Bay Village

Bay Village was in the middle of the South End - nearer to the East.  Almost all of us had friends or relatives who lived there.  It was government assisted housing and it was very clean and quiet.  My gram's bestie Maria d' Minga Soares lived there as did my mother's friend, Rosie.

This sign is on Acushnet across from my Aunt Minna and Uncle Jackie's house.  

 

 

No one in my immediate family ever lived at Bay Village but many very close friends did - such as Rosie Tavares & Maria d' Minga Soares.  Also, Bay Village was right next to the WALL, where we all hung out, & it came further down to Wing Street and beyond.  The side closest to downtown was across the street from my uncle Jackie & Aunt Minna. 

My dad was from New Haven and had gotten out of the Navy - submarine service (USS Corporal - which was a diesel submarine) & apparently he met my Uncle Jackie (Joaquim Silva Santos) who was also Navy.  He was invited to New Bedford & he met my mom.  For a while he worked at Morse Twist Drill but then he was called by his friend Pete Hodgson (in 1949) to come back to New Haven to work in/manage/create mechanics for a new business start up which would involve the sale of a new toy called Silly Putty.  See sillyputtyhistory.BlogSpot.com   My dad's family was already heavily involved in the toy industry as they worked or had worked or seasonally worked at the BLOCK SHOP in New Haven, Connecticut. 

So we left New Bedford when I was a little over one year old and we moved from New Bedford to Connecticut.  That would have been the first time that my mother was away from her CV community.  I believe my "American" family tried to take the CV out of me as they would not let me speak the language.  We didn't have alot of CV meals.  Even now I feel more Italian at times than CV.  We became immersed in an Italian neighborhood where I basically grew up as an Italian boy - speaking the words - becoming familiar with the foods.  Religion was largely absent and certainly not the Catholic Church.  Though Dad never expressed it I am sure that he was an Atheist as I am now and have been on an off for much of my life.  I still light candles when presented with the opportunity as I was taught by my distant cousin Mother Faith.