You won’t find many Saultites who have a greater appreciation for the city’s history than Frank Sarlo.
The retired lawyer made that evident in his recently published historic retelling, The West End: A Magical Place Created by Giants, which pays tribute to the Sault’s multicultural rise in that part of town and the notable figures who emerged from there.
Hockey legends Phil and Tony Esposito, businessman Geno F. Francolini, and author Frank G. Paci are just a few of the names whose humble beginnings traced back to the west end and are highlighted in the book.
The author of Hound Town and A Special Place, Sarlo was proudly born and raised in the west end and felt inclined to write about his neighbourhood’s glory days after vacationing in Italy with his family several years ago.
“We made it a point to go see the village that my grandparents and father were born in,” he told SooToday. “It was an amazing experience because we had just gotten there, and a fellow I never met before decided to become our tour guide.”
“It was like the hospitality we knew all the time growing up,” he added. “When he took us around, all the gardens and the different things were just like the west end in the Sault.”
Sarlo’s family history in the Sault began nearly 115 years ago when his grandfather moved here from Italy in 1910. He left his wife and two children behind while he saved up money to bring them over through his work at the paper mill.
Four years later, the family was reunited in their new northern Ontario home.
“He worked day and night saving up money to bring them over,” Sarlo said. “My grandmother came all that way by boat with their two children by herself, travelling 11 days by boat and three days by train to get to Sault Ste. Marie. They must have been terrified having to leave their families.”
As the book highlights, Sarlo’s family was among a wave of European immigrants — like Italians, Croatians, Finns, and Ukrainians — who moved to the west end around that time.
Between Gore Street and West Street, an area less than half a square mile in size, the author noted something special began to happen there.
“The immigrants who lived through squalor created their own community,” he said. “The area became self-sufficient. Places of work were right there, there was something like 17 grocery stores, seven hotels, the church — Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Nobody had to leave there.”
“And the talent that came out of that area,” he continued. “You had the two Esposito brothers, Don Grosso from the Detroit Red Wings, Lou Nanne, Gene Ubriaco, Rocky Di Pietro’s grandparents. It was absolutely phenomenal.”
Despite living through World Wars, the Great Depression, and all kinds of prejudice and discrimination, the newcomers always found a way to overcome a crisis, according to Sarlo.
“I had really no idea what the people went through when they first came here, because they never ever talked about the bad things,” he said. “They only ever talked about the good parts about being in Canada and how lucky we were. That was a great way to grow up — everything was positive.”
Born in 1942, Sarlo was raised in a house between James Street and West Street before his family moved next to the old Verdi Hall on Cathcart Street.
His memories of growing up in that storied neighbourhood are endless.
“By the time I came along, it was a magical place,” he said. “You go outside, you had every kind of sport you could think of. We were out from morning to night, the only time we’d go home was for meals. There was lots of great food and music as well, of course.”
Having published three novels now, Sarlo and his publisher Bryan Davies (Tagona Press) are looking into the possibility of turning his works into a special edition trilogy.
He’s also expressed interest in updating Hound Town as eight years have gone by since its initial release.
Readers interested in purchasing The West End can grab a copy at Stone’s Office Supply, or online by clicking here.