He
says that there was no work in the 30's. He was working
at the Palliser during this time. The people he worked
with took turns working different months so that nobody
got laid off.
The
community was also in bad shape, with people losing
houses to the banks because they could not make
payments.
Mario
says that as the community got richer it started to fall
apart because people did not have to rely on each other
like they did during the depression.
Italians
during World War ll experienced some discrimination
because Italy sided with Germany.
Post
War Immigration:
Immigrants
that came over after the war were more skilled in the
trades.
The
old section of the city that housed the Italian
community was gradually being broken up as the younger
generation moved elsewhere.
The
Return to Italy:
Mario
took his wife and two children back to Italy in 1960. He
discovered he now had 25 cousins that were not born at
the time he left. Other than that he did not notice
anything new in his home town.
He
also went to Japan in 1970 but experienced difficulties
because he was still considered an alien. This was
because he was naturalized with his father when they
arrived.
Opinions
of Canada:
No
complaints, we had hard times, we had good times,
Calgary has been good to me and I love it here.
Mario
says that he wouldn't live in any other country because
Canada is his home.