Pontiac hosted various ethnic groups
When the textile strike of 1922 finally ended in September, Pontiac
attempted to resume the pattern of life it had followed earlier in the
century. Much in the village had changed since the time of the
dominance of the Knights, including the ethnic makeup of the village
workers.
The Ethnic Groups
By the time of the strike, large numbers of Italians were working in
the mills along with the Swedish, French Canadian and Irish immigrants.
As each group tended to gravitate toward those alike in language and
customs, the village was, in effect, divided along ethnic lines
physically. Most of the Swedes lived in the vicinity of King, North,
and Central Streets and owned their own homes. The area was known to
many at the time as "mortgage hill."
The section of Pontiac below the tracks, on what was then Railroad
Street and is now West Natick Road, was inhabited by Italian and French
Canadian workers, most of whom lived in company houses and paid rent to
the B. B. & R. Knight Company.
In the area furthest from the mill complex were company houses in a section known as "Yankeetown."
Religious preferences
The divisions were obvious, not only in the housing and the positions
held in the mill, but in the choice of churches as well. Most British
workers attended All Saints Episcopal Church on Greenwich Avenue while
the Irish and French went to St. Joseph's in Natick.
The Knights had favored the Episcopal Church and helped to establish
the parish in Pontiac. In nearby Natick, the Sprague family who
preceded the Knights as paternalistic mill owners, while not Catholic,
donated land for St. Joseph's church in 1867. The differences in the
ethnic groups in Pontiac and Natick were evident in the makeup of the
congregation and services at St. Joseph’s. There were actually two
distinct congregations, one English speaking and the other French and
services were held in both languages.
The Italians, searching for an identity of their own, at first attended
St. Joseph's and by 1912 prevailed upon the bishop to grant them an
Italian-speaking priest. As a result, the Reverend Achille Tirocchi
came to the parish in 1912. Jealousy, disagreements and ethnic pride
brought a series of problems. The Italian immigrants, not fully
satisfied with the arrangement at St. Joseph’s, built the Sacred Heart
Church in Natick in 1929. Father Tirocchi, who in 1922 was instrumental
in convincing the workers to refrain from violence in the strike, was
the new parish's first pastor.
St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church
The Swedish immigrants continued to attend the St. Paul Evangelical
Lutheran Church on Greenwich Avenue. Shortly after the Strike of 1922
ended, Frank G. Granquist was asked to become the church's pastor.
Reverend Granquist preached his first sermon at the church on April 22,
1923 and remained its pastor for more than a quarter of a century. The
1949 history of the church in referring to the Rev. Granquist's long
tenure notes, "Children have been baptized, confirmed, married, and
their children have been baptized by the same pastor in these years.
There has been an opportunity to learn to know both parents and
children. This is advantageous for a pastor...."
During the 1920s and 1930s, improvements were made to St. Paul’s church
property, including the parsonage and the cemeteries. It was during
this time, as well, that the Lutheran church became famous for its
church suppers. The "smorgasbord" put on by the Tabitha society of St.
Paul's was an event eagerly looked for and helped to raise funds for
the church. An article describing one of these feasts noted that, "For
three days before the supper the ladies worked, cleaning and boning
herring for Inlagd Sill (pickled herring)...preparing veal for
Kalvsylta (a jellied veal dish), hamburger and pork for Kottbullar
(Swedish meat balls) and jellied mackerel." The feast consisted of 25
different dishes and the article notes it was in keeping "with the
Anglo Saxon
word, smor, meaning "to smother," the table was smothered with food in
variety, subtle enough in taste to tickle the palate of an epicure."
The story of Pontiac will be continued.
In 1929, the Italian immigrants of Pontiac and Natick built the Sacred Heart Church not far from the older St. Joseph’s.
Photo by Don D’Amato
All Saint’s Episcopal church continued to be the one patronized by most of the British immigrants and their descendants.
Photo by Don D’Amato