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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday January 26, 2008 - 3 PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE DE LUCA FAMILY FRESH START: Young Peter De Luca, at top left, when he first started his own painting company.; to right, cousins Alba (De Luca) Ginesi and Tony De Luca in front of Peter's first business van; bottom left, Peter and his son Tony when Tony took over the family business and renamed it; and Peter, his brother Carmen and Peter's son Tony today. The De Luca family is celebrating a number of 50th anniversaries and the family is looking back over the years as it set down roots in Canada. Painting a new place in history for his family By Angela Blackburn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF I n 1951 Peter De Luca, a young man from Calabria took a chance on a life in Canada. Today, at 85, he is surrounded by an extended family whose members were born and raised in Oakville and call it home -- thanks to that chance. Most other local residents would probably recognize the family name having spotted it on white vans that read De Luca Painters and Decorators, Ltd. ­ the business young Peter began on yet another chance. Today, the business is operated by his son, Tony, and Tony's sons, Vance and Kyle. The De Luca family is celebrating any number of 50-ish anniversaries these days and Peter's niece, 48-yearold Alba Ginesi of Oakville, herself born and bred in town, is recording them all for posterity. Ginesi is making her own family history the subject of a project she hopes will soon become a new business. The White Oaks Secondary School and Sheridan College gradu- ate, returned to Sheridan last year -- after her own children had graduated -- to lay the foundation. Currently she's curator of family treasures including black-and-white photos from long ago, passports, immigration documents, health records and more as she works on her family history. "We're all here because Uncle Peter took a chance. He was here two years by himself. We're all reaching this point because he came here and because he was willing to take that chance," said Ginesi. Perhaps it was that entrepreneurial spirit that burned brightly within that led him to taking that chance, and then another, venturing into business for himself. Today, as family milestones are celebrated -- Tony's 50th birthday, Ginesi's parents' 50th wedding anniversary, and 50 years of business in Oakville -- it is all the legacy of those chances. Peter's family tree has roots in Cosenza, Italy. It was from there that Peter came to arrive in Malarctic, Québec in 1951. He took a job working in a copper mine -- the area and jobs were what was being made available to interested immigrants in Calabria then. Peter arrived in Halifax on the ship Argentina in September 1951 and took the train to the Malarctic. When he arrived he failed the physical because he had pneumonia. He took a job with the railway where board was deducted from his pay. Railway employees were offered $60 a month and a place to sleep in one of the railway cars. See Oakville page 4 · Wood & Vinyl Shutters, Supplied & Installed · High Quality at Affordable Prices · Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed · Serving Oakville with Shop at Home Service Authorized Vinylbilt Dealer www.shuttersetc.ca Shop at Home Service FREE