Tullio Idilio Callegari

The Immigration Story of Tullio Idilio Callegari (Italian Immigrant)

In 1954, shortly after my 22nd birthday, my father, Gio Batta, passed away. My 38 year old brother, Pietro, moved back home to take care of our mother and I made the difficult decision shortly after to leave my home and my country because there was a lack of work. There were other men in my home town who were leaving to go to Canada and they told me that it was the land of opportunity. I spent the next several months working and saving money to pay for my ticket and to meet the requirement of having at least $110 Canadian in my pocket when I arrived.

On April 30, 1955, I left the Port of Genova on the ship Roma and made the long journey to Halifax, N.S. I remember that each table on the ship had 6 place settings but by the time we arrived there were only 3 place settings because the other 3 passengers were too sea sick to eat. However, they continued to serve the meals and wine for all six at the table so we never went hungry or thirsty!

When the ship arrived at Pier 21 on May 10, 1955, there were snow flurries and I found it very cold. As we approached Halifax, I remember looking at all the trees and wood houses along the coast and thinking they were very small compared to the homes in Italy. They looked more like garages.

As soon as we left the ship, we passed through immigration at Pier 21 and were given food to eat. I was very surprised by the soft, sliced bread and orange cheese. This was not like home.

Around 8:30 pm. with paperwork in hand, I boarded a train for Calgary, Alberta. When the gentleman took my ticket, he spoke to me in Italian so I asked if I could stop in Toronto to see my brother-in-law, Adamo Querin. He said yes, but I would need to change trains in Montreal. He showed me what car to go into and asked why I was going to Calgary if I had a brother-in-law working in Toronto? He told me that there was more work available in Toronto and I could stay there instead of going to Calgary. I was very happy to hear this and got off the train in Toronto to start my new life in Canada. Although I was a trained mason, my first job was working as a labourer for $0.90/hour and I started learning to how to speak English. After a few months, I was able to find work as a mason and earned $1.10/hour.

In 1961, I was moved to a job site in Halifax, Nova Scotia by my employer. I met my wife to be, Marjorie Barnes in 1962 and we were married in 1963. My first child, John Franco Callegari, was born and then daughter, Carla Luiga Callegari and daughter, Giuliana Marie Callegari, followed a few years later. I have two beautiful granddaughters, Katia Emma Denise Callegari and Lauren Nicole Callegari.