Customer Stories

 

A Mazzucchelli's memory, that's lasted 97 years.

At Mazzucchelli's we adore it when we hear stories from our customer's pasts – particularly when they intertwine with the vibrant history of our 117 year old business. 

We were thrilled to receive this letter from Loren Carey, who wrote to us about an heirloom from her family – found in a box from our first ever store:

Hello Mazzucchelli's,

 I'd like to tell you a story.

My Irish born grandfather, William Devlin, married my Swedish born grandmother, Amanda Louisa Alexandersson, in Kalgoorlie on 5th April 1923, probably in the Catholic Church.  

My grandfather worked as a gang supervisor on the construction of the east-west railway line, I believe from Pt. Augusta to Kalgoorlie.

He took his new bride to her marital home, a rolling railway carriage out on the line, somewhere in the S.A. Nullabor.  That railway carriage moved along the line as it progressed westward.

My grandparents had 5 children, sadly losing one in infancy. The railway carriage was, for a time, home to them and their 4 children, until finally the railway authority sent my grandfather to Oodnadatta to work on the newly commencing Ghan line to Alice Springs.  At Oodnadatta, the family enjoyed their first brick home... for a time.

I digress. I have inherited my grandmothers gold wedding band and her rose gold gate bracelet. And happily, the box the bracelet was carefully protected in all her life.  The box is from Mazzucchelli’s Jewellers, Kalgoorlie.

These passed from my grandmother, to my mother, and to me, the only daughter and granddaughter in the family.  I wonder if your historical records may indicate exactly when these items were purchased, both presumably in 1923, and at what price.

These items were purchased from your store and thus our two families are historically linked.  As a child I knew the story of my grandparents' early married life on the Nullabor.

I have treasured them as much as the two previous women in my family. Sadly I have no children of my own, nor nieces or nephews to pass them on to.  It pains me that they will likely end up in a pawn shop and the box in the trash.

 I simply wanted you to know that the items that your store's founder sold to my grandfather, still exist.  I wear the wedding band permanently on my middle finger, and the bracelet for outings and special occasions.

Thank you for the journey.

Regards,

Loren Carey, Adelaide.