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Mari TOURei
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1 ThAT I LO ANITEIN6
Pierre Savoie was a shorts stocky Frenchman. Bo sat under an apple
tree in the backyard of his boarding house drawing noisily at a curved,
worn pipe.
"1 been here now about thirty-five years," be said. "Pm born in
Iberville, Canada, but I lived in West Cbasy over in New York State until
I was ten years old. Just across Lake Champlain. My old man worked in
the stone business there. A small shed. We went back to lberville when
the old man died. I didn't have muoh schooling. I ain't educated but
can write my own name. I was a carpenter in Iberville. When I was out of
a je) I close to Vermont. I heard toll how summer cottages was going up
fast at Mallettis Bay on Lake Champlain. Lots of French from Winooski
woo building there and they liked to have French workmen. So I come down
and got a job for the summer.
"Well, when the job was done I hoard hew the shed owners in the Barre
district was oomplaininr that skilled workers was gettinr too such pay.
Good carvers grt 2040 a day. The owners INA willing to break in new
workers to save their own pocketbooks. Thetis hew I rot in the sheds. I
didn't figure then that stonecutting was hard and danrerrus work and that
they had a right to strike for shorter hours. 1 wouldn't go anywhere as
a stonecutter strikebreaker again. Not now. Not for twice the money.
That strike started in April, just when the sheds was busy with
their kemorial Lay orders. In '22. It was bad for harr. Around that
time southern granite like Georgia granite wasn't known at all except
for building purposes. It's a softer stone. It don't eery* sood. 14rre
was getting most of the business in the country. Well, the workers struck.
S.
can cook buns, cakes, break, fry all kind of meat. Last at:war when shed
business was slot I got a job IL the kitchen with a railroad steel ,en.
boss' helper, I was, and I made rood money.
"I* first year in Jerre I roomed in a business block on 4sin Street.
A buch of u* Canadians ot in the habit of eating tosether. Tie'd take in
all the church suppers it was 4:1.0d cookin6 ana cheap, and a change iron
the restaurants.
"That's how I got to know my landlady, at a St. Ann's*ocisty supper.
A, Catholic society for married french women. Xrs. fournier did the cook—
ing that night, we all liked it. Ler husband add of stonecutter's t.b.
the month before. She said she was to put her insurance money in
house, and take in roomers and boarders. Four of us moved in next week.
She made good. Kext yenr another kronen woman began to take in roomers
and boarder* next cleats They was friendly, but they knew us men talked
about the food and compared it, so there was comIstition. It suited us
fine. lash one would cook the best she couLi, and still make a profit.
never ate so well since. The next year the woman nex dot"r got married
and moved sway.
"I've lived in lots of rooming ::ouses. Italian or french. .oet of
them were the widows of stonecutters, and they all had large families. By
God, it's funny the Italians stick to their Italian food, but it's the
French that stick to their own lanzuage. Lvery French house I've lived
in the mothers make the kids ttak French. The last Italian house I lived
in the two oldest kids could speak a little Italian, the two youngest
couldn't understand it at all.
4.
"V4Ore seven in our rooming house now. five stoneoutters, and two
on WPA. The landlady treats us like we are in Ler family. In Septeaber
of 1936, the t;ommissioner of Industries of Vermont enforced the use of
gocles by quarry workers, and refused compensation unless the driller was
veering them at the time his eye was injured. liven before this lee, our
landlady used to keep after a couple of the quarrymen and see that they
took their geg4les. In the winter when they carried their lunch she made
sure the Li,-og6les were in the dinrer pails. It's a good thing they got to
wear goggles. Only the wan running plug drills, jaokhammers, line drills,
hull -sets, bit grinders and emery wheels are mad. to weer theme It's the
ewners of the quarries that's t to provide the rogles. It's a rood
regulation, inn most of the follows stiok to it. Sometimes I wear them
in the sheds. It's funny, if a wan hurts his eye today the fellow' ars
sure to wear glasses for a week or two, then they put them sway until the
next aocident.
"I never been near the quarries* I got enough of the stone right in
the sheds. The blocks are lined up in the sheds, they're marked, then a
man lines the stone u lot the aurfaoe cutting machine, either for the
polisher or for the hammerer. -.hey maks a jeint on it, and it's most all
rook fees stuff. Last week Joe ntoano, the owner of the shed where I
used to work, was hurt. ne worked with us. he climbed a ladder to see what
was the matter with the crane. be got disty, he ain't young anymore. And
he landed head first on the traeks that run through the shed. They took
him to the hospital quick that was in the morning and, by ved, he
WUA .':Ack working will his men at three in the afternoon. kot hurt a thus
tit.
5.
"I ain't married. When I unme down fro.. Ibervilles my mother come
with me. &he didn't live more than a year. I buried Ler down in :sentpelier,
down in the k'teen mountain ‘;emetery. bhe had a cousin there, and I never
figured I'd stay in L.arre all these, years. I get a nice manorial on her
grave. I was making '400d money then. Old Pete Sart° who worked with me
carved the stone. The boss gave me the stone cheap. 1 almost married
once with the widow who run the boarding house next door. but she had
five kids. gtce kids. At I figured I wouldn't be my own boss no more.
I'd hays to work all the time, if I liked the job or not. This way when
it's to tvh I turn to something else. I like money, bt.t I ain't going
to break back ,7ettinc