The photo on the top half of the Mar calendar is of Catanzano Brothers Grocery Store on 4th Ave No. (my notes 10 people in the photo) Article under photo and above dates The Italian Community My father worked in the sulpher mines in Sicily and also had orchards that he attended. He use to estimate what these orchards would yeild and would let the landlord know about their crops. So he had pretty good experience at handling fruit and orchards. The conditions in Europe were very sad. There was no work and people had a hard time there. People had to go anywhere to find jobs. There were two places a miner like my father could go to. One was Pittsburg and one was in the South. Now the people who went to Pittsburg were not happy because the weather was so cold. In Sicily the weather was nice and they told the Italians to come to the South,where they'd have the same weather conditions they had in Sicily. Now the reason my father went from mine to mine around Birmingham is because most of the mines were just beginning and very unsafe. Lots of time when he began to think safety was bad,he moved out. Everybody followed my father. The Italians followed him because he knew how to work in the mines. When the Italians began accumulating like they did,Bishop Allen went to Rome and asked the Pope for an Italian Priest for Birmingham. The Pope sent Father John B Canepa,who had just been ordained in Genoa. When he arrived in Bham in 1904,he formed a committee and studied how to form a church. The first thing they got was land from Republic Steel in East Thomas. Right away they went to work and the church,St Mark's was completed in 1905. You see Father Canepa didn't waste much time. Charlie P. La Rocca Midfield March 2nd 1887 William Brodie,a coal miner recently arrived in Birmingham from Scotland is killed by a convict guard in Pratt City March 5th 1973 Brookwood Medical Center begins its health care service in B'ham March 6th 1914 Temple Emanu-El dedicates it's new synagogue"to the service of God and Humanity" March 10th 1934 Over 200 fireman battle flames in Loveman's store for 12 hours,150,000 people witness 3,000,000.00 damage March 14th 1905 B'ham's first movie theatre the"Theatorium" opens at 13 North 20th Street March 15th 1936 The Internatal Goodwill Organization is formed to promote cordial relations between local Syrians,Greeks and Italians March 19th 1905 On St Joseph's Day Father John B. Canepa holds his first mass in St Mark's March 31st 1911 The state legislature approves an act creating the commission form of government in Bham (my note this form of government is the one we will be working to change in the 60's from commission to council and mayor)