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Jan 15,2006 - Jan 22,2006 |
23 - Expanding the lasagna mystique
Through pure ingenuity Arthur Pelliccione promoted Italian products by adopting recipes
By Antonio Maglio
Originally Published: 2002-12-22
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Arthur Pelliccione
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When Arturo Pelliccione arrived in Canada in the month of April in 1951, he didn't feel welcomed. He landed in Halifax at the age of 17, after a 15-day journey that took him to the famous Pier 21, where at that time all immigrants from Europe used to land. He was accompanied by his mother Elvira, his sister Anna and his brothers Andrea, Berardino and Lorenzo.
Halifax was only the first stop of a trip that was to take him to Toronto where his father Pasquale was waiting for the rest of the family to arrive. It took them three days to reach their destination, travelling on a train with wooden seats.
"I was impressed by the snow that was falling in April. To me it was inconceivable to have snow in that period of the year," says Arturo, now known as Arthur Pelliccione senior. "In Abruzzi and especially in L'Aquila, April is the month in which nature awakens and spring flourishes spreading flowers all over the fields. Here, nothing. I looked out of the train window and I couldn't believe my eyes: the landscape was bare and flat, the ground was covered by snow and thick clouds overtook the sky."
Pelliccione smiles as he remembers those times. "Toronto was very different from the way it is today. The tallest building in town was the Royal York Hotel. Houses had a maximum of two stories; they were all built with wood as the sidewalks were, and many streets weren't even paved. The city would stretch up to Bloor Street. It looked like a big town that needed to compete with Montreal, which at that time was more advanced. In short, Toronto wasn't the economic capital it is today. Those were also the times of the famous and tremendous Blue Laws..."
Why do you call them famous and tremendous?
"According to these laws, Sundays were days to be dedicated exclusively to prayers. Restaurants, bars and places where people used to meet were closed. For immigrants, though, Sundays were the ideal days in which they could meet, stroll down the streets and chat. They were doing it without any bad intentions. However, they were often loud and this would draw the police attention who were suspicious of these men on the streets."
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