1954, THE MICAELENSE YEAR
José-Louis Jacome, March 25, 2021
The Third Contingent
Following a reception at the Palácio da Conçeicão on April 27, 1954, the 171 Micaelense emigrants leaving later aboard the Nea Hellas made their way to the nearby Salazar pier. Boarding went smoothly. The Greek Line's ship started up at 11:30 am and left the pier. This third voyage will carry the last contingent of Azorean emigrants included in the Canadian quota for 1954, a total of 950.
The trip will last 5 days. Inspector Mário Ferreira da Costa, who has accompanied Azoreans since the start of this emigration wave in May 1953, was on board. As representative of the Junta Nacional da Emigração, he has scheduled information sessions on Canada every day. These covered all aspects of life in their new world; language, clothing, work, food. He even presented a map of Montreal, according to Carlos Pacheco, a Micaelense passenger. The ship arrived at the Halifax Pier 21 on May 2.
The Nea Hellas, built in 1922 by Fairfield Govan, sailed until 1939 as Tuscania. It was then bought by the Greek Line which named it Nea Hellas. As early as 1947, after World War II, it was used to transport emigrants to North America. (1) The liner, among other things, transported two Potuguese contingents to Canada; a first one made of 102 Madeirenses on May 26, 1953 and the second on April 27, 1954, wich included 171 Micaelenses.
The 171 Micaelenses photographed on the stairs of the Palácio da Conceição, in Ponta Delgada. (Correio dos Açores, April 29, 1954). A little note on Inspector Mário Ferreira da Costa published in the same newspaper.
Inspector Mário Ferreira da Costa, a Junta National da Emigração official, played a leading role in this first emigration wave to Canada. He ensured the smooth running of the organization leading to the departure of the first 179 Portuguese emigrants in 1953. From October 27, 1953, he moved to Ponta Delgada in the company of Doctor José Dias Henriques, to organize the departure of the 950 Azoreans scheduled to leave in 1954. He will make a first selection among those who are registered in the island town halls. Doctor Henriques carried out the first medical examinations on the candidates and their families. If a family member had anything wrong, the candidate was automatically eliminated. A Canadian committee led by Odilon Cormier will work for 5-6 months in São Miguel and will do a second medical inspection and final of candidate selection. In the other islands, Dr José Neves Belo carried out medical exams of future emigrants. (2)
From the start of this first wave of Portuguese immigration to Canada, inspector da Costa or one of his colleagues from the Junta National da Emigração accompanied the emigrants to their destination. During the Saturnia’s voyage, Inspector São Romão accompanied the pioneers to Montreal, according to Carlos Pereira, from Peniche. (3)
This last 1954 departure is covered in the two daily newspapers published in São Miguel, the Diário dos Açores and the Correio dos Açores. Here is a free translation of the article which appeared in the latter on April 29, 1954 :
The last departure of Azorean emigrants to Canada this year
happened the day before yesterday after a meeting at the Palácio da Conceição
At 8:30 AM, the 171 emigrants who will leave on the Nea Hellas ship, entered the Noble Hall of the Palácio da Conceição. They were greeted by the Civil Government Secretariat staff, Inspector Ferreira da Costa and Armando Maçanite, the district police commander. Among them, 15 Ribeiragrandenses are invited to carry the national flags offered by their municipality.
Then entered, the Governor accompanied by his private secretaries and the president of the Lagoa municipality. The Governor was welcomed with heavy applause. He walk towards the men who were about to leave and told them that with this contingent we completed the emigration quota agreed between Canada and Portugal for the year 1954. He hoped that they would keep as strong as possible their love for the Country and the families, hoping that they will never forget them. He then underlined that this day (April 27) marked 26 years of dedication for the good of the Nation of the Head of the Portuguese Government (Salazar). Thanks to its prestigious actions, a foreign country has offered Portugal an important quota, which will be followed by others, if the conduct of the emigrants who have left and those who are going to leave, bring back the credits that will allow their compatriots to go to them, also work in the new world.
He wished that all, in foreign lands, be examples of sacrifice as the Saviour of the Country (Salazar) knew how to do before anyone else by taking heavy tasks on his shoulders. He ended his speech by wishing the 171 sons of the island who left in search of good fortune the day before yesterday. All greeted with "vivas" the Head of Government who did the same. Finally, Governor Aniceto dos Santos turned to Inspector Ferreira da Costa whose efforts he praised. He wished him a safe journey while continuing his mission.
Boarding followed. Several personalities headed for the port. The district chief accompanied by his secretaries, the commander of the P.S.P. (police), Corporal Armando Maçinite, the Director of Finance, Mr. Manuel Pavão de Medeiros and Dr. Freitas Magolhães, Director of the Radiology Department of the hospital who worked within the Junta da Emigração as well as some friends of the Inspector Ferreira da Costa. He had felt and well deserved farewells, all recognizing in him a high quality civil servant.
Artur de Reis Vieira, a ribeiragrandense, was on board.
Artur de Reis Vieira, in military uniform.
(photo: Idelta Vieira)
Artur de Reis Vieira, arrived in Halifax on May 2, 1954 on the Nea Hellas, he was 29 years old. He left behind his wife, Lurdes Dias, his daughter Idelta and his son Diniz. They joined him 3 years later in 1957. Artur is the brother-in-law of Antonio Dias, the owner of Casa Micaelense, one of the first Portuguese grocery stores established in Montreal, on Hôtel-de-Ville Street. In the 1960s, it was one of the Saint-Louis district places we visited on weekends to buy Portuguese food. We would also go to the José da Costa and the Domingos Reis stores. The latter was the first Portuguese store in Montreal, since 1956. It was also the main anchor point for Portuguese newcomers in the host city.
Artur Vieira like many other Portuguese immigrants and pioneers accepted very difficult jobs to build their better world in the 1950s. In this regard, there are many horror stories. Artur’s one is dramatic. He died in 1977 at the age of 52 after a horrific work accident. He fell into an acid bath of the Locweld and Forge Products Company. The plant specialized in the design and manufacturing of large metal parts. “The acid tanks were poorly marked. At the time, the rules concerning occupational safety were far from those imposed today. There were more accidents. » his daughter Idelta told me. He suffered for many weeks and died.
Upon his arrival in Canada in 1954, Artur had worked on a farm in Shawinigan and in Grand-Mère. Then he joined the Pascoal clan established in La Prairie since 1957. His little family arrived in Dorval the same year. Like many others, they had problems finding an accommodation; many landlords were reluctant to rent out their homes to immigrants. I wrote in my book, From an Island to Another, that in the 1950s and 1960s my father helped several Azorean families find accommodation in Montreal. In his book titled Cuore, Italian-Canadian singer and well-known Quebec author, Nicola Ciccone, described a similar situation in the neighbourhood where he grew up in the mid-1970s in Montreal: “It was common to read on housing rental signs in the Petite Patrie district, For rent but not to Italians." The Vieiras settled for a few months in a very inadequate little house in Laprairie. Before winter, they temporarily moved in with Jaime Pascoal and Belmira Dias, Lurdes’s sister, before moving to a house they purchased. The Dias family were our neighbours, on rua das Rosas in Ribeira Grande.
Artur de Reis Vieira's photo shows him in military gear in his early twenties. Military service was compulsory in Portugal until 2004. The Assembly of Portugal put an end to it on July 1, 1999. From the age of 18, young men had to register and could be called upon to serve their country 2 at 4 years, from the age of 19 or 20 in general. At the time, no man could legally leave the country after enrolling, without completing military service and obtaining a written permission from the military. Men could do their service in the country or in a Portuguese colony. Artur was deployed primarily in Angola in the 1940s. Colonial wars began in the early 1960s. From then until 1974, thousands of men were sent to Angola, Mozambique and New Guinea. At the height of Portugal's colonial wars, the country maintained over 200,000 troops on many fronts, an effort as disproportionate as it was suicidal for such a small country. Thousands of young people fled the country even after their registration to avoid military service and especially to be sent to the various battle fields. They fled to other European countries, especially France, after World War II. Many also left the country before reaching the age of 18 for the same reasons.
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With the 897 men who left São Miguel, 1954 was certainly the Micaelense year of this first wave of Portuguese emigration to Canada. Artur Vieira was part of the last contingent to leave the island that year. Other ships carried hundreds of Portuguese in 1955 and 1956. By 1956, planes took over. On June 11, 1957, the first Canadian Pacific Airways direct flight took off from Santa Maria airport to Montreal. The trip lasted 12 hours according to Manuel Melo. (3) Family reunifications increased dramatically and, subsequently, especially in the 1960s and 1970s, large Portuguese-speaking communities were formed in major Canadian cities, notably Toronto and Montreal.
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References
1. Alernavios, Nea Hellas, 2013
2. Humberta Araujo, Milenio Stadium, 2017
3. Small People Great Stories, José Mário Coelho
About the author
Born in São Miguel and living in Montreal since 1958, I published a book in 2018 about Azorean immigration to Canada in the 1950s. “De uma ilha para outra” was published in Portuguese and French. The book and an exhibition that accompanies it were presented in Montreal, São Miguel, Toronto and Boston. The book is sold in Montreal, Toronto and São Miguel, and through my Website. I continue to publish information and stories relating to the first big wave of Azorean and Portuguese immigration to Canada in the 1950s through my Website jljacome.com and my Facebook page D’une île à l’autre.
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