I’m starting this article with a correction for last week’s article. The town of Hardwick is alive and well (my source was incorrect, sorry Hardwick).
A couple of issues ago I wrote an article about Varella Corner. Lena Britto, the subject for this week was the granddaughter of Bernadino and Christina Varella who came to Rochester from Cape Verde. Lena was born in Rochester in 1921 and though her father and grandfather were hard workers, money was always tight.
She attended school in both Rochester and Wareham, but left at the age of 15 before completing high school, so that she could join her older sister in Boston to work to earn money to help the family. Lena was one of the first women welders (think Rosie the Riveter) working at Boston area shipyards during WW II.
After marrying in 1943, she was active in her community; involved in local politics, civic, and business organizations. An entrepreneur, she ran a beauty salon and also became a licensed real estate agent.
In the 1980s, Lena went back to school evenings to earn her high school diploma and then enrolled at UMass Boston and graduated in three years at the age of 62 with a Bachelor of Science in Human Services.
Lena went on to spend much of her time as a mentor to new immigrants from Cape Verde. She provided interpretive services and help with citizenship test prep. Through her human service work and work with Cape Verdean newcomers, she became acquainted with many Massachusetts politicians and was the unofficial goodwill ambassador between the United States and the new nation of Cape Verde.
Lena wrote her memoir, Yankee Mericana: My Cape Verdean Odyssey which was published in 2002. She died in March of 2007 at the age of 86.
By Connie Eshbach
