THE FAMILY MOVED AGAIN
Gerardo never revealed his plans to his children nor did he think to consider how they would feel or be affected. He had been raised in Italy and was conditioned to believe that children were only required to be obedient and quiet when the parents were at home. They were never consulted on anything including meals, homes, friends or family recreation. This latest decision to move was sudden, unwelcome and devastating to me. I was going to lose some dear neighbourhood friends and a lifestyle that I had come to cherish.
Gerardo never revealed his plans to his children nor did he think to consider how they would feel or be affected. He had been raised in Italy and was conditioned to believe that children were only required to be obedient and quiet when the parents were at home. They were never consulted on anything including meals, homes, friends or family recreation. This latest decision to move was sudden, unwelcome and devastating to me. I was going to lose some dear neighbourhood friends and a lifestyle that I had come to cherish.
Cristina did not seem to care and I was left with no one to talk with. One evening my mother simply announced we were moving, again, to-morrow. We were to be ready to leave after breakfast. I don't know how it happened but after breakfast on Saturday morning, Joyce and the gang had gathered on the front lawn to say goodbye. I tried, unsuccessfully, not to cry.
Later in life I learned that Gerardo, had put aside some of the money from his Yonge Street grocery store enterprise to purchase some vacant land on Avenue Road north of Lawrence on the corner of Brooke Avenue. His intention was to build six stores on the property with apartments above. He had recruited and sponsored his brother Giuseppe to come to Canada and help him with the project. These stores included a hardware, a men's clothier, an auto parts shop, a woman's hat store- managed by two dear old spinsters-, a variety shop and a food market. Guess which one we moved into.
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| THE NEW MARKET ON AVENUE ROAD |
Saturday night I slept in a new bed in a room above the grocery market. The bedroom window looked out onto Avenue Road and can be seen in the picture above to the right of the market's sign. There was no Blackie, nor were there any neighbourhood kids. Memories of the store on Yonge street and Tina the twit came flooding back. I cried myself to sleep. I was ten years old and ready to run away from home. I was sad, all alone and feeling sorry for myself.
The apartment had 4 bedrooms a large kitchen, a dining room, living room and a long hallway. Uncle Joe shared our apartment in one of the bedrooms. He became the unofficial produce manager and went with my dad to the Ontario Food Terminal each morning at 6 AM to buy the day's produce to be prepared and sold in the market. Below the apartment directly behind the store were a kitchen and dining area where we ate a daily lunch. Below the store was a basement which included a walk-in refrigerator, a vegetable and fruit washing gadget (a large rocking bin and garden hose), a furnace room and the ever present wine cellar. Uncle Joe had summoned his wife Amelia and their 2 young children to come to live in Canada. Joe's family lived with us for a time and then moved into the apartment above the neighbouring store. Joe continued to work in the store and Aunt Amelia provided minimal oversight to my activities. Aunt Amelia was a very likeable person; however, to my great joy, her small children kept her more than busy.
I shared a room with Jonny while Cristina and Cynthia shared the one beside us. We had an old console radio with a green light indicator to announce that the radio was powered on Every Saturday evening Cynth and I sat in front of it listening to Foster Hewitt's broadcasts of the Leaf game. This became one of my favourite activities. Hewitt brought the games to life: "He shoots he scores" became a catch phrase in our home. I used to imagine that I could see all the action in the radio's green light. During playoff games Cynth always brought out her rosary. It seemed to work well. Her favourites were Max Bentley Bill Barilko and 'Teeder' Kennedy.
Cynth was taken out of school after grade ten to help mom in the market. Jonny left during grade 12 to deliver orders in the store's green panel truck. He continued his education at home by reading every issue of Time Magazine and Popular Mechanics. Jonny had some friends who smoked and knew all about girls. I used to accompany him on his Saturday deliveries and met some of them. One Saturday they were planning a picnic to Lake Simcoe. It sounded like fun and I insisted on going. Of course he didn't need his kid brother hanging around and he let me know that I was not invited. I ratted him out to Mom and she told Jonny he could not take the truck unless he took me as well. Jonny then softened his approach towards me and we became good buddies. It was agreed that I would stay home in exchange for his stamp collection, his ball glove and a crystal radio. He also was to give me 10 cents a week so that I could buy baseball and hockey cards. I believed the deal was the beginning of an entrepreneurial pursuit. Cristina was old enough to work in the store after school and on Saturdays. I was not!
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| CYNTHIA |
One of the benefits of having parents who worked from 6 AM to 10 PM six days a week included very little supervision. I could sneak away to find new friends and adventures. My parents had a grade 2 education. They could not read or write inEnglish with any degree of competence. Thus it happened that they knew nothing of my repeating the 5th grade. Cynth, out of absolute concern for my continued existence on earth, willingly took care of signing all report cards. In so doing, she always took time to counsel me on the importance of doing well in my studies. Blackmail was never an option but she knew that I was totally distracted from studying. Over the summer she & Cristina gave a series of 1/2 hour lessons in basic math. I became quite proficient at solving the problems they had dug up.
GRADE SIX AT LAST!
In September of 1950, approaching my 10th birthday, I reluctantly returned for grade six at Blessed Sacrament. After having suffered through two years of Miss Krabway's monotony. I saw no sign of my nemesis and assumed she had succumbed to some dreaded disease; but The Blimp was still the Principal.
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| GRRRRRRR! |
Cynth signed me up for the school hockey team. She had bought for me some rudimentary equipment and managed to find some second hand skates that were 2 sizes too big. I remember doing more running on my ankles than skating but the coaches admired my determination. Hockey was fun but Cynth assured me that if my grades did not measure up, my hockey career would end.
In January of that year, a new school was completed 6 blocks north of our market. It was called Saint Margaret. The School opened in 1951 with classes initially being held in the basement of Blessed Sacrament School. On opening day 67 students, from grade six to eight, were registered. I was to complete my 6th grade at the new school without the threat of The Blimp or Krabway hanging over my head. This was my third school and the grade 6 classroom was under the direction of a male teacher named Mr Egan. He proved to be a patient and understanding man and I thrived in his class achieving excellent grades.
THE KNOT WAS TIED THAT SUMMER!
Dad was making more plans. He had purchased the vacant lot on the opposite corner of Avenue Road and Brooke and proceeded to build 5 more stores. One of the builders on the new project noticed Cynth outside the Market and hounded her for a date. She asked Mom for permission and it was granted with the proviso that I went along to chaperone. Haha! The date consisted of a trip to the amusement park at Sunnyside down at Lake Ontario off the Lakeshore. It was such fun on the various rides eating a hot dog and playing games. I wasn't much of a chaperone, I guess, because 3 months and a few dates later they were engaged to be married. After the wedding Cynth and her husband moved into one of the apartments above the new stores. They went on to have 3 beautiful children and several grandchildren. Cynthia passed away in 2009. God Bless!
Next door in the apartment above the Men's clothing store lived a girl named Melody Morley. She was pretty, shy and friendly. Cristina, in her usual pot-stirring manner tried to establish more than a casual relationship between Melody and me. I resisted all her efforts. down the block lived another girl named Patricia. She was cute, portly and hilarious. My mom was somewhat concerned as Patricia was not a Catholic and surely would spend time in Purgatory. We became daily summertime playmates. A friend from school named Joe would come by from time to time. I usurped the role usually filled by Cristina and encouraged Joe and Patricia to kiss each other. They finally did so and I teased them non stop and without mercy.
On Saturdays I would go with friends to a movie at the old Capitol Theatre, the park for a game of pick-up ball, or an adventure down in the ravine of the Don River. The movies always included a cartoon and were great entertainment. The ball games were fun and competitive. the excursions to the ravine became a favourite as we always encountered a rival gang of boys or a group of non Catholic girls. The gang wars developed into pitched battles of crab apple throwing or arm wrestling or games of capture the flag. The day always ended with one gang or another yelling "wait till next time!". Encounters with the girls generally included a visit to someone's home for an exciting game of "spin the bottle". Needless to say, I didn't dare invite them to my home. My contribution consisted of a basket of fruit, peaches or cherries, carefully purloined from the market. Later I was to learn that my mother knew of the thefts and rather enjoyed the lengths to which I would go in order to be successful.
During the summer of '52 the New York Yankees were starting out to win a record 4th consecutive World Series Title under manager Casey Stengel. They had a great team led by Mickey Mantle, my baseball hero. Not to be outdone, Gerardo was determined to set a record of his own, for the most moves and developments over a 5 year period.
ANOTHER MOVE!
Dad sold the stores on Avenue Road and the Market to one of his Italian compatriots. He agreed to train the new owners while our new home was being built in Willowdale near Bayview and Shepperd Avenues. This ended my Saturday entertainment as I was driven to the new home location to clear brush and keep the building site clear of garbage and other waste. We moved into the new split-level home in late August. It was an exciting time.
I was enrolled for grade seven at the Catholic school just off Yonge street north of shepperd. The school was named after Saint Edward. It has since closed and relocated to the west near Bathurst Street. I had to walk approximately 1.5 miles to school each day. Uphill both ways, in blinding blizzards or pelting rain. One day Ron brought me his old bicycle. He told me that it was a real racer. It had no brakes or gears and the pedals kept turning as long as the rear wheel did. I was thrilled because of the long walks it saved but I learned to hate that damn bike because of the number of painful mishaps that I encountered with its use. Torn pant legs caught in the chain, bruised testicles, scraped knees and hands; all the result of trying to control the contraption. After each recounting, Ron would laugh and nod knowingly.
Eventually I became proficient at riding the beast but they built a new school, Saint Gabriel 4 houses to the east of our home on Spring Garden, which precluded the need for that particular mode of transportation. The building was small and had no gymnasium. I began grade eight at St Gabe's in 1953 and was taught by a nun named Mother St Albert. It was a split grade 6,7 and 8. There were eight students in the grade 8 class. These students were to become the first graduating class from the school.
368 SPRING GARDEN AVENUE 1952
The house was large, with a recreation room, a new TV, and neighbourhood friends! It was built on a one acre lot which was quickly transformed from vacant land into a large garden, a BBQ area, a Bocce court and a green house complete with fig tree and tomato plants. The fence along the east side of the lot was covered with grape vines. Gerardo managed to create an apple tree with 5 different varieties of apples!
My best friend was called Reggie. Gerardo to my surprise welcomed him at our house and nicknamed him 'the mushroom'. The neighbourhood gang included Paul C, Pete, brothers Bob and Poopsie, Haggarty, Heffernan, Tiph, Tim Joey, Eddie McGoo, Paul the arm, Mike, Reggie and me. Each was unique with stories, favourite sports teams, weird habits and talents. Mike was the best ice hockey player in the group. Eddie was the toughest of us all. Bob liked to sing but had no voice or rhythm. Pete was a wild man who liked to use foul language. Reggie was the fastest; Tim the tallest; Joey the shyest; Tiph the most defiant. We marvelled at Paul the arm who could throw a stone over the water tower. Haggarty and Heffernan were the youngest and the biggest klutzes. Poopsie was the sneakiest and very adept at playing tricks on the older lads, much to the delight of Haggarty and Heffernan. I was called Sammy due to the fact that my skin colouring resembled that of an African. Paul C was the leader of the group who organized and scheduled all activities.
We played sports all day and changed the activity to coincide with the professional league schedules.
The meeting place for the group became my yard. It was close to the school playground, had a cherry tree and some peach and apple trees. Also the lads seemed to enjoy Cristina's brazen flirtation. She had a friend named Glenda and, as usual, my attraction to older women took hold. I had found someone to ease the pain of losing Joyce. Our group started to call our parents by their first names. For example, mine became Pere Gere and Angie. Paul C's parents became Vern and Mary, Mike's parents were referred to as Harry and Ella. Girls were not a part of our culture. But that of course would eventually change when we started high school.
When we weren't playing ball games. Mike and I would hike over to St Andrew's Golf Club. It was a large property that contained two 18-hole courses and a 9-hole course. Much of the acreage was expropriated when they built the 401 Highway. Mike had a 2-iron, a putter and 3-wood. I had a wood-shafted 7-iron and a 5-iron, found while hunting for lost balls. We would sneak onto the 11th tee and usually manage to get in 4 or 5 holes of our version of the game. If members or paying golfers were crowding our course we simply waited in the rough and searched for golf balls. Selling the balls for a buck a dozen was a great source of income for us.
IN 1952-3 THE ARGOS WON THE GREY CUP! The Montreal Canadians and Detroit were the NHL powerhouses. The NY Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in 7 games to win the World Series.
My favourite of all was the Toronto Maple Leaf 'AAA' baseball team. Many nights were spent in my room listening to Joe Chrysdale and Hal Kelly's broadcasts. On some out of town games Joe read the play off a ticker tape and ad-libbed the colour as he went along.
Looking back on these experiences and memories, I realize that much of what took place during this phase of my life had become my formative years. Many more adventures and missteps were to follow and I was confident in my ability to handle whatever came along.
QUESTION: Will we live together as brothers or die together as fools?
QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. -Maya Angelou
LAURELS TO:
Angelina DiPaola for seeking a new life in a new country and for doing the best she could with what she was given.
CLIP OF THE WEEK:
In January of that year, a new school was completed 6 blocks north of our market. It was called Saint Margaret. The School opened in 1951 with classes initially being held in the basement of Blessed Sacrament School. On opening day 67 students, from grade six to eight, were registered. I was to complete my 6th grade at the new school without the threat of The Blimp or Krabway hanging over my head. This was my third school and the grade 6 classroom was under the direction of a male teacher named Mr Egan. He proved to be a patient and understanding man and I thrived in his class achieving excellent grades.
 |
| Saint Margaret Catholic |
THE KNOT WAS TIED THAT SUMMER!
Dad was making more plans. He had purchased the vacant lot on the opposite corner of Avenue Road and Brooke and proceeded to build 5 more stores. One of the builders on the new project noticed Cynth outside the Market and hounded her for a date. She asked Mom for permission and it was granted with the proviso that I went along to chaperone. Haha! The date consisted of a trip to the amusement park at Sunnyside down at Lake Ontario off the Lakeshore. It was such fun on the various rides eating a hot dog and playing games. I wasn't much of a chaperone, I guess, because 3 months and a few dates later they were engaged to be married. After the wedding Cynth and her husband moved into one of the apartments above the new stores. They went on to have 3 beautiful children and several grandchildren. Cynthia passed away in 2009. God Bless!
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| CYNTHIA WITH BABY LYNDA |
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| RON AND CYNTHIA |
Next door in the apartment above the Men's clothing store lived a girl named Melody Morley. She was pretty, shy and friendly. Cristina, in her usual pot-stirring manner tried to establish more than a casual relationship between Melody and me. I resisted all her efforts. down the block lived another girl named Patricia. She was cute, portly and hilarious. My mom was somewhat concerned as Patricia was not a Catholic and surely would spend time in Purgatory. We became daily summertime playmates. A friend from school named Joe would come by from time to time. I usurped the role usually filled by Cristina and encouraged Joe and Patricia to kiss each other. They finally did so and I teased them non stop and without mercy.
On Saturdays I would go with friends to a movie at the old Capitol Theatre, the park for a game of pick-up ball, or an adventure down in the ravine of the Don River. The movies always included a cartoon and were great entertainment. The ball games were fun and competitive. the excursions to the ravine became a favourite as we always encountered a rival gang of boys or a group of non Catholic girls. The gang wars developed into pitched battles of crab apple throwing or arm wrestling or games of capture the flag. The day always ended with one gang or another yelling "wait till next time!". Encounters with the girls generally included a visit to someone's home for an exciting game of "spin the bottle". Needless to say, I didn't dare invite them to my home. My contribution consisted of a basket of fruit, peaches or cherries, carefully purloined from the market. Later I was to learn that my mother knew of the thefts and rather enjoyed the lengths to which I would go in order to be successful.
During the summer of '52 the New York Yankees were starting out to win a record 4th consecutive World Series Title under manager Casey Stengel. They had a great team led by Mickey Mantle, my baseball hero. Not to be outdone, Gerardo was determined to set a record of his own, for the most moves and developments over a 5 year period.
ANOTHER MOVE!
 |
| GERARDO IN FRONT OF 368 SPRING GARDEN AVENUE |
Dad sold the stores on Avenue Road and the Market to one of his Italian compatriots. He agreed to train the new owners while our new home was being built in Willowdale near Bayview and Shepperd Avenues. This ended my Saturday entertainment as I was driven to the new home location to clear brush and keep the building site clear of garbage and other waste. We moved into the new split-level home in late August. It was an exciting time.
 |
| CRISTINA IN FRONT OF 368 SPRING GARDEN AVE |
I was enrolled for grade seven at the Catholic school just off Yonge street north of shepperd. The school was named after Saint Edward. It has since closed and relocated to the west near Bathurst Street. I had to walk approximately 1.5 miles to school each day. Uphill both ways, in blinding blizzards or pelting rain. One day Ron brought me his old bicycle. He told me that it was a real racer. It had no brakes or gears and the pedals kept turning as long as the rear wheel did. I was thrilled because of the long walks it saved but I learned to hate that damn bike because of the number of painful mishaps that I encountered with its use. Torn pant legs caught in the chain, bruised testicles, scraped knees and hands; all the result of trying to control the contraption. After each recounting, Ron would laugh and nod knowingly.
Eventually I became proficient at riding the beast but they built a new school, Saint Gabriel 4 houses to the east of our home on Spring Garden, which precluded the need for that particular mode of transportation. The building was small and had no gymnasium. I began grade eight at St Gabe's in 1953 and was taught by a nun named Mother St Albert. It was a split grade 6,7 and 8. There were eight students in the grade 8 class. These students were to become the first graduating class from the school.
 |
| ST GABRIEL SCHOOL |
368 SPRING GARDEN AVENUE 1952
The house was large, with a recreation room, a new TV, and neighbourhood friends! It was built on a one acre lot which was quickly transformed from vacant land into a large garden, a BBQ area, a Bocce court and a green house complete with fig tree and tomato plants. The fence along the east side of the lot was covered with grape vines. Gerardo managed to create an apple tree with 5 different varieties of apples!
My best friend was called Reggie. Gerardo to my surprise welcomed him at our house and nicknamed him 'the mushroom'. The neighbourhood gang included Paul C, Pete, brothers Bob and Poopsie, Haggarty, Heffernan, Tiph, Tim Joey, Eddie McGoo, Paul the arm, Mike, Reggie and me. Each was unique with stories, favourite sports teams, weird habits and talents. Mike was the best ice hockey player in the group. Eddie was the toughest of us all. Bob liked to sing but had no voice or rhythm. Pete was a wild man who liked to use foul language. Reggie was the fastest; Tim the tallest; Joey the shyest; Tiph the most defiant. We marvelled at Paul the arm who could throw a stone over the water tower. Haggarty and Heffernan were the youngest and the biggest klutzes. Poopsie was the sneakiest and very adept at playing tricks on the older lads, much to the delight of Haggarty and Heffernan. I was called Sammy due to the fact that my skin colouring resembled that of an African. Paul C was the leader of the group who organized and scheduled all activities.
We played sports all day and changed the activity to coincide with the professional league schedules.
The meeting place for the group became my yard. It was close to the school playground, had a cherry tree and some peach and apple trees. Also the lads seemed to enjoy Cristina's brazen flirtation. She had a friend named Glenda and, as usual, my attraction to older women took hold. I had found someone to ease the pain of losing Joyce. Our group started to call our parents by their first names. For example, mine became Pere Gere and Angie. Paul C's parents became Vern and Mary, Mike's parents were referred to as Harry and Ella. Girls were not a part of our culture. But that of course would eventually change when we started high school.
When we weren't playing ball games. Mike and I would hike over to St Andrew's Golf Club. It was a large property that contained two 18-hole courses and a 9-hole course. Much of the acreage was expropriated when they built the 401 Highway. Mike had a 2-iron, a putter and 3-wood. I had a wood-shafted 7-iron and a 5-iron, found while hunting for lost balls. We would sneak onto the 11th tee and usually manage to get in 4 or 5 holes of our version of the game. If members or paying golfers were crowding our course we simply waited in the rough and searched for golf balls. Selling the balls for a buck a dozen was a great source of income for us.
IN 1952-3 THE ARGOS WON THE GREY CUP! The Montreal Canadians and Detroit were the NHL powerhouses. The NY Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in 7 games to win the World Series.
My favourite of all was the Toronto Maple Leaf 'AAA' baseball team. Many nights were spent in my room listening to Joe Chrysdale and Hal Kelly's broadcasts. On some out of town games Joe read the play off a ticker tape and ad-libbed the colour as he went along.
Looking back on these experiences and memories, I realize that much of what took place during this phase of my life had become my formative years. Many more adventures and missteps were to follow and I was confident in my ability to handle whatever came along.
QUESTION: Will we live together as brothers or die together as fools?
QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. -Maya Angelou
LAURELS TO:
Angelina DiPaola for seeking a new life in a new country and for doing the best she could with what she was given.
CLIP OF THE WEEK:
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