Acerra Part 1

Taylor Street lies in the shadows of Chicago’s Loop. At the turn of the 20th century, a band of tribes from southern Italy (Campania/Napoli, Sicillia/Palermo, Apuglia/Bari, Calabria/Reggio, Bassilicata, Molise, Abruzzi, …) immigrated to this country. They settled in Chicago’s Taylor Street neighborhood, which later came to be known as Little Italy, the core of Jane Addams’ Hull House Neighborhood.  Those early inhabitants of Taylor Street, our immigrant parents, sought, for themselves and their offspring, a new and better life. Centuries earlier, other Italians had also crossed the great ocean to the Americas. Those 15th century Italians were the discoverers and the explorers who first mapped and ultimately named this great country. Prologue: Taylor Street Archives.

MAP OF ITALY.

It appears that the east end of Taylor Street’s Little Italy (east of Racine Avenue on back toward the Chicago River) held a significant number of Italians who had emigrated from the town of Acerra… more so than any other single town in southern Italy.  Acerra is one of many small towns in the hills surrounding Naples, the major town identified with the province of Campania.  (Italy is divided into 26 provinces, each with its own dialect.)  Those who originated from Acerra identified themselves as Napolitanos.  Virtually everyone who came from the province of Campania, whether it be from Acerra or from any other town in campania, identified themselves as Napolitanos.

MAP OF CAMPAGNA

Other southern Italian immigrants who were also identified with the major city of their province were the Barase who identified with Bari, the major city of the province of Apuglia; the Bruzzase who identified with the city of Abruzzi, the major city of the province of _____________.    Meanwhile, the Calabrese identified themselves with the province of Calabria and not the major city of Reggio.  The Sicilians identified themselves with Sicily and not the major city of Palermo.  Why some Italian Americans were identified as coming from the province in which they lived and others were readily identified with the major city of that province, at least in Taylor Street’s Little Italy, I’m not sure.  (Aside: The Calabrese were known as hard heads.  If someone was stubborn they were called Calabrese. The Barese were known to eat horse meat. The Napolitans were more likely to have the image of lovers.  I guess that was because of the Neopolitan love songs and Rudolph Valentino, the silent screen star of the 20s. The Sicilians…well they had another kind of reputation which was further enhanced by Mario Puzo’s iconic novel, The Godfather.

PICTURE OF RUDOLPH VALENTINO

*****

Following is the odyssey of one family that emigrated from Acerra to America.  Vincenzo (Vincent) James Fontano and his spouse, Maria “nee Zito” Fontana and their two children, John and Antoinette boarded the ___________________from the port of Naples on ____________________ 19_ _.   The passenger manifest that contained their name along with hundreds of other hopefuls cited Chicago as their destination.   (Fontano was changed to Fontana somewhere between Italy and their final destination: Chicago. In much the same manner that Vito Andolini was changed to Vito Corleone at Ellis Island.)  Like virtually every passenger embarking from that southern Italian port, the Fontanos, traveling steerage, were stacked away on the bottom deck.

COPY OF PASSENGER MAINFEST OR SOMETHING SIMILAR ALONG WITH PICTURE OF IMMIGRANTS ARRIVING ON A BOAT. 

When the Fontanas arrived at Taylor Street’s Little Italy, the port-of-call for Chicago’s Italian Americans, they took up residence on Polk and Loomis.  They had five additional children after they arrived.  In addition to John and Antionette, born in Italy, they had:

Nello “Red,” born 1928, married Gilda Eterna in 1954

Frances, born 19 _ _, married Solly Garcia in 19 _ _

Vincent, born 19 _  _, married __________ in 19

Mary, born 19 ___, married __________          in 10

Camille, born 19 ___,  married Frank Guida       in 19____

John, born 19____,   married __________ in19

Antionette, born 19___,   married ___________ in 19

 

FAMILY PICTURE, IF AVAILABLE

 

A

Vincenzo and Maria Fontana moved to Polk and Carpenter where, in 1948, on the southwest corner of that intersection, they opened (or purchased) and ice cream store.  It was one of the early “Italian lemonade” stores that continue, to this day, to attract visitors from all over the Chicago area during the hot summer days.  Originally, the store was a ___________________________________________.  THE NAME OF THE STORE WAS CARM’S????  BECAME CARM’s?????

Included in the agenda of those hot summer days during the 40s and 50s was, in addition to a 2 hour swim at Sheridan Park, a trip to the lemonade stand.  

Editor’s note:  It was not all uncommon that when you visited a lemonade stand that there would be an old gentleman sitting on a chair on the sidewalk, with a mustache.  A Parodi cigar hanging out of his mouth while making lemonade.  When he opened the lid to stir the lemonade with a large wooden ladle, it was inevitable that a few ashes fell into the mix.

End of part 1.

Acerra: Part 2

WEDDING PICTURE OF VINCENZO & MARIA OR SOMETHING SIMILAR

In 1948, Vincenzo and Maria opened a grocery store across the street from Carm’s ice cream store.

Later, in 19 __ __, when Vincenzo and Maria were well into their senior years, the ice cream store, which most people referred to as the Italian lemonade stand, was taken over and managed by _____________ ______________________________.

The grocery store… when and by whom? 


(Vincenzo James Fontano died in 1972; Maria Zito Fontano died in 1988.) 


Nello and Gilda operated both stores until, in 19___, Carm’s Ice Cream Store was taken over by Camille, the youngest Fontana sister and her husband, Frank Guida.  When the Guidas moved to Florida, Mary, the second youngest sister and her husband, J. Divivo, took over the ice cream store.

Meanwhile, Nello and Gilda continued to operate the Fontana’s grocery store until 2012 when their children took over the reins.  Nello and Gilda had several children.  They include:

Jimmy,  born 19__, died 2012

Dominick,  born 19__, married _____________  in 19__

Mary, born 19__,

John, born, 19__ married______________, in 19

Neal, born 19__

FONTANA FAMILY PHOTO

The hero and heroine of this story are Nello and Gilda Fontana.  It is their odyssey that completes the story of Acerra.  A story that is both typical and atypical of our first generation Italian Americans and those who made the decision to separate from their Southern Italian roots. 

Nello was one of the many first generation Italian Americans that lived and shared the Taylor Street experience.  Nello met Gilda, while on a tour of duty with the U.S. army.  Stationed in Germany during the Korean conflict, he visited his parent’s home town of Acerra, Italy where he first saw Gilda.   That meeting and their ensuing life together are memorialized further down in this story.  

Jackson grammar school

Cement finisher

Washburn trade school

Korean War

Gilda:  her life in Italy, meeting Nello in Acerra, marriage in Acerra, life in America. 

Purchased and remodeled home he currently lives in.

Dirty face Dave: the neighborhood alley mechanic

Brother-in-law from Acerra: visit to Chicago; return to Italy where he was assassinated; etc.

Other

The following is paraphrased from the Taylor Street Archives:  Alistaire Cooke: A date that will live in infamy. 

The mass exodus from southern Italy, which began about around the turn of the 20th century, continued until 1924.  Italians, like many other immigrants, were needed to fuel America’s industrial revolution.  Congress declared an end to the acceptance of migrants from southern Italy in 1924, six (6) years after the end of WWI and seventeen (17) years prior to our entry into WWII.  Ironically, the offspring of those early Italian immigrants, 400,000 strong and more than any other ethnic group, were conspicuously valiant during that 2nd World War.  The only enlisted man to win both the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross, awarded only to those who distinguished themselves by their gallantry and intrepidity in combat with an enemy of the United States, was John Basilone, the son of immigrant parents who had emigrated from the shores of Southern Italy.   

Vincent

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