Through Carmela's Eyes

That night Gennaro did not sleep well, again, as the haunting memory of his promise to himself that this day could never happen in his family was actually going to happen by his and Camella’s choice. Early morning came and Gennaro walked into Carmela’s bedroom to wake her for their long trip to the mill in Lawrence. Before he awaked her, he took a moment to look at his first little angel sleeping peacefully and, wiping away the tears on his face, he then gently placed his hand on her shoulder and awoke her from her sleep. That day the walk to the mill seemed like the longest walk to work he had ever made. Along the way, the one thought that preoccupied his mind the most was how he did not want Carmela to be like all the other children that he had seen working in the mill over the years. Upon reaching the mill, Gennaro walked Carmela through the very doors that had led him to his place of employment. It seemed like, such a long ago even though it had not really been that long. He felt such remorse and dread for his young daughter that she was now entering through the same doors. Surprisingly, the first person he saw was Mr. Romano, his old boss. Mr. Romano informed Gennaro that he would be placing Carmela as a doffer. A doffer caught the wool on a machine which then twisted the cotton into fabric and she would have to work very fast to keep up with the pace of these machines. Most of the time she would be working with two machines at one time and it would be very important for her to keep up the pace. This did not sit well with Gennaro for he knew how the mill operated. After his several years of employment at this mill he already knew that the machine his daughter was being assigned to was a very dangerous one. As the day went on, Gennaro could see Carmela from time to time since the machine she was working on was only one floor above from his station. He felt some security in knowing where she was and what she was doing. However, after a mere two weeks had passed by, on July 9, 1909 his worst fears for his daughter’s safety were realized. He heard the blood curdling screams of a child, obviously, in severe pain. He prayed that it was not his Carmela. He heard a panicked voice from the distance, which kept coming closer and closer to him. With ears perked now he picked his head up from his assigned task and he noticed his good friend Angelo was approaching him at a very fast pace. Instinctively, knowing that something was not right, Gennaro started walking quickly toward Angelo. As the distance between them closed, he could see the horror on Angelo’s face. “Gennaro!” He yelled out. “Come quickly” ... It’s your Carmela! The machine grabbed Carmela and she is hurt… she has been hurt very badly!” As the fear of God came over him, Gennaro started to run in the direction of the ascending floor which would take him to his daughter. As he reached the top of the stairs, his eyes were fixed on the main shaft that ran above all the essential machinery in the mill. He could not help but notice that this very important piece of equipment, which essentially ran the entire mill, had come to a complete stop. There could only be one reason why it was not performing right now and he prayed, from the depths of his heart, that it did not have anything to do with his dear daughter. He loved her so much. Racing his way up the stairs, he could hear the panic that had been in Angelo’s voice. Gennaro’s heart dropped. How could he have put his innocent child into such an unfavorable workplace? He thrust himself through the doorway at the top of the stairs and then quickly turned left toward the area where he knew that Carmela had been stationed to work. Gennaro ran towards Carmela. After, what seemed like an eternity, he finally reached her and saw that she was sitting propped up against the wall. Mr. Romano was holding a cloth that he had wrapped around her head to try to stop the prolific bleeding from her head. Gennaro’s heart broke as Carmela saw her father and screamed out for him. “Papa!” she cried upon seeing him, “It hurts… it hurts so bad!” Gennaro scooped her up in his arms, knowing that this was a serious injury and that she needed immediate medical attention. Obviously, the people at the mill had no intention of helping his little girl beyond wrapping a dirty rag around her bleeding head. As he lifted her up into his arms, he was horrified to see that nearly six inches of her scalp, with her beautiful hair still entwined, was in the twisting machine where she had been placed to work.