WELL ISN'T THAT JUST PEACHY...

Just Peachy - March 1958

A perfect Sunday afternoon for a three-year-old might be playing with a new toy, wearing a new hat, or eating a favorite treat. For this little girl, it looks like she has all three!

An abject look of determination crosses the face of this adorable child (ahem, okay, it’s me). The giant spoon held perfectly in her little hand… she slowly guides it down into the tin can of heavy syrup, in search of the delicious canned peaches contained within. Here I am on a mission to scoop up the delicious fruit accompanied by the perfect amount of sticky, sweet nectar. 

Of course, one must always keep up with current fashion trends, and what better way than to have a hat made from the latest edition of the Sunday paper?

Newspaper hat couture was my dad’s specialty. No one could design a statement piece out of the classifieds better than him, and if he used the paper’s comic strip…the bright, colored ink could give the fanciest, British fascinator hat a run for its’ money!  

Hmmm, I knew Mom was a milliner by trade, but who knew that Dad dabbled in that field, too?! 

Lilly Daché¹ couldn't have done better, at least not in my mind's eye!






¹ Lilly Daché 1898-1989. A European-born American milliner and fashion designer. 

PHOTO CREDITS:

Photograph entitled 'Just Peachy - March 1958' from the author's private photo collection.
Raised Eyebrow Emoji by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY 

STREET SCENES...

It isn't easy to imagine how my life might have turned out had my great-grandparents not decided to immigrate to the United States. I know why they did it, but sometimes I wonder if they regretted the decision? Leaving behind family, friends, and the only homes they had ever known must have been difficult.



As in most immigrant stories, the men emigrated first. Hopes were high that they might earn enough money to secure their family's future in the old country or establish a new life in America.



Three weeks at sea, what an arduous journey to undertake. Not an easy trek, especially for women. It couldn't have been easy to travel alone with young children to meet their husbands in a strange land with no one to lean on. Or imagine the young girl traveling to a foreign country to meet her future husband. A man that was selected for her by her parents and whom she had probably never laid eyes on before. Hoping that this person she was about to spend her life with was well-suited or kind, at the very least.

From August 1, 1855, through April 18, 1890, immigrants arriving in the state of New York came through Castle Garden. America's first official immigrant examining and processing center, Castle Garden welcomed approximately 8 million immigrants — most from Germany, Ireland, England, Scotland, Sweden, Italy, Russia, and Denmark. 

Castle Garden Immigration Center - about 1888

Castle Garden welcomed its last immigrant on April 18, 1890. After the closing of Castle Garden, immigrants were processed at an old barge office in Manhattan until the opening of the Ellis Island Immigration Center on  January 1.1892. [i]  

My maternal great-grandmother, Carmella DeLio, and her 8-year-old son Angelo, my future grandfather, set sail on the SS Bolivia from Naples, Italy, in December 1887. They arrived in New York through Castle Garden on Jan. 4, 1888. They would join my great-grandfather, Raffaele, and eventually settle in Chicago, Illinois.  

According to family lore, a young girl was also on the boat. Her name was Saveria Debiase. She was approximately 14 years old and was on her way to meet and marry her future husband, Michele Lufrano[1]. Carmella would take young Saveria under her wing during this long ocean crossing. The two became fast friends. A pact between them developed, determining that once Saveria and Michele married and started their family, their first daughter would be promised to marry Carmella's son, Angelo.

  

Chicago Street Scene 1888-1890

Downtown Chicago - 1890

Whether Saveria and Carmella met on the boat or through other means, an agreement was struck. Two years after that meeting, on Mar. 5, 1890, Saveria gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Maria or Mary, as she would be known. On Jan. 15, 1905, 14-year-old Mary and 24-year-old Angelo wed in Chicago, Illinois.

Bowler Avenue - 2017

The match between Mary and Angelo DeLio turned out to be a good one. The young couple would eventually raise six children in a house they purchased in 1917 in the Little Italy section of the city, which still stands today. The family lived in the house on Bowler Avenue (fka DeKalb Street) throughout the 1940s.  

My favorite memories growing up were of my parents, aunts, and uncles discussing the old days on DeKalb Street. They spoke about them with such relish that I felt like I was there. What great fun and adventures they shared. If ever there was a time to need a video camera or tape recorder, it was then. Oh, to be a fly on the wall!   

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[1]  Most documentation lists Michele Lufrano as Michael Lufrano. However, a baptismal registry for one of Michael and Saveria's children refers to him as Guiseppe Lufrano. This information has yet to be verified.  

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[i] ^{Powell, Kimberly. "Castle Garden: America's First Official Immigration Center." ThoughtCo, Feb. 11, 2020, thoughtco.com/castle-garden-americas-official-immigration-center-1422288.}

THE CONSPIRATORS...

How happy and contented Dad looks with his little babies, balancing one on each arm as they wiggle and giggle without a care in the world.

The Conspirators - June 1950

(Dad, Natalie & Patrick in the Park)

Aww...how cute these two little pixies look on their playdate in the park. Perched on top of Dad’s big, muscular shoulders. So sweet and innocent, or is Natalie providing final instructions to Patrick for some diabolical adventure?  


Whatever these two cuties are whispering and plotting, it is sure to promise loads of laughs…for them, and I’m sure… something that will require a great deal of explaining to Mom!


Hmm, I’ll bet Dad made a quick stop on the way home for some candy and flowers. Couldn’t hurt, right?! 

PHOTO CREDIT:

Photograph entitled 'The Conspirators - June 1950 (Dad, Natalie & Patrick in the park)' is from the author's private collection.