Ursinus College Digital Commons @ Ursinus College

Pennsylvania Folklife Magazine Pennsylvania Folklife Society Collection

Fall 1995 Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 45, No. 1 Joan Saverino

Joseph Bentivegna

Nicholas V. De Leo

Catherine Cerrone

Janet Theophano

Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag Part of the American Art and Architecture Commons, American Material Culture Commons, Christian Denominations and Sects Commons, Cultural History Commons, Ethnic Studies Commons, Fiber, Textile, and Weaving Arts Commons, Folklore Commons, Genealogy Commons, German Language and Literature Commons, Historic Preservation and Conservation Commons, History of Religion Commons, Linguistics Commons, and the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons Click here to let us know how access to this document benefits oy u.

Recommended Citation Saverino, Joan; Bentivegna, Joseph; De Leo, Nicholas V.; Cerrone, Catherine; and Theophano, Janet, "Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 45, No. 1" (1995). Pennsylvania Folklife Magazine. 145. https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag/145

This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Pennsylvania Folklife Society Collection at Digital Commons @ Ursinus College. It has been accepted for inclusion in Pennsylvania Folklife Magazine by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Ursinus College. For more information, please contact [email protected].

Contributors

JOSEPH BENTIVEGNA received his master's degree in vocational education from Columbia University and his Ph.D. in the same field from the University of Pittsburgh. He lives in Loretto, Pennsylvania, and taught at St. Francis College there for twenty years before retiring and estab­ lishing a private practice as a vocational rehabilitation analyst. After he left the College he pursued independent studies on the Italian American experience; one of his main interests is the study of Italian folk music of which he has an extensive collection.

CATHERINE CERRONE, a graduate of the University of Virginia, is Italian-American program coordinator of the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh. Since January, 1994, she has been researching and documenting the history of Italians in the Pittsburgh region, a project structured around the recording of oral histories (about one hundred interviews have been conducted to date) and the collecting of archival materials and artifacts. Her work will be incorporated into the Historical Society's new history center, which will open in April of 1996 with an exhibit entitled "From Paesi to Pittsburgh: Celebrating a Century of Italian Immigration to Western Pennsylvania."

NICHOLAS V. DE LEO, born in Philadelphia in 1912, is a graduate of the University of Torino and the University of Firenze Medical School who also attended (during the summer) the Univerity of Perugia for foreigners in order to master the Italian language. In 1936 he returned to Philadelphia to study at the Evans Dental and Plastic Institute of the University of Pennsylvania. Afterward, he went back to Italy and was a candidate to become the director of the George Eastman Clinic in Rome when war broke out; he escaped in March, 1941. Knighted by the Italian government, he practiced medicine in Dunmore, Pennsylvania (where he still lives) for fifty years.

JOAN SAVERINO is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Folklore and Folklife at the University of Pennsylvania. She is completing an ethnohistorical dissertation on Italians in Reading and Berks County and has conducted fieldwork among Italians in West Virginia and Italy. She has a master's degree in anthropology from The George Washington University and has worked in museums, education, and the public sector since 1979.

JANET THEOPHANO is assistant director of the College of General Studies and adjunct associate professor of folklore at the University of Pennsylvania. She earned her Ph.D. in 1982 at the University and has been doing fieldwork in the Italian American community in Pennsylvania for over twenty years. Autumn 1995

EDITOR: Thomas E. Gallagher, Jr. MANAGING EDITOR: Nancy K. Gaugler EDITORIAL ADvISORS: Simon J. Bronner Hilda Adam Kring Earl C. Haag Monica MUlzbauer David J. Hufford John W. Roberts Terry G. Jordan Evan Snyder Susan Kal tik Ken nelh Thigpen AUTUMN 1995, VOL. 45, NO. 1 Donald B. Kraybill Don Yoder

S UBSCRIPTIONS: Nancy K. Gaugler CONTENTS P ENNSYLVANIA FOLKLIFE, Autumn 1995, Vol. 45, No.1, published three times a year by 2 "Domani Ci Zappa"': Italian Immigration and Pennsylvani a Folklife Society, Inc., Ethnicity in Pennsylvania P.O. Box 92, Collegeville, Pa . JOAN SA VERINO 19426. $5.00 for single copies, Autumn, Winter & Spring. Yearly 23 A study of the San Cataldesi Who Emigrated subscription $15.00. Back issues to Dunmore, Pennsylvania (v. 21-41), $5.00 each; other prices on request. JOSEPH BENTIVEGNA

MSS AND PHOTOGRAPHS: 31 A look at the Early Years of Philadelphia's The Editor will be glad to consider "Little Italy" MSS and photographs sent with a NICHOLAS V. DE LEO view to publication. When unsuit­ able, and if accompained by return 37 "An Aura of Toughness, Too": Italian Immigration to postage, care will be taken for their Pittsburgh and Vicinity return, although no responsibility for CATHERINE CERRONE their safety is assumed. 43 Expressions of Love, Acts of Labor: Women's Work Ed itoria l correspond ence: Nancy K. Gaugler in an Italian American Community P.O. BOX 92, JANET THEOPHANO Coll egevi ll e, Pennsylva ni a 19426

Subscri pt ion, business correspond ence: P.O. BOX 92, Collegeville, Pennsy lva ni a 19426 CONTRIBUTORS Folk Festival correspondence: Festival Associa tes (Inside front cover) 461 Vine Lane Kutztown, PA 19530 Phone; 61 0/683-8707 Layout and Special Photography

Co pyright 1995 WILLIAM K. MUNRO

Entered as third class ma il er 3 1 Collegeville, PA. COVER: ISSN 0031-4498 The Iezzi family was trained in Italy in th e craft trade of plasterwork. Interior of Achille (Ike) and SOIt Joe Iezzi's plaster studio, 312 Grape Street, Reading, Pa., 1940s. Notice the samples of plaster plaques, imitation fire­ places, niches, and wall panels. Giuseppe Iezzi, Achille's father, emigrated with his family from Sanvalellfiflo, Il ear Chieti, in the Abruzzi, in 1912 and had a studio with a similar looking interior on th e 700 block of Bingaman Street in Reading in th e 1920s. (Courtesy of Joe Iezzi) "DOMANI CI ZAPPA''': ITALIAN IMMIGRATION AND ETHNICITY IN PENNSYLVANIA by Joan Saverino vegetables and It ali an style one-pot pasta dishes with a tomato and meat based sauce. 2 Expressions of ethnic identity can be displayed privately in the home with family or peers as described above or in public symbolic representati ons. When ethnic identit y "goes public" it tends to be in the form of events such as fest ivals, parades, and ceremonies that celebrate or commemorate. These intentionall y pl anned gath erings usually incorporate such expressive fo rms as music, dance, decorative arts, and cooking.3 Public occasions all ow individuals to consolidate as a group, if onl y fo r th e duration of th e event, presenting themselves to each other and presenting key aspects of their culture to the general populace. Whether it is the private sharing in the home of special regional dishes or such public celebrations as Columbus Day, the Itali an American ethnic tradition that has evolved in the last one hundred years grew primari ly from southern Itali an folklife. From what had been a trickle of skill ed northern Itali ans immigrating to th e United States until th e 1870s, by the 1880s the overwhelming majorit y of Italians arriving were from the Mezzogiomo, the area south of Rome including Sicily. Furthermore, most were cOllta dini, COil temporary map of Italy with regioll s alld large a word variously translated as farmers, farm hands, or cities indicated. peasants. Even an expression used by Itali an immigrants to indicate work the next day, " Domani ci zappa'" (To­ Few Italian immigrants survive the last great wave of morrow, it's work") suggests that these immigrants fo r­ immigration to America in the late nineteenth and early merly made a living as farm laborers or lived closely twentieth centuries. Those who do are now in their eighties connected to the agricultural cycle. The use of th e verb and nineties. Their memories provide rich detail about "zappare," is translated literally "to hoe." dai ly li fe in Italy before emigration, the tribulations of the CONDITIONS IN ITALY voyage, and arrival and settlement to a vastly different, not always welcoming land. Their legacy is the foundation In 1871, nearly 60 percent of the It alian populati on upon which is built the ethnic identity of Italian Americans fa rmed for a living, att empting to eke out an existence .from in Pennsylvania today.l arid land th at often was not their own. Systems of land Folklorists who work with immigrants to the United division, methods of cultivati on, and wages varied region­ States study the fol klore of the immigrant experi ence and all y with the worst situation existing in the South. There, th e fo lklore of ethnicity. The somewhat antiquated idea by necessity, most families supplemented their income by of studyin g an ethnic group as a static entity, is replaced working as day laborers (braccianti) or emigrated season­ by viewing ethnic identity as individually expressive and · all y or permanently.4 inn ovati ve, emergin g when peopl e engage in social inter­ Migrati on was a well-known surv ival strategy used by acti on. This folkloristic way of looking at ethnicity is Itali ans, especially southerners, during the nineteenth cen­ particularl:' useful in th e multicultural landscape of con­ tury to cope with povert y, overpopulation, and scarcity of temporary America. Many Italian Americans are third or resources. A complex combination of worsening social, fourth generat ion with a complex combination of heritages political, and economic factors in Italy and in the world through intermarriage of previous generati ons with oth er at the end of the nineteenth century encouraged Italians ethni c groups. Even fo r those with a less diverse cultural to switch from what had been a local and European migration background, ethnici ty becomes an opti on th at can be chosen patt ern to an international one beginning in the 1870s­ to be displayed or not in a given situation depending on first, to South America, then by 1901 to the United States.5 the individual's needs or desires. An example of this Unequivocally, the economic crises of the 1880s and occurs when an Italian American family regularly rotates 1890s were major forces in the choice of many It alians American style platter meals consisting of meat, starch, and to emigrate. The " pull" factors of emigration-the wide-

2 spread use of th e steamship, the stories of returning unskilled low paying jobs wherever they existed. So many emigrants, advertising by transa tl antic transportation com­ Italians headed to Pennsylvania that by 1890 their popu­ panies in the villages, and th e actual economic opportu­ lation was the second highest in the United States, only niti es offered by the United States- contributed as much surpassed by New York state. It would remain so until to the high rates of emigration as conditions within Italy 1960 when the numbers of Italian immigrants in Pennsyl­ itself. The specificity of who left, when, and exactly why vania dropped to third, behind New York and New Jer­ and where they immigrated depended on many factors, and sey.10 was regi onally and even village specific.6 Although work brought Italians to Pennsylvania, which The typical emigrant was a young, unskilled man from areas they found most attractive and what jobs they filled a rural area who intended to earn enough money to return are answered by a more complicated set of demographic, to his home village, purchase land, and comfortably live economic, and cultural factors, including the aspirations out his days there. Also, those who emigrated were not and expectations of the workers themselves.Seventy-one usually the poo rest of the poor, for they could never percent of the Italians who immigrated to Pennsylvania man age the fare. Many were seasonal migrants (referred moved to the mid-size and smaller industrial towns scat­ to as "birds of passage") who returned to Italy several tered throughout the state, rather than to the two largest months out of the year. Between 1880 and World War I cities, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. This figure may seem more than four million people, 80 percent of them surprising since 90 percent of Italians settled in American southerners, immigrated to the United States. During these cities. Most Italians entered the United States through New peak years of emigration, southern Italian towns became York and traveled to destinations in Pennsylvania by raiLll inhabited by old men , women, and children. In 1921, the Italians settled in the soft coal fields of southwestern United States Congress passed the first quota bill directed Pennsylvania, in towns with names like Cokeburg, as well against southern and eastern Europeans, restricting immi­ as in the southeastern anthracite towns. They put down gration from these regions for the first time. 7 roots in Erie, in Allentown, in Scranton, in the mill towns When the immigrants first set foot in the United States, near Pittsburgh, and in other industrial towns throughout they thought of themselves as natives of the particular tow n the state. or village from which they hai led, rather than Italians. Italy Because of their size and employment needs, the coal itself had been united only si nce 1861, but more impor­ and steel industries hired their own recruiters. These labor tantly, the government was controlled by north ern ers, with agents or padroni were a significant factor in channeling whom the southerners shared few values or beliefs. Long Italians to these industries. Padroni were important and after unification, Italy remained a country characterized by powerful figures especially during the early years of Italian regional differences. With no sense of an Italian national immigration before family networks took over their func­ iden tity and not yet thinking of themselves as Americans, ti ons . They secured the most crucial commodity for the Italian immigrants to Pennsylvania, coming from diverse immigrants - a job. They sometimes also paid the fare for regi ons and backgrounds, had no uniform, shared past. In passage, and located suitable food or housing. Because a sense, they were a people without history, cut off from padroni often extracted a fee from wages, it was difficult the villages they had left, speaking dialects so different for the worker to save money.!2 that a Calabrian could not understand a Sicilian, and living Padroni were active among construction and railroad in a new place where they often felt out of place, facing workers. In the 1890s. Italians replaced the Irish as the an uncertain future. 8 primary railroad gang, laying and maintaining track. Railroad employment was responsible for th e largest influx ITALIAN SETTLEMENT IN PENNSYLVANIA of Italians to Philadelphia. Italians viewed these manual labor positions as temporary until they could find some­ Pennsylvania played a key role in the transformation thing better. About 300 of the first Italians who came of America from an agricultural to an urban industrial to Reading, Pennsylvania, during the 1890s were railroad economy in the late nineteenth century. Foreign immigrants and construction workers recruited by padroni.!3 Maria followed the same pattern as other Americans, moving to Prioriello Battisti related the stories that her sister, Teresa urban areas where most of the new manufacturing jobs Granieri, who immigrated to Reading around the turn of existed, so that by 1910, 48 percent of Americans lived the century, told about the living conditions of these groups in towns and cities. By 1920, almost half of the nation's of single men who were moved by the railroad from place urban population was comprised of immigrants and their to place to work: "My sister used to say to me, the people, American offspring.9 Italian people, Polish people, they work for the railroad, Pennsylvania industrialized rapidly with the heavy in­ they sleep in a box car in the railroad. With little stove dustries - coal, iron and steel, railroads, and cement and outside, with little pot there, they cook some beans. [Their glass - leading the way. These industries hired huge life] was hard." numbers of the new immigrants, especially Italians and Immigrants composed a large percentage of the work Poles, who fit the criteria of employment: mostly single force of other smaller industries in Pennsylvania. Italians men, available in large numbers, and eager to accept dominated the road, public works, railroad con truction,

3 Cologero Chiarelli (frollt, center) with his crew from th e supervise the newly instituted streets department. Notice Hassam Paving company of Worcestel; Mass., on west that Cologero wears middle class apparel -- a white shirt, side of North Fifth Street, Reading, Pa., c. 1914-1916. tie, and hat. Immigrants who had achieved middle class Workers are unidentified except for Peter Caramano status wore such garb daily ill order to distinguish (froll t, fourth from r.). Cologero permanently relocated themselves from th e working class. (Courtesy of Jack with his family to Reading when th e city asked him to Chiarelli) and certain food processing industries (canning fruits, truck farm vegetables and fish, and migrant fruit and vegetable harvesters).14 Th e si tu ati on differed somewhat from city to city, but in general, the padrone system, local political bosses, chain migration and kin systems, pre-migrati on skills, and per­ so nal preferences, influenced where It alians moved and worked. While new immigrants were forced to work in what they considered undesi rab le paid labor jobs (e.g., on the railroad, in construction, in th e iro n foundries), most hoped to move to more prestigious occu pati ons in their eyes-arti sa n (e.g. baker, plasterer, barber, tai lor) or merchant/businessman-as soo n as th ey could.!5 Not all those who became sma ll businessmen or ski ll ed workers had been trained in Italy , and not every Italian immigrant arti san succeeded in practicing hi s trade in the Un it ed States.!6 Even for those who eventu ally did have their own business, the road to achi evi ng it was long and success depended on the economic climate. Italians some­ times moved to several differen t locati ons and back again in search of work. One immigrant's situation illustrates several of these points. From th e age of eight, Co logero Giarrtano, worked in the sulph ur mines in hi s home village of Serradifalco, province of Agrigento, in Sicily. Born in 1876, the eldest son of six children, Cologero's salary supported the family after hi s father died un ex pectedly . Many people from Serradifalco were emigrating to the United States, and Co logero expressed a desire to follow them. His mother set aside money from hi s paychecks until she had the equivalent of fifty doll ars, enough for the ship's fare. Wh en Co logero arrived at Ellis Island, he was approached by a Bethlehem Steel agent who was recruiting men to Wedding portrait of Cologero Giarrtano and Carmella work in the Dubois pl ant. Co logero accepted a job cleaning Micciche who were married on April 19, 1908, in PittStOll, rail s, but was unh appy because there were so few Italians Pa., three months after she arrived from Serradifalco, th ere. Seeking more Itali ans, he was directed to board a Sicily. (Courtesy of Mary Giarrtano Mistretta)

4 Wooden duplexes in canal area, one of two Italian neighborhoods ill Birdsboro, Pa., 1920s or possibly earlier. These were "company houses" built by Birdsboro Steel Corporation where most Italians worked. (Courtesy of Bruce Hoffman) -" - Cologero died in 1963 from black lung he contracted as a miner.1 ? Life for immigrants in the small towns and rural areas of Pennsylvania was often significantly different from the "little Italies" in large cities. In the crowded tenements of the cities, Italian communities could exist more insularly, easily self-sufficient with their own family-owned busi­ nesses, fraternal organizations, and ethnic parishes, each with its annual religious festival. Many immigrants lived their entire lives in their immediate neighborhoods sur­ rounded by native villagers. They were drawn together train for West Virginia. Cologero, however, mistakenly through chain migration, a system in which new immi­ took one going east. He asked a passenger where he could grants depended on previously settled kin and paesani find Italians and was told to get off at the next stop, Pittston (fellOW townspeople) to help them find jobs and housing, township. As he walked th e road into town from th e trai n, and to provide an instantaneous social network. Because a farmer offered him a job. After working on the farm they were less likely to have contact with the outside world, for several months, he took a job in the coal mines in women seldom learned even rudimentary English because Pittston because he said that is the work he knew. Cologero it was unnecessary for day-to-day existence. With few was happy to discover that ten other families from exceptions, Italians who moved to rural areas were not Serradifalco had emigrated to Pittston. Along with others, choosing between city life and an agricultural existence, he founded the Serradifalco mutual aid society. Cologero but were moving to what were essentially "company towns," sent money back to his family every month and made three by virtue of the industries th at dominated them. It alians return trips to Italy, on the last of which he met his future in these places lived in the "company houses" alongside wife, Carmella Micciche'. Carmella, accompanied by her ot her new immigrant groups as well as Italians from other father and a brother, arrived in January "on the bitterest regions who were employed in the same industries. These winter day" in Pittston in 1908. Carmella and Cologero smaller communities, perhaps consisting of only one or two were married in April of that same year. By the 1920s, streets, were scattered over the landscape in isolated areas Cologero had improved the family situation considerably. distant from larger Italian settlements. Here Italians were He had purchased a house and about three acres in town even more visibly different, an awareness acutely felt by on which he maintained a farm with animals, a small both the Itali ans and the dominant American population. orchard, and grape arbors. He opened two grocery stores, Depending on the size and density of the Italian population managed by his wife and seven daughters (the couple also in non-urban areas, it was difficult to establish fraternal had three sons), while he continued working in the mines. associations or It ali an Catholic parishes, organi zations to which new immigrants could look for help. Wherever Italians settled, it was the complex interplay of traditi onal culture and th e structural realities of the places themselves

B olognese family portrait, c. 1918. CO lllp osite photographs such as th is one were frequently made during th e immigration period wh en families were separated. Teresa D'Alessandro Bologll ese had th is portrait ofher with her children taken in Palllloli, A bruzzi, and sent it to her husband who was working in Reading, Pa. He took th e photograph to Strullk Studios, had th e picture of himself made and inserted into the originial, and sent this composite back to Italy. Frolllieft: Nicolin a, Teresa (moth er), Regina, Rosa. The bow in Rosa's hair was a prop provided by th e photographel: Gill eppe Bolognese (father) stands at right. (Courtesy oj Rosa Bolognese DaDalllio)

5 Italians orginal/y moved 10 Tell1ple, Pa., to Ivork in th e Prior ieI/o family portrait, rear ofh 0 111 e, Boiano, Abrllzzi­ iroll foundry. When th e fO lln dry closed in 1929, lI1 any Molise, c. 1912. Th e cloth ing points to th e trallsitions turned to mushroom fannillg as a li velihood. Fall1ily occurring ill rural Italy during the early twentieth celltury. members of Pelln Mushrooll1 COll1pa ny shOlvn Ivirh Th e maternal grandmother is dressed ill traditional lI1u shroom crop in harvesting baskets, in frollt of B oianese costume, th e mother's outfit incorporates mushroom house, COlllm erce Street, c. 1937-38. Froll1 elements of both folk costume and fa shionable dress, left: James P enturelli, Agnes Pentllrelli AlI1adio, while the father and daughters wear fa shionable clothing Henrietta Pentllrel/i Tranquil/o, MQ/y Biscanti Pelltllrel/i, of the period. Emigration affected middle class land­ Alfred Tranquil/o, Anthony Pentllrel/i, CermCinoAllladio. owning families such as this one, too. Two children, (Courtesy of Bemard Pelltllrel/i) Teresa and Cosimo, had immigrated to th e United States before this photograph was taken. Two 1I1 0re would soon that produced distinct immigrant communities in th e United immigrate to Reading: first, Ciuseppina (front, far right) States.IIl alld then Maria (frontJar left) in 1921. (Courtesy of Lisa Staroll Adams) ITALIAN IMMIGRATION TO A MID-SIZE was a well-respected peasant landowner w hich enabled him INDUSTRIAL TOWN to provide educati on and amenities fo r hi s seven children Maria Prioriello Battisti and Rosa Bolognese DaDamio that were un attai nable for most southern Itali ans. Maria emigrated from villages in Abruzzi-Molise to Reading, traveled with a sister and her brother-in-law by train to Pennsylvania, wi thin a few years of one another - Mari a Naples, where they boarded a German merchant ship, the in 1921 at age twent y-two and Rosa in 1920 at age ten.19 Canopik, which landed in the port of Boston. According Rosa's earli est memories in the vill age of Palmoli are to Maria, the Canopik was a freighter, not reall y a pas­ of life without her father, Giuseppe Bolognese. Her fa mily senger ship, a common situation that people were unaware si tu ati on was characteri stic for the period. Her father had of beforehand. emigrated to join his brothers in Reading, Pennsylvania, When Maria Prioriello and the Bolognese family arrived as a laborer on th e railroad before Rosa was old enough in Reading, the It ali an popul ation was already sizable with to remember him. "Well, I'll tell you, he left me when a well-estab li shed social infrastructure. Reading provides I was nine months old and when he came back I was nine one example of the complex process of Itali an American years old. When my father came home I didn' t want to community building. have anything to do with him. Then I used to say to my In the nineteenth century Reading, located fifty-four mother, ' Why don't we have a father like the rest of the miles northwest of Philadelphi a in Berks County, was the people?' And my mother, God bless her, she used to try most Germanic of the large towns in the Pennsylvania to explai n to me that my father was in America making German heartland. Attracted by the growth of the iron, money fo r us. That's why we had more than other people. steel, and railroad industries, new immigrants, primaril y But I couldn't understand why [ didn't have a father." Itali ans and Poles, began to transform this least ethnically Giuseppe returned to Italy in 1919 with the intenti on diverse city in the region around 1890.20 By the turn of of staying. Condition in Italy as well as the fact th at his the century, It ali ans had also settl ed in the villages of son was al most draft age prompted his decision to bring Birdsboro, Robesonia, and Temple to work in the iron the fa mily to Reading. foundries. While the city of Reading was industrializing Maria Priori ello left her home town of Boiano near and factories were sprouting in some of the boroughs as Campobasso, intending merely to visit two older sisters well, the majority of the county remained agricultural. who had settled in Reading much earlier. She never Between 1900 and 1930 a shift occurred from a pre­ returned to It aly to live, joining the minority of Italian dominance of heavy to light industry, primarily garment women who emigrated without spouses or parents. Unlike and textile manufacturers. This is the principal reason that the economic status of th e Bolognese family which de­ fewer Italians immigrated to Reading compared to the rest pended on monetary support sent from the United States, of the state. Unlike the heavy industries, the garment and Mari a left a solid middle-class background. Maria's father textile companies depended more on semi-skilled or skilled

6 Delivery trucks in front ofATV Bakery, 36 S. Third Street, Reading, Pa., 1940s. Three bakers, PauLAlbert (formerLy Alberti), George Tomasi, alld Leollard Vecchio joilled interests in 1941 to form this successful and still functioning Italian bakery. Left, Joseph Albert; right, George Tomasi. (Courtesy ofJoanlle Tomasi Quaglia)

workers, and a work force primarily of women who were paid one-half to two-thirds less on a national scale than men. As heavy industry declined in Reading and the county, it became a less attractive place for new immi­ grants. The foreign-born population in Reading averaged less than 10 percent for any decade. No other city of comparable or larger size in Pennsylvania had such a small percentage of foreign-born in the total population. The census recorded 54 foreign-born Italians in Reading in 1890 and a high of 2,282 in 1930.21 The system of chain migration functioned in Reading and the Union Canal.24 This area near the river was the as elsewhere in Pennsylvania's growing Italian communi­ first home for many new Italian immigrants to Reading. ties. Information traveled back and forth between Italy and Available housing often was dilapidated and located in the the United States among relatives about places to live and least desirable neighborhoods. potential employment. Newly arrived immigrant families Originating from Sersale, Calabria, Saverio had been a tended to live near their places of employment and to move petty merchant who sold chestnuts and could read and write together whenever possible.22 Giuseppe Bolognese, Rosa's Italian, but little else is known of his background. He came father, chose Reading as his destination because his broth­ to Reading about 1895, working first as a laborer, later ers Nunzio and Nick were already railroad workers there moving up to foreman. [n 1903 he opened the first Italian and could help him secure a job. bakery in the city, operating the business out of another Even in towns the size of Reading, the areas where large flat he rented in the mansion. Pasquale Spadafora, age numbers of Italians lived, such as the neighborhood south four, accompanied his father in a horse and wagon to make of Penn Street near Holy Rosary Church (Third and Franklin bread deliveries. The leftover bread dough was used to Streets), came to be known as "little Italies." In these make macaroni for the family's meals. According to neighborhoods, the new waves of immigrants supplanted Pasquale, his father was forced to sell the busin ess because the ethnic groups who had come before them. Even though he had extended too much credit. these ethnic enclaves were not as large or as regio nally Saverio, however, seemed determined to pursue a career divided block by block as those in large cities like New as a merchant. [n that same year, 1912, he purchased a York, they did have some of the same characteristics. They two-story house o n the corner of Second and Franklin were working class and often not singularly Italian, but Streets, in what was still primarily a Pennsylvania German ethnically mixed. Although a few blocks in Reading neighborhood. Since he had just lost the bakery, how he became almost entirely Italian, most blocks had a few was able to finance this purchase is unclear. Saverio families of eastern Europeans, Pennsylvania Germans, or moved his family there, and opened a grocery in the front Irish. In these neighborhoods the presence of some non­ parlor. He kept the grocery for only a short time, however, Italians helped the Italians to consolidate their ethnic identity subsequently renting it to a relative. After these two ill­ even more than if they had lived in exclusively Italian fated entrepreneurial endeavors, Saverio worked at Reading enclaves. In large cities like Philadelphia, so many people Steel Casting and then Glen Gery Brickyard until his death came from one region and even one town that each group in November 1919, at the age of fifty-nine, leaving hi comprised its own colony within the larger Italian area of wife and eight children. settlement. This clustering within clustering formed natural Although ultimately unsuccessful in escaping the life of networks as kin settled near others who spoke their own a paid laborer, before his death Saverio Spadafora had dialect.23 achieved certain southern Italian social ideals that would have been nearly impossible had he remained in Italy. AN EARLY IMMIGRANT FAMILY IN READING Whether Saverio's generosity (his son Pa quale said he was In 1903, Italian immigrant Saverio Spadafora lived with "a sucker for a hand-out"), a lack of good business sense, hi s wife, Maria Pullano, and their children in a rented flat or a combination of factors, contributed to his failure in in a former mansion located between the Schuylkill River business is unclear. Nevertheless, he wa an independent

7 businessman for a short time and became a property owner said th at even as late as the 1930s most of the Itali an of what would have been a middle-class house by Calabrian workers at Birdsboro Steel were employed as chippers: standards. He was well-known in th e It ali an community "Nobody did that kind of work because chipping was a because of hi s position as a part-time agent (a lso known dirty job, and it killed them. They got dust in their lungs as import er or banker) for th e White Star Line shipping and they got silicosis. But they only put the Italians there." lin e. Italian men also worked in the garment factories and Saveri o achieved a respected social status in the com­ hosiery mills. These jobs required semi-skilled and skilled munity through his organizati onal efforts and his reputation laborers. The knitting positions at the Berkshire Knitting fo r helping others. He was a founding member of at least Mills in Reading were the most desirable because they paid one mutual aid society, and was also one of a committee the hi ghest wages, but few Italians were ever moved into of men who pushed fo r the establishment of an Italian th ose or supervisory positions. Italians knew it was an Catholic parish in Reading. unspoken rule that those jobs were reserved for the Germans After Saverio's death, hi s wife, who had never worked and the Pennsylvania Germans. Joe Corea did become the out side the home, depended on the o lder children to support head dyer at "the Berkie," but Maria Prioriello Battisti's th e family. Rosina, th e eld est daughter, was marri ed and brother-in -law, Joe Lombardo, never rose from his position lived in a house directly behind the family home, affording as a boarder. Nevertheless, he was co nsidered one of the mother and daught er daily int eracti o n. All the children lucky ones because work there was steady and he was not except th e youngest left school before graduating from hi gh laid off during the Depression.27 school to begin working. Daughter Mari a worked at A. The factories in Reading varied in terms of which B. Kirschbaum Company, a garment factory near their departments had Italian workers and whether they could home. Son Pasquale quit school at age fourteen to begin move into the few supervisory positions that existed. Charles working at the Berkshire Knitting Mills at a "school kid " Carabello commented: "Every department had a supervisor job, pu shing stockings through a ring and turning them and most of the supervisors-well now, in the pants factory ri g ht sid e out. [Penn Pants Factory], supervisors were always Italian. They were smart in doing that. In the hat factory [Alexander THE PRIVATE CIRCLE OF FAMILY, Hat Factory], they were not. The hat factory was more NEIGHBORS, AND WORK [a] Germanic organization. And the hatters themselves The Spadafora family typified certain aspects of early were Italians, the ones who worked the hats from the It ali an settl ement and family life in Pennsylvania. Immi­ grants mitigated adverse factors to adjustment (such as langu age barriers, illiteracy, unfamiliarity with American customs, and discriminati on) by forming internal support networks among kin a nd neighbors. Family and ethnic ti es were connected to th e workplace, since new arrivals often secured their first jobs through these internal net­ works.25 Furthermore, earlier arrivals, such as Saverio Spadafora, could rise in social status in their own com­ munities because they already knew the ropes and thus could provide assistance to immigrants who arrived later. In the first decades of Italian settlement, the growing ethnic community supported an expanding infrastructure of merchants like Spadafora's bakery; other small business­ men, like barbers, tailors, grocers, tried to engage a cli­ entele beyond the Italian community. Italians reduced overhead by using one property for business and residence. This pattern enabled the father to be at home, helping to supervise children if necessary. Sometimes the husband held a job away from home while the wife ran a grocery in the house; thus, she could generate a small income year round, even while tending children. Families adopted this strategy out of necessity, because full-time work for men was often sporadic. Running a grocery, while popular, was not especially lucrative, and many were in business only a few years.26 Maria Prioriello in front of Berkshire Knitting Mills, When working as paid laborers, Italian men, as the manufacturer of full-Jashiofled hoisery, and employer of newest ethnic group, were the least favored and were often some Italian immigran:~~ Wyomissing, Pa., c. 1925. hired for the dirtiest and lowest paid jobs. Delvisio Franchi (Courtesy of Maria Prioriello Battisti)

8 Teresa Prioriello Granieri and Sa lvatore (Sam) Granieri standing in front of their successful produce store at 328 Penn Street, Reading, Pa., c. 1920. (Courtesy of Norma Battisti Staron) groun d up . There were many Italians. But upstairs ...w here and neighbo rs. People I interviewed emphasized a way of th e women put th e hats together, they were not...ltali an, li fe that cent ered aro und fa mili es and neighbo rs who hel ped they were, Poli sh, German- Penn sylva nia Dutch as we ca ll each oth er. Joe DelCo ll o said: "We had fa mil y life and them." we had fri endly life-neighbors." Rosa Bolognese DaDam io Before wo rkers were un io nized, if they were laid off, put it th is way: "Th ere was a lot of love in th e fa mily they had no recourse but to find work wherever they co ul d in th ose days. A lot of love." at whatever rate of pay was offered th em. Joe DelCollo described his fa ther's experience in Reading around 1910 WOMEN'S AND CHILDREN'S CONTRIBUTION or 1911: "My Dad was out of wo rk, the Ol ey Street Mill TO THE FAMILY ECONOMY cl osed up .. .An d he was just wa lking around looking fo r a job and th ere was a guy having a building [built] ... and Many It alia n women in Pennsy lva nia, both before he said, 'Hey John,'-th ey used to call Italians all John­ marri age and for pa rt of their li ves aft erward, wo rked out 'Do yo u wa nt to work?' He sa id sure. He wo rked all day. of necessity in some ca pacity other than homemaking. At the end of the day he said, you come to my store and Acco rd ing to Mari a Pri ori ello Batti sti , born in Italy in I'll pay you ... and my Pop went upstairs to get paid. And 1899, the idea l li fe fo r an It ali an wo man was th at the wi fe he kept hi m wai ting around, waiting around, and waiting should remain at home as a full-time homemaker. Short around, 'till fi nall y at th e end, he says, 'Hey John , How of thi s possibility, th e next preference was to have a 'bout a ni ce hat?' My Pop said , 'I don't need a hat, I busin ess in one's home, so th at th e wi fe could help out need money fo r the kids.' He didn 't get a ni ckel, he got if needed, but would primaril y ca re for th e house and a hat fo r his wages." children. With men's empl oy ment oft en sporadi c or ea­ To increase th eir chances of survi va l, members of th e so nal, women and even chil dren's co ntri but io ns to th e immi grant generati on reli ed on one anoth er for assistance famil y economy were required .2/l and li ved in neighborhoods with other Italians, near kin Mari a herself did not rea li ze th e It ali an id ea l. After whenever possible. They depended on help, based on the emi grating to Readin g in 1921, he upport ed herself and sout hern Italian ideal of social reci procity, from an in fo r­ sent money to her fa mil y in It aly who e economi c itu ati on mal network of peo pl e to secure jobs, find housing, and had deteri orated, by workin g at different garment factori es provide emoti onal sustenance. Most import ant in this and hosiery mills. After her marri age and th e birth of her netwo rk were the nu clear fa mily and members of the children, she worked intermittentl y and whenever wo rk was ex tended fa mily. Familial int erd ependence was rega rd ed ava il able. as the key fo r economic survival by th e immigrant gen­ Mari a Maccione Ca rabe ll o, anoth er immigrant to Read­ eration. in g, is a good exampl e of how wo men often combin ed ex t in importance in th e support netwo rk were paesalli ways to generate in co me and ex tend th e famil y budget.

9 Charles Carabello described his mother's life: " In the early right kind of place, nice girls didn't work there," whereas days, my mother was a very busy woman. It [was] the working at a factory was permissible. This criterion of only way they could make expenses meet and whenever selectivity for th e appropriateness of work for women a rel ative came to America from It aly, they would house suggests a transmission of Old World values concerning him for maybe a doll ar a month. We had a home whi ch the protection of women's honor. Protecting unmarried would house maybe one, two, three, fo ur, maybe four or da ughters was difficult in an unsupervised atmosphere like five people. And my mother would not o nl y feed them a retail shop, where the potential for meeti ng strangers wa but wash their clothing and everything else. My moth er, greater. The factory milieu with its regimented workday, she worked ... So I'm not very much in accord wi th the idea the likelihood of gender segregation of employees, and the that mothers [are] out working and the children are not probability that It ali an fri ends worked th ere as well , calmed rai sed right and that's why they have become impossible. parents' fears. r don ' t agree. My mother worked a ll day ...she was only Chi ld ren, including girls, were seen as potential con­ at home at night. Left in the morning early sometime tributors to the family income and often quit school early before we even got up. My father, of course he did work to begin working. In 1924, Rosa Bolognese DaDamio went in the home because he was a barber but nevertheless we to work at Luden's Candy Factory at age fou rt een until got out and went out to do our own things such as carrying her marriage in 1927. As late as the 1940s, the pattern newspapers for the Reading Eagle, going to the market had not changed significantly for girls, although th ey more [to] carry baskets and all that. .. My mother worked in many frequentl y graduated from high school and often kept at factories, she worked in the old Penn Pants factory which least some of their earnings. While they were still att ending I mentioned before is the (R.N. Palmer) candy company school, children usuall y took on part-time jobs. Since boys in West Reading. I remember going with my little wagon were permitted more freedom than girls at a younger age, during the Fi rst World War picking up bundles of soldiers' th ey co uld find ways to make money earlier by delivering pants to bring home for her [to] sew. She would do sewing newspapers or transporting groceri es fo r peopl e from the on certain parts of it. The next day I would take them fa rm ers' markets in toy wagons. Generally, Italian children back and then pick up a new bundle so she could do them were expected to turn over wages to parents. Charl es at home. Goodness knows what she got a day, if she made Carabello's first job was during the mid-1920s at the Penn a dollar a day, I' d be surprised ... 1 can't describe everything Pant s Factory: "Well, my first job was a pants factory where that she did but goodness knows, she worked and s he they made nothing but pants practically for the American worked very hard."29 On her way home after work, Maria soldi er. .. And I worked on the second floor there, pressing often stopped at T eresa and Sam (Salvatore) Granieri's certain bits of trousers, I was fourteen but I lied. I told grocery store on Penn Street. Teresa gave her any blem­ th em I was sixteen and I know they didn't believe me, ished unsalabl e fruit for her family's table. but I got twenty-five cents an hour, twelve dollars a week. Itali an women's contributions to the family economy That was big money for my family ... Whenever we got our have been underestimated because they have been difficult salary we took th e whole darn thing home, peri od. And to assess in monetary terms. Even when women engaged if we needed anything we got it but we never spent a cent in paid labor, the work was often part-time, seasonal, short­ of our salary." term , paid by the pi ece, or subject to lay-offs during slow LEISURE TIME AND FAMILY LIFE periods. Work perform ed in the home, especiall y main­ tai ning a household, but also keeping boarders or assisting The limited leisure time that existed for working-class with a fam ily business, often has been disco unted because Itali ans also centered around fa mily and to some extent it was not wage labor. Increasingly, however, scholars neighbors and paesani. Weekday evenings after work have demonstrated that women's and even children's work included dinner shared as a family together and perhaps was instrumental not only in keeping a family housed and a visit with extended family or a few minutes sitting on clothed, but also in improving its economic status)O the front porch or stoop and talking with neighbors. Men Three factors contributed to determine where Italian mi ght walk to their nearby social club to socialize with women worked: available work, level of skill, and cultural male friends who congregated th ere to play cards or bocce. preferences. The concentratio n of garment factories in In the summer, families often sat in the backyard and Reading that required semi-skilled laborers and skill ed worked in the garden. "hand sewers" provided ready employment fo r Ita li an Although some women cooked in a traditi onal Italian women. Since most Ita li an women had learned hand style on a daily basis, others, especiall y second generation sewing and needlework as young girls, they already pos- ' women, incorporated " American" dishes. In Reading, a sessed the skills that clothing manufacturers sought. predominantly Pennsylvania German region, these were Certain kinds of jobs or workplaces were considered often what Italians call " Dutch" recipes that th ey learned indecent for Italian women. Adalgisa (Naldi) Pichini from neighbors. For instance, Joe Borelli's fami ly was Franchi, a second generation Italian American from Read­ the only Ital ian family in Hamburg, a farming community. ing, said that her immigrant mother would not al low her He remembers that his immigrant mother, Angelina, wanted to work at the local "5 and 10" because "it wasn't th e to fit in with Pennsylvania German neighbors. Joe recalled:

10 "She went next door to the neighbor's and said, look, I th emselves. Even so, the changes in behavior worried got to learn, what is this sauerkraut, what is this? And immigrant parents, who sti ll tried to exert control. then the lady next door made it, showed her everything. The second generation sometimes felt inner conflict My God, we had auerkraut and pork and I didn't like between their private familial identity of being "Italian" it," and the public identity cultivated within their peer group Sunday was the only full day of leisure. Many Italian of being "American." Some parents, aware of the diffi­ families attended church together in the morning, returning culties of their chi ldren, attempted to help them with the home for the Sunday meal. It was a symbolic ritual, more identity issue, but mixed messages from oth er family important than church attendance, that idealized the cen­ members and the ou tside world contributed to the problem. trality, unity, and authority of the family through the act Marriage customs changed from the immigrant genera­ of sharing the Italian foods prepared.3 1 Women usually ti on to the first of the second generation to reach mar­ spent the entire morning on Sundays preparing food, serving riageab le age. Even though the majority of th e latter dinner about noon. Even women who Americanized their married ot her Italians, they chose th ei r own spouses, cir­ cooking during the week reserved Sundays (and holidays) cumventing any attempts by elders to arrange a marriage. for Italian fare. Pasta with some kind of tomato and meat The immigrants, many of whom had been unhappy with sauce was a central dish. For most Italians, Sundays were their own arranged marriages, relinquished control of this limited to extended family gatherings and visits with compari aspect of their children's lives. (godparents). Compari were treated like kin and visited Courting, however, was still supervised until the couple each other regularly. married. If couples went out, they were accompanied by Men spent more time away from their homes than a chaperon, often an older brother of th e girl. By the women. They visited with friends at the Italian clubs, after 1940s, inter-ethnic marriages were occurring with increas­ work on weekdays and on Sunday afternoons. Many Italian ing frequency, a potential source of family conflict. Most men kept social memberships at several clubs, while they immigrants, realizing their children lived in a different may have paid beneficial dues to only one. Local shops world from th eir own past, eventually accepted this change were also places for men to gather. and the new spouse after a period of adjustment. Men and women's social spheres tended to be separate. The second generation, having grown up in America, In their spare time, Italian women stayed close to home, had no context for understanding the Italian customs of supervising children and visiting family and Italian neigh­ watchful surveillance to ensure chastity in women and the bors. Charles Carabello said of his mother: "She lived in sexual taboos imposed by their parents. Speaking to an her own little sector of people. She had three or four unmarried woman was a transgression unthinkable in Italy, women friends, they sat together every day practically. a situation that would have compromised the gi rl 's honor Talked .. .Then they went home." and brought shame to the family. Immigrant parents were Conversation centered around people's personal lives, distressed by the mores in American culture that they little news from Italy, and political and social events. Umberto understood, and saw them as a co nstant threat to the (Bert) Tucci described the news that traveled back and preservation of a daughter's honor. The second generati on forth from Italian hometowns to Reading: "Another thin g were increasingly influenced by peer group associations that was the center of the social activity was ... there was and popular culture rather than by the social ideals of the a great deal of communication by letter from here to Italy. family. This caused misunderstandings and sometim es And when somebody received a letter, it was just like a conflict between the generations.32 newspaper. Everybody wanted to know what was going For the most part, however, especially for the oldest on over there and this and that. The unfortunate thing members of the second generation, family wishes took that I never liked was, of course, even the gossip got into priority. Charles Carabell o, who was a teenager in the those letters." 1920s, commented: "We never conflicted with our parents. The relationship between husbands and wives tended to In other word, we were obedient, and we felt that they be a formal respectful one. They showed little affection knew what they were doing and that we owed th em the in public or even within the privacy of the home. Charles respect. " Carabello remembers his parents did most of their talking After marriage, obligations to fami ly conti nued. Parent after the children were in bed. "I would hear them, maybe often expected al l the children and th eir families to gather for an hour when they would go to bed probably and talk at the parents' home every Sunday, where the mother and talk and talk." prepared an Italian meal for everyone. If both sides of the family were Italian, juggling visit without offending COURTING, MARRIAGE, AND GENERATIONAL anyone was a challenge. RELATIONSHIPS Especially in the first few decades after immigration, THE ITALIAN LANGUAGE as girls reached their teenage years, parents continued to When immigrants arrived in Pennsylvania they poke supervise them closely. They were usually allowed to walk distinctive regional dialect )3 Those who had attended downtown together as a group. Some immigrant parents school in Italy also knew standard Italian. These immi­ were more lenient as they became more Americanized grants, speaking different dialects, were thrust together at

11 th e same tim e that th ey en tered an Engli h speaking culture. migrants adjusted to American society they continu ed certain Some significant feature of language changed nationally customs, so metimes in till ed them wit h new meaning, among Italian immigrants, in part because newer forms dropped so me observ ances, and adopted some from were used by th e It ali an American pres. Regional dia lects American culture such as Thanksgiving and th e Fourth of retained many archaic forms becau e th ey were not ex­ July . posed to th e modernizing intluences of standard It ali an, In so doing, the immigrant generati on adopted those and words and accen t from one dialect we re incorporated American and local practices th at made sense in th ei r own int o another. Also, Engli h words were adopted and worldview. One Berks County resident indicated th at her lt alia ni zed. A few familiar examples: busi ness became moth er believed in "powwowing," a Pennsy lvani a German bisillisse, job became jobba, and pound became pondo. magico-religious practi ce of curing,35 similar to It alian fo lk Semantic change also occurred fo r words that we re beliefs about good, evil , and disease. Wh en no It ali an phonetically imilar in the two languages. For in stance, practitioner was ava il able, an American "powwow doctor" jaltoria, meani ng "farm " in Itali an, now means "factory" could perform the same functions. in Italia n American. Itali an Americans used baccausa, Immigrants continued activities that had been integral probably adopted and changed from the English word to their lives in Italy-gardening and winemaking. Co n­ "backhouse," to indicate th e outhouse. Some merging of verting backyards and unused public land into gard en space di alects al 0 occurred as a result of interaction among was a comm on strategy for economic survival. In Temple immigrants who spoke different dialects.34 For instance, and Birdsboro, families generall y had bigger yards th an Mari a Priori cli o Battisti 's youngest daughter, Roma , be­ in downtown Reading, with space to raise anim als as well came fri endly with the Sicilian family who lived across as vegetables for food . Similar to Italian Am ericans in other the street in Reading. Roma soon spoke a combination rural settings in Pennsy lvania, Connie Napoletano of th e Moli sa n dialect spoken at her home and the Sicilian Brancadoro said th at It ali ans in Birdsboro raised their own dialect she lea rn ed from the neighbors. pigs, butchering th em in autumn. They made sa usage and Immigrants struggled to learn English. Some people hung it on wooden poles to dry. took fo rmal English classes offered by various organiza­ The emphasis pl aced on ga rd ening went beyond eco­ ti ons; others learned on their own through trial and error. nom ics, however, underscoring both the va lu e Italians placed Men often spoke English better because they int eracted on hav ing fresh cooking ingredi ents on hand and th e pride more in the public realm with non-Italians. Some learned th ey took in producing th em th emselves. Also, th e trans­ or even taught themselves to read and write in English. formation of gardening space into th e familiar grids and Charl es Carabello said, "My mother never learned to speak terraces used in It aly gave the immigrants a feeling of any English, more than thirty or forty English words. My security and connectedness with remembered cultural land­ father had to because he was a barber." In certain parts scapes.36 of Pennsylvania, immigrants also were exposed to the Most Itali ans converted th eir entire backyards into garden Pennsy lvania German dialect. Joe Borelli recall ed th at hi s space except for a central path. If they had access to father, Ca rl o Borelli, a shoemaker in Hamburg, even lea rned unu sed land , they took advantage of that too. Sometimes orn e Pennsylvania German in order to converse with hi s they built elaborate sheds, like those still commonly seen rural customers. Many Italians did not become more fluent in Italy, in which they might store work clothes and in English because they were ashamed of th eir in ab ility ga rd enin g implements. It ali ans commonly grew standard to speak correctly. vegetables and herbs in th e southern Italian diet such as Children lea rned to spea k or at least to understand the tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, beans, varieties of lettuce, di alect because it was spoken in the home. Older children swiss chard, endive, parsley, basil, chamomile, and rose­ generally spoke the dialect more fluently than younger ones mary. If space existed, they might plant one or more fruit and frequently did not speak any English until they went trees. Grape arbors were ubiquitous in Italian yards. The to school. If parents learned more English, both languages grape harvest was not large enough for the annual pro­ might be used in the home. When standard Italian was ducti on of a family's wine; instead, these small arbors taught in a parish school, it was not the language spoken served as nostalgic transformations of space, reminders of at home. The dialect used as conversational speech usu ally the Italian landscape. ended wh en the immigrants died or learned English. Women might work in the backyard garden, but mainly took responsibility for processing and canning fruits and THE YEARLY CALENDAR: RITUAL AND vegetables once they were harvested. Besides canning, FESTIVE LIFE It alian women also preserved vegetables, such as tomatoes In southern Italy, activities centered around the seasonal and hot peppers, by drying and stored others in vinegar agricultural cycle and the religious calendar. Immigrants or salt brine in crocks. Joe Iezzi, whose artisan family continued in the United States certain seasonal activities emigrated to Reading from San Valentino near Chieti in and celebrations that had been part of their lives in their the Abruzzi, remembered that his mother, Elizabeth, put home regions . Without the context of their home villages, eggplant, celery, and fennel in the same crock with toma­ however, traditions lost their original meaning. As im- toes and peppers. Growing food that could be preserved

12 First Holy Commullion portrait of Dominic Bern ardo taken at his home, 111 Grape Street, Readill g, Pa., c. 1923. First Holy Communion wa s a ritual occasion elaborately celebrated by ftalian families. Although th e Sam Martorana, c. 1925, in the uniform of the Reading actual ceremony look place at Holy Rosary Church, th e ftalianBand, active from 1905 to about 1940. He served Italian parish in Reading, th e photographer of tell came as the band's conductor in 1938. (Courtesy of Grace to the home with the set of props, as shown here. (Courtesy Martorana Kline) of Dominic Bernardo) to last through the winter was the hi ghest priority. Listing give us the strong wine because it was too strong for us what his fath er, Giovann i, grew in the garden, Charl es and she used to give us this watered-down wine. They Carabell o broug ht this point home: "Once in a whil e, just believed that wine would make you strong. So she wanted for kicks, he mi ght grow a watermelon or two, but mostly to make us strong [laughs]." stu ff he could use fo r cann ing to make hi s spaghetti sau ce." The symbolic nature of wine for Italians is illustrated Although chores were usuall y di vided according to in proverbs such as "Un giorno senza vino e come un gender, with men tend ing th e garden and women primaril y giorno senza sale," and "Acqua fa male, il vino fa canta responsible fo r food preservati on, hu sbands and wi ves [sic]."37 Bert Tucci told a story illustrating how Itali ans cooperated too and, when circumstances demand ed, women revered wine as the very essence of life: " My Dad always did th e bulk of th e work. Also, cooking was not solely told me the story of when I was born .. . 'When you were a women's province; some men cooked for th eir families. born, ' he says, 'I put my finger in a glass of wine and Immigrants fo und solace and revived memori es in th e I [gave] it to you, and that was the first pi ece of nour­ acts of planting, growing, smelling, and eating familiar ishment that you ever had.' I' ll never forget th at." foods. In th e summer of 1991, one second generati on For winemaking itself, Berks County Italians purchased Italian in Reading proudl y showed me his Italian parsley. boxes of grapes that were brought in from Philadelphia. He emphasized that this was th e same parsley that his Each box cost about twenty-five cents and many Italians fath er had brought from Italy in 1918, because his father bought two or three hundred boxes. Giovanni Carabello, and now he had saved th e seeds from the plants every year like others, purchased a combination of white, blue, and since then. For him, that parsley triggered memories of red grapes. Charles Carabello recalled his father's his father and his father's homeland. winemaking: "I can still remember the early days of his Of all the plants that Italians grew in the United States, wine making. He had built a vat in his basement and we two perhaps became the most symbolic of Italy for them­ would put hip-boots on and go and crush the grapes with figs and grapes. Grapes were made into wine, a staple our feet...AJl of us, my father and the boys [would] go in southern Italy where the water supply was often unsafe and smash, smash, smash! And then he'd have a little ... open to drink. Even children were given diluted wine to drink. outlet and the juice would come out, you see, and he would Rosa Bolognese DaDamio recalled: "My mother used to put it in barrels and most [of it] came out fine. Once sell most of [the wine]. But we had wine at the table in a while it soured. [He] had his own barrels. You could at every meal. Now for us, my Mom used to make [what] smell that all over South Second Street and South Third she called I'aquad' [dialect]. It was watered down. But Street. You could tell who was making wine as you wcnt we drank since we were three, four years old, we drank down those neighborhoods and boy, it smelled like a bar wine. She gave us water too. But she didn't want to room."

13 Joe Iezzi recalled that especially during the lean years of the Depression, his father, Achille, made dandelion, elderberry, and strawberry wine because these grew wild and th erefore were free for the picking. Later, wine presses became th e common apparatus used for processing grapes. Many Itali ans planted fig trees if they had room. No matter in what climate they sett led, imm igrant s att empted to grow figs, pampering and covering th em each fa ll so that they would survive harsh wi nters. Charl es Carabell o related this anecdote which evokes the almost mythi cal essence of figs for It alian America ns: "Mr. Pent a, [hi s so ns] tell me he had a fig tree back [of] hi s house and he eventu all y [built] a hothouse around it. And goodn ess kn ows how lo ng it las ted. Ju st getting back a littl e ... bit of old It aly, yo u kn ow." Fest iva l tim es in It aly were events in the liturgica l ca lenda r (saint s' feas t days, Chri stm as, and Easter) or rit es of passage mark ed by th e Catholi c sacraments (birth, coming Italian groups like this one (c. 1925-26) serenaded th e of age, marri age, and death) that cent ered aro und the betroth ed and played for fun erals, baptisms, and fa mil y. In Penn sy lvani a, th ese events continued to be weddings. Seated, Charles Carabello. Standing, I. 10 r. : import ant , but with distinct changes. They were still Vin cenzo (Jimmie) Benincasa, Luigi Barbagallo ("Big primaril y fa mily affairs, but the relative wealth of the Louis"), Salvatore (Sam) Cuffari. (Courtesy of Charles immigrants compared to wh at th eir economic status had Carabello) been in It aly all owed th em to celebrate mu ch more elabo­ rately, sometimes emul ating styl es cu stomary to th e still occurs in South Philadelphi a. landowning class in It aly fo r whom th ey had worked.38 Events marking one's passage th ro ugh th e li fe cycl e Mu sic, dance, storytelling, drama, and games were (bapti sms, First Holy Communions, wedd ings, or fun erals) integral to It ali an social life and pro vided the immigrant we re both reli gious and secul ar celebrati ons. These ritu als generati on with a vital link to their past. With fe w changed from th eir It ali an ori gin s to their It ali an Am erican exceptions, th ese pl ay and perfo rm ance genres, so depen­ co unt erparts over the span of half a century. Fo r instance, dent on th e regional cont ext fro m which they emanated, weddings in It aly were celebrated with fa mil y, with the often did not survive intact past the first generati on. most import ant component a dowry large enough to ensure Sometim es a particul ar regional fo rm was adopted. Fo r th at daughters would find a suitabl e spouse. In the United instance, th e tunes that were popul ar Neapolitan so ngs of States, the emphas is shi fted fro m a pro per dowry to staging th e ea rl y twenti eth century became generali zed as It ali an a large impressive wedding. Fa milies spent large sum s music and beca me part of a pan-It ali an identit y in th e of money on celebrati ons, especiall y weddings and fun er­ United States. More co mplicated changes also occurred als, whi ch became occasions for competiti ve di spl ay . The as when old fo rm s were give n new uses an d meanings; more impressive the celeb rati on staged, the hi gher the or sometimes element s fro m different cu ltures were co m­ ad miratio n bestowed on th e fa mily by the rest of th e bi ned .:l'J community. [f th e celebrati on was not up to th e accepted For instance, alm ost every vill age in It aly had a pre­ standard , criti cism could be directed at th e family fo r th ei r do minantl y brass or woodwi nd ba nd that pa raded in re­ social and moral e ~ro r and gossiped about fo r years to li gious fes ti va ls and traveled to oth er town s to pl ay. It ali an co me. 41 immi grants orga nized tow n band s in Penn sy lva ni a th at [n all areas of life, both private and public, fro m the pl ayed in pa rades, fesle, fun erals, and oth er occasions. everyday to the ritual and fes ti ve, to th e organizati onal Du rin g the Worl d War II era, many of th e ethnic town networks they fo rm ed or joined, th e immigrants confro nted ba nds di sappeared. Six It alia n ba nds still perfo rm (o ut of choices in how they would live in their newly adopted 35 tha t once existed) in Beaver and Lawrence Count ies country. Although the immigrants intended to maintain of Western Pennsylva ni a. They might incorporate in stru ­ the cultural and social ideals of the Old World , and th ey ments tha t we re never pa rt of bands in Italy and pl aya drew upon these ideal s to provide answers in new situ­ repertoi re that incl udes mu sic wi dely divergent fro m th e' ati ons, in practice they could not always follow them.42 tradi tional ancestral marches and fo lk tunes.40 The dil emma fo r immigrants was finding a comfo rtable Many It alians played musical instruments, so neighbo rs zone of adjustment in their new life in the United States. and friends also often for med small string ba nds. Fa milies They faced choosing among new cultural valu es and the regula rl y hired th ese informall y orga ni zed groups fo r a Italian va lu es th ey did not wi sh to lose. small fee to play at social events, especially baptisms, Emigrati on started a process of social and cultural change wedd in gs, and serenades fo r a fiancee. Some serenading that began with the immigrant generation and result ed in

14 a uniquely Itali an American one. Thus, although Itali an sociali zed- in sum, where they li ved their li ves. When values continued to be import ant , new economi c oppor­ peopl e talked about their past, memori es were associated tuniti es in the United States contribut ed to creating uniquely w ith specific places. W hen thought of in this way, the Italian Ameri can fa milies and communi ties.43 The immi­ concept of community becomes a dynamic ongoing con­ grants changed their ways of doi ng thi ngs in the private structi on fo rmed by the activities that bound people to­ arenas of life-beli ef systems, fa mi ly and social interac­ gether and groun ded in the spaces in w hich these activities tio n, ways of celebrating, use of space, cui sin e-in th e were conducted.45 course of adj usting to the challenges of the Ameri can worl d ORGANIZATIONAL AND IN STITUTIONAL and workplace they had ent ered. Change was neither steady nor predictable, and fa mili es varied in the ways they NETWORKS responded to American society. Individual choice also By th e turn of the century, the expanding It ali an popu ­ pl ayed a ro le in how peopl e changed, but options were lati ons had develo ped new economi c, social, and reli gious constrained by factors of gender, class, and age. The requirement s. Since the institutions of th e dominant society immigrants could conveni entl y resort to the social behavi or did not always fit th e immigrants' needs, nor were they and ideals of th e world they left when it suited th eir needs, always welcoming, It alians formed th eir own. The mutual or they could merely say they were doing so while actu all y aid societi es were established by Itali ans to help one anoth er; doing something else. At other times, they could invoke others, like small businesses, not onl y served Italians but American cultural values or combine them with Italian ones reached o ut to a wider client ele. to reimagine a way of life that bett er suited th eir new The social and economic sub-culture was not an im­ environment. The immigrants themselves may not have permeabl e one in which It ali ans only interacted with It al­ been in great conflict over these choices because they were ians. In fact, some Italians purposely nurtured ties with adults constructing a new world as th ey went along. Their non-Itali ans. Those who came from the middle class in children, however, sometimes had a more difficult time Italy , or who were bett er educated or more Americanized adjusting. They often felt caught between th e good Itali ans than the majority of working-class Italians, often acted as their parents wanted them to be and the Americans th ey middlemen or "ethnic brokers" between Italians and th e wanted to become. dominant society.46 Those who emerged as leaders in the ethnic community became spokespersons for the rest who ITALIAN NETWORKS AND THE CONCEPT had no public voice. OF COMMUNITY The social and economi c map of th e It ali an "commu­ niti es" changed in response to the local, regional, and Ethnic communities never fit the romanti c portrayals of nati onal cont ext during th e first fifty years of It ali an th e " littl e Italies," oft en written abo ut so sentiment all y. settl ement. The changes were not always smooth , since Immigrants could not have produced carbon copi es of th eir change oft en involved a redi stribution of power, which previous li ves even if they had wanted to. The migratory induced tension and contlict. process was extremely di srupti ve to peopl e's li ves. New The Cath oli c Church w as the most powerful and crucial settlement patterns and economic roles in Ameri ca did not institution with w hi ch th e immigrant came into cont act in allow the formati on of a mirror image of household ar­ terms of th eir everyday li ves. Most Itali an immigrant s were rangements and social structures as th ey had exi sted in Roman Catholic, but American Church offi cials criticized Italy. All immigrants changed when th ey came to th e their demonstrative reli giosit y as virtual pagani sm. Their United States, reconstructing th eir id entity based on th e spirituality was a beli ef system fu sing offi cial doctrine with new circumstances and people they encountered. Social other supernatural beli efs and magical ritu al. The magical networks were constantly shifting over time as peopl e beli efs, behaviors, and sacred objects used by Itali ans moved to another location, join ed different social organi­ provi ded a method fo r negoti ating li fe cri ses. Folk reli gion zations, aged, and shifted alli ances. The organizati onal expl ain ed and gave meaning to an unpredictable world. aspects of community----ethnic busin esses, social organiza­ Their devoti o n was firml y rooted in their villages and ti ons, and churches-also shi fted . Bus in esses closed and region of origin, in the saints and holy places connected new ones opened; social and fratern al organi zations were to these sites.47 fo rmed and reformed. The internal reorganization of Although Italian Protestant congregatio ns existed in both instituti ons and communities was primaril y in response to Italy and the United States, Protestant missionary work was the rapid changes in the A meri can economy th at redistrib­ relatively unsuccessful in converting large numbers of uted occupatio nal opportunities and job availability.44 Italians. Their relationship to folk religio n and th eir di strust In dividuals I interviewed descri bed "community" based of the institutional church explains why more Itali ans were on their own social network of those with whom they not attracted to Protestantism.48 regularl y interacted, usuall y people of their own social When the eastern and southern Euro pean Catho li c class. "Commun ity" was tied in a materi al sense to the immigrants arrived in the United States at the end of th e spaces occupied by homes, workplaces, organizati ons, nineteenth century, they enco untered an intolerant Irish churches, and the businesses where Italians met peopl e, Catholic hi erarchy that did not understand them or their

15 N ucleus of congregation of future Italian Meth odist (seventh from left), Anthony Romano (tenth from left). Episcopal Church of our Savior standing ill front of Hope Mary Romano, daughter of Anthony, is seated in the front Rescue Mission, 228 Wood Street, Reading, Pa. , site of row (eighth from left). Others unidentified. (Co urtesy of group's first meetings, c. 1906. Two of th e church's John Romano) founders stand ill the front row of men: Frank S. Barsolli needs. The Church instituted nationality pari shes, hoping although every one attended baptisms, weddings, fun erals, to avert a resurgence of anti-Catholic sentiment in th e and th e vill age saints' festivals. Italians thought of them­ United States, and as a gesture of accommodati on to th e selves as Catholics; at th e same time, they did not vi ew new immigrants, who neither felt comfortable with th e regul ar church attendance as a requirement for bein g a rigid authoritarianism of Irish Catholici sm nor welcome in good and fa ithful person.51 parishes where Engli sh speakers predominated.49 St. Mary The immigrants' experience in the United States did not Magdalene de Pazzi, in South Philadelphia, was th e first change their attitudes. Underlying th e dissati sfacti on with It alian nati onal parish in the United St ates, established in particul ar pri ests in America was anger with an Am erican 1853 by Bi shop John Neumann .50 Church insensitive to their culture and religious worldview. In general, It ali ans were suspi cious of the institutional In spite of th eir resentment toward the American cl ergy, Chu rc h, as they were of all institutions. Although so me most Itali ans did not abandon the Catholic Church entirely, better-edu cated Itali ans were ant i-cl eri cal on political because their religious beli efs were integral to th eir fa mil y­ groun ds, most were so fro m experi ence. In It aly, th e Church centered lives.52 allied itself with th e land ed ari stocracy and remained The imm igrants continued their devoti on to the same unresponsive to th e pli ght of th e peasa nts. Many peasant s, sai nts in the United States by recreating th e religious feste parti cul arl y th e men, did not attend church reg ul arl y, of their villages. The Iri sh found th e demonstrative public

In the religious festa as celebrated by th e immigrants, pinning donations Oil banners attached to th eir patron saint was done as a sigll of homage. Devoid of (h e traditional cOl/text of the religious procession, th e ritual is incorporated into the annual Italian Heritage Festi val held near Reading, Pa., August, 1991. (Photograph by th e author)

16 behavior ex hibited during the religious feste, the biggest celebrati on of th e year fo r th e immigrants, particularly problematic. The American Church decided to tolerate feste if they succeeded in drawing the It al ians into church and if they co uld be contro ll ed by bringing th em und er the jurisdiction of th e clergy.53 Often a tug-of-war ensued between the lay committees who organized the feste and the Catholic clergy who wanted ultimate control. [n Italian parishes throughout the United States, including Pennsyl­ vania, the annual festa became the galvanizing force that drew people and linked them emotionall y with thei r parish even when they were at odds with the clergy. A traditional festa tradition was more likely to be transferred from It aly if large numbers of peopl e from the same village emi grated to the sa me town in Pennsylvani a. For instance, th e small Home altar display of second generation Italian town of Roseto, in Northampton Co unty, was founded by American, Angie Varone Ricciardi, Lancaster, Pa., 1991. villagers from Roseto Valfortore, in Apulia. They sti ll (Photograph by the author) celebrate the Festa del Carmine, in honor of th eir patron saint in Italy, Our Lady of Mt. Ca rm el, although older not believe in the evil eye, but said it also did not hurt resid ents complain that th e celebrati on is not the communal to take precautions. one it once was. 54 One co uld easi ly make generalities about so uthern It al­ The immigrants also maintained personal devoti ons to ian folk beliefs, but social and economic factors influenced their favorite saints to whom specific kinds of veneration how much import ance individuals ascribed to magico­ were promised for favo rs granted in tim es of crises. reli gious beliefs. Peo ple who had more formal schoo ling, Immigrants created iconographic di splays or "home altars" and th erefo re had been influenced by a scientific perspec­ consisting of an arrangement of the Holy Family with other tive, were less likely to hold such beliefs. saints who were thought to be in consanguineous (blood) From th e 1920s on, the Church's efforts to Americanize relationship with the Holy Family or with one another, thus Italian Catholi cs began to have some effect, especia ll y with personalizing th e supern at ural fig ures . Although less th e second generati on. By the 1940s, extern al factors commonly found today, th ese sacred spaces in the home worked in the Church's favor; the second generati on's as well as th e display of rel igious pictures on interior walls search for an American identity coi ncided with th e cohe­ were popular forms of lay devotion. They are pri vate sive effects of World War 1l in creating a real sense of attestations to the power of fa mili al relationship, the central being an American. The result was a feeling among importance of the mother, and ultimately the centrality of It ali ans that they had more commonalities than differences the family to It alian life.55 with other American Catholics. 57 Even so, nati onal es­ Magic, witchcraft, fort un etelling, and divining were other timates found th at, after fifty years of missionary work by common featu res of It ali an fo lk bel ief. A belief in the both Cath olics and Protestants, the majo rit y of It alian malocchio or (evil eye) was th e most prevalent. The ev il immigrants were only nominally tied to the Catholic Church eye cast a magical spell inflicting physical or oth er kinds or had no church with which they were affiliated.S!! of harm on a victim through the power of envy and could While the churches tried to mold the Italians, secular be given willingly or unwittingly. Vulnerab le stages in li fe, institutions also took a keen interest in the immigrants' such as pregnancy, infancy, childhood, and death , made welfare. Beginning around the turn of the twentieth cen­ people particularly susceptibl e to the ev il eye. One could tury, and rising to a crescendo in the post-World War I be exposed to the evi l eye at any time without knowi ng period, private and public agencies proliferated to aid and it, so people take steps to protect themselves from it by Americanize new immigrants. Some of these groups, repeating certain phrases, usi ng certain signs, and both especially patriotic societies like the Daughters of tbe di splaying in th ei r homes and wearing protective natural­ American Revolution, operated out of fear of the immi­ istic amulets, one of the best kn own being a beast's horns. 56 grants, establishing agendas of forced assimilation. Other In any It alian community, somebody knew the "oil and groups, like the International Institute, a branch organiza­ water" test to determine if the evil eye had been given, tion of the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), and knew th e charms and prayers to remove it. Charles adopted a gentler program of acculturation based on tol­ Carabello remembered that neighbors came to hi s mother, erance.59 Before World War I, Americanization had focused Maria, who also practiced midwifery, to rem ove the primarily on indoctrinating immigrants to become law­ malocchio: "I remember we all wore th em [horns] as kids. abiding citizens. After the War, the by-word for Ameri­ That was supposed to keep the ev il from yo u. The ones canization was "loyalty," which was really a demand for they wore were made of coral or gold." Many second cultural conformity. This extended to every detail of life, and third generation Italia ns I interviewed claimed they did including promoting certain vegetables as "American" and

17 Tarantella Dancers, Italian folk dan cing group from th e International In stitute, YWCA, in front of th e old School Administration Buildillg 0 11 Eighth and Washington Streets, Reading, Pa., July, 1925. (Photo courtesy of Maria Prioriello Ballisti; original photograph by Joe Ricciardi)

fraternal associati on qui ckly gained popularity, expanding its membership to eastern Pennsy lv ani a. By ] 934 Readi ng had eleven lSDA lodges, including several women's lodges.65 The social and civic fu ncti ons of the mutu al aid and fraternal societi es, such as part icipati on in parades and American holiday comm emorati ons, became th e most enduring aspects of these organizati ons. Furthermore, the societi es were instrument al in developing a sense of na­ ti onal pride in It aly, something the immigrants had never labeling oth ers "foreign "! Immigrants, including the It al­ fe lt in their homeland . After World War I and Mussolini 's ians, resented th e orga ni zed effo rt s at Americanization and subsequent rise to power, Italian nati onal pride rose to new their respon es ranged from indifference to hostility.60 heights. Fund raising events to send money to support In general, It alians avoided programs th at prom­ the Red Cross or victims of earthquakes in Italy were ised hando uts. They were unfamiliar with and di stru stful common. While mutual aid and fraternal organizations of institutionalized help since it had been un comm on in helped define a separate ethnic consciousness, an Italian It aly. The immedi ate family, rel atives, and the mutu al aid Am erican id entity, th ey simultaneously facilitated Ameri­ ocieti es were expected to help the needy .6l canization by sponsoring such activities as citizenship Similar to the pattern of It ali an communities in other classes. secti ons of the country, mutual aid and fraternal societies Since It alians were often not welcome as members in were the first and most well-orga nized Italian in titutions social organization of the majority population , their own in Pennsy lvani a. Mutual aid societies, founded on the ethnic organizati ons filled the gap. From the earliest years, concept of communal assistance, were of paramount the clubs sponsored at least one annual event for families. importance in ethnic communities during an era when The local lodge meetings and the annual conventions of neither unions nor employers offered any safety net of the nati onal fraternal ord ers became social events in them­ benefits. Small monthly dues paid by members insured selves. Most of all, the local club was a central meeting that societies could make modest payments to families if pl ace for men. In th e sanctioned atmosphere of the club, a spouse became ill , was injured, or died (life in urance men drank together and played card games such as briscola policies were usually under $1,000).62 Perhaps even more or treselle or other Italian games like bocce and morra. important than providing economic assistance, the societies Many of the fraternal societies also sponsored sports teams helped new immigrants adjust to America and also served and this aspect of the clubs was a key to drawing in the as centers of social life. Founders of these societies often second generation as members. included prominenti, middle cl as merchants, artisans, or The frat ernal societies reached their height of member­ professionals. Serving as an officer in a society became ship and power during the 1930s and 1940s, in part because a way to achi eve or heighten status in the Italian com­ the sources of income were expanded far beyond mem­ munity.63 bership dues. They added social activities such as dinner­ Societies were often short-lived becau e of an inad­ dances, incorporated bars and dance bands, and offered equ ate number of members and poor management of funds. 64 social memberships to anyone who paid the nominal fee. In ord er to achieve more stability, small local mutual aid The concept of the women 's auxiliary came into its own societie often merged with the larger and expanding nat'ional in the national fraternal orders. Although women's aux­ fraternal orders. In Reading, for example, the once in­ iliaries had existed in the mutual aid societies, they had depe nd ent San Donato Society di Auletta joined the Order never before occupied such a visible and active role. Italian Son and Daughters of America, becoming a lodge In addition to the fraternal organizations and social of the national association. clubs, by the mid-1920s, Italians formed political clubs. As local and national fraternal organizations tried to Rather than entirely a local initiative, these associations build membership, destructive competition among leaders were part of the political parties efforts to organize Italian wa not uncommon. Strife within the leadership ranks of nationwide.66 Local political candidates and officeholders the Order Sons of Italy in Pennsylvania resulted in a break had long recognized the potential of the Italian vote and by some members to found the Order Italian Sons and had courted it by speaking at and attending Italian functions Daughters of America (ISDA) in Pittsburgh in 1930. This whenever expedient for them.

18 --

th ro ughout the Unit ed States beli eved Mu ssolini was trans­ fo rming It aly into a great nati on. Fascism painted a picture of a vit al, strong It ali an "nati on," not the fac ti onali zed It aly th e imm igrants had left behind. Mu ssolini 's March on Rome in 1922 was co nve ni ent timing, all owing Fascism to latch onto th e surge in nati onali sti c sentiment th at It ali an Ameri cans fe lt during World War I. Fo r Itali an Am ericans, COMITATO CENTRALE AMICI O"ITAUA who often fe lt discriminated aga inst and di spl aced in th e United States, embracing this imagin ed Itali an homeland was appealing.69 Whether ind ividuals truly adopted the Fascist id eology or merely sympathized with its goals, Fascist pro paga nd a became the instrument that unit ed the It ali an di aspora in spirit and at times in acti on with the It ali an homeland . Fascism bro ught It alian Ameri cans togeth er under a ba nn er

Certificates of good service, such as this one given 10 of pan-Itali an ethnic unit y. If It ali an Am eri cans were voca l Giuseppe R. Battisti, were conferred to Italian in their support fo r Mu ssolini, th ey were onl y in step with Americans by th e Central Committee of Ihe Friends of Ameri can public and Unit ed St ates' governm ent al senti ­ Italy for work during Italy's Ethiopian campaign, 1936. ments.70 (Courtesy of Norm a Battisti Staron) Before the Axis attack on France in June 1940, many It ali an Am eri cans were un equivocal in th eir support for THE DECADES BETWEEN THE WARS AND Mussolini . From th at point on, culminating with the U. WORLD WAR II S. decl arati on of war in December 1941 , It ali an Am eri cans, The social cli mate in the Itali an communities in th e spearh eaded by their ethn ic leaders and the press, rejected decades prior to World War II was a key element in the Mu ssolini and declared loyalt y to th e Unit ed States and emergence and developme nt of an Itali an Am eri can ethni c democracy.7 1 It ali ans never wavered in uniting with oth er identity. After World War I, It alia ns in th e United States Am eri cans in the war effo rt. Perh aps because of th eir ex panded th eir co ncept of co mmunity and their ethn ic virtual imm edi ate rejecti on of Mu ssolini at the cru cial ide(1tit y fro m a local to a nat ional and even int ern ati onal moment, suspicion of Itali an Am eri cans was not wide­ focus. This reori entati on was du e to a constell ati on of spread and instead Am ericans expressed sympath y fo r th e successive fa ctors including post-World War I anti -i mmi­ pli ght of th e Itali an peopl e during th e wa r. 72 grant sentiment with forced Ameri canizati on as its theme, The first yea rs of It alia n settl ement in Pennsy lva nia the economi c depression, invo lvement in labor orga ni za­ were fo rmati ve ones. Initi all y, it was a tim e wh en the ti on, New Deal politics, the confli ct between Fascist and immigrants arri ved unsure of th eir pl ace in Ameri ca n society, ant i-Fascist facti ons, and fi nall y World War II . It ali ans, slowly putting down roots as individ uals, fa mili e , and fee ling isolated and di scriminated against in the United paesani. They created larger social and economic net­ States, turned their sights out wa rd to their Itali an homeland works, start ed busin esses, fo rm ed local orga ni za ti ons, and the new Fascist Italy. Mussolini's propaganda cam­ engaged in civic acti viti es, and reached out to th e larger paign capitalized on this vulnerability, pro motin g the id ea society, hes itantl y at first but with more ass urance as th ey of an internati onal colony of united Italians who coul d all developed a sense of their pl ace in American society. take pride in and work fo r a new Italy. From 1922 to The large numbers of It ali ans in the Unit ed St ates, th e 1945, soci al and political conditions in the United St ates developm ent of nati onal It ali an orga ni zati onal netwo r.ks, did not all ow Italian Americans to ignore th e issue of th eir and the use of mass medi a helped to transform their self­ Italian ori gins.67 Italian American organizati ons used news­ ident ity as immigrants from individual paesi to a nati onal papers as well as new and expanding medi a such as radio, one as Ameri can ethni cs, as Itali an Americans. In fac t, pho tographs, and film to sell the concept of a local, nati onal, from th e first days of imm igrati on, leaders in It ali an and intern atio nal Italian ethni c identity. Am eri can communities fos tered th e development of an During these years, th e maturing second generati on who ethnic identity di tinct fro m the main tream American had grown up in th e United States, were caught between cultural consensus. One way to do th is wa to stage publ ic two cultu ral ident ities-th ei r Italian ethn icit y and th eir events in corporating symbo li c im agery around whi ch the emergent sense of bei ng an America n. Wh atever th eir diverse It ali an popul atio n coul d id enti fy and rall y togeth er generation, however, Italians could not escape being in­ as a un ified group. CO lumbus, accept ed as a hero by fluenced by the co nt empo rary rh etori c- tha t of a unified Am eri ca ns since the late eight eenth century, is probably Italian ethnic pride. 68 the best exampl e of an im age that wa eized on by It alian From the 1920s, unti l the Un ited States entered Worl d immigrant and soon became adopted as a pan- It alian War II, Mussolini was a popu lar fig ure among It alia ns in American ethni c symbol. Such symbols were pread th rough Pennsylvania and throughout the United States. It alia ns effo rt s of th e ethn ic press and natio nal Italia n American

19 Italians from Reading, Pa., built th is float, (In allegorical representation of Colurnbus's landing, for th e historical and patriotic parade celebrating th e 175 th anniversary of Reading, October 3, 1923. Standing in front offloat, I. to l1li r.: Frank Comito ("Umbrella "), Salvatore (Sam) Granieri, Cosimo Perpetua. Standing on float: far left, Pasquale Spadafora; sixth from left A ntonio Caggiano; fifth from right, Joe Marasco; all oth ers unidentified. (Courtesy of Maria Prioriello Battisti)

orga nizati ons like th e Sons of Italy in an effort to coun­ As a result of renewed interest in ethnic identity, old teract th e negative stereotypes of It al ians so prevalent fraternal societies sometimes gain a second life or new during th e immigration period. In th e late nineteenth century, organizations with names like "Italian Heritage Associa­ It al ian leaders in New York and Phil adelphia began pro­ ti on" are formed . Ethnic festivals, reunions, and revivals moting Col umbu s as th e perfect sy mbol to represent It al­ of public events long abandoned become occasions to ians in th e Uni ted States. As ea rl y as 1882, It ali an American celebrate heritage and to share and display publicly ex­ orga ni za ti ons invited to march in th e parade to celebrate pressions of ethnicity. In Reading, present and former William Penn's arriv al in Philadelphi a ca rri ed a fl oat with residents of North Eighth Street hold an annual "North a representatio n of Col umbus. 73 Co lumbus Day Parades Eighth Street Gang" reunion picnic. Sometimes old cel­ soon became public ritu als (meaning that they were re­ ebrations are rejuvenated by incorporating newer immi­ pea ted yea r after year) for ft ali an Americans in commu­ grant groups into the events (and sometimes give occasion niti es across th e United States. Onl y a few decades after for public competition and even conflict among the groups). It ali ans settled here, certain images such as Co lumbus had In Conshohocken, just west of Philadelphia, the festa of become pan-It ali an Am eri ca n sy mbols both used by It al ­ Saints Cosmas and Damian still attracts the large crowds ians to express th eir ethnic id entit y and accepted by th e of previous decades. Since the mid-1980s, Haitians who majority population as what constituted being It ali an have a particular devotion to the two saints, have become American. integral to the event. Although the Italians and Haitians THE POST WAR ERA TO THE PRESENT

After the war, th e beginnings of a sca ling down of heavy industry, th e trend of an exod us from city and town to suburb, the desi re of ad ult second generation children to blend with mainst rea m America, and th e aging of th e immigrant ge nerati on, contributed to a general decline of old et hni c neighborhood . These factors did not ignal an end to eth ni c identit y. As th e second generati on aged th ey often became nostalgic for th e sense of belonging - how­ ever stitling it fe lt when th ey were yo ung - that th ey once had in It al ian fami ly systems and close-knit neighborh oo ds. [n part in an effort to recreate what th ey had lost, they beca me int erested in their own ethnic heritage. They were Sweatshirt and hat, contemporary expressiolls of Italian also buoyed by th eir third generati on children who em­ American ethnic pride, on sale at th e Italiall Heritage braced the label of Italian American, never having felt the Festival held near Reading, Pa., August, 1991. need to rebel against it. (Photograph by the author)

20 do not intermingle, no resentment is apparent and parish­ vania: A Transplanted Tradition," Pennsylvania Folklife 19:1(1969): 14- 22; Clement Valletta, " Itali an Immigrant Li fe in Northampton County, ioners wholeheartedly acknowledge the Haitians' devo­ Pennsylva nia , 1890-1915," Pennsylvania Folklife 15: 1(1965):39-48; -. tion.74 A SlUdy of Americanization in Ca rn eta: Italian-American Idellllly through Italians continued to settle in the United States after Three Generations (New York: Arno Press, 1975); Richard A. Varbero, "Philadelphia's South Italians in the 1920's," in The Peoples of Phila­ World War II, although few in number when compared delphia: A History of Ethnic Groups and Lower Class Life, 1790-1940, with the figures in th e early part of the century. None­ ed. Allen F. Davis and Mark H. Haller, (Philadelphia: Temple Umverslly theless, these immigrants contributed to keeping old It ali an Press, 1973), 255-275. ' Roger D. Abrahams, " Folklore," in Harvard Encyclopedia of Ameri­ neighborhoods like South Philadelphia infused with new can Ethnic Groups, 1980 ed .; Barba ra Kirshenblatt -Gimblett , "Studying blood and alive with language and artistic traditions that Immigrant and Ethnic Folklore," in Handbook of American Folklore, ed. perhaps would have been forgotten. Richa rd M. Dorson (Bl oomington: Indiana Uni versity Press, 1983), 39, 43; Shalom Staub, Yemenis in New York City: The Folklore of Ethnicity The metamo rphosis from immigrant to ethnic American (Philadelphia: Balch Institute Press, 1989), 31-33, 41 -42; Judith Goode, was a long process. The peak of white ethnic pride in Janet Theophano, and Karen Curtis, "A Framework for the Analysis of the 1960s and 1970s had a history behind it. The public Continuity and Change in Shared Sociocultural Rules for Food Use: The Italian-Ameri ca n Pattern," in Ethnic and Regional Foodways in th e United and private expressions of Italian ethnicity as they exist States, ed. Linda Keller Brown and Kay Mussell (Knoxville: Uni versi ty today, began with the immigrants' roots in Italy and the of Tennessee Press, 1984), 74-75. communities they created after their arrival in the United ' Abrahams, 377-378. ' Martin Clark, Modem Italy, 1871-1982 (London: Longman, 1984), 12. States. ' Ibid ., 1-2; Eric Wolf, Europe and the People Without History, (Berkele y: Universi ty of Ca li fo rn ia Press, 1982), 371. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .Clark, 32-33; Donna R. Gabaccia, Militants and Migrants: Rural This article is drawn from the author's doctoral dissertation " Private Sicilians Become American Workers (New Brunswick: NJ : Rutgers Lives, Public Identities: The It alians of Reading and Berk; County, University Press, 1988), 20-25. 7Humbert S. Nelli, " Itali ans," in Harva rd Encyclopedia of American Pennsylvania, 1890-1940," currently in progress at the Department of Ethnic Groups. 1980 ed.; Nelli, From Immigrallls to Ethnics: Th e Italian Folklore and FolkJife at the University of Pennsylvania. The au thor wishes Americans (Oxford: Oxford Universi ty Press, 1983), 19, 33, 42-43; Clark, to thank Dr. Richard N. Juliani of Villanova University and her disser­ 166; Glenn C. Altschuler, Ethnicity, Race, and Class in American Social tation advisor, Dr. Robert St. George of the University of Pennsylvania, Th qught 1865-1 919 (Arlington Heights, Illinois: Harl an Davidson, Inc., for their careful reading of this manuscript. 1982), 70. ENDNOTES ' Clark, 1-2; Eric R. Wolf in the preface to Europe and th e People IAlI interview quotations or specific information about individuals in Without History. (Berkeley: University of Cal ifornia Press, 1982), x, uses Reading, Pennsylvania, included in this article are taken from oral in­ the phrase "the people wi thout history" in reference to the common terviews conducted by Joa n Saverino as project director of the Italian people-peasants, laborers, immigrants, minori ties-who were "as much American Ethnohistory Project (1990-1993), fu nded by the Pennsylvania agent s in the historical process as they were its victims and s il ent Depart ment of Community Affairs and the Histori ca l and Museums witnesses." It is used here in a different sense, to indica te It alians who Commission of Pennsylvania. The tape-record ed interviews and ot her were cut off from their historical past through the process of emigration. primary resea rch material from this project are housed in the library at ' Ibid., 41; See Table I, Lu ciano J. lori zzo and Salvatore Mondello, the Historical Society of Berks County in Reading. For direct quotations The Italian -A mericans (N Y: Twayne Pu bl ishers, Inc., 1971). the following transcription conventions are used : three consecuti ve periods IOGolab, 34; Nelli, "Italians". indicate a deletion, an italicized word indicates emphasis by speaker, and " Golab, 3-5. brackets indicate word(s) inserted by author. " Golab, 35, 58-59; Joseph Lopreato, Italian Americans (NY: Random For a comprehensive bibliography on It alian American folk lore in House, 1970), 93-95; Gabaccia, Militants alld Migrants, 114-15. Pennsylvania and in the United States, see Luisa Del Giudice, ed., SlUdies " Richard Juliani, "The Origin and Development of the Italian Com­ in Italian American Folklore (Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, munity in Philadelphia," in TI,e Ethnic Experience in Philadelphia, ed. 1993). A highly readable source on Italian American folklore and fo lklife John E. Bodnar (Lewisburg: Bucknell Universi ty Press, 1973), 244; in the United States that includes examples from Pennsylvania, is Frances Golab, 60; Raymond L. Ford, "Germans and Other Foreign Stock: Their M. Malpezzi and William M. Clements, Italian-American Folklore (Littl e Part in the Evolution of Reading, Pennsylvania," (Ph.D. diss., Universi ty Rock, AR: August House Publishers, 1992). Below is a list of suggested of Pennsylvania, 1963), 145. sources for readers interested in learning more about the It alian experi ence "Golab, 40-41 , 59-61. in Pennsylvania. Carla Bianco, Th e Two Rosetos (Bl oomingto n: Indiana " Donna R. Gabaccia, From Sicily to Elizabeth Street: Housing and University Press, 1974); John Bodnar, Roger Simon, and Mi cha el P. Social Change Among Italian Imllligrams, 1880-1930 (Al bany: State Weber, Lives of Their Own: Blacks, Italians, and Poles in Pillsburgh, Universit y of New York Press, 1984), 62. 1900-1960 (Urbana : University of Illinois Press, 1982); Caroline Golab, I· Ibid., 64. Immigrant DestinatiollS (Philadelphia: Temple Universi ty Press, 1977); I7 Mary Giarrtano Mistretta, personal communicatio n, 27-28 June, 1995. Richard Juliani, Th e Social Organization of Immigration (New York: " Bod nar, Lives of Th eir Own, 6, 114. Arno Press, 1980); Elizabeth Mathias, "The Game as Creator of the Group "Since Mussolini's era, the region was divided into two separate in an Italian-American Community," Pennsylvania Folklife 23 :4( 1974):22- states, Abruzzi and Molise. Juliani, Social Organization, 178. 30; --, "The It alia n-American Funeral: Persistence Through Change," "'James T . Lemon, Th e Best Poor Man 's Country: A Geographical Western Folklore 33:1(1974):35-50; Dorothy Noyes, "From the Paese to Study of Early Southeastern Pennsylvania (Ba ltimore: Johns Hopkins the Patria : An Itali an American Pilgrimage to Rome in 1929," in Studies University Press, 1972), 133; Ford , 130. in Italian American Folklore, cd. Luisa Del Giudice (Logan, Utah: Uta h "Ford , 129-130, 172- 174,201; U.S. Census, Population Statistics, 1930. State University Press, 1993), 127-152; --, Uses of Tradition: Arts 22John E. Bodnar, The Transplanted: A History of Immigrants in of Italian Americans in Philadelphia (Philadelphia: Samuel S. Fleisher Urban America (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1985), 57, 68. Art Memorial and Philadelphia Folklore Project, 1989); Emma S. Rocco, 23 Virginia Yans-McLaughlin, Family and Community: Italianlnmligranl!, "A History of Italian-America n Bands in Western Pennsylva nia," Journal in Buffalo, 1880- / 930 (Urbana: University of Ulinois Press, 1982), 59. of Band Research 26:1(1990):59-81; Joan Saverino, "The Italians of 24 According to Pasquale Spadafora, the mansion, built by a retired Reading: Forging an Identity in the 1920s," Historical Review of Berks engineer named Smith, was turned into rental fl ats for Italian immigrants County 56(Fall 1991):172- 197; Janet Theophano, " I Gave Him a Cake': when Smith became disenchanted after the Pennsylvania railroad built An Interpretation of Two Itali an-America n Weddings," in Creative a tra ck between the mansion and the river. An Edwin S. Smith, listed Ethnicity: Symbols and Strategies of COl/temporary Ethnic Life, cd. Stephen as an engineer in the city directory of 1885, is probably the engineer Stern and John Allan Cicala (Logan: Utah State University Press, 1991), who built the mansion. 44-54; "Mildred Urick, "The San Rocco Festival at Aliquippa, Pennsyl- 2S Bodnar, The Transplanted, 178-79.

21 "'Gabaccia, Sicily to Elizabeth Street, 93-94, discusses the sporadic " Bianco, 84-90; Int roducti on in Orsi, Madonna; Orsi, "The Center nature of specific jobs. Out There, In Here, and Everywhere Else: The Nature of Pilgrimage " My discussion of Italian men's work is based on qualitative research to the Shrine of Saint Jude, 1929-1965," Journal of Social History (primarily personal interviews) and some secondary source material. 25(1991):216; Rudolph J. Vecoli, "Prelates and Peasants: Italian Immi ­ Quantitative research still needs to be conducted to determine exact work grants and the Catholic ChurCh," Journal of Social History 2(1969):228; patterns and percentages in specific industries. Vecoli, "Cu lt and Occult in Italian-American Culture: The Persistance 18 My assessment of the work patterns of Italian women in Reading, of a Religi ous Heritage." In Immigrants and Religion in Urban America, like that for men, gathered from qualitative research; detailed quantitative ed. Randall M. Miller and Thomas D. Marzik (Philadelphia: Temple study is called for. University Press, 1977); reprint SI. Paul: Immigration History Research " See Yans-McLaughlin, 173-74, 205, and Gabaccia, Sicily to Eliza­ Center, University of Minnesota, 25-30, (page references are to reprint beth Street, 80-81, for discussion of the commonality of tak ing in boarders edition). and frequency of kin as boarders. "Vecoli, "Prelates and Peasants," 267-68. It should be noted, too, that Charles Carabello also remembered that '9James S. Olson, Catholic Immigrallls in America (Chicago: Nelson- his mother often stopped at Theresa and Sam Salvatore Granieri's grocery Hall, 1987), 102. store on Penn Street on her way home from work. Teresa gave her soJuliani, Social Organization, 91. blemished fruit which could not be sold for her family's table. s' Vccoli, "Prelates and Peasants," 229, 235-36; Orsi, Madonna, xvi-xvii. )O Yans-McLaughlin, 164-67; Gabaccia, Sicily to Elizabeth Street, 91-95. s20 rs i, Madonna, 220. " Orsi, The Madonna of 115th Street: Faith and Community in Italian s3 Ibid. , 55. Harlem, 1880-1950 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1985), 173. s'Bianco, 120; Angie Silvestro, personal communication. 32Gabaccia, Sicily to Elizabeth Street, 102. sSJoscph Sciorra, "Yard Shrines and Sidewalk Altars of New York's " The issue of whether regional dialects are true languages is con­ Italian-Americans," in Perspectives in Vernacular Architecture, vol. III, troversial. Regarding Sicilian, for instance, Olga M. Ragus, chair of the ed. Thomas Carter and Bernard L. Herman (Columbia: University of Italian department at Columbia University said, "Sicilian can be con­ Missouri Press, 1989), 185-198. sidered a language in that it has a distinct structure and a written literature, S6Bianco, 84, 94-95; Phyllis Williams, South Italian Folkways in which goes back to the 13th century and continues to be produced. On Europe and America (New Haven, Cf: Yale University Press, 1938), the other hand, it can be considered a dialect together with the many 142-43. The word for evil eye varies according to the regional dialecl. other varieties of spoken Italian in existence." Marvine Howe, "Poets' s'Orsi, "Center Out There," 218. Group Preserves Link To Sicily," New York Times, 30 Nov 1984, sec. SIl Vecoli, "Prelates and Peasants," 268. B, p. 2(F). Anna Laura Lepschy and Giulio Lepschy, The Italian Lan­ s9John Higham, Strangers in the Land: Pallerns of American Nativism, guage Today (London: Hutchinson & Co., 1977) is a good resource in 1860-1925. 2nd ed. (New Brunswick, NJ: Rut gers University Press, English for an historical overview of the language, the present linguistic 1988), 212-13, 235-37. situation, and a discussion of the dialects. "'John F. McClymer, "Gender and the 'American Way of Life ': Women " Bi anco, 70-74; Malpezzi and Clements, 45. in the Americanization Movement ," Journal of American Ethnic History 3s Don Yoder, "Folk Medicine," in Folklore and Folklife: An Intro­ IO(Spring, 1991):3-7, 11-12. duction, ed. Richard M. Dorson (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 6' StYans-McLaughlin, 133-36. 1972), 202-203. 62Jo hn Bodnar, "Ethnic Fraternal Benefit Associations: Their Histori­ 36The Italian emphasis on fresh ingredients and organization of garden cal Development, Character and Significance," in Records of Ethnic space is noted in Richard Raspa, "Exotic Foods Among Italian-Americans Fraternal Benefit Associations in the United States: Essays and Inven­ in Mormon Utah," in Ethnic and Regional Foodways in the United States, tories, ed. Susan H. Shreve and Rudolph J. Vecoli (SI. Paul : Immigration ed. Linda Keller Brown and Kay Mussell (Knoxville: University of History Research Center, University of Minnesota, 1981), 7. Tennessee Press, 1984), 189, and in Philip F. Notarianni, "Places of 63Bodnar, "Ethnic Fraternal Benefit Associations," 7 and Bodnar, The Origin: Calabresi in Carbon County, Utah," in Old Ties, New Allach­ Transplanted, 124-25 discusses the role of the prominenti in the societies. ments: Italian-American Folklife in the West, ed. David A. Taylor and "'Humbert S. Nelli, Italians in Chicago, 1880-1930: A Study in Ethnic John Alexander Williams (Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 1992), Mobility (New York: Oxford University Press, 1970), 173. 71-74. Raspa also discusses the transformation of the landscape by ·'Bodnar, Transplallled, 125; "The Birth of the Order," Order Italian Italians in rural Utah into familiar peasa nt farmsteads in "The Italian Sons & Daughters of America, 1964. Community of Helper, Utah: Its Historic and Folkloric Past and Present," "For more information, see Philip Cannistraro, "Generoso Pope and in The Family and Community Life of Italian Americans: Proceedings the Rise of Italian-American Politics, 1925-1936," in Italian-Americans: of the Thirteenth Annual Conference of the Italian American Historical New Perspectives in Italian Immigration and Ethnicity, ed. Lydio F. Association held in Chicago, Illinois, October 24 and 25, 1980, ed Tomasi (New York : Center for Migration Studies, 1985), 264-88. Richard N. Juliani (Staten Island, NY: American Italian Historical 6'Philip Cannistraro, "Fascism and Italian Americans," in Perspec­ Association, 1983), 23-34. tives in Italian Immigration and Ethnicity: Proceedings of the Symposium 37 Malpezzi and Clements, 235. Translation of proverbs: A day without Held at Casa Italiana, Columbia University, May 21-23, 1976, ed. wine is like a day without the sun; water makes one ill, wine makes Silvano M. Tomasi (New York: Center for Migration Studies, 1977),52. one sing. For the Italian, the correct grammar should read "Acqua fa "Orsi, "Center Out There," 218. male, il vino fa cantare." ""The concept that nations are "constructed" and "imaginary" rather 38Mat hias, "Funeral," 35, makes this point about Italian funerals in than natural outgrowths of historical processes has been discussed by South Philadelphia. Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin 39 Malpezzi and Clements, 218; Abrahams, 374. and Spread of Nationalism (New York: Verso, 1983). "'Rocco, 59, 65, 81. 7OGaetano Salvemini, Italian Fascist Activities in the United States, "Mathias, "Funeral," 40, makes this point about Italian funerals in ed. and introduction by Philip V. Cannistraro (New York: Center for South Philadelphia, but from my research in Berks County I have found Migration Studies, 1977), 167-68. that it also applied to other significant celebrations, especially weddings. " On Italian American reaction once the United States declared war, '2Gabaccia, Sicily To Elizabeth Street, 10, 51-52. see John P. Diggins, Mussolini and Fascism: The View From America '3Ibid., 100. I have drawn on Gabaccia's interpretation of Sicilian (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1972), 349-50; Cannistraro family and community life which disagrees with some authors who argue in Salvemini, Italian Fa scist Activities, xxxvi . that while socially immigrants became Americans, culturally they re­ 72Diggins, 351. mained the Italians they had been before emigration. 73John Noble Wilford, The Mysterious History of Columbus: An "Micaela di Leonardo, The Varieties of Ethnic Experience: Kinship, Exploration oj the Man, the Myth, the Legacy (New York: Alfred A. Class, and Gender Among California Italian-Americans (Ithaca, NY: Knopf, 1991), 247-265; Claudia L. Bushman, America Discovers Co­ Cornell University Press, 1984), 134-35. lumbus: How an Italian Explorer Became an American Hero (Hanover, 'SMy interpretation here is informed by Henry Glassie's discussion NH: University Press of New England, 1992), 22, 81; David Glassberg, of community in Passing the Time in Ballymenone: CullUre and History American Historical Pageantry: The Uses of Tradition in the Early of an Ulster Community (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, Twentieth Century (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1982), 11 -34. 1990), 22-23. J6di Leonardo, 156. "Noyes, Uses of Tradition, 56-57.

22 A STUDY OF THE SAN CATALDESI WHO EMIGRATED TO DUNMORE, PENNSYLVANIA by Joseph Bentivegna

Gaetano and Mary Giorgio Cali were part of the initial wave of immigrants who came to Dunmore from San Cataldo in the early 1900s. Their descendants are promine/lt members of the community today. (Courtesy of Sam Cali)

Dunmore, a town located in Lackawanna County, Italian language and which means "the people from San Pennsylvania, shares a large part of its geographic border Cataldo." It is a work prompted by the writer's intent to with Scranton, the county seat. In the period between 1890 contribute to the documentation of the experiences of one and 1910, United States Census figures show that Dunmore group of Italian immigrants, within which are his parents, experienced a substantial increase in population, with 8,315 relatives, and boyhood friends. Their experiences may be residents at the beginning of the last decade of the 19th viewed as a microcosm of the full and rich Italian American century and 17,615, in 1910.1 This increase was due mostly experience which is only now receiving its due recognition to an influx of immigrants seeking work in the coal mines. by writers, scholars, and young ethnics. In the years between 1900 and 1920, more than three Some of the motivation for this study comes too from thousand employees a year were hired to work in Dunmore's the writer's conviction that many Italian Americans believe mines, and many were from San Cataldo (Sicily), Italy. that their forefathers have not received their due recog­ These immigrants were a unique group of Italians in nition for their productivity, courage, and sacrifices in that they had some mining experience, for by 1900 a large developing the resources of our country; that the role of part of the economy of San Cataldo relied upon deep the immigrants, regardless of national origin, must be mining. (In contrast, Italian immigrants from Calabria, incorporated as an essential part of our nation 's heritage Naples, Abruzzi, Calatri, and Avellino had no contact with and history; that the Italian immigrant was the victim of the mining industry until they came to the United States.) discrimination and injustices both because of his national They were distinguished, too, by the fact that most intended origin and his religious practices; that most ethnic groups to remain permanently in their new country, unlike many did not benefit from adequate educational services de igned of their fellow countrymen who planned to retire in Italy. to preserve and promote their culture and heritage; and that In the following study, these immigrants- and their current efforts of ethnic groups to perpetuate their heritage American descendants--will be referred to as the San should receive strong community support. Cataldesi, a collective noun which comes directly from the

23 military court's execution of Baron Francesco Bentivegna, * * * military leader for the monarchists; 1861, Cavour call ed The Italian immigrant left behind him a neophyte nation first It ali an national parli ament, Victor Emmanuel " pro­ suffering from serious growing pains. Forced to nati onalize claimed king; 1922, Mussolini appointed prime minister under the aegis of Garibaldi, th e country had a tenuous of Italy. political structure resulting from a devastating war, under­ Cicero described Sicilians in a mann er which some find stood by few but pai nful to many. The government and applicable today. "Sicilians are an intelligent people but church competed for a position of supremacy in th e life suspicious; they have a sense of order, frugality, and of the average citizen. Violence, disorder, revolutionary economy; th ey love to work, they have perseverance in land reforms, disastrous economic conditions, political their pursuits, they are not lazy or spoiled, th ey are ve ry repression, resistence to self-government, internati o nal pleasant; even if something goes wrong for them th ey are isolati on, and massive illiteracy took th eir toll on the nati on always able to shrug it off with an apt remark, they are freq uently referred to as the "cradl e of Western Civiliza­ also a patient peopl e .... " ti on." The Italian had th en, and probably has today, a basic The Sicilian, Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, in hi s distrust for centralized government. Expediency trained world acclaimed novel The Leopard (Il Gattopardo) gave him to focus his primary loyalties upon his family. this description of his people: "This violence of the land­ In the southern part of Italy two factors made life scape, the cruelty of the climate; the continual tension in virtually subhuman: rural isolation and the depleted, ex­ everything, even those monuments of the past, not built hausted, and infertile soil. The invitati ons coming from by us and which surround us like beautiful mute phantoms; American employers were irresistible, but not all emigrated all these governments landed here from who knows where, to the United States. Some went to South America, some immediately served, soon detested and never understood, to North Africa, and some to Australia. Families were who expressed themselves only with works of art that for divided for life. Only a few reunions were possible. The us were enigmatic; with tax collectors who were very real Italian immigrant who came to America had one single . . . all these things formed our character, which thus aspiration-to get a job; any job. With a job he could remains conditioned by extraneous fatalities, as well as by survive; with a job he could buy clothes, pay rent and our own terrifying insularity." doctor bills, and send some money back to Italy. He spent very little on recreation. He had a strong ambition to own THE CITY OF SAN CATALDO, SICILY a house and land, something only the elite could do in Neither church nor secular scholars have been able to the home country. For many the objective was to earn conclusively identify the date or place of birth of St. money in America and then return home to retire. Cataldo, for whom the Sicilian city is named, so the record showing the date and place of ordination is usually where SICILY his life story begins. It is agreed that he was ordained in Senza Italia, Sicilia si nni scanta Ireland, but one scholar gives the date as approximately Senza Sicilia, Italia picca cunta. 640,3 while another, who considers St. Cataldo a contem­ Without Italy, Sicily is weak porary of St. Patrick, gives the date as 432.4 The impli­ Without Sicily, Italy has little value. cation is that both men were part of the massive Roman This proverb, written in the Sicilian di alect, gives some migration to the British Isles. These early centuries saw insight into the reasons for Sicily's status as a Common­ volatile cultural and military movements between the wealth and its semi-autonomous governmental structure. Romans (both Christians and pagans) and various tribes, The law and culture of this island state, also known as local and foreign (Nordsmen). Eventually Christianity was Trinacri a, cont ain rcmnants of those numerous nati ons to predominate and Ireland became a bastion of the Catholic which occupied it over a period which exceeds three faith. Strong ties were established and sustained with the thousand years. 2 A simple chronology will depict the di­ Papacy. Irish monks brought Catholicism to many pagan versity in its history : 1,000 B.c. to A.D. 300, occupied tribes on the European mainland. by Sican, Phonenician, Greek, and Roman governors; 300 The life of St. Cataldo can be divided into three parts: to 800, rul ed by Byzantine emperors and clergy; 827 to his life and missionary work in Ireland; his pilgimages to 1060, governed by Arabs; 1130, Sicily created the world's Rome and the Holy Land; and his great achievements in first parliamentary government; 1060 to 1194, occupied by converting to Christianity that large part of southeastern Normans; 1194 to 1266, controlled by Swabian dynasty Italy contained by the Adriatic Sea and the Gulf of Taranto of the Holy Roman Empire, Palermo established as the which is now called Puglia (Apulia) and where his work imperi al capitol; 1266 to 1412, subjected to the French is well-documented. The city of Taranto (pop. 224,000) House of Anjou; 1282, Sicilian Vespers took place; 1412 elected him as its patron saint more than three hundred to 1713, governed by Spani sh Kings of Aragon; 1735, years ago, and to this day St. Cataldo is venerated by many Charles III begins the reign of th e Bourbons; 1860, Garibaldi in the regions of Puglia and Basilicata. Miracles are fre­ conquers Sicily-hi s last major resistance end ed with his quently attributed to him by individuals known to have

24 ~een crippled, blind, or epileptic, and his followers some­ these dolls were placed under the beds of sleeping children tImes re~er to him as II Grande Santo Taumaturgo (The as gifts from departed grandparents on the eve of All Souls Great MIracle Worker). His body is at rest in the Cathedral Day, November 2. During the Holy Day the family was o~ Taranto and his miter and vestments are placed on public expected to attend Mass and to eat nothing but cucci, a dIsplay every May 10, when his feast day is celebrated bland combination of cooked wheat, olive oil, and salt by large processions.s water. The reasons for naming the Sicilian city after St. Cataldo DUNMORE, PENNSYLVANIA could not be determined through the resources available The present site of Dunmore was originally part of Old at th~ time of this writing. (One source stated simply that Providence Township. The first flow of traffic was over the cIty was na~ed after the holy bishop of Taranto.) Greek the Connecticut-Cobb Road which roughly coincides with a~d, Ro~a~ rums are to be seen in the region, and the present-day Drinker Street. The major intersection on this cIty s ongms can be traced back to the period 600-500 road was called the Corners or Bucktown, names still used B.C. 1?e present city was founded in 1621 by Vincent today. In 1783 a Connecticut shoemaker, William Allsworth, GalletlI and received its official designation in 1865. settled in this area, and in the years between 1820 and Today the city of San Cataldo has more than 25 000 1826 the Philadelphia and Great Bend Turnpike was built, inhabitants. It is 625 meters above sea level and loc'ated a project promoted by Henry Drinker who opened the first in the province of Caltanissetta, in central Sicily between store and tavern at the Corners. The first public school the Platani and Sal do Rivers. The economy reflects a was built in 1825; a post office was opened in 1849; and combination of agricultural and small-business industries. the borough government was officially established in 1862. Of special significance to this study is the presence of an The first recorded Mass in Dun~ore was conducted by underground mining industry, in existence for more than Fr. James Cullen in 1852, and the Church of St. Simon one hundred years. The Montecatine-Edison Company is was founded in its name was later changed the largest producer of mined products, namely bituminous 1855; (1890-5) to St. Mary of Mt. Carmel. The needs of Dunmore's Italian coal and sulphur. This part of Sicily is known too for its immigrants concerned the Catholic bishop as early as production of grains, olives, figs, nuts, and vegetables. In 1890, and priests from St. Mary's Church were assigned the duty recent years there has also been an increase in the number to minister to them. There is no record of San Cataldesi of farms and ranches raising cows, hogs, and sheep.6 being part of Dunmore's original Italian colony; they first The religious life of those who emigrated centered appear in the church records for 1904. around the church of St. Joseph. Many of the Dunmore In 1894 the Italian immigrants built St. Anthony's Church immigrants were from this parish where the devotion to at the intersection of Smith and Cooney Streets on land San Cataldo is especially strong. While visiting San Cataldo donated by the Spencer Coal Company. The first pastorate in 1953, the writer was told that during World War II the (1894-97) seems to have been shared by Frs. Rosario Nosca people of San Cataldo were more fortunate than those in and Pietro Biondi. They were followed by Fr. Dominic Caltanissetta where the German army was more destruc­ Landro (1897-1900); Fr. Giuseppe Angeletti; Fr. Giovanni tive. When asked for an explanation, an old lady said that Sbrocca; Fr. Giuseppe Del Monte; Msgr. Francis Valverdi the people of Caltanissetta "pray to St. Michael and those (1906-28); Msgr. William Crotti (1928-72); and the present of San Cataldo pray to San Cataldo, but St. Cataldo was pastor, Fr. A. Tito. In any discussion of St. Anthony's, a better saint." due recognition must be given to Msgr. Crotti,' who was The San Cataldesi have always had a special veneration held in high esteem by the San Cataldesi. His many years for St. Blaise (Biagio in Italian, Vilasi in Sicilian) as well. of experience with immigrants and first-generation Ameri­ His feast day is celebrated on February 3, at which time cans were marked by genuine interest, sincere concern, and the faithful have their throats blessed, for tradition teaches insightful leadership. Very few churchmen acquired his that a miracle was attributed to the Saint when, through level of expertise in serving the immigrants and their his intervention, a baby was freed from a serious obstruc­ descendants. In 1951 St. Anthony's Parish had a triple tion which had lodged in its throat. On his feast day those celebration: the dedication of a new church: the opening in San Cataldo who have received favors through his of a new parochial school; and the twenty-fifth anniversary intervention carry Ii cuddureddi-simple pastries of flour of Msgr. Crotti's ordination. Members of the San Cataldesi and sugar-to the church of St. Rosario which has a community were instrumental in organizing the celebration. painting of St. Blaise. After the pastries are blessed they are distributed to parishioners who recite the prayer of St. THE ORIGINAL SAN CATALDESI IMMIGRANTS Blaise before eating them. A custom continued by the San Cataldesi immigrants As already noted, the arrival of large numbers of is that of distributing puppi di zuccheri-three-to-six-inch ~mmigrants looking for work in the coal mines greatly tall sugar dolls in the shape of angels. Intended to per­ Increased Dunmore's population in the years between 1890 petuate the memories of grandparents and to serve as an? 1910. In 1910 the total of Italian nationals (1,807) and rewards to children who were obedient and respectful, chIldren of both parents foreign born (1,275) was 3,082;

25 Taken in 1944 in preparation for Sail Cataldo Solemn High Mass., this picture shows form er pastor Msgr. William Crotti and th e altar boys, all sons of Teresa (Graci) alld Angelo Bentivegna. Standing, left to right: Rev. Salvatore, Dr. Joseph, Michael (d.), Anthony (d.), and Dr. Angelo (d.).

the writer estimates that one-fourth of these-approxi­ due to strikes, layoffs, shut downs, accidents, and other mately nO-were San Cataldesi.8 Their number peaked in causes that they sought employment out of the mines, in 1920, when it is estimated that the San Cataldesi of Dunmore different industries. Very few succeeded unless they moved numbered slightly less than two thousand. Between 1900 to other parts of the state or country. and 1920 there was very little travel to Sicily by these Detailed information about the occupations of the early immigrants. Those who returned to their native land did San Cataldesi is rather limited since occupational informa­ so in ord er to marry or to assist family members to tion was not routinely listed in school, church, tax, or immigrate. In contrast to other Italian immigrants, the San health records. (Some church records do give the occu­ Cataldesi learned early that the move to America would pation of the spouse or dead person, and sometimes it was be permanent. noted that the cause of death was a mine accident.) Con­ But in the first two decades of this century there were cerning the occupations of their descendants/ since the shifts in population among the San Cataldesi in the United level of education achieved can be a reliable indicator of States. For some, Dunmore was not the first place of career pursuits, a study was made of a random selection American residency, nor was it the last. There was a flow of Dunmore High School graduation programs from the of rel atives and friends between New York City (Mulberry 1930s.1O It showed that of the 505 graduates listed, 146 and Rivington Streets), and between Rochester, Rome, and were Italian, but only fifteen were San Cataldesi. Such a Messina, all located in the state of New York. Locally, disproportionately small representation suggests that edu­ there were many residential changes with Pittston (only a cation and the more skilled vocations were not given a thirty-minute drive today) which may have as many San high priority. Cataldesi as Dunmore. These moves were largely the result In order to identify the members of the original group of job seeking, for these immigrants took advantage of of San Cataldesi who lived in Dunmore between 1900 and every opportunity to find a job, especially if it meant a 1920, three primary sources-the records of St. Anthony's chance to get out of the mines. Parish, a picture of members of the San Cataldo Club, With their mining experience, it is not surprising that 1928, and the records of the Societa San Cataldo di Mutuo, between 1900 and 1920 the vast majority of the workers Dunmore-were consulted, along with newspapers, obitu­ in the study group were employed in the local anthracite ary notices, tax documents, cemetery-lot maps, school files, coal industry as miners . They were classified as laborers and military records. The last named showed the following whose primary function it was to dig and load coal by San Cataldesi as inductees for World War I: Michael hand at the actual face location. Some were also employed Azzarelli, Foli Angelo, Salvatore Bentivegna, Biagio in other jobs connected to mining, caring for mules, cutting Bentivegna, Sera Cologero, Salvatore Polizzi, Angelo Riggi, timber supports, laying track, and doing stone masonry and Pasquale Saracino. The final list of family names from work. Known as courageous, industrious, imaginative, and all sources (see Appendix) totals 176, although there may reliable workers, it was during peri ods of unemployment be some misspellings and some duplications. 1I

26 Members of the Societa Sail Cataldo di Mutuo Socorso, Dunmore, Pa., c. 1928.

There is reason to believe th at almost all San Cataldesi were in town on business or were visiting friends and were members of St. Anthony 's Parish, and its birth, relatives. It was noted, too, that several individuals in the marriage, and death records proved of special value in picture were not from San Cataldo but rather from making this compilation. The marriage records gave the Serradifalco, a town nearby. The family names mentioned names of both parties, place of birth, the date of the were Lombardo, Aronica, D'Angelo, and Miccicche. The marriage, and the names of the couple's parents: discussions which took place during the identification

Giuseppe Alu, Ca rmel la Prizzi, San Cataldo process evoked many memories about the old structure of 6 Di e 1917 the community. Repeated were recollections about how the Salva tore Alu, Croeefissa Costa old people managed to survive and be happy, how they Antonio Prizzi, Maria Vasta succeeded in maintaining close family relationships, how they collaborated for certain festivities, and how they Any name showing the birth place as San Cataldo was cooperated with each other, especially in times of need. added to the master list. 12 The minutes, financial records, and membership files of The 1928 picture listed as the second primary source the Societa San Cataldo di Mutuo, Dunmore (also known consulted hangs on the wall in the social hall still used as "the club"), were also most helpful for the compilation by members of the San Cataldo Club; it is located in the of the final list of family names produced by this study. neighborhood where most San Cataldesi resided. There are The Society was incorporated on July 23, 1906, " ... ninety-six members shown in this large picture, and all but for beneficial purposes to its members in case of sickness, eight have been identified. Assisting with the identifica­ accident or death, from funds collected therein."t3 The tions were Joseph Occulto, the only known survivor of petition for incorporation was signed by Rosario Bentivegna, those pictured; San Naro, a retired barber and custodian Giuseppe Azzarelli, Rosario Guarniere, Salvatore of the San Cataldo Club; and Teresa Bentivegna, mother Bentivegna, Salvatore Cravatta, Salvatore Occhipinti, of the writer. Michele Occhipinti, and Francesco Messina. They pointed out that several of those shown may not In 1938 the Societa San Cataldese Feminile was orga­ have resided in Dunmore when the picture was taken, but nized by Marie Cancellare, Biagia Graci, Grazie Occulto,

Typical mine scene, c. 1920.

27 moved and placed in the parish school. This decision proved to be unpopular among some of the San Cataldesi, who recalled well its exceptional beauty and the sacrifices of those who made the acquisition possible. Sometime later the statue disappeared, presumably with the authorization of parish officials; efforts to locate it proved fruitless. A smaller and less attractive statue of San Cataldo was placed in the redesigned sanctuary, however, probably in recog­ nition of the size and solidarity of this parish subgroup.

SOME GENERALITIES ABOUT THE SAN CATALDESI Limited in scope, this study is intended to encourage more in-depth efforts to understand the contributions of Italian Americans to the development of the United States. Toward that end, certain comments and observations which were made in almost all the discussions with the twenty­ three San Cataldesi who spoke with the writer when materials were being sought, are presented here simply as generali­ ties and as possible areas of research for those interested in Italian ethnic studies. The statue of San Cataldo acquired for St. Allthony's Concerning the immigrants: A very high number were Church in 1943 and later removed from the sallctuary illiterate and only encouraged their children to pursue an when it was renovated to comply with Vatican II edicts. education if the family finances were not jeopardized; in Serafine Felice, and Josephine Marchese. Their function contrast with other Italian immigrant groups, the San was to serve as a women's auxiliary for the San Cataldo Cataldesi intended to remain permanently in their new Club. Many of their activities centered around the prepa­ country; some were required to abandon their Roman rations for the annual celebration of the San Cataldo Feast Catholic faith and to participate in Protestant services if Day, usually held on the last Sunday in May. In 1941 this they wished to retain their jobs in the coal mines; the San auxiliary undertook a fund-raising campaign for the acqui­ Cataldesi encountered resistence from Catholic church of­ sition of a new statue of San Cataldo for St. Anthony's ficials for some of their religious practices, but conflict­ Church. The campaign was especially successful because which centered around practices labeled superstitious and of the personal efforts and contribution of Michelangelo pagan (faith healing, venerating the aged, dead or alive, Polizzi, and in 1943 an exceptionally beautiful wooden and religious processions)-was minimal in contrast to image of the patron saint was added to the sanctuary of some other Italian groups; the "old people," who perceived the parish church during the dedication on the feast day. their God as powerful, kind, understanding, and merciful, Of superior artistic quality, this statue was carried during were uncomfortable with the bureaucratic (financial, ad­ processions on a special platform which rested on the ministrative, theological) structure of the American-Irish shoulders of eight to ten men. The processions included church, and were unable to accept a tenet describing God a band of thirty-two musicians under the direction of as seeking out sinners in order to implement a mysterious Professor Dell Aria, a member of the San Cataldesi com­ code of justice. munity. The statue was carried through all the streets in Concerning their descendants: They identify more with the San Cataldesi sector of the town at a time when this Italianismo rather than Sicilianismo in their ethnic behav­ feast was the center of all the social activities of the San ior; they hold no nationalistic or patriotic sentiments for Cataldesi. At predetermined intervals the procession would Italy or Sicily; there are no apparent commercial bonds stop at a house where participants would rest, eat, and with the "old country"; there appears to be no viable drink. Neighbors pinned their financial donations to a mechanism in the San Cataldesi community which seeks ribbon hung on the statue. These processions, as focal to preserve and promote their heritage-most are unin­ points of ethnic pride, never received the full understanding formed about their ethnicity, with some feeling that their or encouragement of diocesan officials, and eventually the ' social status and patriotism would be questioned if they pastor and parish leaders conceded not only to the cessation identified with their heritage; the level of assimilation is of the festivity in honor of San Cataldo, but to all others most apparent with the San Cataldo Club, today primarily as well. a social organization whose membership roll shows the When the sanctuary in the parish church was renovated names of Irish, Polish, and other ethnic groups; under the to comply with Vatican II edicts, the statue of San Cataldo leadership of the older members of the Nicosia and Naro acquired by the Societa San Cataldese Feminile was re- families, a small group of San Cataldesi attend a special

28 Mass on the last Sunday of May 10 honor of their patron Joseph R.; Giaconi, Elizabeth; Grazia no, Jacob; Memolo, John; Memolo, saint. Martin; Molinari , Umberto; Russoniello, Vincent; Sandone, Cha rl es. ' Based on the U. S. Census Bureau report listed in endnote I, the ethnic population of Dunmore, Pa., in 1910 was 10,456 wi th 4,956 of * * * those foreign born and 5,500 with both parents fo reign born. In the Seneca said: "We are members of one great body. following list the first number is foreign born; the second, both pa rents Nature planted in us a mutual love, and fitted us for a foreign born; the third, the total of the first two: Austria, 807, 758, 1,565; Belgiu m, 01, 01, 01; Ca nada, 19,04,23; Denmark, 02, 03, 05; England, social life. We must consider that we are born for the good 377, 316, 693; France, 19, 05 24; Germany, 286, 456, 742; Greece, 01, of the whole." If we are drawn to the good of the whole, 00,01; Hunga ry, 254, 100, 354; Ireland, 841, 1,937,2,778; It aly, 1,807, how much stronger, then, is our attraction to our fa mily 1,275, 3,082; Russia, 297, 85, 382, Scotland, 132, 112, 244; Sweden, 07, 04, 11 ; Switzerl and , 24, 20, 44; T urkey, 05, 00, 05; Wales, 72, 74, and ethnic group? 146; Others, 05, 351, 356. 'To identify the types of jobs held by the descendants of the ori gi nal ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS immigrants, the names appea ring in the Appendix were matched with si mil ar names found in the 1982 Polk Directory (Lackawanna Cou nt y, Funded in part by the Pennsylvania Heritage Studies Pa.) R. L. Polk & Co., Malden, Mass. This met hod facilitated the complilation which follows, bu t interpretati ons, inferences, and conclu­ Center (University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa., June, sions should take into considerat ion the following limitations: 1) Some 1983-May, 1884), this study is dedicated to the four first­ of the San Cataldesi names are common to other groups of Italian generation San Cataldesi who made the supreme sacrifice Americans. For example, the name Marino can be found in families whose origin goes ba ck to the immigrants from Palermo, Naples and Mil an. as American soldiers in World War II: Frank Cali (Purple Thus the number of Marinos in the comparison group may represent some Heart awardee), Salvatore Micciche, Anthony Naro, and non-San Cataldesi. 2) Descendent s who pursued voca ti ons in certain Joseph Serrenti. professional, skilled or unskill ed fi elds do not reside within the study area limited by the Polk Directory. 3) Distinctions between second , third, The writer also wishes to acknowledge the dedicated and fo urth generations of descendants are not made. Generalities about assistance of Susan Amata, who compiled a substantial one generation may not be tru e of another one. It might be assumed portion of the data recorded. that more recent generations will appear in greater frequencies in those occupations which require more education and higher skills. 4) Voca ti onal choices relate cl osely to the types of jobs found in the local industries ENDNOTES at a given time. For instance, glass bl owers and clay workers do not ' Report of the U. S. Census Bureau, Vol. III , p. 590, Was hington, appear in the list of occupations pursued because rel ated industri es were D. c., 1913. not part of the loca l economy. 2Some Sici lian historical vignettes: Plato taught ph ilosophy in th e Occupations of descend ants of the San Cataldesi: accountants (4); Sicilia n port of Siracusa; Archimedes, greatest mathematician of antiquity, administrative aide; ad ministrator (assistant, health agency); agent (pur­ laid the foundation for physics whil e teaching in various Sicil ian lea rning chasing, insurance); analyst, anesthesiologist; anesthetist; architect, 2; centers; Emperor Frederick III (1194-1250) at the Palermo Court autho­ assembler, 2; assista nt (pres id ent , mana ger, 4, legal); assorter; barber; rized and founded the first official Italian language, decades before the bartender; beautician, 2; blacktopper; boiler maker; bookbinder, 4; book­ birth of Dante; the fifteenth century painter, Antonello da Messina, fi rst keeper, 5; bricklayer; butcher, 2; dental assistant, 2; dentist; cabinet maker, developed the technique of the Venetian painting school; Pietro Novelli , ca feteri a worker; ca rpent er, 4; ca rrier; caseworker, 2; chef; chemist; a seventeenth century painter, was an arch ri va l of Van Dyck; Filippo cleaning woman; clerk (accounting, admissions, city, disburseme nt , file, Arena, eighteenth century scient ist, founded modern biology; Giacomo insurance, mail, office, 30, print shop, record s, sa les, store); computer Serpotta (1657-1732) perfected the baroque art forms; Vincenzo Bellini operator, 2; cook, 2; construction worker, 4; counterman, 3; court report er; (1810-1835) opera composer famous for his masterpiece Norma ; Stanislao custodian; controller; designer, 2; dietitian; director (economic developer, Cannizzaro first revealed the true structure of the atom; Ettore Majorana publie works, fill ance); distri buti on techni cia n; dockman; draft sman, 3; prophetized nuclea r fission; Marchese Florio constructed the first It alian driver (bus, 2) truck, 12, aide); dyer; electrician, 3; electronics worker; automobile in 1897; Francesco Crispit (1819-1901) statesman who pro­ employment servi ce coordinator; engineer, 3; equipment operator, 2; moted the world-government movement; Vittorio Emanuele Orlando (1860- examiner, 2; factory worker, 8; filler; firefighter, 6; fitter; f1 oorwoman; 1952) World War I statesman; Luigi Sturzo, founded Italy's Chri stia n food service worker; foreman, 6; forklift operator; fountai n att endant; fund Democratic Party; Giovanni Verga (1840-1936) acclaimed as one of the raiser; gas station attendant, 3; guidance counselor; helper, 2; hemmer; leading novelists of the century; Luigi Pirandello (1867-1936) dramatist income maintenance worker; inspector, 3; iron worker; janit or; junk and novelist who received the Nobel Prize in 1934; Salvatore Quasimodo dealer, 2; kitchen aide; laborer, 9; land scape gardner; lawyer, 2; machine (1901-1968) poet who received the Nobel Prize in 1959. operator, 15; machinist, 3; ma id, 5; maintenanceman, 4; manager (branch, 3Arcarese, Salvatore, San Cataldo E Sancataldesi, San Cataldo (Italy), general, 7, grocery, hotel, income, institutional, meat, office, plant, 2; Litografia Editrice Nocera, 1980. sa les); mason, 5; mason instru ctor; meat wrapper; mechani c, 9; military ' Berza no, Fillippo, II Taumaturgo Di Taranto, Roma (It aly). Pia (sergea nt ); mimeographer; mover, 3; nurse, 16 (li censed practical, 2, aide); Societa S. Paolo, 1941. office worker, 7; oiler; orderl y; owner (a ut o repair shop, beauty parlor, 5'fhere is no reference to SI. Cataldo in D. P. Conyngham's Lives black top co., coal co., contractor, 4, dress corp ., dress shop, 2, excavating of the Irish Saints (Boston: Sadler & Co., 1870), or in The Ca tholic co., food store , ga rage, gas station, 2, importing co., insurance co. II, Encyclopedia (New York: R. Appleton Co., 1908). However, in Butler's landscaping co., painting contr., repa ir shop, restaurant , small business, Lives of the Saints (New York : P. J. Kennedy & Sons, 1956) a SI. Catald 45, store, 2, supermarket, tru cking co.); packer, 7; pa inter, 5; physicia n, (the "0" is omitted) is included in a listing of sai nts with a feast day 5; pianist; pl ant worker; plumber, 2; presi dent , co., 5; printer; press of May 10. operator; pressor, 5; professor, 4; produ ce worker, 2; proofrea der; psy­ "'Le Regioni D' Italia" Vol. 17 Sicilia: Torino (Italy) Edizioni Utet chologist, school; psychologica l aide; receptionist; redrawer; repairman, 1968. 2; representative (admissions, customer, service, 2); roofer; salesman, 15; ' In Thomas Murphy's Jubilee History of La ckawanna County (His!. salesperson, 15; seamstress; secretary , 21; securit y guard, 2; service man; Pu blishing Co.: Topeka, Ind ., 1928) biographies of a number of prominent shipper, shop worker; si nger; speech therapist; spooler; sprayer; spreader; citizens are given, including one for Fr. William Crotti, who was not storage specialist; superintendent, 2; supervisor, 2; teacher, 27; telephone originally from Dunmore. A review of the names reveals that no Dunmore operator; tool maker; torch worker; trainer in operations; vice president, Italians or San Cataldesi were included. The Ital ian names identified by 2; waitress, 5; warehouseman, 5; welder; x-ray technician. the writer in this 1928 edition are: Arigoni, James; Bartecchi, Ferdiand tOThese were made available by Joseph P. McDonald, principal. From A.; Benore, George, J.; Bisignani, Gene M.; Capellini, Renaldo; Cerra, them the writer was able to compile the foll owing information: Jan. 1932, Angelo; Crotti, William (Rev.); D'Andrea, Ca ni o L.; Danque, D.; 63 graduates-19 Italians, 2 San Cataldesi; June 1932, 88 grad uat es- Deantonio, Emilio (M.D.); Fabretti, Fred; Favini, John J.; Figliomeni, 18 Italians, 2 San Cataldesi; Jan. 1934,56 graduates, 14 Ita li ans, no San

29 Cataldes i; June, 1934, 109 gradu ates-29 ital ians, 2 San Ca taldesi; Jan. APPENDIX 1936,69 gradu ates, 18 it alia ns, 3 San Ca taldesi; June, 1936, 120 gradu­ ates, 48 it alia ns, 6 San Ca taldesi. Family Na mes of San Catald csi, Dunlll o n~, Pa. 1900-20 " Some exa mples of spelling va riations found in the sources are: Acculto Fazio Messineo Anzelone-Anzzelone, Angelo ne, Angelo; Amorebell o-Morebell o, Alessi Micciche Morebell ; Bent ivegna-Bent innencia, Bent y; Codaro-Cadaro, Cadoro; Feletch Dall 'Aria-Dell a ri o; D'- De. Di; Di Fazio-Fa zio; Gua rn ieri- Gu arneri, Alu Ferrara Milazzo Warner' Martorana-Mort aranna; Poli zzi- Poli zi; Rogato-Rogatto; Amibole Ferrario Miraglia Rosata-:-Rosa tt o; Serrenti- Sorenti; Salome- Solami; So ll ami- Sa ll ame; Amico Ferrese Monaco St razzeri-Strazieri; Trubia-T rubbia. Amorebello Felice Naro Some exa mples of common first names and their English versions Angelo Nicosia (names in parentheses are Sici lian versions; names appea r in this list Gaetano Annico spell ed in Ita lia n): Addelina; Angelo, a,- Ang, Angie; Angelina; Antonina; Gagliardi Nobile Antonio-Anthony, Tony; Biagio, a (Valaso, a)-Bessie; Ca logero, a,­ Anzelone Galenti Occhipinti Chas, Charles; Ca rmelo, a,-Carm; Cataldo, a,-Cux , Ca rl ; Concetta­ Aquilino Gambacorto Palermo Connie; Cristi ne; Crocefissa-Chris, Crosy; Francesco, a,- Frank , Francis, Arnone Gambo Palmeri Frances; Gaetano, a; Giuseppe- Joseph, Joe, Giuse, Peppy; Giusepina - Aronica Pane Josephine; Grazia (e)-Grace; Libori o; Mi c he le-Michael, Mike; Garofalo Michelina- Maggie; Pasqu ale-Pat, Patsy, Patrick; Rosa rio, a,-Ross; Azzarelli Gasparini Panella Salvatore (Tureddu)-Sal, Sam; Salvatrica (e); Santina; Santo, a; Sebastiano, Balena Gentile Pantano a,-Sebastian, Saby; Tommaso, a (Taneddu)-Thomas, Tom; Vincenzo, Banno Genuario Panzica a,- Vincent, Vinnie, Vince. Baresse Geraci Pelletieri " Marriage records to February, 1922: May 8, 1906, Giuseppe Perri Belgio & Pasqualina Rosato; Sept 28, 1907, Salva tore Bentivegna & Rosina Germano Passarella Occhipinti; Dec 21 , 1908, Arcangelo Letizia & Maria Renso; Feb 13, Bellanca Giambrone Percelli 1909, Gaspare Gu arneri & Teresina Guarniari; July 17, 1909, Francesco Belvedere Giamporcaro Perri Lussetta & Margherita Napolitano; Aug 30, 1909, Luigi Pelato & Lu cia Bentivegna Giannone Petitto Occhipinti, Aug 17, 1909, Carmelo Graci & Lucia Marciano; Jan 8, 1909, Bianco Piconi Giuseppe Graci & Maria Gentile; Apr 21, 1911 , Giuseppe Occuito & Giarratana Rosaria Cerranto; Feb 8, 1912, Salvatore Bi o & Vita Ave llino; May 6, Bio Giordano Pignato Angelo Mortoranna & Grazia Fa zio; Sept 22, 1917, Antonio Gi annone Bucheri Giorgio Pilato & Mari a Cali; Dec 6, 1917, Giuseppe A1u & Ca rmela Prizzi; Sept 11 , Butera Gitto Pinto 1919, Alfonso Gu arnieri & Freda Mathias; Jul y 9, 1921, Salvatore Cala Pizzuto Bentivegna & Angelilla Rosato; Oct 15, 192 1; Angelo Benti vegna & Giuliano Calabrese Teresa Graci; Feb 25, 1922, Salvatore LaMonaco & Giovannina Giannone. Giumento Polizzi Call Giunta Prizzi Dea th Records of the San Cataldes i, Dunmore, 1923-78: Calogero Graci Provenzano Age Name Date Witness Cancellari Gruttadauria Quaranta G ia rra ta na, Rosa ri a 21 Jun 23 Occulto, Giuseppe, hu sba nd Capizzi Quatro De Nobil e, Grazie 19 Nov 23 Arca ngelo, father Guarnieri Caramanno 45 Lo Monaco, Stefano 26 Dec 24 Bentivegna, Giuseppina, wife Incavido Raimondo Vincenzi, Domenica 8 Jul 25 Gitto, Nunziato, husband Cardilichio La Boda Renzo Benti vegna, Michele 3 Jan 26 Lupo, Grazia, wife Cario La Magna Riggi 68 Guarni eri , Isidoro 2 Aug 27 Cologera, wife Carl etta Rizzo 1 Bentivegna, Caterina 1 Apr 29 Bent ivegna, Biagio, father La Pergola Carubba 48 Graci, Antonio 1 Feb 30 Biagia, wife La Pia Rogato 56 Rogato, Michael 10 Jun 32 Angelina, wife Caruso Letizia Rosato 48 Benti vegna, Francesca 4 Aug 34 Celano Lo Giudice Rosina 70 Bio, Salvatore 24 May 36 Salva tore, son Celeste Russo 56 Benti vegna, Carmella 4 Jan 37 Rosa rio, husba nd Lo Monica Cerranto Salome 9m Vullo, Salvatore 28 Dec 38 Salva tore, fat her Lombardo 65c Gaetano, Salvatore 2 1 Oct 39 Rose, wife Cigna Luecano Saracino 18 Feletch, Angelina 24 Nov 40 Cata ld o, father Codaro Lu ongo Sardo 17 LaMagna, Joseph 13 Mar 44 Gaetano, fa ther Corbo Lupo Scalzo 69 Sibio, Rosaria 5 Oct 44 Joseph Cosetino Scinta 88 Benti vegna, Grazia 27 May 46 Angelo, son Lussetta 22 Bent ivegna, Anthony 22 Sep 47 Angelo, father Cravotta Luzzio Scarantino 87 Rizzo, Grace 14 Feb 48 Cologero, son Cuncio Macaluso Serrenti 52 Prizzi, Rosaria 23 Jul 49 Sant o Curatolo Magri Sibio 70 Morisola,Cataldo 17 Jun 51 Grace, sister Dell ' Aria Silliti 58 Polizzi, Ca tald o 9 Feb 52 Santina Maira D' Angelo Sollami 68 Graci, Bessie 1 Feb 53 Charl es, son Mancino 84 A1 u, Rosaria 5 Jun 55 Michael, hu sba nd Dellario Marcella Sparacino 58 Gagli ardi 3 Sep 57 Ca taldo, son Del Vecchio Marceno Strazzeri 69 Bent ivegna, Frances 31 Aug 69 Mi chael, hu sba nd De Marco Marchese Talluto 75 Ca ru bba, Michelina 6 Mar 61 Gaetana, daught er De Primo Toscano 80 Accuito, Grace 2 Jan 62 Mi chelina, da ughter Marciano 91 Benti vegna, Michael 27 Nov 66 Cat herine, daught er Di Domenico Marino Trubia 78 Bio, Salvatore 18 Jul 68 Ca rmela, daughter Di Fazio Marsala Urso 76 Dell ari o, Angelo 26 May 69 Elena, wife Di Forte Martorana Valenza 78 Bent ivegna, Angelo 4 Jun 71 Theresa, wife Di Francesco Vasta 70 Bentivegna, Salva tore 11 May 78 Rose, wi fe Maruzzelli Di Lorenzo Merisola Vincenzi "Stat uo e Regolamento dell a Societa Sa n Ca taldo di Mutuo Soccorso Fabrizio Messina Viola Con Res idenza in Dunmore, Pa. The Swartz Printer, Dunmore, Pa. 1936. Falzone Vullo

30 A LOOK AT THE EARLY YEARS OF PHILADELPHIA'S "LITTLE ITALY" by Nicholas V. DeLeo

Mother Esther Faina DeLeo, ofthe Perugia nobility, was Nicholas V. DeLeo (right) and his brother, Caesar, with born and raised in Torino in northern Italy; she attended their father, Dr. Cesare D. DeLeo in 1930. top-notch schools and became a teacher.

From 1880 to 1924 about four million Italian immi­ by the existing prejudice. I was born in Philadelphia in grants--most from Southern Italy--came to the United 1912 and still carry deep scars from events that occurrd States. In the minds of some this influx constituted the in my lifetime, and so does my son, a second-generation "Italian problem," just as the immigration of Orientals was Italian American. oftentimes seen as the "yellow peril"; it prompted Congress As a result of this bitter and ugly atmosphere, Italians to pass restrictive legislation (quotas) in 1921 and 1924. tended to settle near each other, creating in the cities the Unlike today, when prejudice and bigotry are usually well­ neighborhoods known as "Little Italies." In Philadelphia camouflaged and subtle, in the early part of the century we had a very nice Little Italy, composed mostly of Southern discrimination was open and often vicious-Italians were Italians with a sprinkling of Northerners from Piemonte, lynched in the United States as late as 1915. Friuli, Venice, Trieste, and so forth. It extended from Just as the so-called "old immigrants"-the English, the Bainbridge Street south to Oregon Avenue and from the Welsh, the Irish, and the Germans--came to the New Delaware River west to about 18th Street. The area was World in search of a better life, so did the Italians. My also home to many other ethnic groups; in fact, about mother, Esther Ophelia Faina, arrived in Philadelphia in seventY-five percent of the students at South Philadelphia 1911, the same year my father, Cesare D. DeLeo, arrived High School were Jewish. The heart of Little Italy was at Ellis Island. He had been born and raised in the town its famous Italian Market which today officially stretches of Torre di Ruggiero in the Province of Catanzaro, and from Federal Street north to Catherine Street, although one had trained as a physician at the University of Naples. My will find stores and stands above and below those north father, who practiced medicine for fifty years at our home and south boundaries and along side streets as well. The at 1333 Ellsworth Street in Philadelphia, was deeply scarred market area was especially picturesque at Christmas and

31 Th e famiLy home (with "For Sale" sign and lamp) at 1333 Ellsworth Street ill Philadelphia ill 1964.

Easter time. Then, the food, the decorati ons, the folk music, of others as well: Banco di Genova (1895; later called and the people-warm, friendly, and generous-created an Banca d ' It alia); Banca dell ' Acqui (1888); Banca It aliana atmosphere of true joy and happiness even if one had Americana (1896); and in later years Banca Commerciale problems. It aliana and Sonsit aly Bank. Then, too, th ere was a period The Italian Market began in the mid-1880s as a gath­ when many entreprenurial immigrants opened small banks; ering of pushcarts. Vendors wheeled their carts down to a time when, as th e saying goes, "everyone became a the docks along the Delaware River to purchase produce ballchista." Many of these small banks did not last long, a,nd dry goods coming into the city by ship, th en headed and th e poor, naive immigrants who dealt with them not west to Ninth Street to sell their wares. The pushcarts led onl y lost th eir hard-earned savings, but mo ney sent to th eir to outdoor stands and eventually storefronts lined the streets. fami li es in Italy as well. At one time it was a most interesting and fascin ating Little Italy also had a number of Itali an-language news­ experience to walk through the market; I can vividly recall papers: It Risorgimen/o (1886) and It Vesuvio (1895), both th e abundance of everything imaginable and possible in weeklies; La Voce della CoLonia (1895-1900); the daily the line of food, clothing, and furnishings. Ninth Street was L 'Opinione (a penny a copy) founded by C. C. A. Baldi always jammed and the trolley car in the center of th e street in 1906; La Liberta; La Voce deL PopoLo (later, La Libera had to proceed at a snail's pace, its bell clanging constantly. Parala) by Giuseppe Di Silvestro; the bilingual Protestant In the winter wood and coal were burned in large metal weekly, La Veri/a; and La Vampa, a virulent, antifascist containers in an effort to keep the vendors at least some­ weekly edited and published by my father, Dr. Cesare D. what warm. These vendors worked very hard in order to Deleo, who also published the yearly XX Settembre. Popul ar become financially independent and to be able to educate too, was the famous IL Progresso Italo-Americano pub­ their children, many of whom became prominent in the lished in New York by Generoso Pope and in existence professional, political, or business world. until 1988 at which time, following a long strike, it was Referred to by many as " La Colonia Italiana"-the taken over by management and employees, resum ing Itali an Colony-Little It aly was pretty much independent publication as Oggi. in a certain sense. In addition to its extensive market, it THE CHURCH had its own churches, hospitals and doctors, pharmacies, Most of the It ali ans who came to this country practiced undert aking establishments, banks, newspapers, businesses their Catholocism in their own, superstitious way and most of all kinds, and numerous mutual aid societies, many were anticleri cal and justly so (I know from personal named after the town of origin of its members. For ex­ experience). But after arriving in a strange country most ample, the Societa' Italiana di Mutuo Soccorso San Bi ago developed fear and uncertainity to the point that they was incorporated in Philadelphia in 1897. In addition to thought they should attend services in the Catholic Church, retaining th eir own physicians on a yearly salary and dominated at that time by the Irish. Considering Italians helping members financially in case of illness or death, "inferiors," they discriminated against them; the situation these societies often helped the victims of such disasters became so bad the. Pope had to send Italian missionaries as the earthquakes in Calabria and San Francisco. to establish very modest houses of worship for their Little Italy boasted of having a number of "banks," compatriots. many of which were actually steamship agencies, employ­ The first Italian Roman Catholic church in the United ment agencies, or businesses which existed to send money States, St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi, was built in the Little back to Italy. The first Italian bank in Philadelphia was Italy area of Philadelphia at 712 Montrose Street in 1852. the Banca d ' Ambrosio (1886). D'Ambrosio also founded Bishop John Neuman, born in Czechoslovakia, felt that the the first Italo-American Building and Loan Association; it spiritual life of the immigrants was being neglected and later became the Aetna Savings and Loan Association, an entrusted Father Del1a Nave and Father Folchi with the important financial institution in the city. In 1887 the Frank spiritual care of all the Italians in the city. The original Di Berardino Bank was founded (it was managed by a very St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi's Church was started with good friend of ours, Mr. Castaldi), and there were a number the purchase of a Methodist chapel on the south side of

32 St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi Church in SOllth Philadelphia; th e first flalian national parish in th e The first Italian hospital in Philadelphia established by United States, it was established by Bishop J ohn Dr. Giuseppe Fabiani in 1904 at the northeast comer of Neumann in 1853. Tenth & Christian Streets. Montrose (then Marriot) Street between Seventh and Eighth was the Fabiani ltalian Hospital, established in 1904 at the Streets; Holy Mass was celebrated there for the first time corner of Tenth and Christian Streets; the second was on October 23, 1853. As time went on and the number opened on October 2, 1924, at 1037 South Broad Street. of parishioners increased, more space was needed; and so, Founded by the Mother Cabrini Sisters and created by on May 14, 1854, Bishop Neumann laid the cornerstone joining three red-brick houses, it was called Columbus of a new and larger church. Its new pastor was the Reverend Hospital; it was razed in 1964. The Fabiani Hospital, too, Gaetano Mariani who died in 1866; between that time and had been created from three red-brick houses and it had 1870, four different priests pastored the church. a pharmacy on the corner of the first floor. In later years In October, 1870, the Reverend Monsignor Antonio the hospital was moved to a building at the southwest Isoleri from Villanova, near Genova, became pastor of St. corner of Tenth and Carpenter Streets that had previously Mary Magdalen. Truly an extraordinary man, he expanded been a clinic. the church properties and established a school. Above all, The state-approved Fabiani Hospital was a great suc­ he created good will with his neighbors, most of whom cess. Its founder, Dr. Giuseppe Fabiani, was born in were Irish or of Irish descent. (So grateful was Fr. lsoleri Catanzaro Province in 1864 and received his medical degree for their love and cooperation that he gave the church a from the University of Naples in 1889. Following gradu­ statue of St. Patrick as a personal gift.) After the turn of ation he attended the Officers Medical School in Firenze the century, with the city's Italian population growing by and then practiced for a short while in Naples. He decided leaps and bounds, the Archbishop of Philadelphia, the Most to emigrate in 1902 and became licensed in New York, Reverend Patrick Ryan, established St. Rita's Church on New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. A very hard worker with the west side of South Broad Street between Ellsworth and terrific drive and energy, Dr. Fabiani was a stimulating man Federal Streets; the cornerstone-laying ceremony took place who helped many of his colleages. In fact, he was a on October 27, 1907. tremendous help to my father (whom he apparently knew Little Italy also had two non-Catholic Italian churches, as a student) when he arrived in Philadelphia. My father one Evangelical and one Presbyterian. With Italian immi­ would later be vice president of the Fabiani Hospital and grants facing discrimination in Irish Catholic churches, Corporation. non-Catholics made considerable inroads, inasmuch as they In Little Italy's early days some physicans would conduct tried to educate entire families and help them materially examinations in the backroom of a pharmacy or they would in every way. The Wanamaker family was prominent in simply meet there to gossip or have a card game. The first this work, and it was the famous merchant and philanthro­ Italian pharmacy in Philadelphia opened in 1878 at the pist himself, along with another John (John H. Converse southeast corner of Eighth and Fitzwater Streets; it wa of the Baldwin Locomotive Works) who established and owned by Dr. Pignatelli, who led a succes ful fight to financed the Prima Chiesa Presbiteriana Italiana di Phila­ abolish the treacherous pac/rone system. A young man by delphia in 1902. In addition to the church there was also the name of Vittorio Michelotti, born in Pisa in 1860, a kindergarten, an elementary school, and a dispensary. The arrived in the city the year the pharmacy opened and Italian Evangelical Church was founded in 1889 on Catherine obtained a job there. He worked very hard, studied, and Street by Dr. Teofilo D. Malan; of Waldesian origin, he became a pharmacist. After Dr. Pignatelli sold the business was a graduate of the University of Paris. to a Mr. Hickman, Michelotti continued his hard work and eventually was made a partner; when Hickman retired HOSPITALS AND PHARMACIES Michelotti bought out his interest; he was the first Italian Since Italian physicians were boycotted by Philadelphia pharmacist in Philadelphia. hospitals they started their own. The first in Little Italy The second Italian pharmacy, owned and operated by

33 Th e Tito Mantia Pharmacy at 938 South Eighth Street Gennaro Tito Mantia and his wife alld children stand ill decorated for Armistice Day after World War I. the pharmacy's doorway. Gennaro Tito Manlio, was opened in 1890 at 938 South that they were obligated to you. When my father, carrying Eighth Street. Tito Manlio was born in Avellino Province his black emergency bag, made house calls during the night in 1866 and graduated as a pharmacist in 1888. He had and was waiting on the corner for the trolley car, many a pharm acy in his hometown of Montefalcione and was of these "gentlemen" would ask if they might escort him doing well, but decided to seek his fortune in the United home. He never accepted. These individuals had the highest States; his son Ferdinand took over the business when respect for two persons-the doctor and the priest. Indeed, Gennaro Tito Manlio died. The next pharmacy to open was they were absolute gentlemen, generous and respectful, the one located in the Fabiani Italian Hospital; it was provided one did not interfere in anyway whatsoever with managed by one of the most intelligent, fearless, and their business. extraordinary men in Little Italy- Francesco Bartone, uni­ Although they administered their own "justice," Phila­ versally called " Don Ciccio." Born in Vibo Valencia in delphia in those days was absolutely safe and one could Catanzaro Province, he emigrated to the United States in roam around day and night- as I did. I do not recall anyone 1902, settling as a pharmacist at the hospital. When I first ever being caught in a cross fire. It was Prohibition, and met him , Don Ciccio was a stout , imposing man with dark­ these members of the Underworld, in collusion with the rimmed glasses and a fine moustache. highest political and law enforcement authorities, con­ After a number of years Don Ciccio returned to Italy, trolled all of the illegal trade in alcohol. It was a very but his son John remained at the Fabiani Italian Hospital; remunerative business, and in consequence there were wars it was understood that he would attend pharmacy school. between factions because of territorial disputes; most, However, apparently something serious happened between however, were carried out outside the city. I remember a Dr. Giuseppe Fabiani and John , because John was ousted. number of individuals who were killed and I must say they My father intervened but witho ut success, in spite of th e were fine young men, but it was "a dirty and dangerous close ties he had with both parties. Feeling that his son business." I remember a number of them visiting our home had been mistreated, Don Ciccio immediately returned to and they were very kind and respectful toward my mother Philadelphia to even the score; this desire for revenge is who often would lecture to them to leave the racket. But, an innate characteristic of the Calabresi. He did so by as they always told her, once you are in you cannot. leave. opening his own pharmacy, La Rinascente, on the northeast THE BALDI FAMILY corner of Ninth and Christian Streets soon after his return. Carmine Carlo A. Baldi, a man with a limited education, In the rear of the store he also practiced a little minor created an empire in Philadelphia that took care of the medicine. His son John did become a pharmacist and Don Italian immigrant from the cradle to the grave. Born in Ciccio purchased a business for him in a small town near Castelnuovo, Cilento (Salerno) in 1862, he emigrated to Naples. Don Ciccio himself returned to Italy where he died the United States with his father, Vito, and his brother in his hometown. Virgilio in 1877. The three started out as fruit hucksters * * * in Philadelphia, but when Vito returned to Italy in 1880 Next to La Rinascente, on the north side of Christian the two young men moved to Atlantic City. When their Street, was the famous Matarazzo Pastry Shop, headquar­ business failed they too went back to Italy, only to return ters of the so-called "Underworld" of the times. The secret to Philadelphia and the fruit-selling business some six in those days was to mind your own business and never months later. In the following years Carlo and Virgilio ask or accept favors from anyone involved in it, especially would be joined by their brothers Guerrino, Fiorvanti, and if you were a physician. Rather, always maintain the position Alphonso.

34 The Baldi brothers established th e first anthracite coal business ill Philadelphia. It was located ill the 1300 block o/WashingtonAvenue, one block/rom the DeLeo home.

I '//1 t The Baldi real estate office on South Eighth Street.

As time went on the Baldi broth ers created a powerful empire. Carlo, Virgilio and Fiorvanti Baldi , along with Lewis, Frank, and Emilio Roma, established the It ali an Exchange Bank with Ca rl o Baldi as pres ident. Th e bank represented the Banca Co mmerciale It ali ana and th e Cun ard Line; it was also an employ ment office and so ld railroad and stea mship tickets here and abroad. Ca rl o Baldi was also pres id ent of th e above-m entioned Societa' Itali ano di Mutuo Soccorso San Bi ago, and the famil y own ed and published Phil adelph ia's first Italian-l anguage dail y news­ paper, L 'Opillio fl e, and were editors and publishers of th e extensively illustrated La Colonia Italialla di Fila delfia , printed for th e Mil an Ex position in 1906. [n addition they Carmine Carlo A. Baldi; he created an empire In own ed and operated a travel agency, a real estate busin ess, Philadelphia that took care a/the Italian immigrant from a mort gage and loan business, an in urance co mpany (fir e, the cradle to the gra ve. life, accident ) and one of th e cit y's most prosperous und ert ak ing estab li shm ents. Unqu esti onab ly, the fa mil y In 1883 Carlo Bald i was hired by th e Schuylkill Vall ey wielded great fin ancial, political, and social power, and C. Rai lroad in Pottsville as an interpreter. He later sent for C. A. Baldi and hi s broth ers were well -respected by th e hi s bro th ers and they were given th e job of "exploiter" wealth y and powerful of th e tim e. of a stone qu arry. Th is in turn led th em into th e coal busi ness, and th ey arranged to receive deli veri es via the FUNERAL CUSTOMS railroad to their depot in the ci ty. Thei rs was the fi rst Fiorvanti Baldi, who had att end ed school to become an anth raci te coal busin ess in Ph iladelphia and it was located und ert aker, was in charge of th e Baldi fun eral bu sin es . in the 1300 block of Washington Avenu e (o ne block from Francesco Travascio was another promin ent and we ll -re­ my Ellsworth Street home). Th e Baldi brothers developed spected fun eral director- th e owner of im pressive buil d­ the busi ness with great success, especiall y aft er they were ings, ca rri ages, and horses, all indi ca ti ve of th e fact th at the fi rst to receive coal from the anthraci te region (w here in those days funerals were taken very seri ously. At fi r t, C. C. A. Baldi was a pa rt owner of some of the mines) th e vi ew ing was held in th e home; th en, with a band after th e fa mous strike was settl ed in 1902. pl ay in g a fun eral march, th e fun eral proce ion made its

35 especially during the winter months. They were also a generous, hospitable people who shared among themselves a good deal. [ remember a great many interesting people dropping by our house on Ellsworth Street. Don Ciccio Bartone, fo r example, often came by on Sunday to discuss politics and sip a cup of espresso. And in those days police officers walked the beat and one in particular became a close friend of the family. Ralph Rizzo was attached to the Seventh and Carpenter Street Precinct and would often stop in to see us. The grandson of one of those who fought with Garibaldi for Italian independence, he was born in Catanzaro Province and emigrated to the United States in 1908. (His eldest son, Frank, the future mayor of Philadel phia, was born- in 1920.) It should be mentioned here, too, that in addition to the Rizzo family, the Bartone family, the Fabiani family, and my fami ly, the DeLeos, were all Calabresi, origi nating in small mountai nous towns in the Provi nce of Catanzaro. The Baldi funeral business on South Eighth Street. Another extraordinary and colorful individual who stopped at our house many times was Professor Emilio Grosso. Born in Genova in 1878, he arrived in New York way along th e wide sidewalks or through the streets to the in 1905 with $25 in his pocket and no other possessions. church. I can remember very distinctly th e funerals that A man of great learning and culture but forced at first to went by our house on Ellsworth Street: At the head of take a menial job, he moved to Philadelphia a year later the procession was th e funeral director wearing a long and became editor of L 'Opiniofle. He then taught Italian black coat with tai ls and a high, black stovepipe hat; in at the Berlitz School where he made many fri ends who his right hand he carried a baton to direct the march to later became his private students. During th e First World the church. Following him was the band, th e men bearing War he became the most prosperous teacher of Italian in the coffin , and the mourners. the city, and after the war he was employed by the As time passed funeral directors began using horse­ government to help Italians who wanted to be repatriated. drawn hearses and carriages-white for infants and young Gradually he engaged in the importation of Florentine people and black for adults. The Baldi establishment had crafts and eventually opened his famous Florentine Shop dozens of luxurious carriages (also used for weddings, which catered to the wealthiest people in the country. baptisms, and so forth) and many, many, drivers and Professor Grosso had taught my father English in prepa­ ushers. And, I believe th at in spite of th e fact that viewings ration for hi s state medical board examinations, so they were customaril y held in the home, the Baldi brothers had known each other a long time. When he came to visit initiated a viewing parlor with stained glass windows. As us he would sit in his favorite chair in my father's office I said, funerals were taken seriously and everything con­ discussing Italy, the political situation, world affairs, and nected with them-and, indeed, with death-was somber. various _other topics. Of course he would sip a glass of Mourning lasted for years; widows always dressed in black homemade wine or a cup of espresso while my father, as and some also wore a black veil. Men usually wore black usual, would be smoking his long "peace pipe" filled with ties and a wide black band on their left arm. The funeral aromatic Prince Albert tobacco. Certainly there were many, ceremony itself conveyed a very important message about ma ny more prominent and colorful individuals in the significance of a tight-knit family. Philadelphia's Little Italy too, many of whom I knew THE HOME AND FAMILY personally and others I had heard about; far too many to describe here. A hard-working, thrifty, and family-oriented people, by 1900 two of every three Italians in Philadelphia owned * * * their own home. In those days Italians were accustomed In Italy there is a famous phrase used to describe to having a cantina, which was actually the basement of Southerners: "Scarpe grosse, cervello fine"; literally, "heavy their red-brick house. In the cantina they had all their shoes and a fine-tuned brain"; it may help to explain their home-preserved foodstuffs: homemade wine (we made about eventual success in their new country. For poor and often ten whiskey barrelsful a year); tuna fish preserved in olive illiterate as many undoubtly were, they prospered in their oil; all kinds of tomato sauces; roasted peeled peppers; new surroundings. Consequently, the great number of Italian cheeses; eggplants immersed in vinegar; and many others. Americans who became highly educated and cultured That was one of the characteristics of the Italians-they through the sacrifices of their hardworking parents, now felt cozy when they knew their cantina was well-stocked, feel justly proud of their ethnic and family background.

36 "AN AURA OF TOUGHNESS, TOO": ITALIAN IMMIGRATION TO PITTSBURGH AND VICINITY

by Catherine Cerrone

Recently widowed Carmela Giarrusso with her five Little girls paraded through the Larimer Avellue sectioll children in Pittsburgh's Hill District, 1923. The family of East Liberty during the Feast of the Assumption, c. hailed from Campolieto, Italy, in the region ofAbruzzo. 1940. (All photographs from the Italian American Her perserverance gave credence to the Italian proverb, Collection, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania) /lIf the father should die, the family would suffer; if the

mother should die, the family would cease to exist. /I

Following the larger pattern of Italian immigration to ditions, separation from family, low wages, prejudice, and the United States, Pittsburgh and the surrounding region dangerous working conditions. did not experience any significant influx of Italian immi­ Eastern European, Syrian, and Greek immigration to the grants until the 1880s. A part of the "new immigration," Pittsburgh region dried up before World War II, but Italians those arriving in the United States from the 1880s until kept coming; their numbers surged after the war and they the 1930s were from Southern and Eastern Europe. For continued arriving well into the 1970s. In the 1980s they the most part, the Italian immigrants came from small, rural were by far the largest immigrant group in Pittsburgh, with villages or paesi. While their main economy was agricul­ 20,000 reported. l Today there are more than 200,000 Italian tural, these Italians were more than farmers. Most pos­ Americans-foreign and native-born combined-living in sessed skills and know-how-from bricklaying to shoe the city and the surrounding seven-county (Allegheny, repair-that would eventually serve them well in the Beaver, Fayette, Greene, Lawrence, Washington, and American marketplace, although initially they had very few Westmoreland) region.2 The following look at this ex­ options. Clustering along the banks of the Ohio River and tended community includes a brief survey of the Down­ its tributaries, the Monongahela and the Allegheny, and in town-Lower Hill district and East Liberty, the two earli­ the mineral-rich hills and valleys surrounding them, these est-and perhaps, in their heyday the most colorful­ new immigrants would pour and pound steel, mine coal, Italian settlements in Pittsburgh; it also touches on several dig sewer lines, lay railroad ties, and pave roads. In order other significant Italian communities inside and outside the to survive they would have to tolerate filthy living con- city.

37 however, it was a tight-knit community. People who spoke DOWNTOWN AND THE LOWER different languages and whose backgrounds, cultures, and HILL DISTRICT values differed in the extreme, lived together in close In th e 1880s th e first sizable "colony " of It ali ans, some quarters, coexisting relatively peacefully, as former resi­ several hundred, settled in the downtown area of Pittsburgh dents attest. A social worker described the neighborhood bounded by Fifth and Sixth Avenues and Smithfield and in 1921: "There are also communities of foreigners which Grant Streets. The center of this community was Virgin may justly be called melting pots. Logan Street, a mar­ Alley (now Oliver Avenue). This was a narrow street at keting place, is an example. Above the bakeries, butcher the time with multiple family tenements and poor sanita­ shops, groceries and other small stores, families dwell, tio n. As Virginia Cerminara, now ninety-one, remembers Italians next to Russians, Poles next to Syrians." Inter­ it, "Virgin Alley had a pump in the middle. There were viewed for a Historical Society project, early Italian resi­ houses on one side and houses on the other and it had dents of the area remember the Jewish shops they patron­ a pump in the center. No grass, it was cement, and who'd ized on Logan Street, where poultry was selected and ever get up first in the morning to wash clothes, they all butchered on the spot and where clothes were sold off tried to pump the water."4 Initially the downtown area was outdoor racks. They remember, too, l'arabiano, the Syrian a practical place for Italians to settle, as they worked in who peddled rags, pots, and pans from house to house; labor gangs on jobs they could walk to, digging sewer lines, and l'arrotino, the scissors grinder who rang his bell as paving downtown streets, and working on the railroads. he made his way up and down the steep streets of the Hill, Stefano Gallati, who emigrated to Pittsburgh in 1909 when his grinder on his back. he was sixteen, lived for some time in a boxcar with fellow The Lower Hill district was the financial and cultural laborers. Now one hundred years old, he still remembers center of Italian life in the early 1900s. The three Italian what it was like: " ... four on one side, four the other state banks of Pittsburgh were located there: Napoleon side. Life was not like today. That's why the Italian people, Bank on Wylie Avenue near Fifth Avenue; De Luca V. we don't wanna stay here, we just work two, three years, and Company, at 801 Webster Avenue; and Bernardini make a little money and go back."5 At this particular time Bank on Sixth Avenue near Grant. The city's Italian Stefano Gallati was digging streets downtown, but he newspaper, La Trinacria, and Italian printing company, moved around depending on where he could find work. Frediani, were also housed in this quarter. Here, too, were In 1890 the total foreign-born population of Pittsburgh congregated the majority of doctors' and lawyers' offices,9 was about 80,000, with 36,000 of these German and 26,000 providing an entree into the small but definable class of Irish; only 2,035 were Italian, but that number grew steadily Pittsburgh's Italian elite: Dr. F. Sunseri, who hailed from as the city slowly made a name for itself among them. Sicily and who had established a successful medical prac­ In fact, by 1900 the number of Italians in Pittsburgh had tice in the city by the turn of the century; B. Piccardo, risen to 6,495-6.7% of the city's foreign-born population. who owned one of the largest macaroni factories in the Although this ranked Pittsburgh's Italian community eighth Strip district; Salvatore Catanzaro, who ran one of the in the nation at the time, it was greatly outnumbered by city's wholesale fruit auction houses; V. De Luca, who second-ranked Philadelphia's 17,830. By 1910 the number owned one of Pittsburgh's Italian state banks and who was of Italians in Pittsburgh had more than doubled to 14,158, considered by the local newspaper to be "the richest Italian with nearly 27,000 more residing in Allegheny County. who does business in this city, starting some years ago By 1910, when living space downtown became con­ as a poor young man whose line was employing men for stricted due to expanding businesses and an increasing contractors";l0 A. Panarello, president of a residential con­ number of immigrants, many of its residents started making tracting business; and Mario Canciellere, an attorney and their way to the bordering Lower Hill district. At this time publisher of La Trinacria. the second and third wards of the Downtown-Lower Hill In addition to being a financial and cultural center, the district had 3,662 Italian residents; nearly half of their Downtown-Lower Hill district was a hub of religious life; foreign-born population.6 With Webster Avenue- a broad the first Italian Catholic parish in Pittsburgh was estab­ thoroughfare considered the main artery of the Italian lished here with worship services initially held in a makeshift settlement-running through it, the Lower Hill was building on Forbes Avenue. In 1919, after enough money Pittsburgh's own version of New York City's lower East had been raised, St. Peter's Church was erected on Fernando Side. It was the destination of Eastern Europeans, Asians, Street. It was the pride of Italians in the Lower Hill district, and African Americans as well as Italians. Housing con-· for they had never felt welcome at Epiphany, the ditions were considered slum-like, and for those accus­ neighborhood's Irish Catholic Church. In 1944 an Italian tomed to Pittsburgh's green, open spaces it was a true stonemason, a master craftsman, was commissioned to example of urban squalor. build a large grotto in the courtyard next to St. Peter's. With only 234 acres, the third ward was the smallest Modeled after Lourdes Shrine in France, the grotto was in the city; it had a gross density of nearly one hundred described as "a refuge for Hill families seeking escape from persons per acre. As is the case with many ghettoes, the oppressive confines of the slums."

38 The Balestreire family poses with th eir produce wagon on Penn Avenue, in Pittsburgh's Strip District. Many Italian immigrants, especially Sicilians, prospered in Pittsburgh's produce industry.

Labriola's grocery store, on East Liberty's A banquet for the Spigno Satumia Club, c. 1950. Larimer Avenue, c. 1920. Th e family-owned Pittsburgh's Italian American community maintained grocery store became a symbol of Italian strong ties to Italy beyond World War II, when many new entrepreneurship. immigrants poured into th e region due to the devastation suffered in southern Italy during the war.

St. Peter's Church, its grotto, and the Lower Hill district the feelings of many Italians from East Liberty (in the itself are but a memory today. All were victims of an urban city's east end) who looked down on their compatriots from renewal project in the 1950s, when the Urban Redevel­ the Lower Hill. One lifelong resident of the East End opment Authority razed the area in order to build th e Civic claimed that "the people in the Hill District . .. were not Arena. Italians who were forced out of the dist rict were as talented or intelligent as the people from Larimer Avenue lifelong residents, although by now the area was predomi­ and East Liberty." 12Anoth er remembered that "there was nately African American and had been since the 1940s. an aura of pride, an aura of dignity coming from Larimer Many rural southern Blacks migrated north between the Avenue. There was an aura of toughness, toO. "13 World Wars, and by the late 1940s there were nearly nine These sentiments had their roots in the history of Italian thousand living in the third ward-it was a thriving area settlement in East Liberty, where a growing professional for night clubs and jazz singers-as compared to slightly class began settling on Larimer Avenue in the 1880s. The more than one thousand Italians. Having saved enough Reverend Anthony De Stasi, the pastor of the first and only money by this time to be able to buy pro pert y, many Presbyterian Church for Italians in East Liberty, described Italians had moved from the Lower Hill to an area off the the community as "the mecca of Italian artisans. Stone Upper Hill called the Bluff; it looked down over th e cutters, marble setters, cabinet makers, gardeners, road Monongahela River. Houses here were considered to be builders, interi or decorators, and skilled workers of all of better stock than the crowded tenements of the Lower kinds were among the best to be found anywhere. The Hill, and there was space as well for small backyard garden unskilled laborers were th ere, too. So were the future giants plots, always an attraction for land-lovi ng Italians. of the building industry."14 A 1928 tally of Italian con­ tractors lists thirty-eight building contractors, fourteen EAST LIBERTY cement contractors, twenty-two concrete construction con­ tractors, and six marble-cutting businesses thereY Living in their separate communities, Italians were often The focal point of the East Liberty community was class conscious and territorial, conditions exemplified by Larimer Avenue, where fami ly-owned businesses and shops

39 Th e Kingsley House, a privately fUllded settlemellf house, came to Ea st Liberty ill 1918 to serve th e Italian immigrants. Th e Kingsley Association described th e community as one where "times were hard, but where the people had courage and in spiratioll ."

thrived; it wa Pittsburgh's " Little It aly ." United States Censu Report s show more It alians than Germans or Iri sh in Allegheny County for the first time in 1920. At that time there were lightly more than 15,000 Italians in Pitt burgh and 7,000 of them lived in East liberty's 12th Wedding of Frank alld Pircilla Vera II ese, Pittsburgh, c. ward- the highest number in anyone neighborhood. By 1930. Typica l wedding of that era. 1930 Larimer Avenue had 9,000 Italian resident; 70% of the total population. 16 Regarded by outsiders as a rough By the 1960s East Liberty wa changing, largely due part of town where numbers writing and street life flour­ to the Urban Redevelopment Authority which had begun ished, Larimer Avenue was beloved by those who lived an "urban beautificati on" program there. Resolving to cut there. As one former resident says, it was "the best place a swath through the dense, grid-like street system so friendly in the world to be raised. Nothing like it. No neighborhood to the pedestrian lifestyle, they built the Penn Circle bypass, in the world. Hey commare! Hey compare! You'd be a labrynth of concrete which rerouted traffic away from hugging and ki s ing."17 The Avenue, as residents called the central business district and cut merchants off from it, was dotted with grocery, drug, and shoe stores; butcher their customers. A former resident of East Liberty, forced and barber shops; and bakeries- all small, family-owned in 1990 to close the grocery store on Latimer Avenue bu inesses. In addition, there were twenty-four Italian or­ founded by his father in 1909, said: "Mellon Bank and ganizations documented in the Larimer area in the 1930s, [the] East Liberty Chamber of Commerce ... destroyed ranging from fraternal clubs to women's sodalities. East Liberty by putting a circle around it. [They thought] The Latimer area wa also home to the privately funded people were going to park on the outside of the circle and Kingsley Settlement House, an outreach of Pittsburgh's walk in ... it was a concept that would never work."20 social welfare movement. It was established in East Liberty Neighborhood change was accelerated, too, by the Urban in 1919 to serve a community where- in its words­ Redevelopment Authority's destruction of the Lower Hill "condition were hard, but where the people had courage district. When urban renewal work there displaced a large and inspiration"18 Here Italians, as well as other racial and part of its African American population, many relocated ethnic groups, could take English cla ses, music lessons, to East Liberty. Indeed, the percentage of African Ameri­ and arts and crafts courses, as well as participate in cans in the Larimer Avenue section of East Liberty in­ wimming and sport program . There was also a Mother's creased dramatically, from 13.7% of the population in 1950 Club and a Grandma's Club, and in the summer children to 54% in 1960;21 by 1970 there were 14,000 living there­ and their mothers were bu ed to the Lillian Taylor summer almost 68% of the total population. Fewer than 1,000 camp, where for several weeks they could benefit from Italians remained. sun hine and fresh air in a wilderness setting. The Kingsley Since Italians and Blacks had always lived together in Settlement House was Pittsburgh's best example of how East Liberty (most contend peace full y), this drastic de­ "civic cohe ivenes could be attained in a context of crease in the Italian presence demands a closer look. In religious, cla ,ethnic, and racial heterogenity."19 Unfor­ 1970 one observer offered his own-rather disturbing­ tunately, it would not la t. perspective on conditions there: " ... Blacks and Italians

40 First Holy Communion of Maria Olmizzi, ca. 1930, near Pittsburgh. Most Italian Americans began their formal instruction as Roman Catholics with this sacrament.

Participants in the feast of Sail Aniello pose on the steps of Our Lady Help of Christians church. The church was erected by th e Italian imrnigra/lt community in 1898. This particular festa was celebrated by East Liberty's Neopalitan community. lived together in a kind of unholy matrimony. Familiarity building trades, and settled in Morningside, the youngest did not engender respect. At one level the Italians despised of the Italian communities in the city and perhaps the the Blacks for their supposed biological inferiority and strongest. Here a group started the Calabria Club of Pitts­ inadequate lifestyles. At another level they respected them. burgh three years ago; today it has about five hundred This, because it had been demonstrated through 'racial members. These club members are not the old-timers, but incidents' and pitched battles over time that there was a a fresh, younger force who are the leaders and organizers great deal of pent up anger in the Black portion of the of Italian American civic events such as the Columbus Day community and that it would not take too much by way parade, and community events such as La Festa di San of overt aspersion to trigger off riots. The Blacks for their Rocco, held every August in Morningside. The old-timers, part feared the Italians. They were well-aware of the now scattered across the city and suburbs but nostalgic for activities of those in gangland and, in particular, were the strong feeling of family that existed in the old neigh­ afraid of the Mafia whom they saw as being, potentially, borhood, formed the Latimer Avenue Social Club in 1985. the protector of any Larimer Avenue resident."23 Its four hundred members meet once a month for dinner The issue of East Liberty's decline, then, is a sensitive and dancing; its newsletter, La Famigiia, chronicles its and complex one. Italian Americans had prospered in East members' current activities and runs features about the old Liberty, to be sure, but by the 1960s the age of the days. automobile and suburbanism had arrived, not only in Pitts­ Another significant, although smaller, Italian settlement burgh, but all across the United States. First- and second­ in Pittsburgh was in Oakland, where the immigrants clus­ generation Italians could show off their successes by tered in a ravine leading to a bluff called Panther Hollow. embracing these status symbols of the times and did so: By 1920 there were two thousand Italians living in Oak­ The majority of Italians from East Liberty moved to the land, many of them from the village of Gamberale, in the suburbs of Penn Hills and Plum Borough. Census figures Abruzzi region. In the early 1900s these villagers organized show nearly 5,000 of them-about 20% of Pittsburgh's a fraternal club in Oakland for Gamberale's patron saint, entire Italian population- living in Penn Hills in 1970.24 San Lorenzo, and established a celebration, La Festa di Leaving, they took away much of the neighborhood's San Lorenzo, held every August. When the parade is held economic base, and property values plummeted as the nowadays, the statue of the saint is carried on a pickup community lost its draw. This began a downward economic truck, a good indication of the shrinking number of able­ spiral that brought the area to the decayed state it is in bodied participants in the Oakland Italian community. today. In the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Bloomfield, just west of East Liberty, Italians from the town of Ateleta, also in MORNINGSIDE, OAKLAND, AND BLOOMFIELD the Abruzzi region, proliferated. (Atalese say there are Not all Italians succumbed to the lure of the suburbs; more of them in Pittsburgh today than lived in their native some did remain in the city, moving to a neighborhood community in its entire ISS-year hi story as a town.) northwest of East Liberty called Morningside. In fact, after Bloomfield, which had a population of nearly 6,000 Italians World War II, many Italians from the town of Maierato in 1920, is still a cohesive, relatively healthy Italian com­ in Calabria emigrated to Pittsburgh, found jobs in the munity today. Italian restaurants and grocery store line

41 its mai n street, Liberty Avenue, off of which are tucked who remained behind in Italy; th ey sent any money they modest, single-family dwellings. For casual observers of could save back home. the It alian-American experience in Pittsburgh, Bloomfield When the mines opened they were a relatively steady is perhaps th e first neighborh ood that comes to mind, since source of employment, and this allowed th e immigrants it has the distinction of being the only one whi ch has to send for their fam ili es. One who remembers th at time endured; the only one which has always had an Italian is ninety-eight-year-old Louise Fieroni . She had been living majority within its borders. The Italian vice-consul of with her aunt near Belluno in Northern Italy when her Pittsburgh maintains th at this was the result of a fresh parents sent for her in 1908. Twelve years old, she arr ived influx of immigrants, mainly from the Abruzzo-Molise in Avella on the train: "Mother always praised the United region, after World War II. Chain migration into Bloomfield States so much, 'Come on to America, you'll see how nice over th e years has perhaps been the key to its longevity, it is.' So when we wake up in th e morning, I told my along with the fact that it s infrastructure has not been sister, 'Let's look over America and see what it looks like.' tampered with. So we put back the drape and looked out on Highland Avenue, and all we see is a pile of mud. I didn't like it."25 ITALIAN COMMUNITIES OUTSIDE OF PITTSBURGH • • • Outside of Pittsburgh, Italian communities sprang up in Although the seven coal patches surrounding th e town areas where th e growth of industry created a need fo r of Avella petered out in the 1930s, many Avellans re­ unskilled labor. With its limestone qu arries and huge tin mained there. Many are now retired; those who still work commute to their jobs. Research in Avella is now being plate mill, New Castle and the surrounding region was one such pl ace; according to United States Census figures, in conducted with a focus on the rural experience of Italian Americans in Western Pennsylvania, which, at least for 1980 the region had one of the highest per capit.a con­ Avella, is a fast-fading experience. centrations of Italians in the country. Today, those of Italian birth or descent comprise 64% of New Castle's ENDNOTES population. Of course, New Castle, like Pittsburgh, is urban, 'Nora Faires, "Immigrants and Industry," in City at th e Point: Essays on the Social History oj Pillsburgh , p. 18. but even though Italians made their mark in America 2We the People: An Atlas oj America's Ethnic Diversity, p. 282. largely as urban dwellers, they also have a history in rural 'Allegheny County's Americans By Choice, edited by Margaret E. Western Pennsylvania. Hartford , p. 29. ' Interview with Virginia DeSimone, August 2, 1994. Propert y of It was the abundance of coal in its hills that brought Italian-America n Archives at the Histori ca l Society of Wes tern Pennsyl­ many immigrants to the region, and those immigrants often vania. had little choice but to dig coal in order to make a living. ' Interview with Stefano Gallati, Ma y 13, 1994. Propert y of the Italian­ American Archives at the Historical Society of Wes tern Pennsylvania. But for the most part Italians were not content in the mines 61910 Census Report : Urbana and Chicago, 1982). and left if they could find other work. Many had been ' John Bodnar, , Roger Simon, and Michael P. Weber, Lives oj Their advised against working in the mines even before they Own (Univ. of Illinois Press: Urbana and Chicago, 1982). "Minnie Hildreth Bachrach, "The Immigrant on the Hill," M. A. emigrated to the United States; they were told it was Thesis, Carnegie Institute of Technology, 1921 p. 2 dangerous, backbreaking work with low pay, little room 9Ella Burn Myers, "Some Italian Groups in Pittsburgh" M. S. Thes is, for real advancement, and poor job security. Those from Carnegie Institute of Technology, 1920, p. 23. IO Pillsburgh Leader, January 17, 1904. Northern Italy, where there was a mining industry, were " Pillsburgh Post Gazelle, November 26, 1956. said to tolerate work in the mines better than their southern 12 Interview with Rosemarie Policastro, August 2, 1994. Property of the counterparts. Salvatore Migliore, an Italian Presbyterian Italian-America n Archives at the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. " Interview with Joe Massaro, Sept. 12, 1994. Property of the Italian­ minister who conducted research on the Italians in Pitts­ American Archives at the Historica l Society of Western Pennsylvania. burgh in the 1920s, stated: "My experience tells me that " Anthony Di Stasi, Th e Miracle oj Trinity: A Concise History oj the actual number of Northerners in Pittsburgh is large. Trinity Presbyterian Church, 1964, p. 11. " Salvatore Migliore , HalJ A Century oj Italian Immigration into In proportion to the rest, they make up probably twenty Pillsburgh and Allegheny County, M. A. Thesis, University of Pittsburgh, percent of the total. ... Northern Italians have been 1927, p. 30. attracted here because of their attitude for work in the iron 16 Bodnar, et. aI., Lives oj Th eir Own. " Interview with Cookie Rizzo, June 20, 1994. Property of the Italian­ mines, as well as for commerce." American Archives at the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. If the history of Avella, a coal town about forty miles '" Kingsley House, Annual Report, 1952 west of Pittsburgh, is at all representative of the mining 19Roy Lubove, "Pittsburgh and Social Welfare History," in City at the Point, p. 298. experience of Italians in Western Pennsylvania, that may :!O lnterview with Gerry Pom pa, August IS, 1994. Property of the Italian- well be true. Avella had a large Northern Italian population, American Archives at the Hist orica l Society of Western Pennsylvania. the majority of which came from the Piedmont region. 21 Bodnar, et. aI., Lives oj Th eir Own. 22 1970 Census Report . Many of these Northerners had been enlisted by recruiting 2JCollin De'Ath, "Patterns of Participation and Exclusion: A Poor agents in Italy, and their first job in Avella was building Italian and Black Urban Community and its Response to a Federal Poverty the Wabash Railroad, needed to transport coal to Pitts­ Program," Uni versity of Pittsburgh, 1970. 201 1970 Census Report . burgh. The men worked in gangs, moving from one site 2.5 Interview with Louise Fieroni, April 13, 1994. Property of the Italian­ to another. Most were single or had wives and children American Archi ves at the Historical Societ y of Western Pennsylvania.

42 EXPRESSIONS OF LOVE, ACTS OF LABOR: WOMEN'S WORK IN AN ITALIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY by Janet Theophano

Fried meatballs in a dish on the stove ready to be put on the table.

Antipasto -- a salad of lettuces, tomatoes, beets, tUlia, anchovies, hard-boiled eggs, olives, Italian sausage, lunch meats, and cheeses; it is dressed with oil and vinegar. This dish is served first and separately as its own course.

Food is love. It is power. If giVIng food is about nurturing, it is also about exerting influence and taking control. It is about the responsibility of adulthood, specifi­ cally women's adulthood. The work that women do in the preparation and orchestration of food events, so long neglected and so often trivialized, is finally receiving some Macaroni and "gravy"; the gravy meats are separated well-deserved attention. What interest there had been in from the sauce before serving. Bread, butter, Parmesan this domain was often unexamined. Researchers have as­ cheese and wine are also on the table. sumed the nature of the relationship that exists between

43 women and food in domestic life. l Nowhere has that relationship been emphasized more than among women of THE WORK OF FEEDING various ethnic and immigrant groups. It has, in some cases, Food exchange and reciprocity is one way of acknowl­ led to the creation of stereotypes which do not reflect the edging relationship and of maintaining it. Beyond its semiotic reality and the variability of women's lives. In recent years, function, it is an important resource in times of economic however, the effort to write women into the historical stress. While signaling ties, commemorating the past, and record and to attend to women's artistic expression has nourishing bodies within and among households are clearly generated an interest in-and an appreciation of-domestic among the most salient aspects of the work that women life, with startling consequences. Ideas and assumptions do through food,6 to that must be added another. For, along about women's work have been reexamined in light of with food exchange, women plan and orchestrate, both these new feminist approaches to and understandings of formally and informally, the rituals and events which bind social and cultural life. 2 not only families, but communities together. Through these Along with women, the home has also been viewed as rituals in and outside of the home, children are enculturated a conservative and stable place untouched by the larger and socialized7 and members of the community are re­ society. The newer view suggests that women and their minded of their shared pasts and values. In the case at homes are as often the sites of social change, either through hand the community is Italian, but the processes through the inadvertent or deliberate interventions of others or by which these women represent this particular culture-that their own design. Magazines, newspapers, cookery books, is through repetitive patterns of food use and alterations assorted forms of domestic literature and other media which to those patterns-are not unlike the processes women in enter the home are all sources of new ideas and information different communities and in other historical periods have which women in conjunction with their peers explore or engaged in for similar purposes. resist as they wish.3 Decision-making and the push and pull of that process Because food is a subject often talked about by men reveals the shifting and complicated set of relationships in and women together and by women alone, it is also a code this network and community; relationships which are for other kinds of concerns. It is a way of talking about constituted and maintained through some of these occa­ what is happening to and between families and to the sions. In these planning discussions new hierarchies are individuals in those families. Conversation about food is established and old ones dismantled. The situations and also talk about life and how it should be lived, and about constraints of domestic economies, time, and the ability how others should and should not be treated. Sometimes to exploit other resources and services reveal the particular it traces disagreements which are never directly confronted, niches and the statuses of the women in the network; the and at other times it ameliorates conflicts which are known. power that women wield in the domestic sphere and in It is the physical embodiment of the past in the present; the larger community. Accordingly, the rituals and their it is a sensory path to the future. continuity are often the means by which women control This is a story about the relationships that several aspects of an apparently male-dominated culture.g It is, women-part of an Italian American network in the small after all, women's expertise in these affairs which is re­ southeastern Pennsylvania town of Mary ton-have with quired if they are to happen. each other and with each other's families through food. It is not only an enactment of the past which occurs I shall describe briefly two women at different stages of in the ritual scenes, however, but cultural innovation as the domestic cycle, discussing their relationship to one well. Relationships which cross cultural borders are sources another and to the larger female network of which they of inspiration and allow for the introduction of fresh ideas. are, or are not, a part. I deliberately avoid any catcgori­ They may be the wellspring of originality. They are zation which denies these women their individuality and opportunities for opening the cultural repertoire to the idiosyncratic behaviors, while at the same time identifying outsider, and for receiving from the other both in literal those areas which they hold in common. By that I mean and figurative ways. The boundaries of the home are the ways in which food is used by the women and their permeable; those living within do extend their sphere of friends and family, and the expressive as well as very real influence, reaching out and bringing in people and ideas work that is accomplished by them in its use and exchange. from the larger society. Although the data for this paper was collected primarily Finally, recipes and 'menus, both innovative and con­ between 1979 and 1981, we4 continue to benefit from our servative. encode family and community histories; they are friendship with the women we worked with and learned another way of telling the stories people live, underscoring from. Indeed, during the past nearly twenty years we have what people already know or revealing what is not known. kept up the relationship, continuing to learn about their In this group of women these communal memories are lives and about changes which have affected the commu­ discussed in the contexts of food selection, preparation, and nity. (That might be, I suppose, one of the benefits of doing consumption. Seldom do they write down a recipe or record field study close to home.) The results of this research have on paper the details of an event. Rather, every event at been written about elsewhere, in published and unpublished which food is cooked or eaten is an occasion for potential works.s remembrance and commemoration.9 Women playa major

44 role in defining the ritual, in estab li shing th e ways in which and dealing wi th th e extension and loss of family and it will be enacted, and in recalling for th e co mmunity friends. similarities and differences between it and other events like MARCELLA it in the past. Through th e medium of food, then, past events are Marce ll a Fiore is th e ce nt erpi ece of thi s discussion. Her remembered, reenacted, and di scussed; secrets are told and pivotal ro le in th e co mmunity and her kn owledge of It ali an commonplaces are dramatized. In these culinary contrasts, traditi onal cooking have made her the hub of an extensive subtleties, and nuances, stories unfold , but to understand network of family and friends, while her job staffing a them one must know the cultural code. That code consists county informati on office has enab led her to reach far of some common food patternslO and cyclical events" that, beyond that network. A generous, gregari ous woman, she if and when they happen, will engender an occasion th e kn ows everyo ne in Mary ton from the mayor to the man members of the Italian American community are likely to who cl ea ns her office. While we were doing fieldwork in read as a text. This th en is what they share-not rigid Mary ton, Marcell a and her hu sband of thirty years sepa­ adherence to rules and rituals or to an agreed upon in­ rated and di vo rced. Marcell a and th e couple's three daugh­ terpretation of the situation-but an understanding that ters stru ggled through a painful peri od of adju stm ent th at when an event occurs it is an opportunity for speculation lasted several years, and whil e th e timing of our stay with and discussion. However, just as the roles of the partici­ the family was happenstance, it prov ided us with insights pants in these discussions will differ according to age, sex, we mi ght oth erwi se have mi ssed. and relationships, so too will the stories that emerge from While initially a sad and difficult tim e for Marcell a, it them differ. Each participant will bring her own perspective was also the year of one daughter's engagement and to the occasion and will take away that-

45 and a wife's duty to her husband is cued repetitively MARCELLA'S GRAVY through meals, dinner becomes an arena in which women (For a fami ly of 6) symbolicall y demonstrate deference and commitment to their men. Although women learn recipes from th eir new 1 lb . pork sausage fa mili es, th ey will often combine cooking styles and bring 1 lb. country spareribs together at least two different culinary traditions . This oli ve oil attempt to fuse fami li es through food is a source of cultural 2 cloves garlic innovation, and in thi s, too, Marcella seems to have been 1/2 of an o ni on, chopped or simply a medi um-sized exceptional. Unlike other Itali an American women [ met, oni on cut in half* she claims to have learned to cook from her fa ther and 1/4 cup parsley mother. In this way she enl arged her repert oire to include 3 cans of tomato puree (28 oz. each) both parents' heritages. 1 teaspoon oregano [n fact, in Marcell a's case, combining th e Abruzzese 1 tablespoon sugar and Calabrese regional and village specialities of her parents salt and pepper to taste led her to develop the creolized and masterful traditi onal fo rms of cookery for which she is known. For example, In a small amount of olive oil, brown the sausage and the she boasts that she combined aspects of each parent's spareribs. Add the cloves of garlic and saute until golden. recipe for Easter bread to create a unique version which You may add the onion now and brown it or wait until later is hers alone. And, when she marri ed, she embraced her and add it to the sauce. Add the parsley and the oregano. husband 's family traditions as well, although the task of Saute briefly. Add the tomato puree and stir altogether. Rinse incorporating his mother's cooking style was relatively out the cans with a small amount of water and add to the easy since it was also Calabrese. Beyond the experim en­ pot. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar. If you wish to add th e on­ tation with her fa mily's forms of cookery, Marcella's ion at this poi nt, do so. It gives a sweeter flavor to the sauce. inventive and inquisi tive cosmopolitan spirit has led her (For additional flavor, add four or five of the meatballs [see to expl ore the cuisines of other cultures as well. Even if below] to the gravy while it is cooking.) she does not cook them in her own home-for mostly she Cook for several hours or until all of the fl avors are " mar­ does rely on dishes her family is willing and eager to eat­ ri ed." Gravy is even better if left to stand refrigerated for she always enj oys learning about and tast ing foods from another day. different culinary traditions. In additi on to marking relati onships, women's exchange * Marcella most often adds the half of an oni on after the of foods is a way of introducing new foods or new versions tomato puree has been mixed with th e oth er ingredients. of fami li ar foods. During one Easter holiday, for example, Leaving the onion in its natural state imparts the sweet fla­ several women exchanged versions of Easter bread: some vor to the sauce her family enj oys. had flavored theirs with anise, some used vanilla; th ere was even one with candied citron. This opportunity to MARCELLA'S MEATBALLS sample th e cooking of others might prompt a women to 3 pounds ground beef and pork, mixed make changes in her own recipe, although this was not 3-4 large Italian hoagie rolls with crusts removed soaked often the case. Obviously women cook not for themselves well in a bowl of water and excess water squeezed out alone, but for others as well, and it is those others whom 1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped they are trying to please and who mu st also approve any 1/2 grated Parmesan cheese new recipes. As a result, if family members do not like 3 eggs, beaten a dish, it is doubtful it will be made again. 2 cloves garlic, chopped In Marcella Fiore's household, one such fail ed experi­ ment was the result of a lunch-time visit she made to a Mix all ingredients together. Wet hands and shape into oval bakery where a close friend works. There she encountered or round balls. Fry them in vegetable oil and drain on paper a new dish-chicken paprikash- being served and eaten towels. by the bakery staff; it had been made by one of th e employees, a Hungarian. Marcella tasted it and, delighted Just as they must negotiate what to cook for their own by the flavor, asked how to make it; later in the week families and when, so women who are part of a social she prepared it for her family. Upon seeing the grayish network must engage in collaborative decision-making with color of the sauce (the result of the addition of sour cream their peers when a social event is being planned. At family to the chicken broth), only sparsely covered by flecks of gatherings one learns about the tacit hierarchy of women red paprika, Marcella's youngest daughter said, "That's based on the criteria of age, marital status, motherhood, disgusting looking. I'm not eating that." So saying, she knowledge, and experience. These factors determine the walked away from the table. Needless to say, Marcella did amount of "cultural capital" a woman has, and this in turn not attempt to serve that dish again. determines her power to orchestrate events and make

46 decisions . Women, no less than men, develop status based There were other indications of his change in status as on their own relevant and often different set of criteria. well. In deference to one of her guests, a recently divorced Competence arising from experience is a respected char­ male friend named Martin, Marcella had prepared a special acteristic in women. Young women, if they are interested meal within a meal. Martin claimed his health was not good in domesticity at all, will defer to the experience and and said that spicy tomato sauce was not the best food knowledge of older women in the community, particularly for him. Thus, in order to please him and be a good host, in the area of expertise for which an individual is known. 14 she cooked a steak, a large portion of which he was unable Many times women cultivate a skill which sets them apart. to eat. Marcella then turned to the other male guests For example, as Marcella and her sisters were growing up, present-Jerry and his brother Tom-and offered them the each began to develop interests and skills in different areas choice piece of meat. This gesture cued both their maleness of housekeeping. Marcella developed her culinary skills; and their status. After Marcella's husband left the family, Sissy became known for her fastidious housekeeping; Nina various guests, male or female depending on the occasion, was proud of her ironing skills. Both of Marcella's siblings were given the place of honor at the head of the table. left the kitchen and cooking to their talented sister, con­ On this occasion Jerry found himself there and assumed centrating instead on skills in which they excelled and in that role, in part by accepting the meat that Marcella which she showed no interest. Though all managed their offered. (Tom declined.) His acceptance of her offer was households with competence, each was careful to delineate indicative of the relationship which would emerge after his a different area of expertise, thus making their relationship marriage to her daughter. Mindful of his relationship with a cooperative-rather than a competitive--one. In the same both matriarchs, he displayed his loyalty by eating food way, at the many dinners the family holds jointly, each made by both; no one else present (with the exception of woman contributes the dish for which she is known: Sissy's the researchers) did so. lasagna, Nina's macaro ni and cheese, and Marcella's fried Women exert influence and accrue power by offering meatballs are standard fare at each occasion. The sisters hospitality; by indebting friends, men and women can do not and would not prepare one another's specialIties; claim a favor in return, either immediately or sometime to do so might signal a conflict in the family or create in the future. When Marcella separated from her husband one. she found her meager salary inadequate for meeting the An occasion on which conflict was only narrowly averted bills when emergencies occurred. Thus, when her toliet and involved Marcella and her life-long friend, Ann. Their sink needed repair she invited the plumber, a friend named families, already intertwined for two generations, would Joe, to dinner. As payment for his services she prepared soon have another connection: among Ann's family was an outstanding traditional meal of calamari in red sauce, Jerry, Marcella's future son-in-law. Marcella hosted a dinner tossed salad, substantial Italian bread and butter, and a at her house for the two families and a few friends; a dinner dessert of homemade taralles.15 prepared jointly with Ann. Both made the same dishes, Not only is Marcella an excellent cook, she is a creative using their own recipes which of course embodied th e and economical one. Adding and transforming ingredients, preferences and traditi ons of th eir own family . The women she is able to squeeze several meals from one as if by argued amiably, but with an undercurrent of tension and magic, and this makes it possible for her to entertain friends competitiveness, about th ei r recipes as they did the cook­ and family several times a week; indeed, she is rarely ing. Marcella's recipes are generously laced with pork, without a guest at her table. If she cannot afford to buy garlic, and onions; Ann's cooking tends to be less spicy. the ingredients for a meal she will accept them from her Their resulting "gravies" (red, tomato-based sauce) were sisters and friends, knowing they value her knowledge and therefore different in color and taste. Indeed, no two families' skill. With their gifts she will prepare another delicious gravies are identical; each woman develops her own recipe meal to share with them. based on traditions she has learned or transformed in one I remember one Christmas with Marcella; it was a lean way or another. Family members easily recognize by smell one financially and sadly the first Christmas following her and taste their own version of gravy. husband's departure. Characteristically, Marcella had in­ Interestingly, when th e service of the meal was being vited her family for New Year's Day dinner even though planned, Ann deferred entirely to Marcella's directives. she had very little extra money for "entertaining." But, after Here territoriality (it was, after all , Marcella's kitchen) receiving the leftover turkey carcass from Nina's Christmas plays an important role in determining who is in charge. dinner and a donation of sausage from Sissy, Marcella During the actual serving of the meal I noticed that family bought a head of cabbage and made kielbasa and cabbage, members were asking for the dishes- bracciole, mani­ the family's traditional New Year's Day meal. In point of cotti- prepared by their mother; without being rude they fact, this dish was most likely a Polish addition to th e refused to eat the food made by the other woman. The family's repertoire, learned by the previous generation of only one forced, in a sense, to eat food prepared by both Marcella's family from the wive of Poli sh coal miners was Jerry. He was after all, soon to be a member of both in a nearby town. families and his food choices reflected this imminent change One of Marcella's specialitie is baking, and she turn in his status. out cookies, cakes, pies, and breads. Her output includes

47 everything from th e commonplace to seasonally appropri­ with a few covert strategies for contesting her roles. ate specialities: biscotti, chocolate pepper cookies, crustallis, One of these strategies concerned cooking: On the days pitacin a and pitalatte, and tarall es. ' 6 One Good Friday when Bernadette prepared her tomato gravy a small but evening while she and her sisters were baking the tradi­ potentially explosive routine occurred repeatedly. It seemed ti onal Easter breads- pitacina and pitalatte, sweet ricotta to serve as a safety valve for releasing the pressures of pie, and meat pies for Easter Sunday- husbands and children the strong gender roles within the family, but just how sat around th e kitchen table watching and commenting on aware each spouse was of the knowledge of the other the craft. This gave the men, also bearers of culinary remains a mystery to me. Concerning her gravy, Bernadette, tradition, a chance to tell of their memories of their own when talking about it, insisted that she used no onions or mothers' and grandmothers' cooking and baking. " It should garlic in its preparation. This, she said, was because Thomas taste and smell like this" said Nina's husband, Henry. "And loathed onions and garlic and would not eat them. Thomas it feels sticky when you add water," remarked Sissy's himself said the same on many occasions, boasting that husband, Victor. Each comment resurrected a moment from his wife would not use them in her cooking. the past and a corresponding anecdote about the family. That is what both said; it is not what happened. As Through these rituals of repetition, children hear and learn Thomas got ready for work, Bernadette began making her about people they may never have known or do not gravy, adding the tomato sauce to meat- pork sausage and remember. Families form a bond through the shared history beef. As soon as her husband was out of sight Bernadette, and men safely demonstrate their connectedness to, and despite her promise to honor his wishes, added garlic and interest in, women's traditions and work. For it is yet onions to the already cooking sauce which was allowed another sign of their commitment to family and their own to simmer on the stove all day. Shortly before Thomas domesticity. was expected home, Bernadette removed the garlic and onions and disposed of them or pulverized them beyond BERNADETTE recognition. Thomas would come into the kitchen and say, In another Italian American ho usehold-that of " I smell onions and garlic. You didn't add them to the Bernadette and Thomas- the domestic arena was some­ gravy did you?" Bernadette would laugh good naturedly times the site of a covert but ongoing routine between and say innocently that of course she would not use those husband and wife. In this family, clearly one that is ingredients; or she might just laugh and say nothing. dominated by a strong, albeit welcoming and friendly, male As already mentioned, making gravy is a tradition which presence, gender roles although clearly defined are not differs from family to family, and each sauce reflects the without some dispute. Neither Bernadette nor Thomas was tastes and traditions of the family as refracted through the born or raised in Mary ton: both are considered outsiders mind and hands of the preparer. In nearly every case, the despite the fact that they are Italian American. As outsiders woman who makes it defers to the preferences of her th ey have never developed the extensive network of friends family (both young and old) and particularly to those of which comprises Marcella's social world. It fact, it is one her husband. In Bernadette and Thomas's household, this of the sali ent differences between the two women: Marcella routine centering around gravy-making happened weekly has lived her entire life in th e community with all th at with neither spouse going beyond the question-and-answer implies; Bernadette's parents and other relatives live in a ritual. In this safe arena Thomas, despite his alleged strong neighboring community and it is there, or with her husband's taste preferences, bowed to the subversive strategy family, that she can most often be found. Bernadette used to signal her power, her strength within Bernadette and Thomas have three children: daughters the home, and her occasional dissatisfaction with the Jane, sixteen, and Dette, fourteen; and son Thomas Jr., gendered roles of status and power in the household. This thirteen. Bernadette gave up her career as a nurse to stay routine became a way for Bernadette to contest the sex home and raise her family; Thomas, a mechanic, works roles within the family; something she felt uncomfortable at the garage he owns, close to the family home. If he confronting directly. could not come home for lunch Bernadette would take it Thomas also avoided conflict, literally and figuratively to him . Although she did not do this every day, she did swallowing this insult and so deferring to his wife in spite it often enough for it to be considered a ritual. Actually, of the cultural emphasis on male dominance. In this Thomas, it was a treat they both enjoyed. So, Thomas went to work too, saved face, for he enjoyed the mutual companionship each morning in his role as provider, while Bernadette he shared with Bernadette and so was willing to sacrifice stayed at home caring for the children, cooking and clean­ the cultural exaggeration of patriarchy for a more equal ing, and fulfilling the myriad other expectations of women sharing of roles. He was not yet willing to do this openly; in this community. This has been called "kin work,"'7 and it was a covert gesture and one that bore repeating each it consists of everything from taking care of sick friends week for both partners. Its ritualized repetition offered the and members of the extended family to sending greeting couple an arena for renegotiating their power relations and cards. In short, with children at home and with no outside was an affectionate expression of trust as well. In his silent job, Bernadette enacted the role of traditional Italian wife acquiescence, Thomas acknowledged the idea, if not the and mother. She did this with few explicit complaints but reality of social change.

48 At most times and in most ways, Bern adett e's relation­ 'Joa n Ne wlon Radnor, Feminist Messages: Coding in Women's Folk ship to food is a co mfort able one. Like many women, Cultu re (Urbana and Chicago: University of Ill inois Press, 1993),1 -36; Susa n S. L1nser. "Burning Din ners: Feminisl Subversions of Do mesti cil y" though, there are days when she is tired and thu s un imagi­ pp. 3 1-53 in Femill ist Messages; Susa n Tower Hollis, Linda Pershing and native about what to prepare fo r her fa mil y. On those days M. Jane Young, Feminist Th eory and the Study oJ Folklore (Urbana and she may reso rt to the fa mili ar and expected, which in many Chicago: Uni vers it y of Il linois Press, 1993) pp. 9-28; Rayna Green, ''' It 's Okay Once You Get It Past the Teeth' and Other Feminist Paradig ms It ali an homes is the gravy meal. Not infrequentl y Bern adett e fo r Folkl ore Studies" pp. I -8 in Feminist Th eory; See also a pioneering will experiment with new recipes, always keeping in mind volume: Rosan A. Jordan and Susa n J. Kalcik, Women's Folklore Women's th e ingredi ents her fa mil y likes and dislikes. Youn g Thomas Culture (Philadelphi a: University of Pennsylva nia Press, 1985); Marj ori e DeVault, Feeding th e Family, Th e Social Organization oJ Caring as will eat onl y three kin ds of vegetables; when she prepares Gendered Work (Chi cago and London: Uni versit y of Chicago Press, one of th ese it is once again a cue to the cultural emphasis 199 1). on male domination; Bernadett e is grooming him fo r his ' Susan L. Braunstein and Jenna Weissman Joselit with contributions by Jenna Weissman Joselit, Barbara Kirshenbl att -Gimblett and Irving adult role. Yet it is cl ear that women also find ways to Howe. Gelling ComJortable in New York: The American Jewish Home, circum ve nt , resist, or subvert th ei r men's co nt rol. They find 1880-1950 (New York: The Jewish Museum, 1990). as well that they build strength and power in their co horts ' Fieldwork was do ne collaboratively by Karen Curtis and Janet Theophano. Judith Goode was Principal Investigator on the research and social networks, th e domain comprised of wo men and project. one without which men coul d not as easil y exist. ' Judith Goode, Janet Theophano and Karen Curtis, "A Framework Such are th e in visible but tangible webs that women fo r the Analys is of Continuity and Change in Shared Sociocultural Rules for Food Use: The Italian-American Pattern" in Linda Kell er Brown and create as th ey link fa mily and frie nds through the giving Kay Mussell , Ethnic and Regional Foodways in the United States; Th e of foo d. Redundant meals in the fo rm of dinners (a mong PerJormance oJ Group Identity ( Knoxvill e: Universit y of Tennessee Press, oth ers) envelop ind ividual fa mi lies, demonstrating in both 1984) pp. 66-90; Judith Goode. Karen Curtis and Janet Theophano, " Meal Formats, Meal Cycl es, and Menu Negotiation in the Maintenance subtle and not so subtle ways appropriate age and gender of an It alian-Ameri ca n Community" in Food in the Social Order: Studies ro les; the conflicts and all iances which indi vidu al fa mily oJ Food and Festivities in Three American Communities (New York: members are engaged in; and the relati onshi p of the fa mil y Russell Sage Foundation, 1984) pp. 143-218. Janet Theophano, "It 's Really Tomato Sauce But We Call It Gra vy": A Study oJ Food and to a larger circle of family and friends and th e world in Women's Work in an Italian -A merican Community (U npu blished Ph.D which they live. Women orchestrate the occasions and the thesis, Uni versit y of Pennsylva nia, 1982). props which dramatize these changeable and stabl e rela­ ·Janet Theophano and Karen Curtis, "Sisters, Mothers and Daughters: Food Exchange and Reciprocit y in an Italia n- A merica n Community" in tio nships, aspects of which have been call ed fo lkl ore and Anne Sharman, Janet Theophano, Karen Curtis and Ellen Messer, Diet traditi on. Some have labeled the enduri ng elements of a and Domestic LiJe in Society (Philadelphia: Temple Uni versit y Press, culture ethn ici ty. If, in fact , such a phenomenon exists it 199 1), pp. 147-172. ' Jeffrey Shultz and Janet Theophano, "Locating Learning in Famil y is du e, in part, to the work th at women do; fo r in th e Interaction: An Exa mination of Dinner Time in It ali an-American Ho mes" creati on of these do mestic ritu als women affirm in material (unpublished paper). cu lt ure aspects of the past in th e midst of change. IS The "Kay Turner and Suzanne Seri ff, '''Giving an AJtar to St. Joseph' : A Feminist Perspecti ve on a Patro nal Feast" in Feminist Theory, pp. 89- redundancy of th e meal provides the frame fo r constituting 118. th e present and remembering the pas t. ' Lewis A. Coser, Maurice Halbwachs, On Collective Memory (Chi ­ The surfaces of women's lives, in acts of cooking and cago: Uni versity of Chicago Press, 1992) pp. 23-24 and pp. 54-83; Yael Zerubavel. Recovered Roots: Collective Memory and the Making oJ th e accept ance of do mesti city, beli e the ma ny ways in Israeli Na tional Tradition (Chicago: Universit y of Chicago Press, 1995). which wo men resist and alter th eir dai ly ro und while still lO A common terminology of meals and menu offerings consists of accepting the responsibilities of adu lthood . Wh ile doing so, 'gravy' and ' pl att er' alternately during the week. Pl atters represent the Anglo component of the meal system oft en a broil ed meat, starch and they transform th e people, the places, and the wo rl d around vegetable present ed in a tripartite and segregated fa shi on. th em. " A hierarchicall y arranged set of meal types or celebratory fo rmats from buffets to sit -down dinners which are used to mark vari ous life ACKNOWLDGEMENTS cycle and ca lendrica l events. 12Janet Theophano, " ' I Gave Him a Ca ke': A n Interpretati on of Two Thanks go, above all , to the wo men who opened their Italian-American Weddings" in Stephen Stern and Jo hn AJl an Cica la, homes and thei r lives to us and continue to extend to us Creative Ethn icity, Symbols and Strategies oJ Contemporary Ethn ic LiJe th ei r friendship. l owe warm thanks to Joan Saverino fo r (Logan, Utah: Utah State Unive rsity Press, 199 I). 13 lf a young woman assumes cooking respo nsibilities in her mother's thinking of me in the first place; to Yael Zerubavel fo r home it may mea n that the matri arch has obliga ti ons outsid e of the home her enco uragement always; for his thought ful and patient either to a job or because of the illness of a famil y member. readings and rereadi ngs, his support and all else, many " Not all women choose to become experts in the do mestic sphere. Where they choose careers outside of the home tensions may arise if thanks to Jeff Sh ultz. expections of fa mil y members are not met. " This is a round, sweet and dry cookie di pped in a sugar frosting. E DOTES I·Pitacina is a mea t and cheese pi e oft en prepared for the Easter ' So taken for g ranted was the relationship between wo men and food holiday as is pitalatt e, an anise navored bread. Biscotti are also a ni se and its mea ning that even in the pi oneering sociologica l and historical navored 'slant y' cookies ubiquitous in this community. Crustallis are studies of housework by such scholars as Ann Oakley and Susan Strasser, deep fri ed pretzel shaped pieces of dough filled with a walnut and ho ney it receives onl y sca nt att ent ion. Since the scope of each is a broad topping. These are most oft en served at Christmas. understanding and appreciati on for w hat women do they are excell ent " Micaela di Leonardo, "The Female Wo rld of Cards and Holidays: studies despite this. See Susa n Strasser, Never Done, A History oJ Women, Families, and the Work of Kinship" (Signs 12 (3), 1987) pp. American Housework (New York : Pantheon Books, 1982), and A nn 440-53. Oakley, Woman 's Work , The HousewiJe, Past and Present (New York: " Karen Curtis, "I Never Go Anywhere Empty-Handed " (U npublis hed Vintage Books, 1976). Ph.D. thesis, Templ e Universit y, 1983). tJ June 29-30 - July tJ ~ 1-2-3-4-5-6-7, 1996 ~

The Festival and its Sponsorship The 47th Annual Kutztown Folk Festival is brought to you through the efforts of Festival Associates, Ursinus College and the Foundation for Agricultural Resource Management (FARM). A non-profit organization which is the proud owner of the new festival grounds, 5chuykill County Fairgrounds, FARM receives a portion of the proceeds to maintain and update the new grounds. Festival Associates Is our new management team that will present an authentic and theatrical reenactment of 18th and 19th century Pennsylvania German life for the public to enjoy. Urslnus College of Co"egeville, Pa., supervises a" cultural aspects of the festival. The college uses its portion G1 U At of the proceeds for scholarships and general educational purposes. ,,~ (;~ (J.OV ~~.~ ======~~======~==~==~======~ FOR THE FOLK FESTIVAL BROCHURE WRITE TO: Pennsylvania folklife SOCiety 461 'Vine Lane, '1(utztown, Pa. 19530