Photograph of Leopoldo Mascioli with workmen, Timmins, ON, date unknown - solo in inglese

Black and white photograph of Leopoldo (Leo) Mascioli (second from the left) with workmen, Timmins, ON, date unknown. The group of four men are standing on wood scaffolding on what appears to be a construction site, specifically the second storey of a new building. A telegraph pole and streetscape are partially visible in the upper left hand corner.

Leo Mascioli traveled to the United States at the age of 10. He was accompanied by a distant relative and landed in Boston where he worked as a shoeshine and a newsboy before finding employment in local restaurants. At the age of 19, Mascioli overheard an employment agent extolling the opportunities and adventures one could have in Canada. He traveled to Canada where he took a six-month contract working for a steel company in Sydney, NS. Leo soon took to working at various mines and slowly making his way to Timmins, ON. In 1911, he opened a general store in that town. A few years later Leo began building hotels and movie theatres in various towns in northern Ontario. Some of his business endeavors were shared with his younger brother, Antonio, who had arrived to Canada at the age of 17. Both brothers were arrested and interned on June 10, 1940.