Azorean Americans]]> Immigrants]]> Soccer]]> Community organization]]> Civic leaders]]> Ethnic groups]]> Oral History Interview with Renato Lima, September 17, 2016
Biographical Note:
Born on the island of Faial in 1939; one of four children (three boys and one girl) of Joaquin and Antonieta deLima; Renato Lima was educated in the Faial schools and graduated from high school on Terceira island; began playing soccer as a boy and became one of Faial’s highly skilled players; moved to the island of Terceira after the devastating eruptions (1957-58) of Vulcão dos Capelinhos; after working in a governmental job for the water department on Terceira, and playing soccer for the successful Sport Clube Lusitânia, Mr. Lima immigrated to the United States in 1962, settling with Portuguese friends in Lawrence, Massachusetts, where his brothers and sister would also settle; Mr. Lima obtained a factory job in Malden Mills (in Lawrence); moved briefly to Taunton, Massachusetts, where he was paid to play on a Portuguese soccer team (Taunton Sports Soccer Club), but returned to Lawrence after one year and worked for a rubber and vinyl manufacturer; he married a Portuguese woman whom he had met on Terceira and who immigrated from Terceira to Lawrence to marry him; remained an avid soccer player and fan, and was also active in Lawrence’s Portuguese-American Club.
Scope and Contents:
Interview conducted by local historian Mehmed Ali, this interview covers the aftermath of the volcanic eruptions on the island of Faial and the effect on the largely agrarian population; much of the focus is on the Portuguese community in Lawrence, the various factories where Portuguese émigrés worked, the city’s small Portuguese Catholic parish (Saint Peter and Paul Catholic Church), and the relationship between Lowell’s Portuguese and those in Lawrence.]]> Ali, Mehmed]]> English]]> Capelinhos Volcano (Azores)]]> Faial (Azores)]]> Lawrence (Mass.)]]> Lowell (Mass.)]]> Terceira Island (Azores)]]> Azorean Americans]]> Immigrants]]> Immigrant families]]> Portuguese language]]> Community organization]]> Oral History Interview with Ilda Sousa, November 25, 2016

Biographical Note:

Born in the village of Fontes on the Azorean island of Graciosa in 1926; daughter of Antonio A. and Conceicao A. (da Cunha) Labao; her parents had immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s; her mother settled in Lawrence, Massachusetts, living with relatives from Graciosa and working in a textile mill; her father, who had immigrated from Graciosa to California, was a railroad worker, shoveling coal on a steam locomotive; they met and married in Lawrence; had two daughters, Noemia (who died in infancy) and Deidamia (born in 1910); in 1912 they returned to Graciosa to the village of Fontes and had nine more children (eight daughters and one son); the children, including Ilda Sousa grew to adulthood on Graciosa, but between 1950 and the mid-1960s a number of them immigrated to the United States and settled in Lowell; as a young girl Ilda da Cunha left school to serve as a domestic worker for a wealthier family in Fontes; there she met Aristides A. Sousa, who was born on Graciosa in 1918 and worked as a handyman; they married in 1950 and had one daughter, Marisa D.; in 1966 they immigrated to the United States, settled in Lowell in the “Back Central” neighborhood, and became communicants of Saint Anthony Catholic Church; Ms. Sousa obtained a job in a shoe factory (Grace Shoe), while her husband was employed as a machine operator for a pasta maker (Prince Pasta); she and her husband (who died in 2004, at the age of 85) were members of and active in the Holy Ghost Society and the Holy Trinity Society.

Scope and Contents:

Interview conducted by local historian Mehmed Ali; much of the interview focuses on the lives of the parents of Ilda Sousa, their immigration to the U.S. in the early 1900s and the experiences of Ms. Sousa’s mother in New York City and Lawrence, Massachusetts, as well as their lives on Graciosa, after their return to the island in 1912; through the translation of her daughter Ms. Sousa then describes her life growing up on Graciosa, her marriage there, and her immigration to the U.S. in 1966; included are descriptions of her work place in a Lowell shoe factory; her activities with the Holy Ghost Society, and her experiences in Lowell’s “Back Central” neighborhood.]]> Ali, Mehmed]]> English]]> Lawrence (Mass.)]]> Graciosa (Azores)]]> Lowell (Mass.)]]> Tenement houses]]> Portuguese American women]]> Children of immigrants]]> Mills and mill-work]]> Ethnic neighborhoods]]> Cultural assimilation]]> Cooking]]> Boardinghouses]]>
Biographical Note:
Grace Freitas was born in Lawrence, MA on May 23, 1913. Her mother was Maria Mendonca, who was born on April 16, 1883 in the Azores. She left for the United States in 1898. Her father was Leno Espinola. Six weeks after Grace was born, her parents took her back to the Azores for one year, before returning back to Lawrence in 1914. Her parents split after their return. Since they were being raised by a single mother, Grace and her brother worked in the mills from a young age. She later married Joe Freitas.

Scope and Contents:
Interview conducted by Carole MacDougal Perkins, a grad student in the Department of Psychology at UMass Lowell; discussion included Grace's parents' immigration story; time working in the mills; tenement living; Portuguese cooking.
]]> Perkins, Carole MacDougal]]> English]]> Lawrence (Mass.)]]> é Simão Oral History Interview]]> Azorean Americans]]> Immigrants]]> Immigrant families]]> Ethnic food]]> Community organization]]> Civic leaders]]> Christmas]]>
Biographical Note:
José Simão was born on the island of Graciosa. He worked at Lajes Field on the island of Terceira before he moved to the United States when he was 26. He worked in construction before finally deciding to open up his own restuarant.

Scope and Contents:
Interview conducted by Barbara Fertig from the American Folklife Center. Jose discusses work at Lajes Field on the island of Terceira, moving to the United States, working in construction, learning English, opening a restaurant to serve Portuguese food, christmas traditions, Portugal's connections to the rest of the world.]]> Fertig, Barbara]]> this link.]]> English]]> Lowell (Mass.)]]> Terceira Island (Azores)]]> Lawrence (Mass.)]]> Passports]]> Portugal--Emigration and immigration]]> Azorean Americans]]> English]]> Lawrence (Mass.)]]> Music--Portuguese influences]]> Radio programs]]> Transcript:

George and Elaine.

Say, you'll find all sorts of musical instruments you know at Joseph Warchot and Sons at 376 Common Street in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He's got piano, accordians, guitars, Jansen pianos, Leblanc clarinets, saxophones, and trumpets, plus a complete line of sheet music. Very low prices, too, in time for Christmas and a small deposit will hold any article until Christmas. Joseph Warchot and Sons will repair your damaged instrument too, with top service on all makes at reasonable charges. So, for that musical instrument for Christmas, sheet music, or necessary repairs to your instrument, visit George Warchot and Sons, 376 Common Street, opposite the new court house, in Lawrence. Telephone 31875. Here are a couple of specials now at Warchot's. A new Revere tenor sax and case, regularly $349, now just $279. And a WFL drum outfit in white pearl, regularly $295 now only $225 at Joseph Warchot and Sons, 376 Common Street, Lawrence, Massachusetts.

The Lady of Fatima Society presents a country store at the Portuguese Band Hall, next Saturday night, December 11th at 8pm. All Portuguese are invited to attend this old-fashioned country store with plenty of fun, food, prizes, and surprises for everyone. If you've never seen an old-fashioned country store, then don't miss this one. You're going to have lots of fun and excitement and a real fine time at the country store, presented by the Lady of Fatima Society at the Portuguese Band Hall, at the corner of Chapel and Charles Street, in Lowell Massachusetts. Don't forget the date! It's this coming Saturday, December 11th, for the big country store at 8pm.]]> Silva, George]]> Ares, Frank]]> Candy, John]]> English]]> Lowell (Mass.)]]> Lawrence (Mass.)]]> Catholic Church--Dioceses]]> Portuguese]]> Lawrence (Mass.)]]> City council members]]> Political posters]]> English]]> Lawrence (Mass.)]]> Portuguese American women]]> Balls (parties)]]> English]]> Lawrence (Mass.)]]> Catholic Church--Societies, etc.]]> Statutes]]> Constitutions]]> English]]> Portuguese]]> Lawrence (Mass.)]]> Catholic Church--Dioceses]]> Catholic Church--Societies, etc.]]> Fasts and Feasts]]> Portuguese]]> Lawrence (Mass.)]]> Catholic Church--Societies, etc.]]> Fasts and Feasts]]> Azorean Americans]]> Portugal--Emigration and immigration]]> English]]> Lawrence (Mass.)]]> Catholic Church--Dioceses]]> Fasts and Feasts]]> English]]> Portuguese]]> Lawrence (Mass.)]]> Soccer]]> English]]> Lawrence (Mass.)]]> Balls (parties)]]> English]]> Lawrence (Mass.)]]> Balls (parties)]]> English]]> Lawrence (Mass.)]]> Balls (parties)]]> English]]> Lawrence (Mass.)]]> Veterans]]> United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783]]> United States. Army.]]> English]]> Lawrence (Mass.)]]> Balls (parties)]]> English]]> Lawrence (Mass.)]]> Catholic Church--Dioceses]]> English]]> Lawrence (Mass.)]]> Catholic Church--Dioceses]]> Minstrel shows]]> World War, 1939-1945]]> minstrel show in 1935.]]> English]]> Lawrence (Mass.)]]> Catholic Church--Dioceses]]> Festivals]]> English]]> Lawrence (Mass.)]]> Catholic Church--Dioceses]]> Minstrel shows]]> Musicians]]>
[This item contains language and imagery which may be triggering to some individuals. This item includes insensitive word choice and imagery, according to current standards.]]]> English]]> Lawrence (Mass.)]]> Catholic Church--Dioceses]]> English]]> Lawrence (Mass.)]]> Priests]]> English]]> Lawrence (Mass.)]]> Catholic Church--Dioceses]]> Mother's Day]]> English]]> Portuguese]]> Lawrence (Mass.)]]> Catholic Church--Dioceses]]> Mother's Day]]> Ascension Day]]> English]]> Portuguese]]> Lawrence (Mass.)]]> Catholic Church--Dioceses]]> Mother's Day]]> Matos, Reinaldo]]> Portuguese]]> Lawrence (Mass.)]]> Catholic Church--Dioceses]]> Azorean Americans]]> Matos, Reinaldo]]> Portuguese]]> Lawrence (Mass.)]]> Catholic Church--Dioceses]]> Azorean Americans]]> Priests]]>
Banquet took place at the Central Catholic Auditorium.

Reverend Reinaldo Matos was overseeing the church at the time.]]> English]]> Portuguese]]> Lawrence (Mass.)]]>