Work Parties

Work parties involving groups of relatives, neighbours and friends were common in rural Italy.

	Workers in a field with the Bubba wheat thresher, village of San Giovanni in Galdo, Molise region, Italy, 1958. Third from left: Luciano Daniele. Fourth from left: Filomena Fiorilli Daniele. Photograph by Luciano Daniele Lent by Luciano Daniele, Filomena Daniele and family

The most spectacular gatherings occurred at critical times in the agricultural cycle, when families did not have the resources needed to do the work. Several dozen people might get together to sow or harvest crops, pick grapes or make wine, for example.

The tradition of work parties underwent a transformation in the Canadian urban and industrial context. But Italian-Canadian immigrants still resort to it from time to time, when preserving tomatoes, or making wine or sausages at home; building or renovating a house; organizing community events, etc.

Wedding dress Made by Isa Mazzella, with the help of her sister Rosa Mazzella Conte and other women in the family U.S.A. 1976 French lace, chiffon, peau-de-soie, seed-pearls Lent by Loraine Mazzella Maiolo Work parties, the exchange of services and mutual aid took various forms in Canada. This wedding dress was made by Mrs. Maiolo's mother, with the help of a sister, a daughter and five nieces, who met in the evenings for what they liked to call "the wedding factory". Loraine Maiolo remembers those evenings as times of celebration. Those shared moments also gave the family members, who usually lived apart, a chance to get together and strengthen their relationship.