The Wheeling Family: A Celebration of Immigrants and Their Neighborhoods (review)

Scholars of immigration history try to recreate the sights, sounds, tastes, and smells of immigrant communities throughout urban America. How did an ethnic community function? On what level were old-world customs interspersed with "Americanized" culture? How did immigrants and their children interact with other ethnic and racial groups? Social historians get their most poignant and realistic accounts from oral histories. By talking with immigrants and their children, local historians Sean Duffy and Jim Thornton counter prevailing views of West Virginia's ethnically homogenous population by examining Wheeling's immigrant diversity from 185-950. As the seat of the state's Catholic diocese and as a major manufacturing center, Wheeling possesses a unique past. Through recent oral history interviews, newspapers, church histories, and numerous personal and archival photographs, the authors weave together a fascinating narrative history. There are chapters on the Irish and Germans, Jews, East Wheeling's Italians, Center Wheeling's Lebanese and Greeks, and South Wheeling's Polish and Ukrainians. Even with the separatism of these ethnic communities, the authors present cross-ethnic interaction, as men worked in the steel mills and other manufacturing plants, operated small businesses, and as children intermingled on local playgrounds and in schools.

These vivid tales about immigrant life emphasize key experiences within local churches, schools, community businesses, and social centers. Readers also learn of the roots of Wheeling's most recognizable families like German brewers the Schramms; the politically active Irish Catholic O'Briens, Faheys, and Brennans; Italian merchant families like the Figarettis; and the continued Lebanese culinary influence of the Ghaperys and Fadouls. One of the most intriguing chapters is on East Wheeling's "Little Italy." The authors highlight the strong ties to particular villages, especially Corfinio in southern Italy. Many families hailed from the tiny village, and this was vital in cementing strong community ties, attaining passage for immigrant families, and helping immigrant Italian males find work. Luigi "Louis" Costanzo was the center figure in these transnational networks, whose connections in Corfinio and throughout Abruzzio brought scores of immigrants and their families to East Wheeling (5-6). Regional ties were also vital for the many Polish families from the Galician farming village of Brzozów (151). Despite the "100 Percent Americanization" campaigns of WWI and the 1920s, the authors show how ethnic identity and community cohesiveness remained strong through the 1960s.

Through these oral interviews, one sees how Wheeling's diverse past factors within larger regional, social, and economic changes. With the rise of the suburbs and deindustrialization, Wheeling's population and ethnic distinctiveness have continued to decline. The authors also provide insights into the lasting significance of ethnic history. Many of the city's immigrants, like Lebanese Joseph Thomas and Irish American Jack Fahey, became members of the Democratic New Deal coalition of the 1930s and leaders in the local Democratic Party (34-36, 127-28). Even with the book's many contributions, it has some minor flaws. While the authors acknowledge their study is not an academic history (5), professional historians may question the heavy reliance on oral histories. However, the authors have magnificently recorded these fascinating stories for possible later use by academic historians. Furthermore, while the Irish and Italians are covered thoroughly, readers may find the sections on the Greeks, Jews, and Ukrainians lacking. However, the authors are currently working on subsequent volumes covering more recent immigrants like the Hispanics, Filipinos, Eastern Europeans, and African Americans, which will further promote the region's ethnic diversity. And, of course, food connoisseurs will appreciate the book's many great ethnic recipes.