh0R795C5hntRk-kkdexWQjCawwAxbEHRl0tFvrWMNRaxZE51pR4jFRlPoI1X0VBntzt0ernQGaewa3tIp53s0VwH0wd3AawCboNiQ3bWriAKWPGR9DSzysE8cFnBwbw__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 7bd4fe45ec1b87dbc8258abecd4f10b7 https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/42465/archive/files/9ed63f787fdb963916a7ed85d4ee108b.JPG?Expires=1779321600&Signature=OboEcWZ96QcQiZxCkUOrUJSsIAppsi4NkfuePD9z3-yeUWfc6vquWCV2wy867Yrd3WG0xJK6B6MYZ1d7wmdbRj0K1ERl5E-FjUPddHcgtdmeyrl39a8yOKvJCSba2GFGzHUcI0WLaFxe-tJUJOVqmT0EVOTpSvjk73aPgdSHGlesHr4j2YLv3%7EkCZ3GIOj-Tkc6v99AVmEzeU5iHti1QOcYL11hAVJPrnt1iOKdw7XvjrrwBmo0ZzBhUDImOtdz%7E5lKWOGenWFGiwrCQEiFLq%7EJMu0aNq7ZHo0BX5OZrwvNmUnQS74Zfz03g--9ymxjonDs1vC90mOoTt8toBnjK1Q__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM c2db55cdd8e7189ecc0d11d15ec614d9 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource UMass Lowell Portuguese American Oral Histories [1976-2018] Description An account of the resource These oral histories with Portuguese immigrants and their descendants in the Greater Lowell area were conducted between 1976-2016. Topics covered include the experience of immigration, working conditions, family life, and more. These oral histories were funded by the Lowell National Historical Park, the American Folklife Center, and UMass Lowell. Subject The topic of the resource Azorean Americans Children of immigrants Cultural assimilation Mills and mill-work Portuguese American women Madeirans World War, 1939-1945 Veterans United States. Navy. Factories Education Depressions--1929 Immigrants Christmas Immigrant families Ethnic food New Year Balls (parties) Community organization Civic leaders Baking Bakeries Bakery employees Tradition (Theology) Music Ethnic neighborhoods Boardinghouses Folk dancing, Portuguese Music teachers Civil engineering Urban renewal Park facilities--Planning Fasts and Feasts Portuguese language Instrumentation and orchestration (Band) Engineering Religious gatherings Police Portugal--Emigration and immigration Immigrants--Cultural Assimilation--United States Dance teachers Female impersonators Entertainers Musicians Suicide Cleaning compounds Tenement houses Rug and carpet industry Entrepreneurship Irish Americans Politics and government City council members Campaign management Community development, Urban Music--Portuguese influences Catholic Church--Dioceses Catholic Church--Societies, etc. Priests Code switching (Linguistics) Soccer Cooking Composition (Music) Portuguese teachers Women in community organization Labor unions Ethnic groups Fathers and sons Bars (Drinking establishments) Desegregation Military bands Track and field coaches Language teachers Brazilian Americans Bullfights Bullying in schools Conflict of generations Earthquakes Evening and continuation schools Volcanos Meat industry and trade Influenza Epidemic, 1918-1919 Christmas cooking Community schools Marriage Radio programs Sewing Angola--History--Revolution, 1961-1975 Agriculture Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Document Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived All items can be found at the Center for Lowell History in Lowell, MA. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available UMass Lowell, Center for Lowell History Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted: This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. In addition, no permission is required from the rights-holder(s) for educational uses. For other uses, you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976-2018 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Lowell (Mass.) Boston (Mass.) Manchester (N.H.) Graciosa (Azores) Capelinhos Volcano (Azores) Faial (Azores) Lawrence (Mass.) Terceira Island (Azores) São Miguel (Azores) Madeira (Madeira Islands) Pico Island (Azores) Lisbon (Portugal) Azores Hudson (Mass.) Cambridge (Mass.) Tyngsboro (Mass.) Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ali, Mehmed Denatale, Doug Fertig, Barbara Fitzsimons, Gray Holden, Maria Miller, Marc Norkunas, Martha Page, Paul Perkins, Carole MacDougal Reis, John M. Spandagos, Olga Strobel, Christoph Szewczyk, Kimberly Taylor, David Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Maria and Joseph Mendonça Oral History Interview Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2023-02-03 Description An account of the resource This interview focuses on several major themes: (1) Portuguese immigration from the Azores to Lowell, as part of the “second great wave” of Portuguese immigration to the United States, beginning in the late 1950s; (2) experiencing the Capelhinos volcanic eruption on the island of Faial, beginning in 1957; (3) adjusting to life in the United States, notably in public schools prior to the advent of bilingual education; (4) Portuguese institutions in Lowell notably St. Anthony’s Roman Catholic Church and the Holy Ghost Society, as well as in the city’s Portuguese social clubs.<br /><br /><strong>Biographical Note:</strong><br />Maria Rosa was born on the Azorean Island of Faial in 1945. She was one of four children (two brothers and a sister) and grew up in the village of Flamengos, a short distance from Horta, in a four-room house constructed of stone. Her father operated a small farm. She attended the public school in the village completing her education through grade 4. In 1957, when Maria was 12 years old, the Capelhinos volcano on Faial erupted, an event that altered the lives of many Azoreans. In the United States, Congress passed special legislation liberalizing immigration for all Azoreans.<br />Aided by a Portuguese family in Lowell, which sponsored Maria and her family, the Rosas departed Faial in 1960, arriving in Boston and then traveling to Lowell, where she, her parents, and her siblings settled in the city’s “Back Central” neighborhood. Maria entered the Lowell public schools, attending the Colburn School in her neighborhood. Despite the difficulties with having to learn English without any formal support by the public schools, Maria completed her studies at the Colburn and then at the Butler Junior High School. At the age of 16 she received a work permit and obtained a job at the Hathaway Shirt Company that operated a clothing manufacturing firm in the old Hamilton Mill. She met her husband, Joseph Mendonça, in Lowell and married him in 1966. Maria subsequently worked at the Raytheon Corporation and had a son and daughter.<br /><br />Born in 1942 in Ponta Garça on the island of São Miguel, Joseph Mendonça moved to the United States at the age of 15, settling in Lowell with his family. His father had been born in Fall River, Massachusetts, in 1905 and therefore had U.S. citizenship, despite returning to São Miguel when he was quite young. Joseph attended a public school in Ponta Garça before entering high school in Ponta Delgada. Upon moving to Lowell, he was placed in the Butler Junior High School, but when he turned 16 he received a work permit and entered the employ of Grace Shoe Company, one a several shoe manufacturers in the city. For a number of years, Joseph worked in the shoe industry, while marrying Maria and beginning a family. He eventually attained a high school degree and began work at BASF Industries. Joseph and Maria were active parishioners at St. Anthony’s Church in Lowell as well as in the Holy Ghost Society. Joseph served as president of the Holy Ghost Society in the 1970s. They lived for a number of years in Lowell’s Back Central neighborhood before purchasing a house in South Lowell. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Fitzsimons, Gray Subject The topic of the resource Azorean Americans Brazilian Americans Bullying in schools Bullfights Catholic Church--Dioceses Catholic Church--Societies, etc. Children of immigrants Code switching (Linguistics) Conflict of generations Earthquakes Ethnic neighborhoods Evening and continuation schools Factories Immigrants--Cultural Assimilation--United States Portuguese American women Priests Volcanos Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Lowell (Mass.) Faial (Azores) São Miguel (Azores) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Interview conducted through the Saab Center for Portuguese Studies at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available UMass Lowell, Center for Lowell History Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Mendonça, Maria Mendonça, Joseph Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted: This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. In addition, no permission is required from the rights-holder(s) for educational uses. For other uses, you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource JPEG MP3 PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Audio Image Text Grace Shoe Factory Hathaway Shirts Holy Ghost Society (Lowell, MA) Portuguese American Center (Lowell, MA) Portuguese American Civic League (Lowell, MA) Saint Anthony's Church (Lowell, MA) Simon Shoe https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/42465/archive/files/a695041917c3153301f7e95c414c7f60.pdf?Expires=1779321600&Signature=V8fp0jgmzaxKnFasXzsDE2z2PxCcdEVnOHs2XfsgeypMiG5kbAOTDXmvKuvZkhK9yFrmOd6CpmpJI4LECqW9JnRaG41A4Vaihd-4Wa0AwC2etOoxIAz0zNknbsIlUZWP6u2j1OLRnMu-vCWTQrlUP6-Dq87xVkmU1LZB9rgpwJ2f%7EvNFeK8SpHz9Lh2zeIst-G3tmwAYu7Vu-kOIG2yFXUP0JJKFLem81Z8k%7EmB8ineRcqE%7EZ4fw2%7EwfqPVUvQHGObRYjFqMfeDlKa%7EfyV09E30FbP47qnMZ4zIaa6MUz%7EeYLzKHgqk%7ElcKfKQrSHbeTL98irPXKfHMBksKOoO2eDA__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM e65ed7f3bc33fa16a378c84a063067c5 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource George W. Rose Collection [1900-2003] Subject The topic of the resource Entrepreneurship United States. Army. World War, 1939-1945 Veterans Waste disposal Portuguese American women Ethnic neighborhoods Community organization Radio broadcasting Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital scans donated from the personal collection of the Rose family, courtesy of Carol Rose Camelio. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available UMass Lowell, Center for Lowell History Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted: This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. In addition, no permission is required from the rights-holder(s) for educational uses. For other uses, you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Cambridge (Mass.) Dighton (Mass.) Medford (Mass.) Recife (Brazil) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1900-2003 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource JPEG PDF Description An account of the resource This collection contains images related to the Rose family, focusing on the life of George W. Rose. Items include pictures from his childhood, his involvement in the local Cambridge, MA community, and material from his various business dealings. Most items focus on the time period between 1930-1980.<br /><br /><strong>Biographical Sketch</strong><br /><p>George W. Rose was a World War II veteran, entrepreneur, radio broadcaster, and activist in the Democratic Party in Massachusetts, as well as a delegate to the 1960 Democratic convention in which he was pledged to John F. Kennedy. He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on August 16, 1921. His mother Anna (Souza) Rose (1882-1960), although born in Boston, had family roots in Sao Miguel, Azores. His Brazilian-born father, John Dutra Rose (1882-1951), who immigrated to the United States from Recife, had roots in Faial, Azores. Anna and John Rose raised nine children in Cambridge, with George being the youngest son.</p> <p>At the time of George Rose’s birth, the Portuguese population in Cambridge was among the top five in Massachusetts. These Portuguese settled primarily in East Cambridge and by 1902 this community had grown to such an extent that the Boston archdiocese established St. Anthony’s parish. Most of East Cambridge’s Portuguese residents had immigrated from the Azores, notably Sao Miguel, and the majority were wage earners toiling in the city’s numerous factories.</p> <p>George Rose’s father followed a slightly different path to East Cambridge. His mother, (George’s grandmother), Maria (Conceicão) Rose Oliver, or "Avo Salta" as the family lovingly refers to her, grew up in Horta, Faial, in a wealthy family. She wed John Dutra Rose but he proved to be an abusive husband. From her family she inherited an estate in Brazil in the coastal city of Recife and moved there. Apparently her husband joined her in Recife and she birth to her only son, also named John Dutra Rose. Perhaps with the hope that he would find more opportunity in the United States, his mother sent him at age 14 to Boston. Eventually she separated from her husband, left Brazil for Massachusetts, and remarried.</p> <p>Upon his arrival in Boston, John Dutra Rose found work on a farm in Dighton, Massachusetts, living there and in New Bedford where he attended public school and learned English. John Dutra Rose subsequently moved to Cambridge, married George’s mother, Anna (Souza) Rose, and found work in the Cambridge Rubber Company’s factory, known for its production of rubber boots and a large employer of Portuguese. He would later establish a small repair business, specializing in the restoration of religious statuary.</p> <p>Similar to many others of his generation in East Cambridge, George Rose grew up in a household where Portuguese was spoken, but he attended public schools and learned to navigate through both Portuguese and American cultures. After completing his grammar school education at the Putnam School, Rose entered Rindge Technical High School. Financial hardship in his family in the wake of the Great Depression, led him to apply for and receive a job in the federal Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). He left school and moved to Colorado. His work with the CCC included the operation of heavy construction equipment and by 1940 he returned to Massachusetts, enlisting in the U.S. Army and training in ordinance at Fort Devens, as well as in army construction equipment and maintenance at Fort Edwards.</p> <p>Following Pearl Harbor and the entry of the United States into World War II, George Rose served in the U.S. Army Combat Engineers, participating in three major invasions: Guadalcanal, Bougainville, and Cebu in the Philippines. He spent a total of 34 months in combat duty in the South Pacific. Before his honorable discharge in 1945, he attained the rank of Sargent of the Guard at Fort Devens, and received a number of combat awards and medals, including a Presidential Unit Citation and three battle stars.</p> <p>In 1945, while at Fort Devens, Rose met and married Mary Frances Turner of Haverhill, Massachusetts. The following year they had a daughter, Maureen Frances, the first of nine children. The other eight children, born between 1947 and 1965, were Sharon Ann, Carol Lee, George W. Jr., Marilyn Bernice, Donna Marie, Charles John, Kenneth Robert, and Judith Ann. George Rose purchased a house in Cambridge, before moving to nearby Medford.</p> <p>To support his growing family Rose engaged in a number of businesses. This ranged from a refuse removal company to an asphalt paving firm. He also engaged in real estate, gaining accreditation through the Harvard University Extension program. He also attended the Calvin Coolidge College (no longer operating) in Boston, receiving a liberal arts degree in 1960. In addition, Rose was a well-known member of the Lusitania Club of Cambridge and was heavily involved in a number of charitable organizations, serving as president of the Cambridge Lions Club, chairman of the Cambridge Kiwanis Underprivileged Children’s Fund, and was a fund raiser for the Home for Italian Children in Boston.</p> <p>Apart from his business activities, Rose, a talented athlete, excelling in basketball and soccer, played semi-professional soccer and nearly made the U.S. Olympic soccer team in 1956. He was well-known in the Boston area’s Portuguese community not only for his participation and leadership in a number of Portuguese social and cultural organizations, but also as a radio broadcaster on “The Portuguese Hour,” heard on Medford’s station WHIL, in which he was part-owner.</p> <p>In part influenced by his older brother John Dutra Rose, Jr., who was active in local politics in Cambridge, George Rose became deeply involved in Democratic Party politics at the local, state, and national levels. An early supporter of John F. Kennedy, Rose was a delegate to the Democratic Convention in Los Angeles, in 1960. During presidential campaign he accompanied Kennedy to a number of rallies in the Boston area, translating for the many Portuguese in attendance. He was later a consultant for and friend of Congressman Thomas “Tip” O’Neil, as well as Governor Michael Dukakis.</p> <p>In the 1960s and 1970s, George Rose was involved in a number of businesses, including restaurants and hotels, north of Boston, and in an automobile tire recycling firm. Dedicated to his family and friends, while always prizing his Portuguese heritage, Rose also took up painting and poetry. He retired from business in the early 1980s and</p> <p>moved with his wife to Fort Meyers, Florida. Following his death in 1988, he received numerous accolades for his community service and charitable work, and was bestowed with a public square in Cambridge named after him and dedicated by Mayor Alfred Vellucci.</p> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document I guess it all started when my dad immigrated to this country from Brazil as a young boy in this early teens my grand mother sent him to the United States with only a birdcage and a suitcase and a note into his lapel telling the reader where he should be sent when he arrived here you see he could only speak Portuguese and coming to a strange company it was a very hard time for him he was quite bacon at the awkward stage and a young boy’s life my grandmother was very strong willed woman and after years of medical and physical abuse with my grandfather in Portugal she decide to go to receive a Brazil and live is where my dad was born and where they made their home for about 13 years or so being where the people spoke the same language made it a little easier for my dad and his mother she left much of her wealth in Portugal when she left my grandfather as her family on many acres of farmland etc. which my grandfather in a drunken rage would make her sign over to him for his money vases it was after one of the many meetings that she received his hand so she finally decided to leave and start a new life by herself and my dad. when my dad‘s boat arrived in Boston pier harbor since he cannot speak no English a police officer from the north end of Boston took him to a Portuguese barber who is called upon to translate what my father would tell him the new on his lapel told of where his master could be reaching where to send him with his vacation toe and it’s only suitcase he was put on a bus to Dayton MA where his master is waiting for him he was to work on a fireman earn his room and board and intern they provide him with schooling and clothes he was placed in the second grade of school where the kids used to make fun of him because of his size he couldn’t put his knees under the desk he was so large at times he was at the desk right off the floor screws and all many of the teachers would get aggravated at us and lost patience with him it’s on top of the kids making fun of him and teasing him for all the time and taking his hat and running away it was a frustrating time for dad at times they would throw his hat over a small cliff or he would have to climb down risking his life to get it the older boys also would beat him up and he on many occasions would go home with a bloody nose boys can be very cruel to other boys when they are not like them and don’t speak their language it’s hard for them to understand how my dad felt all the time for recreation my dad and his friends would play with the iron barrels that came off the boats loaded with blubber from the wells they caught one day while he was playing with his friends they rolled him off a 20 foot cliff by the water and the Coast Guard had to come to rescue before the tide came in or he would’ve drowned as he went to the older grades the children got bigger and became more resentful of him by the time he was getting stronger and stronger from all the hard work he did on his masters farm he would lift the barrels over his head and build up his muscles. The iron barrels were used by the wailers store blower oil which was used to burn lanterns he became more confident as he got stronger and would wrestle anyone to the ground he would cut occasionally get beaten up but all in all he try to hold his own his master had no sympathy for him when he did get her he was still apply to do his work on the farm his chores were many these were very lonely times for my dad he felt so alone and I haven’t seen that no one cared about him or his problems this is surely a place to inject that tough times never last tough people to my dad was one of the tough people and he had faith in him self there was one time on his way home from school that my dad was stopped by three men who beat him up very badly he didn’t even know why the police patrol found him on the beach after his master and reported him missing he spent three days in the hospital and by this time he was getting very disgusted with America and the life he had here he decided to turn his life around then and there so when he got out of the hospital he started taking boxing lessons this wasn’t easy to find the time to do this so he would arise at 5:30 AM and go take his lessons from the Portuguese man who lives nearby and then go do his chores before going to school and be on his way he felt better about himself at this point in time and one day coming home from school he saw the same three men who would be in him up earlier and put them in the hospital he followed them and as it was getting darker they split up and when they were only two of them he caught their bear face and. he was so late it after doing this and satisfied himself that he thought it was the first time that he didn’t get the short end of the stick America is going to look better and better to him he continue taking boxing lessons in became quite good at it he loves school and he was in the fifth grade and besides working on his masters farm he helped load roll the drums of love or oil onto the beach where they would be loaded on the horse and buggy teams the boiler sometime so the barrels to the hardware stores nearby after dark when they wouldn’t be seen this was illegal. One day on the way home from school three men stop my dad and them up very badly he didn’t even know why the police patrol found them on the beach after his mastered reported that he didn’t get home to work in the fields to pick the strawberries or take the potatoes he spent three days in the hospital by this time he was getting very disgusted with American his life here he started going to a boxing club that was near his masters house he would arrive at 5:30 AM and go take lessons from Portuguese man he liked him he learned how to defend himself there on one special day coming home from school he saw the same three men who would be in them up a few months earlier he waited just before dark and it’s better now they were only two of them with his bare hands my father got even with them he was so later that he would accomplish this and made a very satisfied it was the first time since he arrived here in America that he didn’t get the short end of the stick and he be the two of them he continue taking boxing lessons for three years and then left school in the fifth grade he would earn money helping roll the drums of love royal onto the beach where they were to will turn them to the horse and buggy teams. Another incident that is where they have now is one time with my dad claimed over a cliff to get Eagles eggs which she was totaled bring a good amount of money and then put a rope over the cliff and let my father down to nest after retrieving about six or seven eggs one of the guys he previously picking up came by and without anyone knowing he cut the rope and my dad fell down to the rocks in the waters edge 20 people he broken arm and a leg another time while training he was holding onto a windmill blade and a glass of wine threw him to the ground and he broke his nose and are the Coast Guard with someone once again to rescue him from his fall off the cliff shortly after this his mother right here from Brazil and took charge of him he continued his boxing and became pretty good at it. he had an important fight scheduled for the Boston garden when he met and married my mother Anna Suzanne from the north of Boston they got married in the Portuguese church on Portland Street and it Cambridge East Cambridge where they settled my fathers boxing should promise in a big fight was promoted for him at the garden by the time my mother is about to give birth to my oldest sister Anna and wasn’t doing very good so my dad wouldn’t leave her side and the fight was forfeited he was barred from the ring and never thought again he worked hard without education to bring up eight children for boys and four girls not to mention taking into adopted children one time and then two more adopted children whose mother had died and they were close to my mother we also had my uncle living with us for a while my father had a heart of gold and so did my mother we were 14 and all sitting down at the table and not much money coming in at the time we all survive the one way or another I can remember my grandmother making sheets out of the empty flower bag she got from Paula‘s bakery which was across the street from where we lived she would wash them out by hand and on a wash board in the sink and then set them out to dry after about four washings they would be soft enough for us to sleep on and sometimes there’s enough flour left in the sacks to make homemade bread and we sure look towards this we would put butter on it and have it with coffee or cocoa and sometimes we eat bananas with it Mini time I can remember going to the railroad yard after school with a two wheel truck that my dad had made me to pick up Cole along the tracks I had fallen off the trains we swept the floor by a potbelly stove in the parlor and the school help to keep it going and keep us warm weather outside would be about three below zero and they would be 2 feet of snow outside my mother always had a big pan on the stove cooking a shoulder or ham there are plenty of vegetables in Portuguese kale and sausages my brothers and sisters all earned a little to help out the food situation at home no one went beyond high school education wise we didn’t have a lot of money but we had a set of parents who loved us tremendously we always came first with them our parents sacrifice an off a lot of themselves make us happy the older ones kind of looked after us younger ones eaten a family and six others to feed was no easy task in those days without food and housing as it were sickness in the house would be a catastrophe it would disrupt the whole household especially if dad or mother got sick but we survived at all and we came through strong and able to face I need to feed handed down to us in later life like a season sold or you learned thank the good Lord from day today and you learn to roll with the punches what our families need today is to have hardship and then they try harder to better yourself by working more productively and you also learn the value of the book you remember the hard times and you spend accordingly you certainly do not wanna live your past over again you want to accomplish something so your parents will be proud of you knowing they sacrifice so much for you when you were young things are bad at home although our monthly rent was only $30 that was hard for my father to me at Cambridge rubber company where my dad worked move down south and he was out of a job the company could operate their business cheaper down south One of the things I did to help out at home moneywise was to sell newspapers after and before school I also sold bottled but like whiskey the papers I would pick up on third and Otis St., Berks candy store this would pay me one sent a paper two days a week I would go to Wanda’s café to pick up about 10 bottles half pints and pint of whiskey we called it bathtub rum and I would have to go to the rear of the café to pick it up in my little car that I would put under my papers and sell them to people on my paper and couldn’t get out the house I was I would receive $.25 for half pint and $.50 per pint and will get two cents back on the empties of which I received one cent I would deliver to the courthouse judges quarters and leave the whiskey with the secretary or janitor and sometimes get paid later the shares house was also a delivery spot as he lived across from the courthouse his cock was a good customer and will take 3 pints twice a week this is my big sale every week One of the things I did to help out at home moneywise was to sell newspapers after and before school I also sold bottled but like whiskey the papers I would pick up on third and Otis St., Berks candy store this would pay me one sent a paper two days a week I would go to Wanda’s café to pick up about 10 bottles half pints and pint of whiskey we called it bathtub rum and I would have to go to the rear of the café to pick it up in my little car that I would put under my papers and sell them to people on my paper and couldn’t get out the house I was I would receive $.25 for half pint and $.50 per pint and will get two cents back on the empties of which I received one cent I would deliver to the courthouse judges quarters and leave the whiskey with the secretary or janitor and sometimes get paid later the shares house was also a delivery spot as he lived across from the courthouse his cock was a good customer and will take 3 pints twice a week this is my big sale every week after this period of my life I got interesting in basketball and sports and give up the bootlegging and paper route I got a license to drive at 16 to I was captain of her basketball team each year and also the smallest player scored the most points for the three years that I was in school of all the weeks there was a boy name smoky from the Robert school who we always ended up playing in the finals on our team we had sent a red Callaway the tallest right card Joe Almeida let’s guard Tony Paiva left forward and Rivera or Cosmo Danito then Jesse Rogers Ralph’s for a Connie and Benny Spira were managers Horace Jake up was principal for school and Jerry Higgins was a seventh grade teacher he was also the coach I was written up in the papers all the time and the coach from wrench tech came to my house to see my parents and try to get them sent me to the school they guaranteed me a scholarship to almost any college that I could play basketball for them my grades in school weren’t that good at graduation they put me in in the central vocational School for one year I played basketball for school and the coach them and she said come down to the gym to watch me and talk to me about having good grades so I could go to his school I went one year to vocational school and then transfer to wrench to Chi school where I made the varsity squad in my first year as a freshman this was somewhat of a fee and we went into the tractor tourney that year and I was riding high while playing basketball on the eighth grade at the Putnam school we had this team that played in the park department league of the city four of us from our school at the time we were champions and three others in the neighborhood when the city championship and how to play the new team who are also champs in their city I’ll never forget when we went to pay them a new one who’s the first three out of five games for the championship they had a beautiful new school gym and they came out with at least five basketballs they were sponsored by people with money and beautiful outfits they were new sneakers and warm-up suit and all the fringes they also cheerleaders and oranges to get a break towels and all the trimmings they really look like big dick on the other hand we were dress very raggedy dirty sneakers torn pan some of us even had string holding them up a couple of warm towels and two old basketballs I went one year to vocational school and then transfer to wrench to Chi school where I made the varsity squad in my first year as a freshman this was somewhat of a fee and we went into the tractor tourney that year and I was riding high while playing basketball on the eighth grade at the Putnam school we had this team that played in the park department league of the city four of us from our school at the time we were champions and three others in the neighborhood when the city championship and how to play the new team who are also champs in their city I’ll never forget when we went to pay them a new one who’s the first three out of five games for the championship they had a beautiful new school gym and they came out with at least five basketballs they were sponsored by people with money and beautiful outfits they were new sneakers and warm-up suit and all the fringes they also cheerleaders and oranges to get a break towels and all the trimmings they really look like big dick on the other hand we were dress very raggedy dirty sneakers torn pan some of us even had string holding them up a couple of warm towels and two old basketballs we didn’t feel very good about it as we knew people were laughing at us but we got into our huddle party started and said our usual prayer and encourage each other not to let their luxe fool us we can beat them we said they’re a bunch of pansies we hit them hard and made a couple files but we let them know we were around I was a captain and give the boys my usual peptalk or coach that we could do it just go out there and play basketball I think I got something like 26 points for the game I wanted to beat them so bad we ran circles around them in the final score was 66 to 45 I think we beat them so bad that in the end they were embarrassed not us the shirt is a vivid memory in my mind I quit school and went into the cc cc my dad was on the PWA and I couldn’t afford to go to school any longer I had to walk about 2 miles each day just to go to school and another 2 miles to come home the coach begged me to stay in school but I had made up my mind to go to the service and go out to Powell Wyoming this will help my parents out and pay the rent to keep our three family house on 3rd St., Cambridge the adventure of going into the cc was also there for me and I even forge my age to get in I was a little under age at the time. I received a check for $30.00 each month and assigned this to my parents. It at least, paid the rent. I attained the rank of Corporal and would then receive $36 per month. After that, they made me Sgt. at $45.00 per month. I kept sending the $30. allotment home and the balance was kept with me at camp. $15 I spent as I saw fit and I also made a few dollars on Saturday nights by boxing downtown at the American Legion Hall. I could make $50 on Saturday night and get a blackeye or swollen leg but I managed to save a few bucks sometimes I would bet on myself I tried very hard for this my captain was a fight freak he liked me and a couple of other fighters and encouraged us it was nice to give orders a surgeon no one gave me any backtalk they knew I could handle myself one Saturday night I received a pretty good whipping from a local boy in the fight was a draw but I got my $50 anyway after this I never thought again I thought it was pretty good looking and I didn’t want to mess up my face it seemed ironic that my father father because he was not an American and at the time I was fighting it was because I was an American in the army barracks we were controlled by army officers lived barracks and wore khaki uniforms The towns people didn’t like us that much it was also survival of the fittest the money also played a major part life is funny that way I gained respect in town and it helped our camp a lot of people seem to like me after a while and our camp did a lot of good for the towns people we did a lot of fundraising for them also I came home two years later and looking back I think that this was the best thing I ever did joining the cc he got me right at the time I was into stealing cars at Boston Garden and selling them for bucks we would sell fog lights for five dollars or $10 a set breaking into cookie factory on front Street I also still radio some cars in Cary number slips for the buggies in both numbers for people in the north end I was getting in with a bad element when I went away and was fortunate that I was never caught I can’t help but think back at the age of about nine I would get up at 5:30 AM and go over to louisville Plaza gon’s five houses away from where I lived in a three family house Paula bakery was on the corner of our street and I used to go get the horse at the barn feed him out and then hook them up to the team give him water Comes Main in Mall they’re loading the team with the fresh Portuguese bread I will get $.25 a day for doing this then I would start my paper route I did well on my paper route also selling the whiskey and picking up the returned bottles I had a compartment under my papers for that stuff and delivered it only in the wee hours of the morning Joe Lopez whose mother and father of my godparents Luis Lopez on the barn where Joe archer pretty kept his horse and where Paula boarded his horse and team the old man my godfather Luis Lopez was a furniture mover with his horse and team are used to go with him sometimes in the summer to take chunks to the ships people going to Portugal or Island Ireland etc. I like to go with him at 6 PM the people in the ships are nice to us they would give us food to eat that we never tasted before and some fish to take home also young Tony Lopez worked at the courthouse he drove a pick up truck for the county maintenance department he liked me and was always ready to do anything he could for me he had keys for every office and I can leave my papers in the little bottles for judges etc. he was well liked at the courthouse and could do anything that he wanted to he was also very honest and religious he got me the job at the Institute movies through father Flaherty the priest from the Sacred Heart church who owned the show. Joe Lopez was Tony Lopez’s brother he was always drunk and worked for the city of Cambridge on the street department rolling out barrels rubbish I was the only one he would pay any attention to he liked me because I was tough if he was in a fight I would stop him and take him home he was always being locked up by the Cambridge police for one thing or another fighting mostly huge fight with anyone he was a look-alike for Wallace berry one day it took five policeman to put him into the patty wagon as we called it he was handcuffed and beat up so badly they had to call the ambulance to take him to the hospital I kicked and punched a police man I was crying the police man give me a shovel and I landed on my fanny and didn’t get up about 10 minutes Joe saw me crying and that started him off again while he lay there in a puddle of blood waiting for an ambulance with five cop standing over him with handcuffs twisters on both wrists and they were bleeding badly I have never forgotten the side of the corner of third and Spring Street by the old courthouse and the police box was on the pole two doors down with Joe Lopez brother Manuel Lopez and his wife Agnes use the box with my dad at the training camp they had in the north end of Boston When I got my license to drive a contact with the book is in the north end they trusted me and give me an address where to pick up certain people and take them to the table games card and dice games already given an address for the games will be held and I was the only one who knew that that was because if they were ever read it by the police no one would rob the games I was trusted by the boys in town as long as I was I could get five dollars for delivery and five dollars for pick up I was asked to get involved in a credit card cashing in other schemes but always refused my poor dad was on the PWA administration making $27 a week eight hours a day 40 hours a week I was making more money than him with my little schemes I would carry slips on my person that were written up by the book is the slips range from one cent five dollars sometimes I have cash of three dollars for four dollars and I would have a slips duplicated the customer also had a copy of what number they played for the day the number will come out of the race track meets phone number track meets ph When I got my license to drive a contact with the book is in the north end they trusted me and give me an address where to pick up certain people and take them to the table games card and dice games already given an address for the games will be held and I was the only one who knew that that was because if they were ever read it by the police no one would rob the games I was trusted by the boys in town as long as I was I could get five dollars for delivery and five dollars for pick up I was asked to get involved in a credit card cashing in other schemes but always refused my poor dad was on the PWA administration making $27 a week eight hours a day 40 hours a week I was making more money than him with my little schemes I would carry slips on my person that were written up by the book is the slips range from one cent five dollars sometimes I have cash of three dollars for four dollars and I would have a slips duplicated the customer also had a copy of what number they played for the day the number will come out of the race track Mutual number of three and four digits the person who played would get six dollars for every one dollar they pay anywhere from one cent on three numbers to any amount in for numbers also if someone got a good hair I would get a five dollar bill from them I could run like hell so I’d ride in the car with the pick up man who would pick up cash and slips in the buggies if we were stopped by the police five please I was a takeoff on foot with the slips on my person and find my way to Prince Street third-floor in Boston where we turn the men that was an extra bonus when this happened the police were old and fat and had my none of them could catch me I would go into apartment houses over roofs and had my getaway routes marked days before four or five times I have some close calls but I never got caught don’t think the police ever really tried that hard they would see me at other times and threaten to kick my ass but they really weren’t that forceful I guess they play the numbers and selves and didn’t feel it was doing much harm to the neighborhood only around election time were the politicians making noise about gambling. Today we are almost doing the same thing with her lottery games only in the states get the profit and it is legal now millions of dollars are going into the state treasury department I know because I worked for the lottery picking up the slips the stores in my own vehicles I lost it for about six months and couldn’t hack it anymore getting in and out of my car my back bothered me so much so I resigned it seems ironic that I was doing the same thing for the state legally that was I was doing years ago illegally boy does time in politics make a difference the state took the Buckys gaming away but replace it with her own that’s OK though Now it seems clear found out that my nephew Ronnie rose my brother son Eddie is in California he left his wife Mary when is three boys Ronnie Eddie and Jackie were small I hope his wife Mary whenever I could to help bring up the kids Ronnie was the oldest and he had a pilots license to fly a plane anyway it seems cliff and Josie got involved with the connection in Columbia cliff and Joe went over there and came back and took Ronnie over to Columbia to pilot a route to bring some stuff into the US to Florida it seems they made the drop from the plane they were to pick the stuff up on a small island so I had to pick the stuff up before them when they got there with the big boat that was assigned to them by the people from Argentina the stuff was already picked up so close blame Joe and Joe blamed Ronnie Ronnie figured it was close friends so they were fighting amongst themselves one night Ronnie called me and said Cliff wanted to meet him in East Boston at a certain garage that was connected with the big boys in Boston in New England it seems that Clift you some of the money for the operation and they wanted to find out Now it seems clear found out that my nephew Ronnie rose my brother son Eddie is in California he left his wife Mary when is three boys Ronnie Eddie and Jackie were small I hope his wife Mary whenever I could to help bring up the kids Ronnie was the oldest and he had a pilots license to fly a plane anyway it seems cliff and Josie got involved with the connection in Columbia cliff and Joe went over there and came back and took Ronnie over to Columbia to pilot a route to bring some stuff into the US to Florida it seems they made the drop from the plane they were to pick the stuff up on a small island so I had to pick the stuff up before them when they got there with the big boat that was assigned to them by the people from Argentina the stuff was already picked up so close blame Joe and Joe blamed Ronnie Ronnie figured it was close friends so they were fighting amongst themselves one night Ronnie called me and said Cliff wanted to meet him in East Boston at a certain garage that was connected with the big boys in Boston in New England it seems that Clift you some of the money for the operation and they wanted to find out Who is lying maybe get a bullet as well Ronnie knew I had a lot of friends and his boss and also all the big guys in town because I used to know them well and had friends in high places in the underworld I picked up numbers in my earlier days Ronnie and I were to meet Cliff over there at about 8 PM we didn’t know that Joe castrato was going to be there also anyway Ronnie and I pulled up across the street from the garage and Cliff pulled up behind us with another fellow a little short kid sullivan I guess he knew me also I was on the left driver side Ronnie close the sidewalk when I saw Cliff pull up behind me and his caddy he got out as soon as I stopped I got out walked back to him and I saw that he had a handgun he said I’m going to kill a little bastard and started across the rear of my car towards Ronnie who’s just about to get out of the car I had it cliff off and grab the hand with a gun and swing him around and had his face on the back trunk of my car and his other hand not the one with a gun bent up and back of him and he was pending couldn’t move I stayed down Ronnie He’s gone hand is still free against the back window but in an awkward position I said what the hell is the matter with you Cliff he said the little bastard fingered the job I said I found out who did it at this moment I would’ve told Cliff anything else across the street and my friend at the garage with a shotgun with two policeman slow down and we’re about to stop when I said it’s OK fellows they are friends of mine in the cruiser just kept on going I said Cliff get into my car first and first then I said Ron you get in also click on the backseat right in front with me driving cliff walk to run in the back of the head more of a slap in a punch he said to me you are strong little bastard I said what’s wrong with you because it ain’t worth going to jail for life when you don’t even know the whole truth of what happened we pulled away and stopped at the road where we were alone his car followed and Josie followed along behind him I said OK Ryan let me hear your story then we will hear yours Cliff he said He’s gone hand is still free against the back window but in an awkward position I said what the hell is the matter with you Cliff he said the little bastard fingered the job I said I found out who did it at this moment I would’ve told Cliff anything else across the street and my friend at the garage with a shotgun with two policeman slow down and we’re about to stop when I said it’s OK fellows they are friends of mine in the cruiser just kept on going I said Cliff get into my car first and first then I said Ron you get in also click on the backseat right in front with me driving cliff walk to run in the back of the head more of a slap in a punch he said to me you are strong little bastard I said what’s wrong with you because it ain’t worth going to jail for life when you don’t even know the whole truth of what happened we pulled away and stopped at the road where we were alone his car followed and Josie followed along behind him I said OK Ryan let me hear your story then we will hear yours Cliff he said OK cousin no one else could do this to me only you because I love and respect you I said promise me you’ll behave yourself and let him finish his story of what he knows happened I said I can’t understand how you guys got tied up in the shit anyway do you know the harm that dope does to a lot of nice families OK Ryan let’s hear what your story is I kept her in his truck because I knew there would be a blow up close kept interrupting wrong but I will shut him up and then listen to Cliff and I said my piece and told him what I knew about the whole deal after talking to Ron Josie and the boys in town and who I thought and they knew the right story I promise class at the boys really knew what had happened and that they were in the clear it was because of Josie’s friendship with the fellow who is served with in jail that they got drunk together one night and Joe trusted him a little too much he evidentially had made a couple of scores with the fellow interested him on this job that Cliff Joe and Ron we’re going on drinking together with friends makes loose lips as we say in the service loose lips sink ships anyway Cliff felt relieved that he was off the hook with the boys he sponsored him he said I never knew you were in good with so many people he and Ronnie talked but I want to talk with Joe and he still had his gun right beside him he said he knew cliffy and that was why he brought it with him I told him the whole story he wouldn’t talk to Cliff he said just tell Cliff to stay away for me and I will him as long as we know the whole story and the boys in town are looking for us I assured him of that cliff hugged me and said thanks Cuz I appreciate all you’ve done in this I said you I could’ve gone to jail I had your gun on me and the cops are going to stop he said he was sorry and we all left Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Chapter I" Description An account of the resource Recollection written by George W. Rose. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rose, George W. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived From the collection of the Rose family, courtesy of Carol Rose Camelio. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available UMass Lowell, Center for Lowell History Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted: This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. In addition, no permission is required from the rights-holder(s) for educational uses. For other uses, you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RoseWritings9 Subject The topic of the resource Immigrants Brazilian Americans Family violence Bullying in schools Boxing Portuguese American women Paperboys Basketball teams Civilian Conservation Corps Automobile theft Police Bookmakers (Gambling) Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Recife (Brazil) Dighton (Mass.) Cambridge (Mass.) https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/42465/archive/files/eac0dc6c2030dcba7f77525e760f2268.pdf?Expires=1779321600&Signature=ouwBKvw0WncbO5LfPYb7u%7EKErmsZkDnBKMUZqXmQ9OJEr60ThNahpgfHrrbnKek%7Evh-L-mep-WZo7gtbdctAm%7EHdCFQEDQ%7EgeXFfuTEPhdqyqrzjsJiawd89L6OXCCW7CJkeI79Vu908hTQrbhU4j6rHDph%7Eaiy%7ElIIja7DQzJcq-MxDhwtFNn5fJHdl%7Enx1-O0r4dBOqVMhg38Ypj%7E6BiBDckuhZkcSRvxiZ7NLVHrwlvMR4m%7EsUBBMJpcDbP8f-cc7ZrcjqRHVW64PPUsMxzQeAKmmNNpUFG67HPw9DN-VJiw8EXyZLbRurJqseHB%7EMMgZEM9FN%7EHxHbXohSB3Cw__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 4f34f7a9782cee40685c120a6ba14435 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource George W. Rose Collection [1900-2003] Subject The topic of the resource Entrepreneurship United States. Army. World War, 1939-1945 Veterans Waste disposal Portuguese American women Ethnic neighborhoods Community organization Radio broadcasting Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital scans donated from the personal collection of the Rose family, courtesy of Carol Rose Camelio. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available UMass Lowell, Center for Lowell History Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted: This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. In addition, no permission is required from the rights-holder(s) for educational uses. For other uses, you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Cambridge (Mass.) Dighton (Mass.) Medford (Mass.) Recife (Brazil) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1900-2003 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource JPEG PDF Description An account of the resource This collection contains images related to the Rose family, focusing on the life of George W. Rose. Items include pictures from his childhood, his involvement in the local Cambridge, MA community, and material from his various business dealings. Most items focus on the time period between 1930-1980.<br /><br /><strong>Biographical Sketch</strong><br /><p>George W. Rose was a World War II veteran, entrepreneur, radio broadcaster, and activist in the Democratic Party in Massachusetts, as well as a delegate to the 1960 Democratic convention in which he was pledged to John F. Kennedy. He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on August 16, 1921. His mother Anna (Souza) Rose (1882-1960), although born in Boston, had family roots in Sao Miguel, Azores. His Brazilian-born father, John Dutra Rose (1882-1951), who immigrated to the United States from Recife, had roots in Faial, Azores. Anna and John Rose raised nine children in Cambridge, with George being the youngest son.</p> <p>At the time of George Rose’s birth, the Portuguese population in Cambridge was among the top five in Massachusetts. These Portuguese settled primarily in East Cambridge and by 1902 this community had grown to such an extent that the Boston archdiocese established St. Anthony’s parish. Most of East Cambridge’s Portuguese residents had immigrated from the Azores, notably Sao Miguel, and the majority were wage earners toiling in the city’s numerous factories.</p> <p>George Rose’s father followed a slightly different path to East Cambridge. His mother, (George’s grandmother), Maria (Conceicão) Rose Oliver, or "Avo Salta" as the family lovingly refers to her, grew up in Horta, Faial, in a wealthy family. She wed John Dutra Rose but he proved to be an abusive husband. From her family she inherited an estate in Brazil in the coastal city of Recife and moved there. Apparently her husband joined her in Recife and she birth to her only son, also named John Dutra Rose. Perhaps with the hope that he would find more opportunity in the United States, his mother sent him at age 14 to Boston. Eventually she separated from her husband, left Brazil for Massachusetts, and remarried.</p> <p>Upon his arrival in Boston, John Dutra Rose found work on a farm in Dighton, Massachusetts, living there and in New Bedford where he attended public school and learned English. John Dutra Rose subsequently moved to Cambridge, married George’s mother, Anna (Souza) Rose, and found work in the Cambridge Rubber Company’s factory, known for its production of rubber boots and a large employer of Portuguese. He would later establish a small repair business, specializing in the restoration of religious statuary.</p> <p>Similar to many others of his generation in East Cambridge, George Rose grew up in a household where Portuguese was spoken, but he attended public schools and learned to navigate through both Portuguese and American cultures. After completing his grammar school education at the Putnam School, Rose entered Rindge Technical High School. Financial hardship in his family in the wake of the Great Depression, led him to apply for and receive a job in the federal Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). He left school and moved to Colorado. His work with the CCC included the operation of heavy construction equipment and by 1940 he returned to Massachusetts, enlisting in the U.S. Army and training in ordinance at Fort Devens, as well as in army construction equipment and maintenance at Fort Edwards.</p> <p>Following Pearl Harbor and the entry of the United States into World War II, George Rose served in the U.S. Army Combat Engineers, participating in three major invasions: Guadalcanal, Bougainville, and Cebu in the Philippines. He spent a total of 34 months in combat duty in the South Pacific. Before his honorable discharge in 1945, he attained the rank of Sargent of the Guard at Fort Devens, and received a number of combat awards and medals, including a Presidential Unit Citation and three battle stars.</p> <p>In 1945, while at Fort Devens, Rose met and married Mary Frances Turner of Haverhill, Massachusetts. The following year they had a daughter, Maureen Frances, the first of nine children. The other eight children, born between 1947 and 1965, were Sharon Ann, Carol Lee, George W. Jr., Marilyn Bernice, Donna Marie, Charles John, Kenneth Robert, and Judith Ann. George Rose purchased a house in Cambridge, before moving to nearby Medford.</p> <p>To support his growing family Rose engaged in a number of businesses. This ranged from a refuse removal company to an asphalt paving firm. He also engaged in real estate, gaining accreditation through the Harvard University Extension program. He also attended the Calvin Coolidge College (no longer operating) in Boston, receiving a liberal arts degree in 1960. In addition, Rose was a well-known member of the Lusitania Club of Cambridge and was heavily involved in a number of charitable organizations, serving as president of the Cambridge Lions Club, chairman of the Cambridge Kiwanis Underprivileged Children’s Fund, and was a fund raiser for the Home for Italian Children in Boston.</p> <p>Apart from his business activities, Rose, a talented athlete, excelling in basketball and soccer, played semi-professional soccer and nearly made the U.S. Olympic soccer team in 1956. He was well-known in the Boston area’s Portuguese community not only for his participation and leadership in a number of Portuguese social and cultural organizations, but also as a radio broadcaster on “The Portuguese Hour,” heard on Medford’s station WHIL, in which he was part-owner.</p> <p>In part influenced by his older brother John Dutra Rose, Jr., who was active in local politics in Cambridge, George Rose became deeply involved in Democratic Party politics at the local, state, and national levels. An early supporter of John F. Kennedy, Rose was a delegate to the Democratic Convention in Los Angeles, in 1960. During presidential campaign he accompanied Kennedy to a number of rallies in the Boston area, translating for the many Portuguese in attendance. He was later a consultant for and friend of Congressman Thomas “Tip” O’Neil, as well as Governor Michael Dukakis.</p> <p>In the 1960s and 1970s, George Rose was involved in a number of businesses, including restaurants and hotels, north of Boston, and in an automobile tire recycling firm. Dedicated to his family and friends, while always prizing his Portuguese heritage, Rose also took up painting and poetry. He retired from business in the early 1980s and</p> <p>moved with his wife to Fort Meyers, Florida. Following his death in 1988, he received numerous accolades for his community service and charitable work, and was bestowed with a public square in Cambridge named after him and dedicated by Mayor Alfred Vellucci.</p> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document how my father came here from Brazil my father was born in Recife Brazil being brought there by his mother who immigrated from Portugal she was married to a gambler and a womanizer who used to beat her up when in a drunken rage he would make her sign overland him to be used for as many vases her family was wealthy and owned acres of farmland etc. after one of the many beatings she received she landed in the hospital and she then decided to leave her husband in Portugal and moved to Brazil this is where my dad was born they lived there for about 14 years and then my grandmother decided to send my dad to the United States where she thought life would be easier for him here right by boat in Boston MA with only a birdcage a suitcase and a note pinned to his lapel telling the reader where he should be sent since he could speak no word of English is difficult for him to communicate with anyone he was supposed to go to a family in Dayton who in those days were called masters he was to work on their farm for food clothing and board in room is ship arrived at the Boston pier located in the north end and my grandmother told no one where she sent him after he arrived he was taken to a Boston police officer who brought him to a Portuguese barber who intern interpreted the note that was pinned to Isabell and instructed where my father should be sent and they put him on a bus to Dayton where his master met him and looked after him he was placed in the second grade in school and the kids used to make fun of him because he couldn’t put his knees under the desk being so big he would lift the desks right off the floor taking out the screws as he did this the teachers would get very aggravated with us and the kids will make fun of him and tease him by taking his hat and running away sometimes they would throw his hat over a small cliff where he would have to climb down to get it and at times the older boys would beat him up he would go to his master with a bloody nose on occasion boys can be very cruel to other boys when they are foreign and don’t understand their ways this was the case with my dad as children they played with wooden barrels and my father would climb inside so they could roll him of course his feet would stick way out he was so back one day they rolled him off a 20 foot cliff by the water in the Coast Guard had to come to rescue him before the tide came in or he would’ve drowned when my dad went into the fourth grade he was with bigger children and became stronger by all the hard work on the farm he could wrestle anyone to the ground and many times he got beaten up but even if he was hurt he saw that you shared work on his masters farm sometimes even after dark he felt so all alone at times and it seem to him that no one cared about him or his problems at this point in time he started to lift barrels that were along the beach he lifted them up over his head to build up his strength they were made of iron and were used by the wailers for storing blood broil which was used to burn lanterns sometimes the wheelers would sell these barrels of oil to the local hardware stores for money they would stink them out after dark Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "How My Father Came Here From Brazil" Description An account of the resource Recollection written by George W. Rose. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rose, George W. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived From the collection of the Rose family, courtesy of Carol Rose Camelio. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available UMass Lowell, Center for Lowell History Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted: This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. In addition, no permission is required from the rights-holder(s) for educational uses. For other uses, you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RoseWritings7 Subject The topic of the resource Brazilian Americans Family violence Immigrants Immigrant families Bullying in schools Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Recife (Brazil) Dighton (Mass.)