Dimas Espinola Collection [1923-2009]
Dublin Core
Title
Dimas Espinola Collection [1923-2009]
Date
1923-2009
Description
These items, collected over time by Dimas Espinola, detail the Portuguese community in Lowell from the 1920s through the 2000s. Items include Holy Ghost Society documents, newspaper articles, photographs, and event posters.
Biographical Note
Born on the Azorean island of Terceira, in the village of Biscoitos, in 1950; Dimas Espinola immigrated with his family to the United States in the late 1960s, settling in Lowell’s “Back Central” (predominately Portuguese) neighborhood; his father, formerly a furniture maker in Biscoitos, obtained a job as a loom fixer in the Wannalancit Mills; his mother worked in a shoe factory; Mr. Espinola received his formal education in schools on Terceira and, upon arriving in Lowell, he secured a work permit and, at nearly 17 years of age, he was employed in a manufacturing job in the Paris shoe factory on Bridge Street; at the same time Mr. Espinola, a communicant at St. Anthony’s Church, began working closely with the pastor, Rev. John F. deSilva; among his activities was translating English for Portuguese members of the community, which included various issues affecting the neighborhood, including a state proposed extension of the Lowell Connector highway that threatened many homes and businesses in the “Back Central” neighborhood; in addition to his community activism and work with the church, Mr. Espinola also became involved with the Portuguese-American Center (and its soccer team), as well as the Holy Ghost Society; he remained in the shoe industry for many years, becoming a foreman and factory manager.
Biographical Note
Born on the Azorean island of Terceira, in the village of Biscoitos, in 1950; Dimas Espinola immigrated with his family to the United States in the late 1960s, settling in Lowell’s “Back Central” (predominately Portuguese) neighborhood; his father, formerly a furniture maker in Biscoitos, obtained a job as a loom fixer in the Wannalancit Mills; his mother worked in a shoe factory; Mr. Espinola received his formal education in schools on Terceira and, upon arriving in Lowell, he secured a work permit and, at nearly 17 years of age, he was employed in a manufacturing job in the Paris shoe factory on Bridge Street; at the same time Mr. Espinola, a communicant at St. Anthony’s Church, began working closely with the pastor, Rev. John F. deSilva; among his activities was translating English for Portuguese members of the community, which included various issues affecting the neighborhood, including a state proposed extension of the Lowell Connector highway that threatened many homes and businesses in the “Back Central” neighborhood; in addition to his community activism and work with the church, Mr. Espinola also became involved with the Portuguese-American Center (and its soccer team), as well as the Holy Ghost Society; he remained in the shoe industry for many years, becoming a foreman and factory manager.
Subject
Catholic Church--Societies, etc.
Music--Portuguese influences
Wedding photography
Wedding attendants
Portuguese American women
United States. Navy.
First Confession and Communion
Immigrants--Cultural Assimilation--United States
United States. Army.
Fasts and Feasts
Dictators
Mills and mill-work
Processions, Religious--Catholic Church
Veterans
United States. Navy.
Basketball teams
World War, 1939-1945
Nuns
Altars
Azorean Americans
Musicians
Musical theater
Motion pictures, Portuguese
Easter
Attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 1941
World War, 1939-1945--Women
Crocheting
Victory in Europe Day, 1945
World War, 1939-1945--United States--Medals
World War, 1939-1945--United States--Prisoners and prisons
United States. Army. Women's Army Corps.
United States. Air force.
United States. Marine Corps.
Catholic Church--Dioceses
Mother's Day
Ambassadors
Consuls
Priests
Military religious orders
Community organization
House painters
Real estate agents
Financial institutions
Seventh-Day Adventists
Bullfights
Automobile insurance
Television stations
Tax returns
Fourth of July
Soccer
Sexual harassment of men
Mental health
Radio broadcasting
Fasts and Feasts
Politicians
Politics and government
Community activists
Constitutions
Folk dancing, Portuguese
Madeirans
Portugal--History--Revolution, 1974
Baseball teams
Immigrants
Christmas
New Year
Cows
Coverage
Lowell (Mass.)
New Bedford (Mass.)
Danvers (Mass.)
Newark (N.J.)
Fall River (Mass.)
Methuen (Mass.)
Cambridge (Mass.)
Boston (Mass.)
Oakland (Calif.)
Attleboro (Mass.)
Peabody (Mass.)
Taunton (Mass.)
Hartford (Conn.)
Graciosa (Azores)
Somerville (Mass.)
Hudson (Mass.)
Source
Items were donated by Dimas Espinola in 2022.
Publisher
UMass Lowell, Center for Lowell History
Rights
In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted: This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. In addition, no permission is required from the rights-holder(s) for educational uses. For other uses, you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
No Copyright - United States: The organization that has made the Item available believes that the Item is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States, but a determination was not made as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries.
Relation
Format
JPEG
PDF
Language
English
Portuguese
Type
Text
Image
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