The
clock strikes 6 a.m. and the day begins. The sounds of the running sunk and
shower are soon followed by the slamming of the rickety screen door, as the
Boston Globe is placed on the aged wood of the kitchen table. The scent of
fresh coffee embraces the house on Silver Hill Lane, as it has every morning
for the past 65 years.
87-year-old
Anthony Cardillo takes a seat at the head of the table, pen in hand, and toast
preparing. He opens up the newspaper and exhales a long sigh of comfort. His
construction callused hands slowly turn each page,. He takes his weathered Red
Sox hat and places it on his head, concealing what is left of his light red
hair.
“I’m blessed, I can’t complain! That’s for
sure!”, says Cardillo. After growing up in Belmont, MA, the son of two Sicilian
immigrants, Cardillo had no choice but to be independent. After leaving Belmont
High School after his junior year to help support his family, Cardilllo got a
job as a mechanic on a ship in Boston. Cardillo received his draft notice in
1942 to defend his country in World War II.
“My boss said he could get me out of it, but I
said no way! I was young, I wanted to see the world!” says Cardillo. Cardillo
was stationed throughout Germany during the war. He was involved in one of the
most famous battles of World War II, The Battle of the Bulge, in December 1944.
After
getting married in 1947, Cardillo had to start providing for a family. With
little money to his name, Cardillo had a choice to make; keep searching for
work, or go out on his own? Cardillo decided to start his own construction
company, A. Cardillo & Son, in 1948. A one-man company with only one
machine, Cardillo had to work hard to establish a positive reputation.
“He
would work from 5 a.m. and return home at 9 p.m., dirty as all hell, falling
asleep at the dinner table”, says Cardillo’s wife of 65 years, Sadie. Long
hours and hard work did not stop Cardillo; by 1970, Cardillo had a full crew
and multiple machines at his expense.
Despite
the dedication to work, Cardillo always found time for his three children,
Anthony Jr., Anita, and Terry. “After a big Sunday pasta dinner, he would drive
us around and show us the job he had been working on, with the trip always
ending with ice cream in Belmont”, says his youngest daughter Terry.
Cardillo
had a passion for what he did; he ran machines until he was forced into
retirement due to heart problems at age 82. “Getting him to stay home was like
pulling teeth!” says Sadie.
Cardillo
suffered an unfortunate setback in 2009, when he suffered a massive heart
attack at the age of 84 after a day outside in his garden. Cardillo needed to
undergo an extremely risky heart valve replacement surgery at Mass General
Hospital in Boston.
His
health as well as the situation seemed less than promising. “All I could think
about were my grandchildren, all I wanted was to continue to watch them grow
into adults”, says Cardillo. After a strenuous 6-hour surgery, Cardillo
survived, but faced weeks in the hospital of challenging and painful
rehabilitation.
“He
is the strongest man I know, and honestly he is one of my heroes”, says Dr.
Wayne D. Brown, Cardillo’s primary physician for the last fifteen years, and a
family friend of Cardillo’s.
To
this day, Cardillo remains strong mentally and physically. With the assistance
of his wife and family, he is living a normal and productive lifestyle. “My
grand-kids keep me young!” says Cardillo with a chuckle.
To
say that Cardillo is experienced is an understatement; a World War II veteran,
a husband of 65 years, a successful business owner, a father of three, a
grandfather of eleven, and a great-grandfather of one.
After living a life of challenges and
successes, Cardillo has a wealth of knowledge to pass down to his
grandchildren. “My advice? Follow your dreams and don’t be afraid to work
hard”, says Cardillo.
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