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Tagged “Immigration”

Browse Tagged “Immigration” from the Canadian Macedonian Heritage Society archive, library and community collections.

"Men in White Aprons": A Study of Ethnicity and Occupation A Book Re-Launch and Lecture by Harry Vjekoslav Herman, Ph.D.

On March 25, 2007, the Canadian Macedonian Historical Society hosted a landmark re-launch and lecture for Dr. Harry Vjekoslav Herman’s seminal study, "Men in White Aprons," celebrating an expanded second edition made possible by a generous donation from Helene and Angelo Argiro. This updated volume bridged rigorous anthropology with personal heritage by adding a new section of "Family Stories," documenting how Macedonian immigrants from the Lerin and Kostur regions established a powerful "ethnic niche" in the Toronto restaurant industry. Dr. Herman’s research illustrated a profound narrative of social mobility, showing how the labor-intensive work of owning over 20% of Toronto’s independent diners by 1970 provided the economic foundation for future generations to transition into professional fields, effectively immortalizing the "white apron" as a symbol of sacrifice, entrepreneurship, and Macedonian-Canadian identity.

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"Let Me Tell You a Story...": CMHS Immigration Symposium and Book Re-Launch

The Canadian Macedonian Historical Society’s 2007 symposium, "Let Me Tell You a Story…," served as a vital bridge between academic scholarship and personal heritage by documenting three distinct waves of Macedonian immigration to Canada. Moderated by Dr. Lillian Petroff, the event featured five speakers who shared intimate narratives spanning from early 20th-century "pechalbari" (migrant workers) in small-town Ontario to post-war Begaltsi refugees and modern-day professionals. A cornerstone of the afternoon was the re-launch of Prof. Harry Herman’s Men in White Aprons, a work that highlights the community's entrepreneurial resilience in the restaurant industry as a response to ethnic marginalization. By blending oral histories with formal research, the symposium reinforced the Society's mission to preserve the fragile cultural legacies of the diaspora, ensuring that future generations remain connected to the foundational struggles and successes of their ancestors.

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Video Interview with Alex Gigeroff

Alex Gigeroff was born in Toronto in 1931 to Macedonian immigrant parents from Oshchima and Zhelevo, growing up in poverty in a working-class immigrant neighborhood. Raised speaking the Macedonian dialect of the Lerin-Bitola region, Alex’s life became a remarkable story of educational and professional achievement. He earned multiple degrees from University of Toronto and London School of Economics, including a Ph.D. in criminology, and went on to become a scholar, lawyer, and professor, contributing to criminal law reform in Canada. Beyond academia, Alex was deeply involved in the arts as a painter, sculptor, playwright, and community builder, creating murals, theatre productions, and educational plays. His life reflects the resilience of the Macedonian immigrant experience and the transformative power of education, culture, and public service.

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"Just Arrived"

"Just Arrived" World Premiere of the Documentary Friday, May 7, 2004 A world premiere screening of the documentary Just Arrived was presented recently by the Canadian Macedonian Historical Society at the North York Central Library. The expectant c...

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Ethnic Culture of the population of Macedonia by Aleksandar Stoimilov

Professor Aleksandar Stoimilov’s 2001 lecture, hosted by the Canadian Macedonian Historical Society, provides a rigorous geographical and sociological analysis of Macedonia’s ethnic landscape during a period of intense national crisis. Stoimilov dismantles the complexities of the "Macedonian Question" by classifying the population into distinct categories—the state-building nation, national minorities with external kin-states, and stateless ethnic groups—while highlighting the existential threats posed by the "triple denial" of identity from neighboring Bulgaria, Greece, and Serbia. Ultimately, the lecture serves as a strategic call to action for the diaspora, warning that "demographic desertification" of rural areas threatens the country's territorial integrity and urging expatriates to maintain their ancestral roots through land ownership and economic investment to ensure the survival of the Macedonian state.

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Petroff, Lillian Sojourners: CMHS Lecture Series

Lillian Petroff discusses her research on the first history of Macedonian immigrants to Toronto from the turn of the century to the beginning of World War II, drawing on interviews, letters and memoirs, the records of societies, and observations of Anglo-Canadians who came into contact with them. She outlines the scope of her work which would eventually publish in 1995 titled: Sojourners and Settlers Macedonian Community in Toronto to 1940

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