|
Frank
Colantonio's story stands as potent testimony to a
life dedicated to family, community, and social
justice. Like countless other Italians after World
War II, Colantonio, born in rural Molise,
emigrated to Canada. Putting down roots in the
rapidly expanding metropolis of Toronto, he worked
his way through a variety of occupations: farm
labourer, terrazzo grinder, carpenter, and trade
union activist.
In 1960 and 1961 he was the key organizer of
Italian-born carpenters in the momentous strikes
that paralyzed the construction industry in
Toronto. These events form the centrepiece of his
stirring narrative. In later years Frank Colantonio
became a tireless advocate for workers' safety, and
a successful entrepreneur in the safety shoe
business. In semi-retirement he wrote his memoirs,
the first of their kind, in his adopted language,
English.
"Colantonio's story will touch you, anger you,
amuse you, and make you think. Many
Italian-Canadians will find a part of their lives
described in these pages. You will meet an
intelligent, curious, hardworking, and committed
man. Written in the language he acquired as an
adult in a new land, Colantonio's story is one of
courage, defiance, triumph, disappointment, and
success."
- Franca Iacovetta,
author of Such Hardworking People: Italian
Immigrants in Postwar Toronto
|
