1

Although the call of employment brought the majority of immigrants to Trail, there were a variety of experiences along the way. The following records will offer brief accounts of the journey to Trail from a select few interviewees.

2

Leda Creegan, ne้ Poli, immigrated to Canada at the onset of World War Two with her mother and siblings.

3

Leda Creegan, nee Poli, immigrated from Italy in 1940
13 January 2008
Trail Museum, Trail, British Columbia


Credits:
Rose Calderon

4

Her father had already arrived in Canada and he made several journeys back home to reconnect with his family.

5

Poli Family prior to departure for Canada
Circa 1938
Trail, British Columbia, Canada

6

Leda's mother was offered the home of her dying while on his deathbed to share with his wife, her aunt. The gift came with one stipulation: that they not abandon his wife or leave her side until the end of her days. She passed away in 1939 and Leda's mother immediately prepared for the voyage to Canada to join her husband.

7

Leda's Italian passport, authenticated by her mother, Laura Marroni-Poli
1940
Trail, British Columbia, Canada

8

Leda can recall first pulling into Trail after arriving in the Kootenays.

9

Leda Creegan on her first impression of Trail.
13 January 2008
Trail, British Columbia, Canada


Credits:
Leda Creegan
Rose Calderon

10

Because it was wartime, and the Italians were fighting alongside Germany in the war, Italian immigrants were often treated as enemies during this period.

11

Leda Creegan on immigrating to Canada during wartime.
13 January 2008
Trail, British Columbia, Canada


Credits:
Leda Creegan
Rose Calderon

12

Even on arrival in Trail, tension was still prevalent.

13

Leda Creegan on arriving in Trail during wartime.
13 January 2008
Trail, British Columbia, Canada


Credits:
Leda Creegan
Rose Calderon

14

Doreen Cusator, ne้ Horne, experienced a different set of circumstances that brought her to Trail.

15

Doreen Cusator
24 January 2008
Trail, British Columbia, Canada


Credits:
Rose Calderon

16

Doreen was born in England and met her husband, Bill, there while he was serving for the Canadian forces during World War II.

17

Photo Identification of Doreen Cusator, nee Horne, Wolverhampton, England
1940s
Trail, British Columbia, Canada

18

Doreen was finally able to travel to Canada, where she joined thousands of women known as war brides.

19

Doreen Cusator on arriving in Canada from England as a war bride during World War II.
24 January 2008
Trail, British Columbia, Canada


Credits:
Doreen Cusator
Rose Calderon
Greg Nesteroff

20

Doreen Cusator's Canadian Legion war-bride invitation card
1946
Trail, British Columbia, Canada

21

She arrived in Canada by boat, landing first in Halifax.

22

Immigration Identification Card of Doreen Cusator
27 May 1946
Trail, British Columbia, Canada

23

Doctor's note of Doreen Cusator's
20 May 1946
Trail, British Columbia, Canada

24

Telegram, Doreen Cusator
28 May 1946
Trail, British Columbia, Canada

25

Doreen had been away from her husband, Bill, for quite some time by the time she arrived in Canada. The arrival of war brides in Canada created tremendous media frenzy and Doreen and Bill experienced that first hand.

26

Doreen Cusator on seeing husband, Bill, for the first time upon arriving in Canada.
24 January 2008
Trail, British Columbia, Canada


Credits:
Doreen Cusator
Rose Calderon
Greg Nesteroff

27

Employment eventually brought Doreen and Bill to Trail, where they have lived for over sixty years.

28

Marc Marcolin was born in Bellevue, Alberta in 1919 to a poor family struggling to make ends meet.

29

Marc Marcolin in Council Chambers, City Hall, Trail
2007
Trail, British Columbia, Canada


Credits:
Rose Calderon

30

Although not an immigrant to Canada, Marc's parents immigrated from Italy to Alberta around 1903. The middle of five children, Marc and his family suffered the difficult times of the 1920s living in the coal mining district of Alberta.

31

A young Marc Marcolin, age 9, in Bellevue, AB
1927
Bellevue, Alberta, Canada

32

In spite of it all, Marc completed his chemistry degree at the University of Alberta and was immediately hired by a munitions plant in Calgary that was operated by Cominco. Here, he met his wife, married and was transferred to Trail to assist in a very secretive assignment, known as Project 9, a component of the Manhattan Project. The Manhattan Project was the American term for the development of the atomic bomb during World War II. Cominco in Trail was manufacturing the heavy water for the American Government.

33

Marc Marcolin on being assigned to the Manhattan Project at Cominco.
19 February 2008
Trail, British Columbia, Canada


Credits:
Marc Marcolin
Rose Calderon
Greg Nesteroff

34

Marc Marcolin on his time working on Project 9.
19 February 2008
Trail, British Columbia, Canada


Credits:
Marc Marcolin
Rose Calderon
Greg Nesteroff

35

Small vial of heavy water, produced in Trail for the American war effort, the Manhattan Project
12 February 1943
Trail Museum, Trail, British Columbia


Credits:
Trail Museum

36

United States of America War Department certificate
6 August 1945
Trail Museum, Trail, British Columbia


Credits:
Vancouver Island Military Museum

37

For Marc, his move to Trail was based on timing. He quickly climbed the corporate ladder at Cominco, serving in many departments and instigating the modernization of the plants. During the 1990s, Marc served as Mayor of Trail for one term, leaving a lasting impression on the City of Trail.