Antonio do Forno may be gone, but he will never be forgotten.
The longtime Chatham residents passed away last fall, but was recently enshrined in the Portuguese Canadian Walk of Fame in Toronto.
Paul do Forno, the youngest of eight children, spoke to The Chatham Voice on the honour.
Antonio, born in 1935, came to Canada in 1966 from Valpaços, Portugal. He co-founded the Portuguese-Canadian Social Club in Chatham in 1971, a club one of his sons, Dom, helps oversee to this day.
On top of the club, Antonio helped other people emigrate from Portugal to Canada. He represented Portuguese Canadians for more than 20 years on the Conselho das Comunidades Portuguesas, rising to president for Ontario and Manitoba, and was appointed Honorary Consul of Portugal in Canada in 1998.
Recognizing the importance of heritage, he established Portuguese language programs across Chatham and surrounding communities, securing funding from both the Portuguese and Canadian governments.
Despite the litany of accomplishments, it was a long road to get the elder do Forno recognized by the Walk of Fame, Paul said.
“I found out about it (the walk) about eight years ago. I thought my dad had done a lot and I put a whole presentation together,” he said. “I submitted it for seven or eight years in a row.”
But he never gave up, even after his father passed away.
“When this year came up, I thought I’d try one more time.”
Paul said he was “pretty happy and proud” to learn his father was to be recognized in the builder category.
The organizers behind the Portuguese Canadian Walk of Fame can be pretty Toronto centric, he added. His father was the first Portuguese Canadian from southwestern Ontario to be recognized by the walk.
“There are significant Portuguese Canadians between London, Strathroy, Leamington, Wheatley and Windsor too,” he said.
Paul said Antonio was a pioneer of sorts.
“When my dad came to Canada in 1966, he didn’t have any money; he didn’t speak the language,” he said. “He came with seven kids.”
Antonio worked construction initially, but also saw a need to create a haven of sorts for anyone who followed his family here.
“He helped start the club. But more so, with all of this, when people came (from Portugal), he had a door open,” Paul said. “Probably about 100 Portuguese stayed with my family when they first got here.”
It became a family affair. At one point, Antonio became a Notary Public – specifically to help newcomer Portuguese complete their paperwork coming to Canada. Meanwhile, Paul’s older siblings served as translators.
“He (Antonio) helped the community. He wasn’t a rich guy. He did that because he cared,” Paul said. “He did this (Notary Public) for 40 years.”
Chatham is blessed with a strong Portuguese Canadian community. Paul said a good portion are from the north of Portugal.
“There are a lot of friends of friends. There are some villages where there are more people (from there) living in Chatham now than living in those villages,” he said.
Paul said he will be forever proud of his father.
“I felt he was a great representative. I think we need to have more people who help their fellow citizens without the want of getting paid. He was a great example,” he said of Antonio.
