leonardo and Rosaria Minicola's store was located at what is now 635 Erskine Ave. Leonardo's father Filipo Minicola had owned land in that area as early as 1899. At this time the property was actually farm land in North Monaghan township. Between 1948 and 1956 the area was annexed by the City of Peterborough.

There were a lot of little chits (unpaid accounts) in the store for groceries that went unpaid but it did not bother Rose. Her favourite saying was "Hang-it, people have to eat". A lot of friends and family never went home empty-handed from the farm or store. They were very generous people.

Leonardo Minicola morì improvvisamente nell'agosto del 1943. Era tornato dai suoi giri di parto, aveva sganciato il cavallo, lo aveva messo nella stalla e gli aveva dato da mangiare. Entrato in casa si sdraiò per riposare e morì serenamente.

Sopra: Mappa di North Monaghan intorno al 1896 che mostra la fattoria Minicola al centro a sinistra nei lotti blu 33, 34 e 35. Lansdowne Street corre lungo la parte superiore della mappa.

Still Selling Candy after 55 Years: 'First Fair-Skinned Italian Bride to Arrive in City.'

Esaminatore di Peterborough 2 settembre 1967 Marijo Amer

The little brass bell that tinkles as you enter Minicola's grocery store on Erskine Avenue is the same brass bell that has announced customers for 55 years.

E la vivace signora dai capelli bianchi dietro il bancone vende generi alimentari e caramelle nel negozio del quartiere a sud da 55 anni.

Rosa Minicola ha 83 anni. Si alza con il sole come fa ogni giorno lavorativo da quando il negozio è aperto, ai tempi in cui Peterborough aveva strade di legno e le provviste venivano portate a prendere dai grossisti con un cavallo e un calesse.

Leonard Minicola was a market gardener who returned to Italy and married his wife in Rosetta, Valfortore province (sic). Their honeymoon was the trip back to Canada and when they arrived in 1903, Mrs. Minicola had her picture in the Examiner because she was the "first fair skinned Italian bride to arrive in the city."

Spiegò che gli italiani della costa marittima erano scuri e gli italiani dell'entroterra erano chiari; la maggior parte degli immigrati proveniva dalle zone costiere, quindi un abitante dell'entroterra era una rarità.

The Minicola's owned 33 acres of land east of Erskine Avenue and while Mr. Minicola grew and sold his vegetables, Mrs. Minicola opened the store "for something to do."

GESTISCE IL NEGOZIO DA SOLA
Since her husband's death 24 years ago, she has run the store by herself with the help of her only daughter, Mrs. Rose Williams, who shares the home behind the store with her.

What was the store like when it first opened? "This is it. It has never changed." said Mrs. Minicola, as she pointed out the original glass candy case, the wooden butcher's block and the long pinchers for reaching items on the top shelves that were bought at the local farmer's market for 30 cents.

Il grande fornello al centro del negozio non c'è più e la mannaia è appesa inutilizzata, sostituita da mortadella e salumi confezionati. I barattoli che contenevano caramelle e le scatole di biscotti da vendere a sterline sono stati sostituiti da pacchetti e scatole, ma il negozio ha ancora uno dei più grandi assortimenti di caramelle da un centesimo della città.

Mrs. Minicola, who is called "momon" (Italian for grandmother) by her four grandchildren and nine great grandchildren, says children today have more money to spend but they still spend it on the same things: chocolate bars and gum.

Half a century ago Red Fella brand spearmint gum was the favorite. Now it's bubble gum. "I've never seen children chew so much bubble gum." said Mrs. Minicola.

I MARCHI SOPRAVVIVERE
Jersey milk chocolate bars and Maple buds are the only brand names that have survived as long as the store, but much of the penny candy is the same, "only more expensive," said Mrs. Minicola whose wholesale bill for candy and tobacco is at least $100 each week.

She has most of the store's receipts for 55 years and has always paid cash. With a chuckle she said "I can't read or write English, but I can count all right."

Until she was in her 50's, Mrs Minicola was a familiar if unusual sight as she carried vegetables from the fields behind the house in three baskets – one in each hand and one on her head.

Ha rinunciato e guarda la TV nel tempo libero, ma la sua salute è eccellente, fatta eccezione per qualche attacco occasionale di bronchite.

PASSAGGIO DI STILI
Ha visto una varietà di abiti alla moda durante i suoi anni nel negozio e disapprova allo stesso modo le minigonne e il suo vestito del 1903 nella foto di accompagnamento.

"It took 14 yards of material to make that dress," she said, in the same tone of annoyance she used to describe miniskirts as "silly."

Though the store is on a fairly isolated corner, Mrs. Minicola has had only one break-in and she handled that with a broom four years ago. The two thieves were not caught but they had the humiliation of being chased empty handed by a 79 year old woman who says "they were more scared than I was."

Four of Mrs. Minicola's sisters followed her from Italy. One is in the United States and three are in Peterborough. The rest of her family is in the city, with the exception of granddaughter Mrs. Thomas Cullen, who is visiting Mrs. Minicola now with her family from Cornwallis, Nova Scotia.

La signora Minicola ha molte cose che le ricordano i primi giorni: il suo letto di ottone decorato, l'antica carrozzina in soffitta e il suo telefono.

The phone she has now is a modern one, but in 1907 the Minicola's paid $40 in advance , plus the cost of telephone poles from the exhibition grounds to Erskine Avenue, to have their telephone installed.

DOVREBBE TELEFONARE LA PENSIONE
Dovevano anche iscriversi per tre anni di servizio. Recentemente, quando il servizio era in uso da quasi 60 anni, la signora Minicola ha suggerito ad un rappresentante della compagnia telefonica di mandare in pensione il telefono.

"He didn't think it was funny," she said.

And Mrs. Minicola isn't amused when anyone suggests that she retire. Leaving the store in which she spends 12 hours a day would make a big gap in a busy life.

Non immagazzina più olio di carbone a galloni o aceto a barili o strutto a secchi da 20 libbre e i supermercati hanno preso i clienti dei generi alimentari, lasciandola con il commercio di pesce.

The old shelves, once white, then grey, now blue and yellow and soon to be pale green, hold the things people run out of – canned goods and dairy foods and bread.

"It's enough for me now, I'm satisfied," she said.

A store's brass bell tinkles the closing of an era

Esaminatore di Peterborough, 24 gennaio 1975 Eric Beauchesne

The era of the small independent grocery store will fade a little more in the city when Minicola's grocery store closes at the end of the week.

The brown brick two-storey structure on Erskine Street has doubled as a home and store for 62 years for owner Rose Minicola. She and her only daughter, Rose Williams, have operated the store for the past 30 years since her husband's death.

La signora Minicola ha 90 anni. Non sta più abbastanza bene per lavorare nel negozio e sua figlia non può gestirlo da sola. Con riluttanza, poi, i due hanno deciso di chiudere il negozio.

"I get all upset thinking about closing the store," says daughter Rose who is 70 years old herself.

La signora Minicola, che ancora va in giro da sola, era una sorta di celebrità a Peterborough quando arrivò per la prima volta dall'Italia come sposa con suo marito.

La sua foto è apparsa su The Examiner come la prima sposa italiana dai capelli biondi ad arrivare in città. Quei capelli biondi ora sono di un argento che si dirada.

"She was a real blonde, the first blonde," says Mrs. Williams, who has been in and out of the store working since she was eight years old and who returned 30 years ago after her father's death to help her mother run it.

Le cose sono cambiate da allora.

L'area in cui si trova il negozio era terreno agricolo al momento dell'apertura del negozio. Gli articoli venduti erano carbone, olio e strutto, pane non confezionato e prodotti confezionati. C'erano bibite analcoliche a base di panna e salsapariglia in grandi bottiglie vendute per cinque centesimi, ha detto la signora Williams.

"We owned 33 acres when we first started and paid $70 in taxes. We only own the land around the building now and last year's taxes were $900." comments Mrs. Williams giving another example of how times have changed.

Altre cose sono più o meno le stesse di quando il negozio ha aperto.

When he enters Minicola's Grocery the customer is suddenly transported into a bygone age. With the exception of the few remaining cans of foodstuffs and half empty row of cigarettes little has changed in the appearance of the store since 1912.

Un bancone di legno scurito dal tempo si estende in parte su un lato dell'interno del negozio. Il bancone e una vetrina di caramelle di vetro, nastrata, sopra di esso, facevano parte del negozio originale quando fu costruito dal signor Minicola come aggiunta al retro della casa.

Nella soffitta rimangono ancora gli antichi secchi da due libbre che venivano usati per lo strutto, a ricordare i tempi in cui i contadini venivano al magazzino per dare da mangiare alle galline e ai maiali.

Nel retro del negozio si trova un'immensa stufa in ferro nero, riscaldata dal fuoco, che la signora Minicola utilizza ancora oggi per il riscaldamento.

The stove is not often used now for cooking purposes except to keep a 'stew simmering. The last two times they had it "really fired up" the chimney caught fire.

Insieme a numerosi parenti in città, la signora Williams e sua madre hanno delle foto che ricordano loro i tempi passati. Uno è di una riunione di famiglia con la famiglia seduta all'aperto attorno a un lungo tavolo sotto una tettoia di stoffa per ombra.

"We were eating spaghetti," smiles Mrs. Williams. The famous Italian dish cost five cents a pound in those days, she said.

While closing the store will not affect the women financially – both are on pension and store has been more of a break-even proposition for some time – it will affect leave an irreplaceable gap in their lives.

The room where the store has been situated for the past 62 years will become and remain vacant after the final items have been removed. But for Mrs. Minicola – who managed the store all these years while unable to read or write – and her daughter, the memories will remain.

E quando il campanello d'ottone della porta che tintinna per dare il benvenuto ai clienti tacerà un'epoca sarà vicina alla fine.