Table of Contents
Italian-Canadian Narratives Showcase
A national repository of Italian-Canadian stories housed at the University of Guelph
Photo of Interviewee, Lawrence Ryan.
Author: Emily Faustino
Introduction
My name is Emily Faustino, and I interviewed Lawrence Ryan for my Italian heritage project. Lawrence agreed to share his Italian family heritage with me, more specifically, the heritage of his Grandmother, Angelina Merlcco, and his mom, Gusipina (Josephina) Facullo. While also sharing his own experiences as an Italian Canadian. By documenting his oral history and historical items, the goal is to connect the events of the past with the lived experiences of actual people. My goal is to learn more about Italian heritage and Italian culture by learning from the Italian-Canadian community that lives among us.
Interview Summary
Interview was conducted on October 20th 2025 at 30 Spring Street in Norwich, Ontario. Lawrence shared his families heritage with me in the comfort of his home in the form of a semi structured interview. The recorded interview can be watched below.
Transcribed Interview
| Question: What age group/generation are you in? | “ I was born January 7th, 1952, which makes me 73 years old and a baby boomer.” |
| Question: What first brought your grandmother and mother to Canada? Where did they first arrive and when? How did they get here? Who did they come here with? | “My grandmother was widowed in Sicily. Her husband died suddenly.
She was left with four children, and her brother, who was already in Canada, sent for her. She came with her four children.” “They arrived in Toronto. Around 1907, they came here by boat.” |
| Question: How old were they when they came here? From which part of Italy? | “ She was born in 1881, so that would have made her 26 years old when she came here, and she came from a town called Vita in the province of Sicily.” |
Question: Is there anything further you would like to add to this story? ( Lawrence talked about memories of his mother and his family) | “She was a wonderful cook, wonderful baker. She was a homebody; she never left the house, and she never worked a day in her life. My father was a furrier on Spadina, and he took care of the family. He owned his own business. There was my oldest brother, my younger sister, so there were five of us, and our grandparents lived with us. My grandmother died in 1956. My grandfather died in 196. He strongly identified with Italian heritage because my father only had one brother, who was Irish, of course, and we only saw him on Christmas Eve. That was the only time of the year because he and my father worked together. So the two brothers saw each other all the time. But the two families only got together on Christmas Eve, where my mother would put out a big Italian spread out and they would come up and we would exchange gifts and have a drink. My mom carried on that tradition after my father passed away in 1965, up until 1989 when she passed away. So it was a strong family unit.” |
| Question: Do you identify with a cultural background and heritage? (traditions, family heritage) | “ I was only brought up around Italians, my aunts, my uncles. Like I said, I only saw my Irish uncle one time a year on Christmas Eve. third generation I am third-generation Italian, born and raised in Toronto, downtown Little Italy. “ |
Question: Were you born in Canada or abroad? | “Born in the house I lived in, my grandmother had 26 grandchildren, and each grandchild was born in that same house in the upstairs bedroom. And I lived there till I was 45 years old, so a lot of memories.” |
| Question: Did you grow up speaking a language other than French or English at home? How often was the language spoken, or was it only on special occasions or holidays? | “
When my grandparents were alive, my mother spoke Italian fluently with them. My father, being Irish, never picked up a word of Italian, so the household would switch back and forth between my mother talking to my grandparents or talking to us or my dad. It was sometimes confusing, but sometimes we knew, but she didn’t want us to know anything.
She would tell my grandparents an Italian, so we wouldn’t understand what they were saying.” |
Question: Did you grow up at all in the Italian community? Or surrounded by Italian heritage? | “ I grew up surrounded by Italian heritage. I was like I said, I was born and raised in Little Italy, where I lived for 45 years. So strong an ethnic Italian background. Everybody knew everybody. All the stores knew my mom. You know, she would send me up, sometimes with no money and just, you know, I’ll put it in your post office. And sometimes my mother would send me to the store without any money, but they knew me, they knew my mom, and I guess my mother ran a monthly or a weekly bill with the store, and then she would go pay it, you know, at the end of the week or at the end of the month.” |
| Question: Is there anything further you would like to add? ( Lawrence discussed his favorite parts of growing up Italian, some memories, and traditions he still carries on.) | “My favourite part of growing up Italian, obviously, was the food. It was homemade most times with my aunt and my other aunt, who lived around the corner. On Sundays, they would get there at the house at 6 a.m., make homemade pasta, homemade sauce, meatballs, pizza, whatever else there was. So it was a lot of comfort food. And what was the second question? One of the traditions was that we grew up getting together as a family for Good Friday. It would be a fish-only meal. We were lucky enough to have our church procession pass in front of our house to where I was an altar boy for five years. So was my brother. And uh then after the procession passed by, we would all come in and we would eat shrimps and smelts and octopus and a fish pasta, but no meat, no meat at all. It was the only day we didn’t eat meat. And even after all these years, 24 years or 30 years since my mother passed, I still carry on this tradition with my family.” |
Photo Gallery
“This is a picture of my mom and dad on the day they got engaged.
It was 1942. My dad was of Irish heritage. My mother was the youngest of six kids from my grandmother, and they were engaged in Toronto.”
“This is a picture of my mother, my grandmother, my aunt, and my cousin, who was my aunt’s daughter, taken in 1943 taken in Little Italy, Toronto.
My aunt was widowed at 19. So the daughter grew up without a father, and we all lived next door to each other, so the two houses were connected. My aunt lived on one side, my mother and my grandmother lived on the other side.”
This photo of Lawrence Ryan was taken in 1955, he was 3 years old.
Marriage certificate from Lawrence’s Grandmother and Grandfather in Italy from 1917.
Analysis
Throughout the interview process, I was engrossed in stories from three generations of Italians, which resonated with course content as we had discussed immigration patterns and hardships endured. Specifically, Lawrence’s Grandmothers emigration to Canada, coming by herself with four children on a boat. This relates to the Filippo Salvatore reading we completed earlier in the class. He states, “I discovered what it means to be an emigrant,” which relates to her experiences because she left a familiar place she called home for a new home she knew nothing about. Creating a home and finding your place when your an emigrant is challenging and takes a lot of courage. All of this after she had suffered the loss of her husband, she packed up her life in Italy to voyage here in hopes of a better future. Which I think was successful after hearing the stories of belonging and community that his grandmother and mother found here in Canada, and Lawrence continuing on their legacies, not only by discussing his Italian-Canadian family heritage with me, but also by carrying on their memories and traditions. Despite the unknown and hardships faced, three generations persevered and created memories and lives.
Reflection
Completing this oral history project, I was not sure what to expect, and I was honestly skeptical as to how such a small project could make an impact. As someone who did not grow up surrounded by lots of family and different generations, I have a newfound appreciation for those who did. Hearing Lawrence’s stories of growing up, how close his family was, and the stories of his grandmother and mother, shows how important it is to grow up surrounded by your culture and heritage. I enjoyed learning about his family and Italian-Canadian heritage. Growing up in Little Italy allowed Lawrence to be surrounded by his heritage while also forming his own identity as a Canadian. Lawrence continues on his family’s legacy by continuing with family traditions and passing them on to his sons and their families. Further emphasizing the importance of oral history and its impact on future generations.
All Images provided by Lawrence Ryan and approved for public use.