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When Mary Gabura came to Canada in the summer
of 1926, she had little idea of what to expect. Her husband had
told her of the excitement, of the challenge that was waiting for
them in the New World, and other women in the village who had already
emigrated and returned from North America had told her of their
experiences.
Neither
of these two sources prepared her, however, for the travail ahead.
Mary Gabura arrived in Canada with three small children to join
her husband, who had in the meantime lost his job. She ran a boardinghouse
in Toronto.
Upon
her arrival, there were seven immigrant men (along with her husband
and children) anxious to have her cook their meals, wash their clothes
and in general look after them. She recollected the drudgery of
the work: ... Every night at 11:00 p.m. I was still in the kitchen,
giving dinner. After that the dishes still had to be done.
And
I was there again at 5:00 a.m. because I had to serve breakfast
to the men who left early to make coffee and fry eggs. And then,
because the Massey Harris plant was so close, they even came home
for lunch. So my husband brought some meat, which I cooked, and
they ate at noon too and then ran back to work.
Mary
Gabura was but one of countless examples of immigrant women who
were required to do more, work more and be a source of endless strength
for their families.
The
Oral History Collection of the Multicultural History Society of
Ontario documents the struggles of these Hungarian immigrant women.
They were expected to be bread-winners, homemakers, wives, mothers
and often pillars of the community.
Many
fulfilled all of these roles and more. This article describes the
lives and accomplishments of a few of these women. The 1911 Census
reported 6,498 males and 4,088 females of Hungarian ethnic origin
in Canada. In the prairie provinces the sex ratio was more balanced
than in Ontario, where there were approximately three men to one
woman.
During
the interwar years, this ratio improved somewhat to about two men
to one woman. Many of the men who came to Canada between the wars
came as single men, or left their families behind in Hungary. Very
few single women immigrated alone. This led to much rivalry among
the men for the limited number of available women.
The
situation was described by an immigrant in the following manner:
... If we had a dance, the few women who came were never given a
chance to rest, everyone wanted to dance at least once with them.
By the end of the evening, the poor women had danced for so long
that they practically had their clothes shaken off of them.
During
the interwar years, Hungarian immigrant women worked as domestics,
supplemented the family income by running boardinghouses and sometimes
even started their own businesses. Jeno Ruzsa's A Kanadai Magyarsag
Tortenete (History of Hungarian-Canadians), published in 1940, gives
many examples of women as partners in their husbands' businesses.
Some women even started and maintained successful business endeavours
on their own.
One
such was Mrs. Ida Steinberg. She
came to Canada with five children, leaving her alcoholic husband
in Hungary. She arrived in Montreal just after the turn of the century,
determined to build a new life for herself and her family.
Within
a few years, she opened a small corner grocery store and revolutionized
the industry by introducing pre-packaged food items. Not everything
in her store was pre-packaged, of course, only those items which
were frequently purchased by her clientele.
The
idea was so successful that more stores were established: her chain
was called Steinberg's in the Province of Quebec and branched out
into Ontario as Miracle Mart. Most Hungarian immigrant women were
unable to start their own businesses; many worked diligently at
menial tasks for low wages.
It
was in community work, however, that their contributions were most
widely felt. The Hungarian community in Ontario would not have as
many churches and community centres had it not been for the numerous
women's committees that were and still are a constant source of
support and financial assistance.
The
following examples of outstanding individuals highlight how important
were the contributions of these women. Mrs. Helen Ruzsa, the wife
of Rev. Eugene Ruzsa, illustrates the type of community work immigrant
women were sometimes required to take upon themselves and the many
sacrifices they had to make.
Rev.
Ruzsa established the first Hungarian Lutheran congregation in southern
Ontario, the Hungarian Evangelical Lutheran Church in Toronto, in
1933. Shortly thereafter, he recruited his wife to travel to the
various Hungarian communities in the United States to raise funds
for the building of a church for the congregation.
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Mrs.
Ruzsa recounted her fear and anguish as she said good-bye to her
husband at Union Station in Toronto. She had very little money with
her as they had almost no funds to begin with, and more importantly,
she had to leave three small children with her husband for four
months while she made the arduous journey.
She
relied on the generosity of the local Lutheran congregations in
each city and, despite the severity of the depression, she managed
to collect some $800 during the four months.
Helen
Ruzsa's life was one of constant service to the community by supporting
her husband's activities she ensured that many important projects,
including his comprehensive history of Hungarians in Canada, published
in 1940, were carried to fruition.
While
Rev. Ruzsa toured the Hungarian communities across Canada to research
his book, she was the mainstay of the family (which by then included
four children).
Helen
Ruzsa said that had it not been for the kindness and generous support
of the members of the Lutheran congregation in Toronto they would
have been unable to survive while he was gone. Since Rev. Ruzsa's
death in 1977, Mrs. Ruzsa has spent much time and energy in ensuring
that her husband's memory is kept alive, and that his archival collection
is catalogued and housed within an institution which will assure
that it remain intact.
Mrs.
Ruzsa recently entered into such an agreement with the Multicultural
History Society of Ontario. The wives of ministers had particularly
difficult lives, in that they were not only required to nurture
and support their families in extremely difficult financial situations,
but also to be helpmates to their husbands in establishing and maintaining
their congregations.
The
Oral History Collection contains some of the reminiscences of these
women, the most important being Mrs. Helen Ruzsa and Mrs. Piroska
Steinmetz, wife of Rev. Charles Steinmetz.
There
are countless examples of service to the community within secular
organizations as well. Mrs. Samuel Breckner organized amateur dramatic
presentations for many years in the Hungarian community of Toronto.
She
was originally active in Montreal, but the family moved to Toronto
in the mid-1940s, where she became recognized as the authority in
putting on such productions.
During
the interwar years these presentations were an important means by
which the community kept alive its cultural ties with the homeland.
They were also a very important educative tool: those who participated
as actors or actresses learned new words and phrases, along with
the audience.
In
many instances, it was the community's only cultural contact with
their native land. Mrs. Breckner was renowned for supervising all
aspects of the production and being involved in all of them. She
was a tireless worker, and many second-generation Hungarian-Canadians
fondly remember her and the cultural knowledge they gained from
her work.
Since
1945 two additional waves of immigrants from Hungary have arrived
in Canada: the post-World War Two wave and the refugees of 1956.
Both have brought many energetic, talented and hard-working women
to Canada.
There
were some major differences between the latter two groups and the
women already in Canada during the interwar years. Many of the postwar
women were better educated and, particularly those of the post-1956
group, younger and more adaptable to life in Canada. As well, job
markets were more receptive of women in the work-force, and upward
mobility was easier than before the war.
The
women's committees at the cultural centres and churches have been
replaced with younger members: women from the more recent emigration
have not shirked their duties towards the community in the everyday
activities that maintain a community's viability.
But
more importantly, women from this influx have become the cultural
leaders of the community: they make up the majority of Saturday
school teachers, choir members, dance group participants and organizers
of cultural events.
Not
content to take a back seat to the men in the community, they are
the motivators. Some of them have many cultural achievements to
their credit and are well known in Canadian life.
To
name a few of these: Dora Pedery-Hunt is a sculptress who has designed
several Canadian medals of note, Martha Hidy is an internationally
known violinist and Anna Porter (nee Szigethy) has made a name for
herself in the Canadian publishing industry.
In
recent years, the contributions of individual women have been so
significant that an award was established to honour them. It was
donated by a widower, Mr. Elemer Gabri, in memory of his wife Anna,
and presented annually to women who make outstanding contributions
to the preservation and promotion of Hungarian cultural life.
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