First Annual Celebration of Macedonian Immigration to Canada
It was like discovering bits and pieces of Lillian Petroff that we didn’t know about. The people that attended the First Annual Celebration of Macedonian Immigration to Canada event by the Canadian Macedonian Historical Society on a Sunday in November were delighted and surprised to hear the many sides of Dr. Lillian Petroff.
The Jewish religion holds a Shiva when someone dies. This tradition gives everyone an opportunity to visit at the family home, eat, share stories, sympathize and most importantly talk about the person who has died. With this event, it was our 40 days and three months rolled into one. With the stories and the memories, there was laughter and one memory led to another.
We had this wonderful opportunity to give credit where it was due, to a woman who was passionate about having a Macedonian heritage. When she embarked on her research, she learned about herself, and today, we learned about Dr. Lillian Petroff as someone who put Macedonian immigration on the map, permanently, in Ontario. Need I add that it was highly successful?
When we first discussed this event, (which we plan on holding annually) we decided to pay tribute to and in memory of Dr. Lillian Petroff, one of the first academics, and first generation Canadian that gave a voice to Macedonian immigrants by recording the immigration of Macedonians to Canada. We were not identified as Bulgarians or Greeks or Serbians, in spite of the names they were sometimes forced to carry.
Mr. John Parry, editor of her book Sojourners & Settlers: The Macedonian Community in Toronto to 1940 was the first to speak about her abilities and his long relationship with her during the time he was editing her book, and her relationship with Michael Ondatjje. He used her research by making the protagonist in his novel In the Skin of a Lion a Macedonian. Not a Bulgarian, or a Greek, but a distinctive Macedonian.
She was the Senior Coordinator of Education Programs at the Multicultural History Society of Ontario. Colleagues spoke about her, Ruth Malloy Kipp and Heather Broadbent, The President of the Multicultural Historical Society of Ontario also said a few words about her quirks and particular talents.
There were about a dozen people that felt they wanted to share their memories of Lillian such as Trian Dimitriou and Peter Kondoff.
Madeline Ziniak, Vice-President of Rogers OMNI, spoke about Lillian’s “Sierhey Khmara Ziniak Award for dedication to multiculturalism and its affirmative expression through media and historical documentation.” She received this award through the Canadian Ethnic Media Association.
John Evans reminisced about seeking her out regarding her research about early immigration, etc. and he needed the information for Oro Makedonsko. These events were held at Roy Thomson Hall and the Metro Convention Centre in the 1980’s and 90’s.
Lubi Uzunovski spoke about their friendship as well her going head to head with Minister Lloyd Axworthy with aplomb; her ability to sustain her cool against the Greek community who were exerting pressure on her and her position at the MHSO. She was defiant and a staunch Macedonian. She was determined to carry on, in spite of these threats. She was quick witted, had a terrific sense of humour, a brilliant mind, self-effacing, and loved to have fun, according to Lubi.
It was a joy to hear from her aunts Marina and Kay, sisters of her mother, and learn about her absolute love of animals, which was naturally expressed to include people. Her mother and brother were unable to attend.
John Thomas, who was past Co-President of the Historical Society spoke about how he held her in awe, this legend he had heard about, when he called her to ask her to introduce the Symposium he was organizing. She kept him in suspense as he waited for her answer to his question, and then said, “of course she would participate; what did he need?”
We had a total of about a dozen people who wanted to share their memories of Lillian, which we all found comforting and yet amazing, as each time someone spoke, it was a whole different side of Lillian.
However, although we had over 60 people attend this tribute to her memory, many Macedonian immigrants to Canada in the last 25 to 30 years do not know what she managed to accomplish with the publication of her articles, and then later with her book in 1996. Anyone who came into town and wanted to know about Macedonia, she was the go-to person.
She pointed out that we stand on the hard working, skinny shoulders of the early immigrants, the sojourners, or pechalbari. They were the ones who first came to make a quick dollar (and that was about all they made for 12 hours work sometimes), stay about 3 years, while the little woman at home worked the farm and took care of the family. He would go back home as a returning hero, stay as long as was necessary to increase the size of the family and back again to Canada.
Immigrants to Canada today have no idea what it was like in the early part of the 20th Century, before WWII. Even those who came after the war for liberation, or commonly called the Civil War in Greece, still did not have the kinds of experiences that Dr. Petroff’s book describes. (See below if you would like to order a copy.)
There was a very active committee that brought this event to fruition in a short time. They included Virginia Evans, Virginia Stoymanoff, Tony Markovski, Paul Thomas, Liljana Curapova, along with John Thomas and Vera Markovska. The food was from St. Clements Macedonian Orthodox Church and the event was covered both by Macedonian Heritage and Macedonian Edition Television programs. The Historical Society also videotaped the event. Please inquire if you would like to purchase a tape.
We hope to continue this tradition of paying tribute to Macedonian immigrants and their families in Canada in years to come. We, as a community, must recognize and pay tribute to our own – for if not us, who?
We must know where we came from, to know where we are going.
V. Andreoff Evans