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Still counting her blessings after all these years By Brice Roy SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER In the last 51 years, Oakville has changed substantially. In 1961 the population was barely 10,000 and the Ford assembly plant had only been producing cars for nine years. That is the Oakville Domenica De Bellis remembers. De Bellis shared her thoughts on her adopted home with The Oakville Beaver recently, thanks to some translating assistance from her grandson, Rino, and son, Dominic. She did so as she marks her 100th birthday -- a good time for reflection. At age 49, De Bellis emigrated from Bari, Italy to join her husband and two children in Oakville to start a better life. Now aged 100, De Bellis can still remember her initial reactions to the Town of Oakville and how they have changed. "At the beginning I didn't like it," said De Bellis. "Now I love Oakville. It's beautiful." Initially, the culture and language barriers were too much for the family and left the matriarch feeling homesick. "Italy is my country and I felt at home there, but the living conditions here were much better than they were at home. Now, Oakville is also my home," said De Bellis. "I'm happy to be here, I love Oakville, but I still miss home." While not overly involved in the community due to language issues, De Bellis was instrumen- 5 · Thursday, May 3, 2012 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com ERIC RIEHL / OAKVILLE BEAVER / @halton_photog Celebrating a century of life: Oakville resident Domenica DeBellis is celebrating her 100th birthday. Here, she is seen at her home. tal in helping establish the St. James Parish Church in the early 1960s. She was the housekeeper at the church for years and can still remember every pastor who has served there. Since her arrival in 1961, De Bellis has been raising her family on Wadsworth Ave. just down the street from the church. De Bellis has watched her family expand from her husband and two children to five grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. De Bellis' husband died in 1991 and, according to his wishes, he was buried in Italy. However, that was an arrangement that couldn't last for long. "When my father died he wanted to be buried back home in Italy. After four years my mother said, `There's no way he's staying over there and I'm staying here so we brought my father back," said her son Dominic De Bellis. Today, Oakville's population has grown to more than 182,000 residents -- a far cry from the 10,000 when De Bellis arrived. She predicts more but isn't much of a fan of the town's continued growth. "I think it will keep growing into a big city, like Toronto. I preferred Oakville better when it was small because you knew everyone," she said. Having seen two world wars, two stock market crashes and the recent recession, De Bellis always had faith things would improve. "I've been on this Earth for 100 years and I went through so many things, both good times and bad times. Now, it's the good times and everything is easy," said De Bellis. With 100 years under her belt and still going strong, the ever optimistic De Bellis believes she can keep a step ahead of Father Time and still greets each day living in her first Oakville home on Wadsworth Avenue. "I don't know. Maybe another 100, 200 years, only God knows. Whatever comes next is a bonus." OAKVILLE CIVITAN FARMERS MARKET MOVES FROM HOPEDALE MALL TO (Dorval & N. Service Rd.) Visit our new website and facebook page Dr. Phelan takes special satisfaction by helping patients create the smile of their dreams. He believes that the key to creating a great smile is to have clear and open communication between his patients, ceramist and himself. To achieve this he has developed a special treatment communication form that he uses to predictably plan and complete smile makeovers for his patients. The form has been so popular that it is used in a number of dental practices in Toronto and across North America. www.facebook.com/DrStephenPhelan DORVAL CROSSING EAST May 12th and every Saturday after 8:00a.m. to 2:00p.m. Dr. Stephen Phelan, DDS www.phelandental.com Your Market, New Home, New Name Dorval Crossing Civitan Formers Market Join our community and enter to win a 64 GB iPad 2! Dr. Stephen Phelan · Call 905.827.1619 to arrange an appointment www.oakvillecivitan.ca Dental Surgeon. Laser, Family & Cosmetic Dentistry. 1500 Heritage Way, Oakville ON L6M 3H4 CREATING SENSATIONAL SMILES IN OAKVILLE FOR 19 YEARS. www.phelandental.com Thank You for voting for me the last 14 years!