I was born in Spezzano Piccolo, Italy, a small village in the mountains in the region of Calabria on December 20, 1931. I am the third of nine children, but was the first one to immigrate to North Bay. Eventually, five of my siblings immigrated to North Bay as well; Antonio, Marietta (Castiglione), Gerardo, Gino and Renato. I left Napoli on December 14, 1951 on the Vulcania and arrived in Halifax on December 24th. This was an incredibly emotional time as I didn’t know when or if I would see my family again. I spent my 20th birthday on the ship in the middle of the ocean. I arrived in North Bay on December 27, 1951 . I came to North Bay because I was sponsored by my mother’s sister, my Zia Concetta and her husband, my Zio Salvatore Veltri. I was welcomed lovingly by them and my 10 cousins. North Bay has been my home ever since, for 73 years.

When I first arrived in North Bay I worked with the Northland Railway as a labourer for one year. Then, because I had 2 years of an apprenticeship in construction in Italy, I started working for a construction company as a labourer. I then worked for a plastering contractor for three years. In 1957, I started my own plastering company, Gabriel Bitonti Plastering, and continued to plaster homes until 1975, working alongside my brother, Tony, for many years. During this time, drywall was becoming more popular than plastering , so, since I had knowledge in building as I had built my own home and an apartment building, I began to build residential homes and that’s when Gabe Bitonti Construction began. I continued to build homes in our community until I fully retired in 1995.

I married Anita Canarino in 1959 and we celebrated our 65th wedding anniversary this year. We were both born in Italy but we met in North Bay. We have three daughters, Josie, Francesca and Lisa. All are university graduates and have wonderful careers. Josie is a teacher, Francesca is an occupational therapist, and Lisa is a speech-language pathologist. We are very proud of their accomplishments and of the contributions that they and our grandchildren have made to their communities.

I have always been an active member in our North Bay community. I was a member of the Davedi Club for 35 years after which time I became an honourary member. For numerous years, I played on the Davedi Club men’s soccer team and sang in the Davedi Club men’s choir. I was a member of the Builders Association and I bowled in several leagues. Music has always been a big part of my life. I sang in church choirs, played the saxophone in a band at weddings and events for many years, and presently I am the oldest member of The North Bay Community J.O.Y. Band. This band has more than 70 members and we perform at different venues around our city. I have enjoyed North Bay and the surrounding areas through hunting, fishing, berry picking and mushroom picking with my brothers.

I would like to thank the people and the city of North Bay for the opportunity to serve them with respect and to the best of my ability for all of these years.

Thank you for the chance to share my story and for acknowledging my contributions and those of many other Italian immigrants that helped North Bay become the wonderful city it is today.