The Lucky Immigrant
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The Lucky Immigrant: The Public life of Fortunato Rao Edited with Introductions and Notes By Nicholas DeMaria Harney and Franc Sturino Table of Contents Photo Gallery Help 1 The Lucky Immigrant: The Public Life of Fortunato Rao Edited with Introductions and Notes by Nicholas DeMaria Harney and Franc Sturino Mulitcultural History Soicety of Ontario, 2002 CITDPress, University of Toronto at Scarborough, 2002 Table of Contents Photo Gallery Help 2 All photographs and newspaper clippings courtesy of Fortunato Rao, per- sonal collection. Copyright © Nicholas DeMaria Harney and Franc Sturino 2001. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or reprint- ed, other than for research, criticism or review without the permission in writing from the publisher. This volume is a publication in the ETHNOCULTURAL VOICES series of the Multicultural History Society of Ontario. The series was established to provide a vehicle through which immigrants and their descendants could tell stories of their experiences, aspirations and achievements in their own voices. The MHSO is a not-for-profit educational institution founded by the late Professor Robert F. Harney. The Society works to publicize the contributions of all ethnocultural groups to the development of the province and to increase understand- ing of Ontario’s immigrant history. National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data Rao, Fortunato, 1931- The lucky immigrant : the public life of Fortunato Rao (Ethnocultural voices series) Based on a series of interviews between Fortunato Rao and the editors, Nicholas DeMaria Harney and Franc Sturino. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7727-6308-9 1. Rao, Fortunato, 1931- 2. Labor unions--Ontario--Officials and - employees--Biography. 3. United Steelworkers of America--Employees--Biography. 4. Italian Canadians--Ontario--Toronto--Biogaphy. I. Harney, Nicholas DeMaria, 1966- II. Sturino, Franc, 1948- III. Multicultural History Society of Ontario. IV. Title. V. Title. HD6525.R35A3 2002 331.88’092 C2002-900391-1 Published by the Multicultural History Society of Ontario and the Centre for Instructional Technology Press, University of Toronto at Scarborough. Printed by DTP International, Toronto, Ontario. Table of Contents Photo Gallery Help 3 Table of Contents Table of Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................... 6 Introductions The Origins of the Rao Life History Nicholas DeMaria Harney ............................................................ 7 The Rao Life History in Historical Perspective Franc Sturino ............................................................................. 16 Map of Calabria, Italy............................................................... 21 Life in Italy................................................................................ 23 Emigrating to Canada and Early Years .................................. 30 Working Life ............................................................................. 38 Union Work............................................................................... 44 Politics, Canadian Citizenship and Labour Activism....................................................................... 61 Italian Community Involvement .............................................. 75 Appendices Appendix A: Fortunato Rao: Résumé .................................... 91 Appendix B: Circolo Mogezio Social Club ............................. 99 Appendix C: Donations by the Circolo Morgezio.................................................................... 101 Appendix D: The Rao Family Crest....................................... 106 About the Author ................................................................... 107 Endnotes ................................................................................ 108 Selected Bibliography ............................................................119 Photo Gallery ......................................................................... 121 Newspaper Clippings............................................................. 139 Table of Contents Photo Gallery Help 4 To Luckys’ parents, Annunziato and Concetta Rao Table of Contents Photo Gallery Help 5 Acknowledgements Acknowledgements This book grew out of several enjoyable afternoons over coffee and biscotti during which Fortunato Rao and the editors discussed the experience of immigrant workers in Canada. The Mariano A. Elia Chair in Italian Canadian Studies at York Univer- sity, which has done so much to encourage research activities and publications in the field of Italian Canadian studies, helped nurture and develop this book by supplying generous funding. We also benefited greatly from the timely financial assistance of the United Steelworkers of America that made this publication possible. At the Multicultural History Society of Ontario, Carolyn Braunlich provided nuanced and precise copyediting and ad- ministrative support, while Carl Thorpe and Dora Nipp offered astute suggestions and encouragement. Without the generosity and creativity of Leslie Chan and William Barak at the Centre for Instructional Technology Development of the University of Toron- to at Scarborough this book could not have moved beyond the manuscript stage to print and an electronic version. The editors would like to thank Robert Ketchen for his patience and design creativity and Joan Campbell for her copyediting assistance. Lalita Sood and Monica Stellin provided invaluable critical read- ings of parts of the manuscript. Stefano and Elizabeth Harney offered encouragement at various stages. If Corrado Paina had not introduced Nick Harney to Fortunato Rao it is unlikely this book would have been possible. Tina Rao always welcomed us with warmth, patience and exquisite cuisine. To all these won- derful people we say thank you and absolve them of responsibil- ity for any errors we may have committed. Table of Contents Photo Gallery Help 6 Introduction THE ORIGINS of THE RAO LIFE HISTORY Nicholas DeMaria Harney HIS BOOK RECOUNTS THE STORY of the public life of Fortunato “Lucky” Rao, a post-World War II Italian immigrant from Cal- Tabria, the southern-most peninsular region of Italy. Rao’s life is the story of an immigrant who found his place in the world of work, community and social justice in Ontario. I first met Lucky while I was doing fieldwork for my doctor- al dissertation in 1994. Trying to glimpse the worlds of Toronto’s Italians, I had been looking for gathering places in the urban landscape to meet people of Italian heritage. These journeys into urban fieldwork took me to a few worksites, community festivals and political rallies, but mostly to places of leisure and family events such as cantinas, backyards, espresso bars, banquet halls and bocce courts. One evening I had offered a new ac- quaintance, Corrado Paina, a ride to the suburban subway stop where he was to meet a labour leader – Fortunato “Lucky” Rao. Acting as an Italian community liaison for the New Democratic Party, which governed Ontario in the first half of the 1990s, Cor- rado had a keen sense of the many people who might interest me and so he suggested I exchange cards with Lucky. That night Lucky said he would be happy to be interviewed. After a month or so I arranged to meet at Lucky’s home near Villa Colombo, the Home for the Aged built by Italian Canadians in the early 1970s. As I would find out later, Lucky was a member of the admissions committee for Villa Colombo and his social club made regular donations to support it. This northwest Toronto neigh- bourhood is heavily settled by Italian immigrants and had become a central point of reference for things Italian in the city. As I turned onto Lucky’s street from Dufferin Street that spring morning I was struck by the organized landscapes of each house. From my own observa- tion and interviews I already knew of the practicality of worker-peas- ants: they expected the yards of their homes to be productive, not merely decorative. I could glimpse the land turned for planting, the Table of Contents Photo Gallery Help 7 Introduction grape arbours and fruit trees in the backyards, the clean cement porches enclosed by wrought iron fences. Yet Lucky’s home stood out even among these. It was a modest but comfortable two-storey house with an addition at the back. Unlike the other homes which tended to use the back for planting, Lucky’s front yard was covered with twelve-foot apple, pear, cherry and peach trees, some grafted to bear two or three varieties of the same fruit, and all planted within a meticulously manicured grass lawn. Later on, Lucky told me a story that linked his passion for his land with his left-wing politics and sup- port for the NDP in the middle of a political riding whose Italian, Jew- ish and other immigrant voters usually supported the Liberal Party, provincially and federally. A neighbour asked him why his fruit trees were so healthy and his gardens yielded so much food. Lucky said he replied with a grin, hoping to provoke his neighbour: “Because God smiles on those who support the NDP.” The backyard, I would discover, allowed one to walk out from the first floor to look over a swimming pool and an elaborate and bountiful garden filled with leafy greens, zuc- chini, tomatoes, basil, eggplant and bean stalks rising twelve to fourteen feet, thriving vegetables and fruits supported not by rusting metal trellises or decaying wooden two-by-fours but by clean, strong and light aluminium poles Lucky had