When my grandparents immigrated to the US in the early 1900’s, they left there eldest son Giovanni in the care of his grandparents in Toritto, Bari.  I was told that it was always foreseen that he would join his parents later.  That never happened, and Uncle Giovanni and his family did not immigrate to the US until after WWII.  Because of the immigration quotas, they spent a number of years in Canada.  My dad, at the time, was a newsreel photographer for WPIX in NY and documented several visits to Canada by my mom’s family. You can see more on Italian Immigration to Canada here: Library and Archives of Canada Italian Canadians Pier 21 Plans To set some context, my oldest uncle Giovanni was left in Italy when my mom’s parents came to the US around 1914, with my oldest aunt.  According to my oldest cousin, the reason was because they were hoping they would come back.  They didn’t.  My uncle eventually got married and raised family there.  I highlight some of this on this post Stories From Prewar Bari. My grand parents eventually had seven more children, to make a total of nine.  As his entire immediate family lived in the US my uncle and aunt decided to move to the US.  Because of the quotas in place at the time, they first moved to Canada, as many other Italian families did post war. Click here to join Italian Genealogy on Facebook My Uncle Moves to Canada When my aunt and uncle decided to move to the US, there were a lot of things to be done.  They had seven children at the time and in order to get entry into the US and Canada everyone had to be 100% healthy.  As it turned out, one of my cousins had a liver disease and would not be allowed entry.  As a result, the family missed the opportunity to travel together. My cousin said that a “businessman” from Canada came and he was recruiting people to work in Canada.  However, you had to pay him $1500.  My uncle’s friends and the town helped him to raise the money.  ( I can only guess that they knew that his whole family lived in the US ).  So it was decided that he would go to Canada alone on a freighter.  It wound up being a forty day trip, as according to my cousin, the freighter was making stops along the way.  When it finally got to Canada, his visa had expired and he was detained for many days while the Canadian officials sorted it out with Italian officials. In the end, he was allowed to stay, and was employed at a mushroom farm.  ( Where the businessman set it up ).  I believe the movie with the pump is on the farm and that is my uncle pumping the water. My Cousin Moves to Canada When my oldest cousin turned eighteen, she decided to come to Canada to be with her dad.  She was allowed to do this because as an adult, she would be able to work and support herself.  She said that she lived in a boarding house near the farm.  She had a small room downstairs and my uncle had a room upstairs.  She said that it was pretty bad and that the men would drink a lot and she was always afraid. Eventually, my oldest aunt and her husband came to visit and my uncle said “you can’t stay here, come with us”! My Cousin Moves to USA When my cousin got to the US, she lived with my grandparents and was able to work.  She worked in a blouse factory where my aunt worked in Queens NY.  This was around 1950.  She said she made $25 a week and would keep $5 and send the rest to Italy for the family to live on.  I’m just guessing that $80 a month went a long way in Italy at the time, but my aunt had six children. When my cousin met her husband, she had to return to Canada to get married.  My same uncle took her back with her fiancé and they were married there.  By that time the rest of my uncle’s family had arrived.  She did have to wait seven months for all the paperwork to clear, and she could come back to the US. My uncle and his family had to spend close to five years in Canada before finally settling in the US.  

Visit Our Shop Bob talks with Pasquale Pacicca from visitreggiocalabria.com about in person and virtual tours. Podcast Click here to join our group on Facebook Video

Visit Our Shop A great discussion with Lucia Campanella about her two books and Mussolini’s impact on Italian life pre WWII. Lucia is a teacher, historian and author.  Her first book “La Strada Madre” is currently being translated into English. In 1930s Illinois, strained by the Great Depression, rebellious young Eveline meets Oliver, a promising but disillusioned and inspirational writer. Only after a few meetings do they overcome mistrust, prejudices and begin to exchange opinions, to tell each other about their lives, their dreams. Meanwhile, Oliver’s close friend, Nick, a lover of life and comfort, feels all the emptiness of his existence, coming to feel a sense of inadequacy. While the winds of war stir on the horizon, the young protagonists will have to learn to fight in order not to be crushed by the events that will change their lives forever. Her second book “Un Cielo Perfetto” is only in Italian for now. Three women united by the desire to discover the truth about the mysterious sinking of an Italian submarine during the Second World War. Lina lives alone, not far from the sea that stole her brother from her in unclear circumstances. Her daughter Agata has distanced herself from her since she discovered an inconvenient truth. Jane, a young British researcher on the run from a failed marriage, accepts an assignment that takes her to Salerno to shed light on the tragic events of the submarine. The unexpected experience of a journey tests their ability to overcome limits and to find a dialogue, in the hope of answering questions that have been waiting for answers for too long. You can find them here. Podcast Click here to join our group on Facebook Video

Visit Our Shop Catch this fun Italian Bred interview with Candice Guardino Italian Bred Show Check Out our newest Rave Reviews – http://italianbredshow.com/reviews/ & our 5 Star FB Rating from Fans – https://www.facebook.com/ItalianBred/ After graduating WagnerWagner College Theatre program Candice too NY by storm working on National Tours, Off Broadway and TV. Then she felt she needed to create something that others would love to see. Having written down everything her loving and outspoken grandmother ever uttered, Candice wrote Italian Bred – where she slips in and out of family characters as she cooks up an hilarious show of growing up Staten Island style. Italian Bred features several Virtual Celebrity Cameos by Steve Schirripa (Blue Bloods & Sopranos), Mario Cantone (Sex and the City & The View), Emmy Winner Leslie Jordan, and more! You can’t miss the hilarious Italian Bred Show.   Dates and Tickets  Podcast Video Click here to join our group on Facebook

Visit Our Shop Listen for Special Discount I worked with Alessandro several years ago to help me get through some roadblocks. Listen to hear a great story about St. Lucy and how to get a significant discount until Dec 31. Family – famiglia: maybe no other term can make it up any better to express my sense of belonging to the place I come from. Famiglia has always been the place where I leave from on every trip – and that is the place where I am glad to get back to when feeling you need to go home. Famiglia has been covering a place of its own in my heart ever since I was born – but what is that makes family so special? What can you call as being famiglia at the largest extent as you know it? Back in 2006, there came a day when I started getting so much curious about those lines in the famiglia which I had never questioned myself about. It was then when my father told me that a great-uncle of mine went to America through Ellis Island that I realized I really wanted to discover who I am and where I come from. I would never imagine where that research path would have brought me to. At that time, as an Italy-born taking his very dirst steps in family history research, I couldn’t expect the thrills of meeting second cousins in the States who had been waiting for decades to be greeted by their Italian family – and whose names had been so long unknown to me. Family – famiglia: maybe no other term can make it up any better to express my sense of belonging to the place I come from. Famiglia has always been the place where I leave from on every trip – and that is the place where I am glad to get back to when feeling you need to go home. Famiglia has been covering a place of its own in my heart ever since I was born – but what is that makes family so special? What can you call as being famiglia at the largest extent as you know it? Back in 2006, there came a day when I started getting so much curious about those lines in the famiglia which I had never questioned myself about. It was then when my father told me that a great-uncle of mine went to America through Ellis Island that I realized I really wanted to discover who I am and where I come from. I would never imagine where that research path would have brought me to. At that time, as an Italy-born taking his very dirst steps in family history research, I couldn’t expect the thrills of meeting second cousins in the States who had been waiting for decades to be greeted by their Italian family – and whose names had been so long unknown to me. Alessandro Bovino Bella Italia Genealogy Podcast Click here to join our group on Facebook Video