When Waterdown’s Ralph Naccarato emigrated from Italy to Canada in 1957, he first lived in Toronto. Despite speaking no English, he took on a variety of jobs, including painting and construction.
He returned to Italy in 1960 to marry his wife Lucy and bring her back to Toronto with him. She remembers that first winter as being hard, with lots of snow and not much work for Ralph. After Ralph was able to get a job at Ford, things improved. They were able to buy a house in Oakville and Lucy proudly remembers how they paid the mortgage off in four years.
The couple subsequently moved to Burlington and finally to Waterdown. Their son Nino says that Ralph “just happened to drive into Waterdown one
day and was enamoured by the little town.”
Eventually, Ralph left Ford and began his own painting and renovations business, forming Pantano Construction Limited in 1977. At first, his two teenage sons, Anthony and Nino, helped out on weekends. Eventually, they worked alongside their father full-time, with daughter Linda also working in the business.
The 'Mayor of Waterdown'
Over the years, Pantano Construction was involved in many commercial and residential projects. Their first Waterdown project was renovating the red brick building at 327 Dundas Street East. After that, Ralph built a new plaza with apartments on top at 331 Dundas St. East.
Former Flamborough mayor Don Granger became a close friend of Ralph’s and comments that “building accommodation on top of plazas was important” to Ralph. He remembers Ralph doing daily patrols to check on his own and other people’s properties, and that he was affectionately known as “The Mayor of Waterdown” because of all the people he knew.
Two of Ralph’s most well-known local projects were the renovations of what were known as “the old Weeks building” on the southeast corner of Dundas and Mill streets and “the old firehall” (now the Firehall Dentist) on Main Street South at the corner of Barton Street. Both projects again had residential accommodation above the ground-floor business properties.
For a short period, Ralph and his family ran a restaurant called Ralphy’s Deli, where Marciano’s Pasta Café is now. Linda remembers how the food business “was so much work,” The whole family was involved with food preparation and serving, with Lucy starting very early every morning to bake the bread. Ralph enjoyed being the host, but the family had to take him to task for giving away too many free meals and drinks.
As well as building a few residential subdivisions in Waterdown, Ralph and his sons built the Waterdown Mews multi-office/retail/apartment complexes at 20 Main St. North, across from the Waterdown Post Office. Once he had acquired that property and before he had the planning approval, Ralph donated the space as a youth centre to give local teens a place to hang out.
Building on local history
The largest building project Ralph took on was when he bought the house at 49 Main Street North (now known as McGregor House). It took them a year to renovate the dilapidated house before the family could move in.
But the work paid off: in 1990, he was given a Certificate of Commendation for his marvellous restoration and maintenance of the home.
On the property, Ralph found the foremast from the Chilliwack, a Second World War corvette in the Royal Canadian Navy. In 1997, he donated the foremast to the HMCS Star, a navy training facility in Hamilton, where it can still be seen today. More information about the Chilliwack and HMCS Star can be found here.
Once the house was in order, Pantano Construction got to work building the adjacent condo townhouses of McGregor Village. Apparently, Ralph’s only regret was that he sold all the units instead of keeping one for himself and Lucy.
Ralph helped found the Waterdown Business Improvement Area (BIA) and was involved with installing the very first hanging baskets in the core of the village. He was also a member of both local Rotary Clubs at different times.
Older son Anthony says his dad was proud to be part of the community. "His most cherished thing was the Flamborough Chamber of Commerce Lifetime Achievement Award” presented to him in 2018, said Anthony.
Away from his work, Ralph had a passion for racehorses, which began when he was a child in southern Italy. For more than 20 years, Ralph owned thoroughbred horses, which he would train and race. Lucy remembers how he would expect her to have muffins made in time for him to head out early on Saturdays; he loved to hand out muffins to everybody at the barn and track.
Ralph’s daughter Linda remembers how proud Ralph was the day he and Lucy became Canadian citizens. She smiles when she remembers that, at family reunions of 70-plus Canada-based Naccaratos, Ralph would always make sure there was a Canadian flag in the photo.
Ralph’s family grew to include four grandchildren, with all three children living near him and Lucy. She remembers how, no matter what he was working on, “he always ate with us, every night.”
In retirement, Lucy and Ralph were enjoying more time together, going for drives and spending time with friends.
Anthony remembers his dad as “a real family man."
"He was all about family, and community,” he said.
When Ralph died on July 18, 2023, aged 87, he left behind a community on which he truly left his mark.
Journeys shines a light on the life stories of Flamborough residents who left their mark on the community. Do you know someone's story you'd like to see featured in this program? Please email [email protected].
