Recorded in
Writers' Section Files
DATE: AUG [12?] [?]
[SUNDAY AFTERNOON AT MRS. GERBATI'S]
The Sunday afternoon session at Mrs. Gerbati's was in full swing. In the kitchen the talking was mostly in Italian. The old grandmother who sat in the corner by the stove spoke nothing else. Her face was deeply wrinkled. She was untroubled by the confusion and din, withdrawn and no one paid her any attention.
Mrs. Gerbati, the old lady's daughter, was a vigorous woman, deep-breasted and strong-limbed. Middle age had not grayed her sleek black hair or dulled the flash of her black eyes. Now she was busy pouring drinks in answer to the [raucous?] orders from the inner rooms. Her daughters, darkly handsome and well-formed, hurried about serving the drinks -- ale, beer, red wine, grappa, whisky. Rough masculine voices joked at the two young girls, but they parried the thrusts with sharp tongues and good-natured sarcasm. Mrs. Gerbati's was a respectable place, her daughters were nice girls. If anyone got fresh there he did not remain long. Mrs. Gerbati aroused was a formidable figure; and the girls were quite able to take care of themselves.
The long table in the dining room was crowded with men, Italians, Swedes, Yankees, Scotsmen, elbow to elbow. From the parlor came the music of a piano and the roar of singing voices. In Mrs. Gerbati's good drinking men from all walks of life gathered in defiance of the Sunday Blue Laws. All nationalities and all fields were represented.
The old grandmother and her husband had come to Barre with the first of the Italian immigrants. He was already experienced and skilled in cutting stone. But he did not live long in this country. The {Begin page no. 2}enclosed sheds were not like the open-air sheds in Italy. The dust was worse and ten years of intensive working in it killed him. By then the daughter had married another stonecutter, [Rodrigo Gerbati?], a sturdy sensible young man from their native province of Siena.
They were happy and prosperous. Gerbati did not waste money as so many did. They took care of the old [lady?], bought this fine large house, and raised two daughters. But the fear was in the old grandmother, and Mrs. Gerbati caught it when her husband began to cough. A terrible sound, that coughing.
I wasn't afraid until then," said Mrs. Gerbati. "[Not?] even when my mother talked and warned and shook her head. And he wasn't either, I know he wasn't. Until that coughing started and kept getting worse. One day I said it was too bad we didn't have a son. My mother said at least the girls wouldn't have to cut stone. And Rodrigo nodded his head after thinking a long way off, and he said: "That is right." Then I knew.
"I thought that big strike might save him. That was 1921 or '22. Rodrigo didn't go back to work after that. But it was too late. I think he [got?] hurt too one night when they had a fight. He never [told me?] anything about it, but he came home that night with marks on his face and hands and his clothes torn. After that he seemed worse, [the cough?] was worse, and the life had [gone?] out of him. He wasn't the same man.
"The [girls?] were still [young?] when he went, not old enough to understand. We had this house and a little money left, not much. I was still young myself, I could have married again... But I didn't want to. There was no other man for me, I [guess?]. The [Nonna?] used to tell me to take another man. She said don't be a fool, you're young and pretty and healthy, you [got?] two girls to {Begin page no. 3}bring up. Don't be a fool and waste your life, there is room in a young heart for another man. You need a man, she told me. But I didn't want one. After him there wasn't one, that's all. So I never married.
"But I had to do something. The money was running out, the girls needed more things as they got older, there was taxes to pay and all that. I had to do something. My mother didn't like it when first I took stonecutters in to room and board. She said it was disgraceful. Then when I started selling liquor she almost died. She said she'd rather die than see that. Now she don't care any more about anything, she's too old.
"At first I just sold to the men who stayed here, you see. Just a few drinks with their meals, you know, maybe a few in the evening. Then they started bringing in a few friends for drinks. It was all quiet and decent. They were good men, some of them had worked with Rodrigo, been his freinds. They were [?] to the girls, to all of us. But naturally more and more kept coming, you know how it is. Their friends [brought?] other friends and I sold more drinks. Pretty quick it got to be quite a business.
"That blonde fellow who plays the piano is a [?] graduate. A quiet [fellow?]. Single. [He?] works at the State [?] in Monpelier. Every Sunday he comes for a [ravioli dinner?] Afterwards, when the crowd shows up he drinks with them, and plays. Those two singing behind him are stonecutters. The short one has [roomed?] here since my husband died. His girl, a pretty Scotch girl, wouldn't marry him unless he quit the sheds. He didn't quit." Mrs. Gerbati shrugged. [?] still single. The two talking at the end of the table are a lawyer and [dentist?] [?] ones, too. Maybe the got [whiskey and?] [???] own homes. But they like to come here. The thin fellow in a [?] who listens to them is the town loafer. A smart town {Begin page no. 4}loafer. The way he acts today, he must be broke. I can tell, I see him act like this before. He will wait until there is a difference of opinion between the lawyer and the doctor, then he will stick up [for?] one of them. That way he will get two or [three?] rounds of wine free. That [young?] red-headed fellow who sings so loud works in the [filling?] station at the corner. A few time he has [gone?] out with my oldest [daughter?]. [But?] Sundays he comes here to drink and have fun with the [men?], he pays no [special?] attention to her. That's the way I like it.
"The [customers?] come [for?] Italian food too, parties that order in advance. I am a good cook if I do say it. Everybody knows my cooking. Some say my ravioli and spaghetti is the best in Barre, and they rave about my [minestrone?] and my antipasto. But it's not been too easy. [?] made a lot of hard work for me.
"I had to do it. I had to take care of my mother and I put the girls through high school. Now they both work outside when they can and that helps too. One of them is in the [Five-and-Ten?] now. The other waits on table some in a restaurant. They've [?] girls, nice girls. They were brought up that way, just like I was.
"No, I am not ashamed of it. I have worked hard and always kept a [respectable?] place. It was [something?] I had to do and I'd do it again. I get tired and nervous sometimes. Today they are noisy here, and a little drunk. [?] you don't see any trouble, do you[?] Nothing out of the way. They know I wouldn't stand for it, and they know my [girls?] wouldn't [stand?] for any funny business around [?]. Not those girls.
"I am not ashamed of it [?] bit. You say I shouldn't be, I should be proud of it? Well, I guess maybe, I am. I didn't like [to?] say it myself but I am proud."