Giuseppe Stories #6

Making a Life in Chicago: 1917 through 1920

   Library of Congress photo, 1920 grocery–not Giuseppe’s drogherie

When Giuseppe became a naturalized American citizen in February of 1916, his wife and children were included on the document. I have never understood why children born in the USA needed to be “naturalized” but apparently that was the practice. Of course, Teresa needed the formality because she was born in Italy. A month after the ceremony  Rosa (Rose) was born. Finally another daughter to help Caterina! 

A year after Rose was born, ASantine joined the family. Affectionately known as Susie, she would die before her first birthday. Her death coincides with the outbreak of Spanish Influenza in Chicago, although I doubt that was the cause because no one else in the family got sick and the reason for her death was not noted on Caterina’s list (See Story #3). The worst of the epidemic struck Chicago in September of 1918. Before the end of November there were 38,000 cases of influenza and 13,000 of pneumonia. More than 8500 people died*, including my Irish great grandmother, and uncles and cousins from the maternal side of my family. 

The “C” family seemed to be unaffected by this epidemic despite crowded living conditions. However, at that time there was some bias against Italian immigrants as evidenced in a children’s jump rope song that suggests some anti-Italian ill will.

“I had a little bird

                                                                      I had a little bird,

                                                                      And its name was Enza.

                                                               I opened the window                       

                                                              And in flew Enza.”

After 1916, the family came into some money. Because Dom had been so severely injured there was a lawsuit. (Recall that their patrone was probably a lawyer. He would look after the family’s interests.)  Dominick and Giuseppe were awarded monetary compensation. It was substantial by early 1900 standards, enough to purchase a two flat with basement on ‘Pucci Street.  Aunt Teresa and my father said that it was in 1917. The 1920 Census lists the family living on “Pucci Street.

 

Giuseppe, Caterina and their children lived on the second floor. A first floor grocery sold produce, staples, and other comestibles; the basement became a fish market. Years later, after the store was moved, they installed a screw press for crushing grapes, making that basement “a great place to make wine.”

One of the neighbors took Giuseppe to court for having a grocery store in the family home so Giuseppe bought the building on the corner and moved the store. The photograph below features Giuseppe (center) and some of his friends in front of the store that encompassed the entire ground floor space.  The boy closest to Giuseppe (wearing shirt and suspenders) is my father. 

The corner building featured a ground floor grocery. There were two large flats above, a garage in the alley, and space on the roof to raise chickens.  Mary was charged with caring for the chickens, and was responsible for killing a chicken when needed for a customer. (Usually, by wringing its neck.) The only problem with that arrangement was that Mary was terrified of the chickens. Her behavior enraged Caterina. She locked Mary in the pantry, throwing in some live chickens as punishment. Mary was always an anxious person and I don’t think that “the cure” helped her "nerves."

Early every morning, Giuseppe and son Vito went to the markets to buy foodstuffs for the store. Vito was charged with fetching the horse, named Whitey, that was boarded in Uncle Saverio’s garage. Early in the morning the two were off to the Water Street and Fulton Fish Markets.**

Vito’s job included caring for the horse after returning it to the garage. He also had to take it to a water trough some distance away on Ogden and Taylor. One morning, after returning the horse to Uncle Sam’s garage the horse escaped. Giuseppe, who had quite a temper, was furious. When Whitey was finally caught, Giuseppe was so mad that he bit the horse!  This incident only reinforced Giuseppe’s dream of owning a truck–a fleet of trucks. But that would need to wait a few years longer. 

If I were to describe Vito’s childhood, I would have to say that it was “unsupervised.” Frankly, he was a menace. There are numerous examples to document this assessment. I have already mentioned that Vito and Dom would make “bombs” to put on the street, scaring the horses. When they moved to “Pucci, Vito took his father’s loaded shotgun, cocked it, and told little brother George to go down the stairs. Like his movie hero, Tom Mix, Vito took aim at “outlaw” George and shot at him. Fortunately he missed. Vito recalled, “My father was in the basement at the time, boy, he beat the XXX out of me!”  That experience did not prevent Vito’s subsequent aimings of the shotgun out the second floor window to shoot at pretend bad guys with an unloaded gun.

When Vito was 5 or 6, he asked his father for a penknife. Guiseppe gave him one. The boy spent hours throwing the open knife down the stairwell. That is, when he was not leaping between buildings by jumping the roofs between houses. He would jump out the 3rd floor window of the corner house to the neighbor’s roof then onto the roof of the two story flat that was their first home on “Pucci Street. 

Vito was not often asked to work in the store. He was known to give groceries away, free of charge–or, when he got older, take as much as he liked to go camping with the Boy Scouts.  The Troop ate well until Caterina caught on. 

One day he stole “a large bill” from the till (probably a $5, but over $100 in today’s money). He went to a candy store a few blocks away and tried to buy candy. The store owner was rightfully suspicious. He asked Vito where he lived and promptly brought the culprit back to his parents’ store–for another “whipping!”

Caterina must have felt that Vito needed to have something special for himself. He wanted to learn to play the violin and she found a teacher. (Violins are lots safer than shotguns.) Several months later, Caterina was having her lady friends over. She asked Vito to play for the women. He was only too glad to display his virtuosity, just like his idol Paganni. He began his concert. 

The women were polite and listened for a selection or two, but then they returned to their conversations. The virtuoso stopped in the middle of his next piece, insulted that they were talking. One of Caterina’s friends had a husband who taught violin. The women spoke privately to Caterina. She politely told her that Vito’s playing was all wrong. His intonation was awful. (In plain words, his notes were all off key.) She suggested that Caterina send him to her husband for lessons. With a new teacher, he improved and developed a life-long love of the instrument. He played his beloved fiddle well into his eighties. 

Giuseppe’s family was growing and learning American ways but daughter Teresa was not particularly fond of American schools. After the move to 'Pucci she became habitually truant.  (Truancy was rather common among immigrant families. Children were needed to help at home, or to earn extra money.) When the truant officer paid Giuseppe and Caterina a visit, Teresa was working in the store. They lied and told him that she was over 16 so she did not need to return to classes. 

It was not unusual for southern Italians to be suspicious of education. In Calabria, education was power and a learned child was a threat to the family hierarchy. Further, it was believed that girls did not need schooling beyond the basics of elementary reading and writing, if even that.  The skills required of women revolved around caring for a family–cooking, cleaning, and childcare. An educated woman would be difficult to control and it would be almost impossible for her to find a husband.***

Teresa probably had an above average education for a girl in Italy, She was bi-lingual and, like her mother, good in math. (She was also a great cook!)  Because Caterina never learned English, Teresa often translated for her. However, Teresa and husband Nicola would make sure their children had proper schooling. Their sons all finished college and beyond. Of course, the girls had to make due with a high school diploma, all except the youngest daughter who became a nun. The traditional Italian attitude towards girls’ education would not die easily! But it has…

Giuseppe and Caterina realized that their oldest child was already fully mature, and, thus, potential trouble. They began the search for a husband through family connections on the East Coast. A distant cousin from the East Coast was interested. Teresa wouldn’t even need to change her last name. Nicola had the added advantage of being a tailor like gUncles George and Frank. Nick came to Chicago for a visit. A match was arranged and the wedding date set.   (To be continued)

Because the Holidays, our Wedding Anniversary, and my Birthday (NTK basis) are all rapidly approaching, the publishing schedule will be different for November and December.  The next story will be published right after the Presidential Election.  Please take time to inform yourselves and to VOTE on Tuesday, November 5th.    

                                           Happy Halloween too!

* “Conclusion.” The American Influenza Epidemic of 1918: a Digital Encyclopedia. https://influenzaarchive.org/cities/city-chicago.html#  (Accessed 6/20/24)

** ”Chicago Time Machine, Water Street Market|WTTW Chicago.” PBS, WTTW, Chicago. https://interactive.wttw.com/timemachine/water-street-market 

(Accessed 10/22/23)

***Carnevale, Nancy C. Lingya/Lenga’/Language. “The Language Question” in The Life and Work of an Italian American Woman. Frontiers: a Journal of Women Studies. Vol 27 No.2, 2006. p. 97 

(Accessed 4/12/2008)