Praise

“Charlie Gargiulo has unearthed for us a time capsule of treasures—treasures of family, community, and connectedness buried deep by the heartless blows of Urban Renewal’s wrecking ball. With his technicolor remembrances of long-gone neighborhood characters and a wry kid’s-eye-view, we get to navigate the gritty and wondrous streets of Lowell’s Little Canada, excavating young Charlie’s loss and grief as well as his hard-won sense of solidarity, ethical persistence, and justice. Legends of Little Canada is a universal story you’ll want to share across divides of geography, ethnicity, and generation.”

—Michael Patrick MacDonald, author of All Souls: A Family Story from Southie

 With Legends of Little Canada, Charlie Gargiulo joins Mark Twain, Thomas Wolfe, and J.D. Salinger in the great American tradition of coming-of-age sagas. A boy struggles in a confusing world of urban violence, family breakdown, and humiliation by heartless government bureaucrats and teachers to become a man.

—Charles Glass, author of Americans in Paris, Deserters, and They Fought Alone

Charlie Gargiulo’s memoir of growing up in a working-class family in Lowell, Mass., is a poignant story of heartaches and triumphs. He saw the Little Canada neighborhood he grew up in get demolished for urban renewal. When he was an adult, when the same plans of demolition and displacement were announced for the Acre neighborhood of Lowell, Charlie organized the Coalition for a Better Acre (CBA) to successfully prevent this and to then lead the renewal of that neighborhood for people of lower incomes including many immigrants. CBA continues as one of the most effective community development organizations in the state. Charlie’s story is one of leadership, commitment, resilience, and vision to provide thriving and affordable neighborhoods.

—Lew Finfer, Massachusetts Communities Action Network