![Mary’s father, Manoel Vicente d’ Arruda, Sr., as a young man; upon settling in the United States, he anglicized his name to Manuel Vicente Arruda. <p><p><em> ‘My father was [from Bretanah] … St. Michael’s”</em></p></p>](https://fallriverhistorical.org/WomenatWork/wp-content/uploads/cache/2016/05/Correira1web/3855761387.jpg)
‘My father was [from Bretanah] … St. Michael’s”

“They met here.”

“We all lived in one house.”

“I was the second oldest.”

“Oh, we all went to Espirito Santo Church. Sunday, we, everybody had to go to church.”
![The three eldest Arruda children, circa 1932. Left to right: Mary Vincent Arruda; John Vincent Arruda; and Manuel Vincent Arruda, Jr. <p><p><em> “It was Manny, it was me, and then it was [John].” </em></p></p>](https://fallriverhistorical.org/WomenatWork/wp-content/uploads/cache/2016/05/Correira6web/3178409994.jpg)
“It was Manny, it was me, and then it was [John].”
![Mary’s maternal grandmother, Mrs. Manuel Carreiro de Souza, née Senhorinha Moniz Borges, in a photograph taken on her eightieth birthday, 1960; she lived with Mary’s parents, and was “a great help.” <p><p><em> “I will never forget it. Every time a baby was born, my grandmother would come and say, ‘You watch him.’ They would come and bring them to me because [my mother] had them at home.” </em></p></p>](https://fallriverhistorical.org/WomenatWork/wp-content/uploads/cache/2016/05/Correira7web/859659169.jpg)
“I will never forget it. Every time a baby was born, my grandmother would come and say, ‘You watch him.’ They would come and bring them to me because [my mother] had them at home.”
![Mary’s graduating class from Espirito Santo Parochial School, Fall River, Massachusetts, June 21, 1944; Mary is in the middle row, second student from the left. <p><p><em> “I graduated from there. I went to high school for two months. I [left and] went to work. My mother, my father, they needed the money.” </em></p></p>](https://fallriverhistorical.org/WomenatWork/wp-content/uploads/cache/2016/05/Correira9web/448581532.jpg)
“I graduated from there. I went to high school for two months. I [left and] went to work. My mother, my father, they needed the money.”

“We all worked there.”

“I was, I was a helper.”

“Hey, you going to sleep there or what?”

“I would say, ‘Another one? Another one for me to take care of?’ Hey. I was the oldest girl.”

“I met him, it was … right near the mill.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Joseph V. Arruda request the honor of your presence at the marriage of their daughter …”

Mary to her father: “I don’t want to go to Portugal. You are not going to marry me off out there.”

“You know, Ma, Joe is going to give me a ring. I am not going to keep going out with him. We are going to get married.”

“I was married from Cash Street.”

“Okay, my mother-in-law had it all planned … I had to move in with her. And let me tell you, I went through hell. I paid for my sins.”

“And uh, she did the cooking.”
![The bust of <em>Senhor Santo Cristo</em>, resting on its elaborate palanquin, photographed while ensconced in Espirito Santo Church, Fall River, Massachusetts, circa 1940s; it was considered a high honor to be one of the four men chosen to carry the bust during Holy Ghost Procession. <p><p><em> “My [father] … he’d carry the bust of Christ.” </em></p></p>](https://fallriverhistorical.org/WomenatWork/wp-content/uploads/cache/2016/05/Correira23web/3662108067.jpg)
“My [father] … he’d carry the bust of Christ.”
![Mary’s father, Manuel Vicente Arruda, Sr. participating in a Holy Ghost Procession from Espirito Santo Church, Fall River, Massachusetts, circa 1940s. One of the four men selected to carry the palanquin containing the bust of <em>Senhor Santo Cristo</em>, he traditionally occupied the front right. <p><p><em> “My [father] was very involved in the Espirito Santo procession.” </em></p></p>](https://fallriverhistorical.org/WomenatWork/wp-content/uploads/cache/2016/05/Correira25web/4068558493.jpg)
“My [father] was very involved in the Espirito Santo procession.”

“He used to collect at the churches; he collected the money … if there was anything to be done, he would be right there.”

“I looked forward to that.”

“On, no, another one.”

“’Maria,” she says, ‘Go to work for me … just at noontime. You work for me, you get free meal.”
![Mary’s father, Manuel Vicente Arruda, Sr. posing with a group of his fellow workers at Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates, Inc., Fall River, Massachusetts, circa late 1950s; Maria’s father is standing, third from the left. <p><p><em> “My father was a [weaver] … in the mill.” </em></p></p>](https://fallriverhistorical.org/WomenatWork/wp-content/uploads/cache/2016/05/Correira29web/650395464.jpg)
“My father was a [weaver] … in the mill.”

“My husband built this house. He did it himself.”

“We were in that every year.”

“Yeah, I went from Shelburne, I went to … Bomark.”

“He was a good boss. ‘Thank you’ … he put $100 in my hand.”

“We have the crown … a sterling silver crown. So we carry our own crown.”