Friends reacquainted on Facer Street
Heritage signs unveiled at third annual European festival
Jerry DiPaola stood at the corner of Facer and Elberta streets, reminiscing.
“This used to be quite a place to go when I grew up,” DiPaola said Monday as the third annual Facer European Festival was just getting started.
DiPaola has lived in the neighbourhood since his parents moved there in 1966.
“I haven’t moved. I just live down the street,” he said. “I like the area.”
The festival, he said, brings back many former neighbours including some he hasn’t seen since he was a child.
“You see people here you haven’t seen in years,” he said. “I’m telling you, honest to God, it’s unbelievable. But it’s good.”
At that moment, an old friend tapped DiPaola on the back and greeted him with a big smile and a hug.
“Nice turnout you’ve got,” Mike DiSanto said, gesturing to the hundreds of people walking along Facer Street.
“Tonight it’ll be better,” DiPaola replied. “It’s too hot right now.”
DiSanto moved away from the area shortly after graduating from high school. He’s lived in New York since, running a law firm in Scarsdale. But when he learned about the festival, he said he felt he had to return to his roots to be part of it.
Things have changed in the years DiSanto has been away.
The school he used to attend, St. Joseph’s, was torn down long ago, making room for new housing.
“Over there used to be a mechanic’s shop,” he said. “There used to be a railroad over here. I used to walk the rail all the way up to St. Paul Street.”
It’s memories like those that keep people coming back to the neighbourhood, said festival chair Henry Ostaszewicz.
“It’s all the people who grew up in the district,” he said. “They’re coming back and reliving their memories. That’s what it’s all about.”
Many of those memories were captured in a new calendar, produced by Tom Skrzeszewski.
Only 500 copies of the calendar were printed and they’re being sold for $12 each, Skrzeszewski said. And if any are left after the festival, he plans to sell them in shops along Facer Street.
Dan Charkowy pointed out an old photograph of well-dressed
men within the pages of that calendar.
“Down there where the old Polish hall is, these guys were out there shooting crap right out here every Sunday morning,” he said. “You know what? They were the best dressed guys in St. Catharines.”
On Monday Ostaszewicz teamed up festival treasurer Derek Kedzierski and St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik to unveil new street signs that will adorn the area, identifying the neighbourhood as being a historic district, founded in 1854. The first four signs were put up on Friday, with additional signs to be added throughout the area.
“We’re trying to add something new and enjoyable every time we have the festival so it makes it fresh for the people to come to,” Ostaszewicz said. “But of course, memories are memories. We all bring them to the table.”
And for many longtime residents, closing the road for a oneday festival isn’t enough.
“They should close down the road for two days,” DiPaola said.
“This is a great idea, trying to keep the European thing. It’s fantastic. People getting together to beautify Facer Street.”