Table of Contents
Anonymous, interviewed by Amelia Fox, 2019
Abstract:
Anonymous immigrated to Canada from Italy when she was 14 years old, during the winter of 1964. She moved to the Greater Toronto Area with her immediate family. The photo shown is one of two trunks brought from Italy carrying china, linens and gifts. She answered questions regarding her transition, language barrier and her family. She raised a family and had a career in a bank. Adapting to using English was the most difficult part for this person to adapt to upon arrival in Canada. She still has a strong connection to her home town in Italy despite living and being a Canadian for many years. She is happy to be both a Canadian and an Italian.
The interviewee has requested to remain anonymous for privacy reasons. She has allowed spliced sections of the voice recording and requested that sections of the recording to be removed. The interviewee is uncomfortable with the potential spread of the knowledge about her to the internet and to unfamiliar people. Information regarding her name, specifics to locations, and dates to be removed from the transcript and recording. Only a section of the interviewed voice recording will be shared because she wanted any indicators of her identity to be removed. The only photo will be of a trunk used during her passage from Italy to Canada. The interviewee will be referred to as Anonymous for confidentiality. Additional, more relaxed conversation was had with Anonymous following the recorded interview which provided some supporting information.
Interview transcript
What first brought you to Canada?
– Anonymous
It was my sister lived here. She was married and she had a, child and she was expecting a second child.
So that’s when the decision came that maybe we should reunite the family and be close to their grandchildren. That was in my mom’s part, and my mom and dad part. So, my dad came to visit my sister and to look to see if it was feasible for us to move here. And then the decision was made by my parents to come. And so, then we joined my Mom, myself and my other sister we came and joined our older sister and my dad that was here (Canada).
– Amelia Fox
We’re already acquainted with anybody in Canada before making the decision to move?
– Anonymous
Uhmmm, just my sister. There were lots of people from the same town. It’s called the city but it’s a small town. And but I didn’t know anybody because that was just not even in the 14. Well when we came I was just 14. But yeah. So, my Dad came to look things over and then a few months later we came. My Mom and my sister and I.
-Amelia Fox
So where did you first arrive and when?
– Anonymous
(Removed for confidentially) Winter of 1964. And we arrived at Pearson airport with Canadian Pacific airlines. So, we came to Clarkson. Which is, hmmm it’s at the time it was the township of Toronto actually. So, now part of Mississauga yeah, and we came directly
-Amelia Fox
Did you come with your whole family?
– Anonymous
My sister and my mom and myself. My dad was already here.He preceded us by 3 months.
-Amelia Fox
Would you be willing to share anything from that experience of moving her? Any memory from you when you arrived?
– Anonymous
Yeah. So, when we arrived, at the airport. Well we had lots of family there to greet us. But then on the way home to my sister’s house everything was dark, and because we were right into the evening which I learned the flights are still like that in (removed for confidentially) winter of course. So early. So we were totally spooked because of course we lived in an little town. So, the house is like a lot of European cities. They’re next to each other like we would call here townhouses. Right. And hmmm, so, lots of stores lots of boutiques and churches and plenty of lights.
-Anonymous (beginning of voice recording)
And so, in 64 when you arrived at Pearson ahhh actually my brother in law thought it was funny if we took some Dairy road to come to Southdown road. And Dairy was totally black there were no lights because it was farm country. There were no lights. Could’ve come down to 27. It’s still not the way it is now. The 427 it was just a two-way road. Yeah. And there were ditches on either side of the Southdown road. So, it’s the same thing with Winston Churchill. They had ditches. Yeah. So, there was one lane this way, one lane the other way and a big culvert. I don’t know if they’re called culverts when they’re not big but yeah. (Laughing in the background). So yeah, that was different because it’s a neat community where we came from with you know two theaters, five churches within walking distance, like two, three hundred meters and then you come. And now it’s populated but in 64 this wasn’t here for example (where she grew up). And so, it was quite so. That was quite the difference that you noticed right away.
– Amelia Fox
Were there any obstacles you encountered when he first came to Canada.
-Anonymous
The language for sure. Which mmm my uncle who had been in the States as a young man ahh had retired in town and he was all that he should teach us English. Well we were too busy doing whatever the teenage girls do, to pay attention says oh no it’s OK. So, we really besides, good morning, thank you and you’re welcome. Hmm we really didn’t have. Yeah. So, but my dad had, had already purchased all the books and whatever. Because back then it was different then now. There was no support. You know it’s not as if you went to school and there was an ESL teacher or anything. So yeah. So that’s you know. But you quickly recovered. Four years after that, I was working at a bank (18 years old). So, yeah.
(End of voice recording)
– Amelia Fox
Did you bring anything important from home, that you brought with you to Canada?
– Anonymous
Actually, those dishes (points to china cabinet on the right). Those are my mother’s. No more like than. No, I’m just. Yeah. So, we brought the good china, linens, lots of linens So, we shipped two umm, two ummm two. Hmm, in crates, not shipping containers because he didn’t bring any furniture because my sister thought that year six were different. Of course, she was a younger woman and she had just a new house. So yeah. So, she said no I don’t bring any furniture and of course no added expense to get a big container. So, we shipped …actually you if you want you can take a picture trunk. The trunk is downstairs if you want the green trunk. We came with two of those.
– Anonymous
OK. All right. And actually, the name, we have friend of my cousin who painted the name and address and then I think somebody washed it out, but you can see that it’s washed out.
-Amelia Fox
The name and address of where you first lived?
-Anonymous
To ship it to. We had the shipment containers. We had two containers. There was one of those. Yeah. So. So it was clothing and lots of linens and China and gifts for people. Lots of gifts for people.
-Amelia Fox
Does that China hold any significant value?
– Anonymous
Well it is actually it’s, it’s listed on eBay. It’s German Bavarian porcelain. So, little value, that you know, it’s just yeah, it’s just ours. We’ve always brought there. In retrospect we could have brought. But I mean that that the two, two trunks were completely chock full. Plus, we the suitcases were full. We were each carrying one bag and I my extra coat was over my arm and that was wearing, and I was wearing the heaviest ski sweater. Because everything was chock full so we couldn’t put anything more. But I think we could have easily shipped another trunk anyway. Yeah.
– Amelia Fox
Do you exchange any communication with people (back in Italy)?
– Anonymous
Yes.
– Anonymous
So my cousins. My husband and I have friends.A friend that used to live in Canada, that has gone back to Italy. I called her all the time.
-Amelia Fox
Now for the last question, looking back on the experience do you think you or your family would have done anything differently? Like maybe move to a part of Canada or not moving to Canada?
-Anonymous
Not another part of Canada. Because the reason why we came is to be with close sister. For a matter of fact, the house that we ended up we lived with my sister when we first arrived. And then we were waiting for a house to come up for sale in the same street or the street adjacent and that ahhh happened a year and a half later. And it actually was cute, because that was the house that Mom didn’t like, she liked the least. When we came, there was the big snowfall in 64 among us to look at that and says, “oh that’s such an ugly house”. It was the first one that came up for sale… and mom was all happy to buy that one because it was just around the corner from my sister’s house and that was the whole purpose. As a matter of fact, they were newer homes being built down a little a kilometer away and Dad was interested in those but my mom said, “no didn’t move across the ocean to be so we’ll wait until the house comes up for sale here”. So, the final thing with that story is that… I forget how many years later …five, six years later my sister and her family moved to the States. (Laughing). So, the moral of the story is leave your kids where they are. Wish them all the happiness and stay where you are. But it turned out to be okay. Everybody’s fine.
-Amelia Fox
So, concludes the interview.
(Turned off the recording and thanked her for her time)