Grace Bagnato 1891-1950
The Canada of today has been created by thousands of immigrants from every corner of the world. Some of these became leaders in their communities and co-creators of the national life. Grace Bagnato was one of them. She was born in the United States in 1891 to Italian parents, who immigrated to Toronto in 1905. They lived in "The Ward", an area of struggling immigrant families, located near the Courthouse and Old City Hall. Grace grew up in the Ward and in this neighbourhood. At age 14 married Joseph Bagnato, a leader in the Italian community. They had 13 children. Wanting to communicate with her neighbours, Grace learned their languages; Ukrainian, Yiddish, Polish... Grace became the district's interpreter, building bridges of understanding between new immigrants and the English speaking world of government, law courts and society. In 1921 she became the first Italian Canadian woman court interpreter in Ontario and continued the task of weaving the cultures of Toronto's ethnic neighbourhoods into the fabric we now know as Canada.
Plaque via Alan L. Brown's site Toronto Plaques. Full page here.