Oral History Interview with Mario F. Veiga, November 21, 2016 Biographical Note: Born on the Azorean island of Graciosa in 1946; son of Luzomira A. (Augusta) and Manuel J. Veiga; Mario F. Veiga was raised on the family’s farm and attended school until age eleven; he continued to work on the family’s farm until age twenty when he was drafted into the Portuguese Army; served two years in Angola, during the Angolan War of Independence; returned to Graciosa where he married Maria Natalia, whose father was born in U.S. and was therefore a U.S. citizen, but had returned to Graciosa (the home of his ancestors); in 1971 Mr. Veiga and his wife settled in Lowell, where she had lived, beginning around 1960, with her family; he immediately obtained a job in the Prince pasta factory in packing and as a machine operator; after nearly eight years at Prince, he opened a small grocery (Mario’s Variety Store) in the “Lower Belvidere” section of Lowell; about three years later he sold the business and opened a furniture store in the “Back Central” neighborhood; run by Mr. Veiga and his wife, “Mario’s Discount Furniture” proved financially successful and remains in business today (2018). Scope and Contents: Interview conducted by local historian Mehmed Ali; focuses on Mr. Veigas’ family background, growing up on Graciosa in the 1950s and 1960s; his service in the Portuguese military in Angola in the late 1960s; his marriage and immigration to the U.S.; Lowell’s Portuguese community in the 1970s; working in Lowell’s Prince pasta factory in the 1970s; and owning and operating a family-run business in Lowell’s “Back Central” neighborhood.
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