Interview with Dom Romeo

Dom Romeo was born in Calabria on October 9, 1929. He arrived in Canada with his mother, Teresa, and sister, Maria, in 1935. His father was a tailor from Naples who first worked at WR Johnson and then at Eaton’s until his death in 1957. At five years of age Dom arrived by way of ship to New York and then by train to Toronto. As a young boy he went to Grace Street Public School and to Italian school in Toronto. Later Dom went to Central Tech High School and received an education in motor mechanics. Dom started work as a mechanic first for his brother-in-law at Rogers Rd. and Earls Crt., and then at West York Motors where he went into sales. He sold General Motors vehicles for over 60 years. Dom opened a car dealership with a partner in 1970 and after 1978 he worked alone. In his interview Dom recalls how sister went to Italy in 1937 on an Italian government-sponsored trip where she visited Venice, Florence, and Rome. During June 1940, Dom mentioned the arrests of Franceschini, Pasquale, and Fr. Ricardo and of the food preparation at the internment camp. He recounts that the police came to their house several times in 1943, though they did not arrest his father, who had to register monthly.