Beyond Cannery Row: Sicilian Women, Immigration, and Community in Monterey, California, 1915-99 (Statue of Liberty Ellis Island)

Presenting a nuanced story of women, migration, community, industry, and civic life at the turn of the twentieth century, Carol Lynn McKibben's Beyond Cannery Row analyzes the processes of migration and settlement of Sicilian fishers from three villages in Western Sicily to Monterey, California--and sometimes back again. McKibben's analysis of gender and gender roles shows that it was the women in this community who had the insight, the power, and the purpose to respond and even prosper amid changing economic conditions. Vividly evoking the immigrants' everyday experiences through first-person accounts and detailed description, McKibben demonstrates that the cannery work done by Sicilian immigrant women was crucial in terms of the identity formation and community development. These changes allowed their families to survive the challenges of political conflicts over citizenship in World War II and intermarriage with outsiders throughout the migration experience. The women formed voluntary associations and celebrated festas that effectively linked them with each other and with their home villages in Sicily. Continuous migration created a strong sense of transnationalism among Sicilians in Monterey, which has enabled them to continue as a viable ethnic community today. Presenting a nuanced story of women, migration, community, industry, and civic life at the turn of the twentieth century, Carol Lynn McKibben's Beyond Cannery Row analyzes the processes of migration and settlement of Sicilian fisherpeople from three villages in western Sicily to Monterey, California-and sometimes back again.McKibben's study of gender and gender roles shows that it was the women in this community who had the insight, the power, and the purpose to respond and even prosper amid changing economic conditions. Vividly evoking the immigrants' everyday experiences through first-person accounts and detailed description, McKibben demonstrates that the cannery work done by Sicilian immigrant women was crucial in terms of identity formation and community development. These strengths allowed their families to survive the challenges of political conflicts over citizenship in World War II and intermarriage with outsiders throughout the migration experience. The women established voluntary associations and celebrated festas that effectively linked them with each other and with their home villages in Sicily. Continual migration created a strong sense of transnationalism among Sicilians in Monterey, which has enabled them to continue as a viable ethnic community today. Analyzes the processes of migration and settlement of Sicilian fishers from three villages in Western Sicily to Monterey, California. This title demonstrates that the cannery work done by Sicilian immigrant women is crucial in terms of the identity formation and community development. Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Illustrations 1. Sicilian Women, Fishing Lives, and Migration Strategies 2. Work and Identity 3. Family, Conflict, Community 4. Good Americans 5. Women on Parade: The Political Meaning of the Festa Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index Sicilian migrants to Monterey originated mainly from only thirty-five family groups.