Pioneers: The Story of Manuel Fontes Maciel and Isilberta Silva

This article is sponsored by:

The stories of our pioneers are filled with determination and sacrifice. Initially, the men ventured forth, navigating towards unknown territories where they aspired to realize their dreams. It was only later that their families joined them, enduring numerous tribulations that left indelible marks on their lives. The tale of pioneer Manuel Fontes Maciel and his wife, Isilberta Eulália da Silva, is replete with dreams, yet fraught with challenges along the way.

Manuel Fontes Maciel, born on September 1, 1932, in Terra do Pão on the island of Pico, was one of nine siblings. He worked on the family farm from a young age, living a simple yet happy and comfortable life. “There, we had a very good life. We ate well. We went fishing in the boat, we had cows, fish, milk, meat, mussels, cabbage,” he reminisced during a conversation held at his home in Mississauga on May 24, 2024.

Isilberta Eulália da Silva, born in São Caetano on the island of Pico on February 11, 1932, was the fourth child in a family of four daughters and two sons. Though born and raised in relative poverty, she never lacked anything. “Life there wasn’t too bad either. We were poorer, but family and neighbours were very friendly. They raised their little pigs and when they had a pig to kill, they called all the neighbours, they called the whole family. It was beautiful. The parties there were very beautiful, the festivities for the saints. We participated in everything. Christmas was very joyful. It was joyful, but it was poorer, not like here. Here it’s toys and more toys. We were poor and happy. And we were healthy,” she recalled wistfully.

Manuel and Isilberta, hailing from neighboring localities, first met at school during their childhood and later began dating. “Dating was very easy. We met and talked to each other. He worked during the week and visited me by bicycle, and we talked, but we didn’t kiss like people do nowadays,” Isilberta said, laughing.

In 1954, Manuel Maciel decided to emigrate. “What made me emigrate was the following: I thought that my life wasn’t good there and that I was coming here (Canada) to make a lot of money. The work was very good, but [life] was 100% worse. When I came, I regretted it because I had a very good life there. When I came, I was 190 pounds (86 kilos). Here, I started losing weight. I worked on the railway,” Manuel recounted.

Emigrating to Canada

However, the immigration process was not easy, as Isilberta explained: “He made an appointment to emigrate to Canada and they didn’t want to let him go because he was very strong and fat. They asked what he did for a living. He said, I work in the fields, my father has a lot of land, a lot of pasture, a lot of cows. And they said, no, you are lying. You are very fat, you don’t do that. And he replied, I do, sir, I do. You can ask the people… there were other people there applying to go to Canada… you can ask. They asked and the people said, it’s true, he is a worker in the fields and the pastures, and he works a lot. That’s how he passed the test to come to Canada and, as we were dating, he wrote me letters.”

Manuel Maciel traveled from the Azores to Halifax by ship, just like all other Portuguese who emigrated to Canada at that time. He then took a train to Toronto, where he settled permanently. “I came to work on the railway, north of Toronto, I don’t recall the name of the town. But I stayed there for a short time because the work was very hard, and the pay wasn’t very good. And the food was poor. On the railway, there were no other Portuguese. I knew a couple of words in English. It was difficult. I arrived here with a hundred dollars and soon I had nothing left. Then I started earning some money,” he said.

Two years later, Manuel Maciel returned to Portugal for a visit. However, he did not seek out Isilberta, the girlfriend he had left behind before emigrating to Canada. “He found another girlfriend, walked around with her and never contacted me,” Isilberta said. Manuel then decided to marry his new girlfriend but quickly changed his mind, as Isilberta recounted: “He told her, I am going back, I cannot marry because I have to leave for Canada. Then he left for Canada and missed the wedding. He never contacted me. After a few months, maybe half a year, his mother came knocking on my door and asked me: Do you have a boyfriend? My son wrote to me and wanted to know if you had a boyfriend because he wanted to get back together with you. I said, oh no, I don’t have a boyfriend, I never dated anyone. Then he wrote me a letter and also wrote to my parents asking me to marry him, and so it was. Then we got married in the church, it was by proxy. On the wedding day (1961), my groom was my father-in-law. And then, six months later, I was ready to come to Canada, but when I arrived in Canada life was very different. I arrived in August of 1961.”

Isilberta traveled to Toronto by plane, with a layover in Montreal. “In Montreal, I called my husband, and he came to pick me up at the airport. He and a friend who worked at the docks were there waiting for me because I think my husband didn’t have a car at the time,” she recalled.

Life in a New Country

The couple rented a room on Augusta Avenue in Toronto. Manuel Maciel had left his job on the railway in 1959 and was now working at the Toronto docks, where he was the supervisor of a group of 14 workers. “It was a good job and a good salary. I managed 14 men. I had a good time there. Almost everyone was Portuguese. Maybe there were two Canadians. Two to guide the crane, two to work outside the boat, eight to work inside the boat, and two to walk around the edge. I spoke Portuguese with them. I worked there until I retired,” Manuel recounted.

Meanwhile, Isilberta endeavoured to adapt to her new life in a distant country, far from the familiar surroundings of her upbringing. “We lived in a rented room, and the kitchen was shared by two families. It was on Augusta Avenue in Toronto. It was complicated because we lived with a man who worked with my husband at the dock, and we cooked in the same kitchen. They stayed in one bedroom, a couple, and we stayed in the other. It was a very different life from Portugal. It was very complicated. I didn’t want to stay at home, and the lady who was living with us also wanted to work. We went to a farm to pick cabbage, but it was very complicated: 35 cents an hour. We worked crouching all day, and if we stood up, the boss would yell, No, no, no, hurry up, hurry up, hurry up. We couldn’t. It was very complicated. I stayed there maybe two months, and they never paid me. They never paid. Neither me nor the other people. Then I went to pick worms, grass larvae, at night. I had very difficult jobs. Then I had my first daughter. Then I had my son thirteen months later. I still wanted to work, and I still lived in Toronto, on Gladstone Avenue. I went to work in the buildings, in Toronto, to clean, but during the day I took care of my children. I came home very tired from working all night. When I vacuumed the carpets, I would fall asleep. I would find myself with my eyes closed. It was very difficult. At home, we always spoke Portuguese with the children. I don’t know how to speak English. Just a few words. After having children, I continued to work in cleaning, and then I worked at a toothbrush factory. I started at six and finished at midnight. Then I worked in a factory making gold items, and then in a factory making tents. I always worked,” recounted Isilberta.

At that time, Augusta Avenue was the meeting point for all the Portuguese living in Toronto. There, they shopped and frequented the few associations and community businesses that existed. Most also lived in the neighbourhood, especially in the early days of Portuguese immigration to Canada. “The Portuguese community was nice. I found the whole Portuguese family very nice. We went shopping on Augusta for fruits, bread, everything. It was all on Augusta,” said Isilberta. Manuel added, “There were few Portuguese with businesses at that time.”

Establishing Roots

With dedication and great effort, Isilberta and Manuel built their family. They had three children: Darlene, Diane, and Nelson. As the family grew, the couple began to think about buying their first home to provide better conditions for their children. “The first house we bought was in Toronto, in 1968. We had the house in Toronto for five years. Then we bought a house in Mississauga because my husband’s friends bought a house there… they worked together at the dock… and we bought right next to his friends and stayed there for a few years, but not for many years. Then we bought this one. We have been here for 42 years (since 1982). The first house we bought in Toronto cost 14 thousand dollars. Then the house prices increased. The other one was already over a hundred thousand. And this one was 200 or 300 thousand, and after two weeks it had increased even more. The man who had sold it was Italian. He regretted it and wanted to come back. And we didn’t accept. He was very angry. He had curtains here, and he took everything because he was very angry that we didn’t accept that he took back the house. It was a complicated life, but it was healthy and joyful.”

In terms of community involvement, the couple and their children always sought to support various events, particularly those of a religious nature, but they also made sure to integrate their children into Canadian society. “We attended the Portuguese festivals. The Bom Jesus festival in Oakville, the Savior of the World festival here in Mississauga. We walked through High Park and the Exhibition [Place] with the children,” said Isilberta.

Lasting Connection to the Homeland

When asked if, after more than 60 years together in Canada, they still feel Portuguese, both considered that they do, although they no longer have strong family ties in the island of Pico. “When our parents were alive, we went to Portugal three times. Once it was on a ship. It was very beautiful. I am already 92 years old. My husband hasn’t driven a car in over four years. I watch masses on television, I still pray. We just don’t go to mass. The last time I went to Portugal was many years ago. I don’t miss it. My father passed away; my mother passed away. I only have a brother in Portugal. But I am always Portuguese. My parents’ little house was very cheerful. My niece went to Portugal this summer and took a picture of the house. I loved seeing it. The house is still the same on the outside, the house where I was born,” sighed Isilberta with longing. Manuel, on the other hand, appeared less emotionally attached to Portugal: “If I could go back in time, would I do everything the same way? Yes, I wouldn’t stay there. I liked being there, but I also love it here. It was a good decision. I have a Canadian family. Now I feel more Canadian than Portuguese.”

Although their original ties to the homeland no longer exist, the couple’s connection to Portugal will remain for future generations as their eldest daughter, Darlene, moved permanently to Barcelos in the year 2000. There, Darlene has a daughter and a son who have given her three grandchildren. The children were born in Canada but now feel more Portuguese than Canadian and do not intend to return. Isilberta and Manuel’s other children, Diane, a mother of two, and Nelson continue to live in Canada.

Manuel Fontes Maciel passed away on August 25, 2024, a week before his 92nd birthday and three months after our conversation. He left behind his wife Isilberta, three children, four grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. At the time of this article’s publication, Isilberta continues to live in her home in Mississauga, Ontario.

If you arrived in Canada from Portugal in the 1950s or early 1960s or know someone who did, we want to hear from you. Email contact@lusocanada.com