March 19, 2010

Hogg's Hollow tragedy | 50 years later

‘Sandhogs’ who perished had diverse personal stories

Who were the Italian ‘Sandhogs’ who died in a tunnel 35 feet below ground on March 17, 1960? All five men who died in the Hogg’s Hollow tragedy were of Italian descent and had been plying their trade as construction “sandhogs” in tunnels.

Here are some quick facts about each of them:

• Pasquale Allegrezza: was the first body discovered by rescue workers. He moved to Toronto in 1956 and was contemplating moving back to Italy in the autumn of 1960 to be with his mother and grandparents. He was 27 years old.
  
  

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• Giovanni Battista Carriglio: a former Italian naval lieutenant, came to Canada in 1955 with his wife and two daughters. He had been a coalminer for six years previously in Belgium and worked at Hogg’s Hollow for a year prior to the accident. He was 44.
• Giovanni Fusillo: had a young bride and eight month old son in Argentina. He hoped to make enough money to bring them to Toronto. His four brothers had also moved to Toronto and never ventured down another tunnel after his death. He was 23.
• Alessandro and Guido Mantella: the two brothers arrived in Canada in January, 1959, on the ship “Arcadia.” Their older brother, Andrea. helped them secure their tunnel jobs. The bodies of the two brothers were found side-by-side, knelt in prayer. Alessandro was 24 and Guido 22.

-Vince Versace

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