June is Italian Heritage Month, bringing Thunder Bay’s Italian community together with dance, traditional food, and friendship.
Tony Tarsitano, the public relations chairman for the Italian Cultural Centre, welcomed the large gathering, which included members of the Italian Society of Port Arthur and several other groups, and opened the ceremony with the raising of the Canadian and Italian flags.
“The Italian Society of Port Arthur began with a group of Italians in 1929, and in four years we will celebrate our 100th anniversary,” Tarsitano said.
“When the Italian people came to this community in the early years, most of them worked in construction companies or for the railroad.”
He said many arriving Italian people took labour jobs of all forms in the construction industry and raised their families.
“They had a support system. It was a Benevolent Society. They helped other Italians to (settle) into the city of Thunder Bay as well as English and Canadian culture,” he said.
“They supported them with some financial assistance if they were really in need, and through the years, we have evolved to where it’s been a meeting place for Italian Canadians.”
Sergio Buonocore, president of the Canadian Italian Business and Professional Association of Thunder Bay, said arriving Italians who brought their skills to Thunder Bay played an important role in building a relationship that helped both countries.
“Many Italians came to North America, to Canada and specifically to Northwestern Ontario, because of economic reasons,” Buonocore said.
“They brought with them their skills, their talents, their abilities, and of course, their culture and they helped develop much of Northwestern Ontario, whether we’re talking roads, buildings, businesses or professionals. Everybody benefited.”
He added that his parents were both immigrants.
“We never would have had the opportunities that we found here in Canada,” he said. “Canada was a blessing for us.”
He noted that earlier Italian-owned businesses were mainly of the service-type industry, which included many barber shops “that go back a long time,” as well as restaurants.
“Those were some of the first industries that developed,” Buonocore said. “As time progressed, we got into the industrial side, manufacturing, construction, and then into the professions, whether it’s legal, medicine, and education.”
He added that now they’re an integrated part of the Canadian fabric of society, a multicultural country where we all get along.
“My mother always said, if you look at your hand, you have five fingers,” he said. “Every single finger is different, but you need every one for your hand to work properly, and I think that’s how Canada has become.”
