Access provided by Stanford University []
Browse Book and Journal Content on Project MUSE
OR
Browse > Social Sciences > Sociology > Demography
title

Beyond Cannery Row

Sicilian Women, Immigration, and Community in Monterey, California, 1915-99

Carol Lynn McKibben

Publication Year: 2005

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. _x000B_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. _x000B_

Published by: University of Illinois Press

Cover

pdf iconDownload PDF (83.3 KB)
 

Title Page

pdf iconDownload PDF (36.3 KB)
 

Copyright Page

pdf iconDownload PDF (42.7 KB)
 

Contents

pdf iconDownload PDF (39.7 KB)
pp. vii-

read more

Acknowledgments

pdf iconDownload PDF (88.9 KB)
pp. ix-x

It is a great pleasure to acknowledge the debts I have incurred in writing this book. First, I would like to thank the Sicilian families of Monterey, California, who opened their homes and their hearts to me. They generously allowed me to share their lives...

read more

Introduction

pdf iconDownload PDF (128.0 KB)
pp. 1-12

Here is how it was. The families came from Italy for a better life. In Italy there was nothing. The women couldn’t work. There was no work. Only fishing. That was for the men. So the families got together. They sent the father or the son first. My grandfather went in 1912. He went to Chicago, because...

Illustrations

pdf iconDownload PDF (444.4 KB)
 

read more

1. Sicilian Women, Fishing Lives, and Migration Strategies

pdf iconDownload PDF (205.2 KB)
pp. 13-34

The chapter begins with an analysis of the demographics of the Sicilian migration over time to demonstrate that it was clearly a family and chain migration from the outset. Next, this chapter will explore the ways in which the Sicilian migration to Monterey...

read more

2. Work and Identity

pdf iconDownload PDF (211.3 KB)
pp. 35-56

The woman responsible for the preceding narrative, Mrs. Lucy Ventimiglia Gruwell, lives in Pacific Grove. She is ninety years old but looks and acts twenty years younger. She is tiny, full of wit and energy. She insists repeatedly that she “likes to...

read more

3. Family, Conflict, Community

pdf iconDownload PDF (172.9 KB)
pp. 57-74

The preceding narratives from Peter Cutino and Vita Crivello Davi expressed the passion and power of Sicilian family and community life in Monterey. It was echoed by narrators who also described extremely close connections between individuals and couples that began in their childhoods. It was clear from the narratives that..

read more

4. Good Americans

pdf iconDownload PDF (218.2 KB)
pp. 75-97

The desire to acquire citizenship on the part of new immigrants is a measure of the extent to which they express a sense of belonging to the body politic of their adopted state. As such, it is both a highly valued and highly controversial matter for immigrants...

read more

5. Women on Parade: The Political Meaning of the Festa

pdf iconDownload PDF (200.3 KB)
pp. 98-117

Rosalie Ferrante’s vivid memory of the Santa Rosalia Festa in the preceding narrative suggested just how compelling a celebration it was in the eyes of a young child. By the 1950s and 1960s, when Ms. Ferrante experienced her...

read more

Conclusion

pdf iconDownload PDF (101.2 KB)
pp. 118-126

Monterey, California, is a special place. It is richly diverse, both culturally and environmentally, offering scholars a unique opportunity to peer into a microcosm, to explore a complex process such as immigration in a remarkable but manageable milieu. Once the capital...

Notes

pdf iconDownload PDF (131.0 KB)
pp. 127-138

Bibliography

pdf iconDownload PDF (153.0 KB)
pp. 139-152

Index

pdf iconDownload PDF (128.1 KB)
pp. 153-159


E-ISBN-13: 9780252091902
Print-ISBN-13: 9780252030581

Page Count: 184
Publication Year: 2005

Series Title: Statue of Liberty - Ellis Island Centennial Series

Research Areas

Recommend

UPCC logo

Subject Headings

  • Italian American women -- California -- Monterey -- Social conditions -- 20th century.
  • Women immigrants -- California -- Monterey -- Social conditions -- 20th century.
  • Sicily (Italy) -- Emigration and immigration -- History -- 20th century.
  • Monterey (Calif.) -- Emigration and immigration -- History -- 20th century.
  • Italian American families -- California -- Monterey -- History -- 20th century.
  • Fishers -- California -- Monterey -- History -- 20th century.
  • Fish canneries -- California -- Monterey -- History -- 20th century.
  • Community life -- California -- Monterey -- History -- 20th century.
  • Monterey (Calif.) -- Social conditions -- 20th century.
  • Monterey (Calif.) -- Social life and customs -- 20th century.
  • You have access to this content
  • Free sample
  • Open Access
  • Restricted Access

Welcome to Project MUSE

Use the Search box at the top of the page to find book and journal content. Refine results with the filtering options on the left side of the results page. Use the Browse box to browse a selection of books and journals.

Connect with Project MUSE

Project MUSE | 2715 North Charles Street | Baltimore, Maryland USA 21218 | (410) 516-6989 | About | Contact | Help | Tools | Order

©2013 Project MUSE. Produced by The Johns Hopkins University Press in collaboration with The Milton S. Eisenhower Library.