University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2018-06-06 “They seem to know the story better than I do myself”: The Portrayal of Florence Lassandro in Canadian Popular Culture Woroniuk, Rory Arthur Woroniuk, R. A. (2018). “They seem to know the story better than I do myself”: The Portrayal of Florence Lassandro in Canadian Popular Culture (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/31973 http://hdl.handle.net/1880/106745 master thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY “They seem to know the story better than I do myself”: The Portrayal of Florence Lassandro in Canadian Popular Culture by Rory Arthur Woroniuk A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS GRADUATE PROGRAM IN HISTORY CALGARY, ALBERTA JUNE, 2018 © Rory Arthur Woroniuk 2018 ABSTRACT In 1922, a court sentenced Florence Lassandro and Emilio Picariello to death for the murder of Alberta Provincial Police (APP) Constable Stephen Lawson in Coleman, Alberta. She was the only woman hanged in the history of the province. This thesis examines the relationship between Florence Lassandro and her representation in Canadian popular culture from 1922 to the present. Many historical works have sensationalized her role in the murder. By placing cultural productions in historical context, this thesis identifies and analyzes important social, cultural, and political moments in Canada’s history to argue that they have driven and altered the image of Lassandro in popular culture considerably more than the facts of the crime. The lack of her own voice has allowed people to mould her persona to fit their agenda. During her trial, newspapers reinforced nativist beliefs. Next, Phillip Godsell used her story to justify the internment of Italian-Canadian citizens in WWII because the public feared they would rise up against the Canadian government. In the 1970s and 1980s, the federal government’s introduction of multiculturalism as an official policy and an increased emphasis on women’s history influenced authors to frame her as an innocent victim. Most recently people have used her story to attract cultural tourists to southern Alberta. Nevertheless, her voice is lost in all reinterpretations of her life. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Janovicek for being my supervisor. She was always welcoming, and she offered constant encouragement and reassurance. Dr. Janovicek challenged my thought process and helped me complete a project that I am profoundly proud of. Additionally, I would like to thank my committee members: Dr. Campbell, Dr. Timm, and Dr. van Herk. They took time out of their busy lives to offer guidance. My gratitude extends to The Eleanor Luxton Foundation who awarded me a scholarship in 2017. Also, thank you to the Government of Alberta who awarded me a Queen Elizabeth II Scholarship in 2017. Their funding helped to ease my financial burdens. I am grateful to my family for their endless support and unwavering encouragement throughout the project. When my wife and I relocated to Calgary the Marchuks allowed us to invade their home for over a year, while my parents and nephew watched over our house back in Saskatchewan. My wife, Wendy, is amazing. She took a leave of absence from her own career and encouraged me to live out a dream. I cannot imagine my life without her. Lastly, the University of Calgary’s Department of History is full of incredible professors. Their seminars are challenging and engaging. Also, I was lucky to have an amazing cohort. We supported each other in class and spent fun times together off campus. I wish all of them the best. iii DEDICATION To my brother, Chris, whose life, like the lives of Lassandro, Picariello, and Lawson, ended too early. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………….….ii Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………………...iii Dedication…...…………………………………………………………………………………...iv Table of Contents………………………………………………………………………………...v Note on Names…………………………………………………………………………………..vii Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………1 A Historiography of Women’s Criminality and Prohibition……………………………………...8 Sources and Methodology……………………………………………………………………….19 Overview of Thesis………………………………………………………………………………23 Chapter One: “He is dead and I am alive. That’s all that matters”: A Recipe for Prohibition and the Murder of APP Constable Stephen O. Lawson………………………..26 The History of Prohibition in Western Canada Prior to 1916…………………………………...28 Prohibition Laws in Alberta……………………………………………………………………..38 The Creation of the Alberta Provincial Police…………………………………………………..46 The Crowsnest Pass Italian Community………………………………………………………...48 The Murder of APP Constable Stephen O. Lawson: The Honourable Mr. Justice Walsh’s Summary………………………………………………………………………………………...51 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………55 Chapter Two: “They seem to know the story better than I do myself”: The Portrayal of Florence Lassandro in Newspapers, True Crime Stories, and Other Narratives, 1920 to 1943……………………………………………………………………………………………...57 Three Strands of Nativism and Their Impact on Lassandro……………………………………..61 The Portrayal of Immigrants in Alberta Newspapers……………………………………………68 Formulaic Murder Reports and Lassandro’s Persona …………………………………………...71 v “I Forgive You All:” News Reports of the Execution…………………………………………...80 The Portrayal of Lassandro in the CPWA’s Pamphlet “Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down”………….84 “Murder In The Crow’s Nest”: The Depiction of Florence Lassandro in a 1940s Canadian Pulp Magazine…………………………………………………………………………………………87 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………….91 Chapter Three: “Erring and Victimized Women”: A New Vanguard?…………………….93 Lassandro’s Place in Canada’s Masculine Wild-West…………………………………………..98 Female Perspectives: Giving Back Lassandro’s Agency?……………………………………...107 The Economic Benefits of Whodunit Narratives……………………………………………….120 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………...128 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………..130 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………..139 vi NOTE ON NAMES After reading through the source materials for this thesis it is apparent that there is no agreed upon spelling of the historical actors’ names. People have used Filumena, Philomena, and Florence interchangeably as well as Lassandro, Lossandro, Losandro, and Lasandra. Emilio’s given name is sometimes shortened to Emil and his surname appears as either Picariello or Picarello. As well, people have recorded Constable Lawson’s given name as either Stephen or Steven, while Picariello’s son is known as Stefano, Steve, or Stephen. This has caused some authors to mix up the given names of Lawson and Picariello’s son. This thesis uses the same names consistently: Florence Lassandro, Emilio Picariello, Stephen Lawson, and Steve Picariello. Following Amantea, I chose to use Lassandro’s anglicized first name because it reflects the ruling class’ assimilationist agenda. vii INTRODUCTION “Please, father, wipe away my tears… Picariello, he lied. I didn’t hurt anyone, ever. I will not forgive any of you for doing this to me.”1 Historical fiction author Jock Carpenter wrote that these were some of the last words of Florence Lassandro, convicted of murder, as she and her alleged accomplice, Emilio Picariello, faced the Fort Saskatchewan Gaol’s gallows on 2 May 1923. On the other hand, the Lethbridge Daily Herald’s correspondent reported on the day of the execution that Lassandro “cried in a wild farewell, ‘I forgive you all,’” to the small assembled crowd.2 These conflicting accounts demonstrate how authors have transformed Lassandro’s words to fit their personal agendas. Lassandro immigrated to Canada from Italy in 1909 and settled in the Crowsnest Pass, home to a large Italian immigrant community. When the Government of Alberta passed Prohibition in 1916, Lassandro became a rumrunner. On 21 September 1922, Lassandro and Picariello confronted Constable Stephen Lawson, a World War I veteran and member of the Alberta Provincial Police (APP), who had injured Picariello’s son in a rumrunning related shoot- out earlier in the day. A struggle ensued, and someone shot Lawson. The bullet entered through his right shoulder and stopped underneath the skin of his left breast. He died soon after. The APP, assisted by other agencies, arrested Picariello and Lassandro the next day and charged them with murder. The trial lasted six days. At its conclusion, the jury rendered a verdict of guilty for first degree murder, condemning them to death by hanging. Lassandro was the only woman hanged in Alberta’s history (see figure 1). 1 Jock Carpenter, The Bootlegger’s Bride (Edmonton: Gorman & Gorman, 1993), 317. 2 “Another Version of the Hanging,” Lethbridge Daily Herald, May 2, 1923; “Slayers Protest Innocence Just As Trap Sprung,” Lethbridge Daily Herald, May 2, 1923. 1 Figure 1. Florence Lassandro’s police photograph. The Glenbow Museum and Archives, NA- 3282-2. Although Lassandro’s story is well-known in western Canada, she is all but forgotten in the dominant national historical