Woodstock

WOODSTOCK’S POPULATION: 40,902

STATISTICS FOR THE PORTUGUESE IN WOODSTOCK:

AS MOTHER TONGUE	AS MOST SPOKEN	KNOWLEDGE OF THE LANGUAGE	BORN IN PORTUGAL	ETHNIC ORIGIN
325 0.8% of population	105 0.3% of population	445 1.1% of population	255 0.6% of population	915 2.2% of population

A small community that dared to dream big

By Paulo Pereira for Luso-Ontario Magazine, 2008 (translated from Portuguese)

Audio Version:

As we traveled Southern Ontario to complete our research, we were informed by many that Woodstock was home to a fair number of Portuguese. We were also told that the community once had a social club but that it had closed recently. We decided to go looking for answers to this conundrum.

We picked up a telephone book [who remembers those?] and began calling people with Portuguese last names. We called the Ferreiras, the Fernandes, the Carvalhos and the Melos…however, none of those was able to let us know about the current state of the Portuguese club and its location. We were, however, able to get in contact with a couple of widows who told us that their husbands used to frequent the club when they were alive but that they do not know about its current situation. When asked about its location, they claimed to have a vague idea but weren’t not sure exactly where. 

It was in London that someone told us that Baker’s Dozen in Woodstock was owned by a Portuguese. We did not hesitate and drove to the location. However, when we got there, one of the workers informed us that the owners weren’t in. We promised that we’d call back.

Once back in Toronto, we called. On the other side of the line, Nelia Soares, the owner of Baker’s Dozen, picked up. She began by telling us that when she arrived in Woodstock, in 1975, she found a few Portuguese. The community began to organize and founded the Portuguese club but without a hall. “The events were held at rented halls. There were four or 5 events a year and there were a lot of guests from other cities. There were always a lot of people”, she recalled. However, just as it happens in many other communities, the older generation starts to tire and the younger ones do not show enough interest. “The leaders get tired and don’t want to get involved anymore. It’s a lot of work. Our community is small but if we were more united we could do beautiful things here. Last year, we only had one event”, Nelia Soares informed us.

The community ended up purchasing a building to serve as the club’s headquarters. “Many people didn’t like the building and, as such, they have put it up for sale. Every Friday people go there to play cards”, she said.

This information helped us take an important step toward getting in contact with those responsible for the Portuguese club. On a Friday afternoon, we took the 401 to Woodstock to meet with someone at the club. When we arrived, the doors to the property were open but the building was closed, empty of any living human. The sun was setting. We decided to wait. We walked around the building, we screamed hellos, but nobody responded. When it was late enough for us to ascertain that nobody would venture there at that time of the night, we reluctantly decided to leave. We returned another day but encountered the same scenario. We did it again a few other times on the way to other communities in Southern Ontario but we could never find a living soul in the property. 

Every story has its mysteries. This is one for the books. We hope to solve it one day.

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