Page 40 - A Life - my Live - my path

The journey - coal miner’s community

Anecdote: random draw
37
Unbelievable, but true!
So that my parents could move in with my paternal
grandparents, the rooms on the first floor of the house
were shared out by drawing lots. My uncle , his wife and
38
39
their two children were given the first part with the main
40
entrance. Four of them lived in this space. My parents lived
in the second part, at the back, which was a bit bigger. My
grandparents lived in the 'cantina' on the ground floor.
My uncle had accepted this rule, but still found it a bit
harsh. He had played a big part in building this annex to
the house, which was a little bigger, and had to live with
two children in the smaller space.

When the work was finished, my mother moved in with my
father on 22 October 1946. At the end of the afternoon, she
came to my father's house, along with her mother and her
two brothers. Together, the two families ate an Italian
speciality that is made especially in October: "scurpelle" (a
kind of doughnut).

They spent their whole lives together and celebrated their
74th year of marriage, one shy from a diamond jubilee.
Life was not easy. As already indicated, some Italians
emigrated to the United States and Argentina. Shortly after

37 By tradition, the coins were shared out by drawing lots 3 times in a row.
38 My uncle Matteo
39 My aunt Virgilia
40 My cousins Vanda and Nicola
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