Tom Beardsley once wrote that “Willimantic has a rich, diverse, ethnic heritage. The Irish came to Willimantic in the 1840s followed by the French Canadians in the 1860s. From the 1890s up until WWI, Polish, Italian and Jewish immigrants arrived in the growing city. During the late 1940s, a variety of central and Eastern European “displaced persons” came to (Willimantic)”.  Windham/Willimantic historians through the years have been in agreement that the influx of these immigrants during different periods of Willimantic’s growth were beneficial to the city and its industries. Willimantic, indeed, was a melting pot of nationalities and cultures, languages and customs, and was stronger for it. From 1948-1955 I lived on Valley Street and within a four-building radius of our house could be found families of many diverse backgrounds. The Randalls and the Jacobs were second and third generation New Englanders as was Clifton Adams who owned a small market next door to us. My grandparents were part of the French-Canadian wave of immigration. The Flynns next door represented the Irish wave. Across the street, at the Park Central Hotel, were Philomena Mastrangelo and Mary Menditto, Italian sisters who ran the hotel and restaurant and made spaghetti and meatballs so delicious that UConn faculty and students travelled to Willimantic just to eat there. Diagonally across from us on Valley Street was Watson’s Moving and Storage, run by the Watson family. They were so well-known that they rated a four-page story in “Ebony” magazine. Across Pearl Street was the Nesovich family – part of the Eastern Europeans wave that came to Willimantic during and after WWII. By the mid-50s, Mr. Nesovich was building a thriving business in the sales of second-hand furniture. Since we lived above my grandparents, the first seven years of my life were lived amidst the French-Canadian culture. My great-grandfather on my mother’s side had brought his family to Willimantic in 1885 and within a few years became a well-respected businessman in town. My grandfather as well, became a businessman, Mayor of Willimantic and a State Senator. While my family held to French-Canadian culture and tradition and spoke French at home, English was always used when outside the house. French-Canadians felt that it was important to stay true to their roots but felt just as strongly that they needed to be good American citizens. The point I want to make is that while I am most familiar with the French-Canadian immigrants, I believe that no matter what their nationality, immigrants to Willimantic all felt that same double loyalty – to their birth nation and customs and also to their new home in America. The historian Richard Bayles says that the “first colony of Irish Catholics came to locate in Willimantic in the summer of 1847. But few representatives of that nation were then living here, and the little band of twenty foreigners, with but little of this world's goods to encumber them, was visited with much curiosity, and their coming was the subject of considerable excitement.” Many were soon employed by the Windham Manufacturing Company and other local mills. Bayles continues, “This was the opening wedge of Irish labor, which has grown by frequent accessions to be one of the most powerful elements in the industry of this community.”. Historian Allen B. Lincoln says that, ”the changes brought about by immigration, the large influx of Irish and French-Canadian (families) …contributed to a wonderful development of larger towns like Willimantic.” There were 1,700 French-Canadians in Willimantic in 1890 and 3,400 by 1920. Also in 1920, the Polish and Italian populations numbered 1400 and 400 respectively. In the recall of my parents and grandparents, by the 1920s, there was a general acceptance and welcoming of immigrants regardless of national origin. Tom Beardsley, however, points out that, “Research into the 19th century history of Willimantic reveals a great deal of Yankee discrimination towards the incoming Irish and French-Canadian immigrants. Yet by 1945 the Irish community was wholly integrated, and the city still had a distinct French-Canadian flavor”. Next week we’ll take a look at how the immigrant groups withstood early discrimination and assimilated themselves into American society. (Today’s photo shows the Polish-American Citizens Club.)    

click on photo for larger version