L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 14 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE D ear Readers, October, the month your " I t a l i a n Connection" usually devotes to Christop- her Columbus. Discovery Celebration related matters are being downsized a bit this year, therefore, I thought I would share some other Oc- tober dates of general inter- est in addition to our long- time October honoree Christopher Columbus and his Discovery of America, Oc- tober 12, 1492: C h r i s t o p h e r Columbus (1451-1506) T h e e l d e s t s o n o f D o m e n i c o a n d S u z a n n a F o n t a n a r o s s a , C o l u m b u s w a s b o r n i n G e n o a c i r c a 1 4 5 1 . A c c o r d i n g t o e a r l y records he studied astro- n o m y , g e o m e t r y a n d c o s m o g r a p h y a t t h e University of Pavia and did m a n y t h i n g s a s a y o u n g man. He went to sea and worked in his family's wea- ving business. However, it soon became apparent that his first love was the sea! In his early years he visi- t e d E n g l a n d , I c e l a n d , Ireland and countless ports in the Mediterranean. There i s s o m e f a c t u a l e v i d e n c e t h a t h e m a y h a v e v i s i t e d ports and islands along the west coast of Africa. He married Felipa Mofiiz di Perestrello, the daugh- ter of a naval captain in the service of Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal, in 1 4 7 8 . F o r s o m e y e a r s Columbus made his living making maps both of the land masses and seas then known. In time, after correspon- d e n c e w i t h P a o l o T o s c a n e l l i , a F l o r e n t i n e p h y s i c i a n a n d c o s m o - g r a p h e r h e b e g a n t o f e e l that the world was a sphere. He conceptualized sailing westward from Europe to the orient. He had envisio- ned the world to be smaller than it is. He had no con- cept or idea that an entire hemisphere stood between E u r o p e a n d t h e E a s t . H e decided he would try to sail w e s t w a r d t o p r o v e h i s theory. Following the passing of his wife, Columbus, now a widower, presented his the- sis of a round earth. As we s c h o o l c h i l d r e n l e a r n e d , Columbus finally received support and approval for h i s m i s s i o n f r o m t h e S p a n i s h C o u r t o f K i n g F e r d i n a n d a n d Q u e e n Isabella. His departure took p l a c e f r o m P a l o s i n southern Spain on August 3, 1492 for parts unknown! The three ships used car- ried a total of 88 men. The f l a g s h i p w a s t h e Santa Maria with a crew of 5 2 m e n c o m m a n d e d b y C o l u m b u s , h i m s e l f . T h e Pinta s carried a crew of 18, with Martin Pinzon as cap- t a i n . T h e t h i r d s h i p , t h e Nina, carried a crew of 18 with Vincent Yanez as cap- tain. History tells the story in many ways. The voyage was l o n g a n d h a r r o w i n g . T h e threat of mutiny and despair of the crews have been told a n d r e t o l d . N e v e r t h e l e s s they persevered and crossed the Atlantic. Eventually on the mor- ning of October 12, 1492 a s e a m a n o n t h e N i n a , Rodrigo de Triana, was the first to spot land! The rest, as they say, is history! *** October 1909 The nation's railroads h a v e b e c o m e e n o r m o u s , earning $3 billion in the last year. More will be spent on railroad ties in the US next y e a r t h a n E n g l a n d a n d Germany will spend on war- s h i p s , a n d t h e y consume one-third of the output of the nation's steel mills. New locomotives will cost more than the mainte- nance of the English army, a n d t h e t o t a l w e a l t h o f American railroads exceeds the total national wealth of B e l g i u m , H o l l a n d , a n d Switzerland combined. October 1980 T h e M a r t i n L u t h e r K i n g J r . N a t i o n a l Historic Site is establi- shed in Atlanta. The locales of specific import are his b i r t h p l a c e , c h u r c h , a n d g r a v e . A l s o t o d a y , t h e Boston African American N a t i o n a l H i s t o r i c S i t e i s created. Fifteen pre-Civil War black historical structu- res are linked by the Black H e r i t a g e T r a i l . I n c l u d e d along the trail is the oldest standing black church in the US and a memorial to the Civil War Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, who comman- d e d t h e f i r s t r e g i m e n t o f A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n t r o o p s from a free state. He was Advancing our Legacy: Italian Community Services CASA FUGAZI If you know of any senior of Italian descent in San Francisco needing assistance, please contact: ItalianCS.org | (415) 362-6423 | info@italiancs.com Italian Community Services continues to assist Bay Area Italian-American seniors and their families navigate and manage the resources needed to live healthy, independent and productive lives. Since Shelter-in-Place began in San Francisco, Italian Community Services has delivered over 240 meals, over 900 care packages and made over 2000 phone wellness checks for our seniors. k i l l e d l e a d i n g h i s t r o o p s during an assault on Fort Wagner, South Carolina, on July 18, 1863. October 1920 Income and other inter- nal revenue collected by the U S d u r i n g t h e r e c e n t l y ended fiscal year amount to $5.4 billion. October 1913 Due to the magic of elec- tricity, President Wilson p r e s s e s a b u t t o n i n t h e White House that detonates eight tons of dynamite in Central America, destroying the Gamoa Dike and ope- ning the Panama Canal to commercial shipping. October 1906 A f t e r a g r e a t d e a l o f maneuvering, including the creation of an independent Panama, the US may work on completing the Panama Canal, begun by the French. Invitations for contractor b i d s a r e s e n t o u t b y t h e C a n a l C o m m i s s i o n t o d a y with the provision that the successful bidder must be responsible for the entire j o b . F o u r m o n t h s b e f o r e C o n g r e s s f i n a l l y d e c i d e d that it should be a lock-type r a t h e r t h a n a s e a - l e v e l canal. The US Government w i l l r e t a i n c o n t r o l o f a l l engineering, and the con- nection between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans will be c o m p l e t e d u n d e r t h e U.S. Army Engineers 1914. October 1780 Congress calls on the exi- s t i n g s t a t e s t o c e d e t h e i r westernmost claims to the n a t i o n i n o r d e r t o c r e a t e new states. October 1909 P r e s i d e n t W i l l i a m Howard Taft, on a tour of t h e W e s t , v i s i t s t h e M a r i p o s a G r o v e o f g i a n t s e q u o i a t r e e s i n t h e Yosemite Valley. There to greet the party was 97 year- old Galen Clark, a native of New Hampshire, who disco- vered the giant trees when the state was yet a wilder- ness in 1857 and now lives a m o n g t h e m . C l a r k , w h o named the Mariposa Grove, has selected his burial site in Yosemite, and around it h a s p l a n t e d f o u r t i n y S e q u o i a g i g a n t e a s , which could stand for thou- sands of years after he is gone.

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