Sojourners and Settlers: The Macedonian Community in Toronto to 1940 (Reprints in Canadian History)

Macedonian immigrants to Toronto -a group so poignantly depicted in Michael Ondaatje's In the Skin of a Lion -have never had until now a comprehensive history of their early years in the city. Lillian Petroff evokes their moving, sometimes tragic history, charting their living and working conditions, their social and religious life, and their deep and complex relations with their troubled homeland from the early twentieth century to the Second World War. The first Macedonians who came to Toronto lived an almost completely isolated existence in a distinct set of neighbourhoods centred around their church, stores, and boarding-houses. They moved with little awareness of the city around them, since the needs of their families in the old country and the political events in their homeland were more important to them than developments in Toronto and Canada. A greater interest in Canada began to take root only after Macedonians began to think less like sojourners and more like settlers. This transition was often accompanied by a move from single to married life and from industrial labour to individual entrepreneurial activities. In preparing this book, Petroff has employed her own extensive interviews, Macedonian Canadians' letters and memoirs, the records of the mutual societies and the national parish, and the observations of the Anglo-Canadian 'caretakers.' She tells the remarkable story of the women and men who laid the foundations for what today is the world's largest community of Macedonians outside the Balkans.

Macedonians started immigrating to Canada in the late 1800s, yet the community has never had its history recorded - until now. Lillian Petroff, in her book Sojourners and Settlers, has remedied that omission in an informative and enjoyable manner. She charts the settlement patterns, living and working conditions, religious life, and political activity of Macedonians in Toronto from the early twentieth century to the Second World War.

The first Macedonians who came to Toronto lived an almost isolated existence in a distinct set of neighbourhoods that were centred around their church, stores, and boarding houses. They moved with little awareness of the city-at-large since the needs of their families in the old country and political events in their homeland were much more important to them than developments in Toronto and Canada. A greater interest in Canada began to take root only after Macedonians began to think less like sojourners and more like settlers. This transition was often accompanied by a move from bachelorhood to marriage and from industrial labour to individual entrepreneurial activities.

Employing a wealth of primary written and oral source material, Petroff tells the remarkable story of the men and women who laid the foundation for what would become a significant community in the Toronto area, which today represents the largest community of Macedonians outside the Balkans.

Macedonians started immigrating to Canada in the late 1800s, yet the community has never had its history recorded - until now. Lillian Petroff, in her book Sojourners and Settlers, has remedied that omission in an informative and enjoyable manner. She charts the settlement patterns, living and working conditions, religious life, and political activity of Macedonians in Toronto from the early twentieth century to the Second World War. The first Macedonians who came to Toronto lived an almost isolated existence in a distinct set of neighbourhoods that were centred around their church, stores, and boarding houses. They moved with little awareness of the city-at-large since the needs of their families in the old country and political events in their homeland were much more important to them than developments in Toronto and Canada. A greater interest in Canada began to take root only after Macedonians began to think less like sojourners and more like settlers. This transition was often accompanied by a move from bachelorhood to marriage and from industrial labour to individual entrepreneurial activities. Employing a wealth of primary written and oral source material, Petroff tells the remarkable story of the men and women who laid the foundation for what would become a significant community in the Toronto area, which today represents the largest community of Macedonians outside the Balkans.