L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano T h e r e a r e t h o s e brands that rise above, morphing into a name that s t a n d s f o r a n entire category of products. K l e e n e x , C h a p s t i c k , a n d Jacuzzi – all stand the test. Whether it's an innovative p r o d u c t o r m e r e l y a g r e a t marketing scheme, when a brand name becomes a hit, the name sticks. H a d i t n o t b e e n f o r t h e pacifist leanings of Giovanni Jacuzzi (1825 – 1929), you and I might never have had t h e e n j o y m e n t o f a b u b b l y s o a k u n d e r a s t a r r y s k y . Giovanni, a farmer, and his bride Teresa, both from the Northern Italian village of Casara della Delizia, married in 1886 and quickly began fashioning their large family of 13 children. Giovanni, how- ever, was greatly dissatisfied with the government's hawk- i s h p o l i c i e s . T h e o n s e t o f World War I was the catalyst; t h e e l d e s t s e v e n J a c u z z i brothers, now doing seasonal work in Germany, were sum- moned by their father and o r d e r e d t o s e t s a i l f o r America. Some traveled together, others followed on their own — R a c h e l e , F r a n c e s c o , Valeriano, Galindo, Giuseppe, Giocondo, and Candido found themselves in short order on Californian soil. Settling in the San Francisco Bay Area, a l o c a l e a l r e a d y h o s t i n g a n established Italian communi- ty, the innovative brothers s p a r e d n o t i m e i n f i n d i n g ways to be productive. Rachele was endowed with an inventor's spirit and extra- ordinary intellect. After a stint in a mechanic shop owned by a Mr. McDonnell – who later established the aerospace cor- poration McDonnell Douglas – Rachele began work adja- cent the 1915 Panama-Pacific W o r l d ' s F a i r a i r f i e l d , t h u s allowing close observation of active aircraft. Believing the current standard of propeller c o u l d b e i m p r o v e d u p o n , Rachele designed a windward pitched propeller dubbed the Jacuzzi Toothpick. His design caught on, becoming the mili- tary standard, as well as the p r o p o f c h o i c e f o r C h a r l e s Lindberg. In short order, the brothers convened under one roof, funneling their collective brain power and creativity into the infant aviation indus- try. What followed was impres- sive. The innovative Jacuzzi J-7 came into being, the first enclosed cabin monoplane. E x h i b i t i o n s a n d p u b l i c i t y brought great interest, which lead to a proposed contract from the U.S. Airmail services. The practically infallible plane was a top contender, its final test to prove it could ferry t o u r i s t s . A g r o u p o f f o u r , including Giocondo Jacuzzi, flew from San Francisco to Y o s e m i t e . T h e f l i g h t w a s seamless, and two days later the crew took off for a victory flight home to San Francisco. No one knows exactly why, but the pilot chose to make a descent into Modesto, possi- b l y t o s e e a g i r l f r i e n d . Something went freakishly wrong, and the J-7 lost first its left wing, then the right. The four onboard were lost, along with the future of the aircraft. The early success of the e l d e r b r o t h e r s d i s s o l v e d quickly after the tragedy. By this time, father Giovanni and the remainder of the family had emigrated and settled in S a n F r a n c i s c o . F i n a n c i a l aspects aside, Giovanni forbid any further involvement in aviation…it was time to rein- vent. A n e a r l i e r c r e a t i o n b y Rachele using his knowledge of aerodynamics had resulted in a pump that moved water using water. As Ken Jacuzzi, son of Candido, states in his b o o k Jacuzzi: A Father's Invention to Ease a Son's Pain (iUniverse, December 2005), " T h e p r i n c i p l e w a s simple: water would be forced down a pipe, creating a vacu- um and bringing water up." Simple, effective, and effi- cient, the family latched on to the potential of marketing the pump to the many farmers s c a t t e r e d t h r o u g h o u t t h e nearby Joaquin Valley. If Rachele was the master i n v e n t o r o f t h e f a m i l y , Candido, the youngest son, was the charismatic salesman. His mission clear, Candido set out door to door, often reject- ed when his poor English riled up prejudice or impatience. D e t e r m i n e d , h e a t t e n d e d evening English lessons. In a m a t t e r o f t i m e , t h e p u m p became a popular implement f o r a r e a a g r i c u l t u r e . T h e Jacuzzi name was back in the game. Business burgeoned, extended family joined the operations, a factory was pur- c h a s e d o n t h e R i c h m o n d shoreline, where the building still stands today on Jacuzzi Drive. "Necessity is the mother of invention," as the great Mr. E i n s t e i n o n c e s a i d . W o r d s never rang truer in the next, and most profitable, phase of the Jacuzzi story. By the early 1940's, Candido had risen in the ranks of the family busi- ness. His young family wel- c o m e d t h e i r f o u r t h c h i l d , Kenneth. A normal, healthy boy, the tides turned when the young toddler endured a bout of strep throat that resulted in the complication of juvenile r h e u m a t o i d a r t h r i t i s . H i s entire body was wracked by the disease. Drugs, physical therapy and, prophetically, hydrotherapy were prescribed to ease young Ken's symp- toms. I n e z , K e n ' s m o t h e r , observed the hydrotherapy t r e a t m e n t s b r o u g h t g r e a t relief to her son's symptoms. However, the journey to the hospital created challenges; Candido's help was enlisted. As Ken relays in his aforemen- tioned book, "Dad went out to see me in the whirlpool tank. He said, 'Why that's just a pump!'" That "just a pump" was the birth of an iconic industry. Candido and family designed the first submersible pump, a metal canister that could safe- ly be placed in a tub of water, and christened it the J-300. Ken's physician came out to take a look. Astounded, he eagerly encouraged Candido to manufacture the pumps for other patients. Despite its usefulness, the pump was initially resisted by the Jacuzzi family – the inclu- s i o n o f a c o n s u m e r - b a s e d product was risky. Candido, unrelenting, got busy. He used connections to get the pump on "Queen for a Day" (1945 – 1964), a wildly popular day- time show watched by mil- lions. "Every time a queen had a story that had some med- ical-related aspect, one of the prizes was a Jacuzzi," relates K e n . " T h e n a m e b e c a m e known overnight." What we know and love as the modern Jacuzzi…whether a tub or a hot tub…evolved in t h e l a t e 1 9 6 0 ' s w i t h t h e i n v o l v e m e n t o f C a n d i d o ' s grand-nephew Roy. With his innovative idea of incorporat- ing water and air jets into the sides of large bathtubs, along with his savvy marketing abil- ities, the tub became the sym- bol of the ultimate romantic e x p e r i e n c e i n t h e 1 9 7 0 ' s . R e m e m b e r t h o s e h e a r t - shaped Jacuzzi tub ads? D e s p i t e i t s s u c c e s s a s a leisure must-have, the oil cri- sis in the late 70's, along with a stretch of legal financial drain, caused the necessity to g e t c r e a t i v e w i t h f u t u r e growth. Selling the company was eventually proposed. The result: Kidde, Inc. purchased Jacuzzi in 1987 for $59 mil- lion. Family, other than Roy who was placed in charge of the bath division, were shown the door. A series of acquisi- tions have occurred since that t i m e , f u r t h e r g r o w i n g t h e multi-billion-dollar company. I c o n i c , n o w a s y m b o l o f l e i s u r e , r o m a n c e , g o o d times…the Jacuzzi hot tub and bath are synonymous with the good life. Candido might be surprised —- but I doubt it. PAULA REYNOLDS LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE oday we associate the name Jacuzzi with luxury and relax (Photo: Nd3000/Dreamstime) Jacuzzi: Italian ingenuity bubbles over

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