In the transcribing I have done up to this point for the Multicultural History Society of Ontario (MHSO), one thing has been very apparent in the stories of immigrants from Europe. This "thing", is rather, a phenomenon that seems to take place on a scale in the thousands regarding community populations.
I have begun to theorize that part of the consolidation process for immigrants is actually relying on the work and community involvement people from their same ethnic groups participate in.
This short post will present the idea of community clubs and their influence on immigrants to find stable footing in Canadian society other than just working a job.
Essentially, groups like the Austrian and Italian clubs which helped set up the communities are also groups in which individuals from those communities worked towards the establishment of new opportunities, safety nets, and information outlets for their fellow ethnic group members.
JR, who I can only refer to in abbreviation due to potential privacy policies related to the MHSO and their work, was a nurse in charge of setting up an intensive care system at the Villa Colombo for the Italian elderly. She also aided the Colombus Centre (where the MHSO is currently located) in establishing Italian cultural development for Italian youth in the 70s. The goal in this was to both provide a quality opportunity for families to give proper care to their elderly but also to encourage pride in the Italian-Canadian youth with regards to developing a community that responds to continue in its aid to its members.
Villa Colombo in Vaughan, Ontario (villacharities.com)
The Austrian transcription I conducted more recently was the immigration story of HD, who was a director and newspaper salesman for a local Canadian Austrian club in the GTA. HD wanted to provide the group’s members, who were about one thousand seven hundred in number in the 70s, with an Austrian newspaper due to the many ties that immigrants still often had with their country of origin.
This was also to aid in building a sense of identity when trying to find a balance between Austrian culture and Canadian lifestyle, as HD himself was concerned about the question of whether or not he was an Austrian living in Canada, or a Canadian who originated in Austria.
This identity building process is significant because it presents how both JR, and HD’s respective stories show that community involvement in the beginning of the second half of the twentieth century was critical in the consolidation process of adjusting to a healthy Canadian way living. This would be a foothold and solid ground to conduct oneself in what seems to have been often considered in these interviews, a land of opportunity.