My Wartime Italian Roots and My Canadian Dream

"The Santa Margherita valley where most of the citizens of Pettorano took refuge during the evacuation"--Caption on title page.

Sebastiano "Sam" Santucci was born in Pettorano sul Gizio, L'Aquila in the region of Abruzzo, Italy. Sam attended high school and technical school in the city of Sulmona. Sam moved to Hamilton, Ontario, in 1958. He studied construction and civil engineering in the local colleges and university. He is a registered civil technologist with the Association of Certified Engineering Technicians and Technologists of Ontario. In 1963, he worked for a local engineering firm as a surveyor during the construction of Highway 403 and the King and Main Street Interchange in Hamilton. Sam later moved to Toronto and worked with the Ministry of Transportation and Communications as a member of the design team for the Freeman Interchange in Burlington and the Niagara Street Interchange in St. Catharines. Sam moved to Saltfleet in 1964 and to Oakville in 1965 where he was employed by the municipality and became involved in all the major construction projects in town, including the Smith/ Triller Viaduct across the 16 Mile Creek. He retired in 1999 as a chief construction inspector and still is active in consulting work.