To the editor:

Mary Teixeira's letter regarding the current Town Council's decision to change Columbus Day to something else expresses my thoughts, but she was much kinder about this subject.

This Council disrespected the Veterans over a flag issue, and now insults the long-time residents of Italian heritage.

Those veterans came home from World War II and built this town! They opened businesses that the Councilors probably are not aware of, and built many of the homes that people live in today.  

Mary also wrote about the discrimination that the Italian American residents experienced for many years, and that discrimination was still very evident when my family moved to Barrington in the 70's.

My husband's grandfather came to Barrington in the late 1880's and worked in the Barrington Brickyard for several years, saving his wages to start a business in Providence. He came from a small hill town in Italy where many of the Italian Americans ancestors came from. They were not native to America, but they worked hard and achieved their American dream.   

That dream should be respected, not negated!

Mary Alyce Gasbarro

Barrington