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Joseph D. Carrier - 'I Am My Brother's Keeper'
By Catherine Smyth (cont'd) page 1 | page 2 | page 3 | page 4 | page 5
The Carriers settled in an area known as the ward, where Jews, Italians, Slavs and Chinese lived in large numbers. It is a part of Toronto that was largely demolished to make way for Nathan Phillips Square and the new City Hall.
Even in Toronto the Carrieros were dirt poor. Antonio had been a cooper, a maker of wine barrels in his native Pisticci, but there was little work in that craft in Toronto and the struggle for survival continued.
In spite of their poverty and the fact that they spoke in a peasant dialect, the Carrieros retained a sense of their native culture. "Dad was a lover of art," says Carrier. "I remember that while I was schooled in English, he insisted we always spoke Italian at home and he used to show me pictures torn from papers and magazines of the work of the great masters and painstakingly he would explain to me that there was so much love and worship that went into making those old paintings."
At the same time he was shining shoes and selling papers to help out the family. With his studies and service as an altar boy, there wasn't much time for play.
"I delivered the Globe in the morning before school to the wealthy homes and then in the late afternoon sold The Star on the street," he says. "I remember The Star printing building was located on Louisa St. by the old Opera House. I used to buy 12 papers for 8 cents and sell them at the regular price of a cent each. A profit of 50 per cent isn't bad at any time of your life."
Leaving elementary school at 14, Carrier found work in a cobbler's shop, but became deft at making shoes and was soon employed in a shoe factory where he became a master craftsman. It was then that the profit motive soured on him, at least for a while. Religious parents and church training had impressed Carrier with the belief that he was "his brother's keeper." Although his talent as a shoemaker paid him reasonably good wages, he began to deplore the conditions most of the workers had to endure and before reaching his 20s had become a union organizer and in a short while, president of a local with 4,000 members.
"I was pretty much of a leftist in those days and during the Depression was quite an activist," he recalls. "I remember a few scuffles with the police during demonstrations.
"I was determined that if I ever became a proprietor I'd treat my employees with the same respect I demanded and never got for them from others. I didn't have much time for the church in those days, but somehow I just couldn't get the old adage about being your brother's keeper out of my mind."
In 1937, Carrier's life took two dramatic turns. He married Josephine Mastrangelo and on an investment of $92 opened his own business. Celebrating his 50th wedding anniversary this year, Carrier looks back on it as a supportive union during which they had two sons and two daughters. They have nine grandchildren and a great-grandchild. Josephine has assisted him in his business and voluntary activities. [ cont'd ] >>
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