L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 16 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE D e a r R e a d e r s , A May minestrone o f I t a l i a n c o n - nections: Moth- er's Day coming up Sun- d a y , M a y 8 t h b r i n g s thoughts of my own mother C a t e r i n a , a n d h o w I w a s twice-blessed with a mother- i n - l a w , A n g e l i n a , o f t h e same caliber as my own. Angelina had three boys, Tony, Joe, and Sal, and rugs with plenty of grease stains on them but, as she often s a i d " M y r u g s m a y b e stained with grease, it's true, but the whereabouts of my b o y s I a l w a y s k n e w . " Angelina's boys were always working on cars, downstairs in the basement, either on a c h o p p e d a n d c h a n n e l e d 1939 Ford they were build- ing from the frame up, or on friends' cars they tried to put in working order. She had no worries, she had no cares, she knew her boys were in the garage down- stairs. *** Frank Sinatra left us on May, 14th 1998 at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. His wife Barbara and children Nancy, Frank Jr, and Tina were at his bed- side when he passed away, at what his fans worldwide thought was the "young age" of 82. Frank's fans believed the famous words of their favorite Italian-American icon, "May you live a 100 years and may the last voice y o u h e a r b e m i n e , " a n d somehow expected him to be around for at least cen- t'anni. On Frank's simple gravestone it says Francis Albert Sinatra 1915-1998 "The Best is yet to come." F r a n k S i n a t r a f e l t l i k e "family" to many fans in the e a r l y d a y s o f h i s c a r e e r . And, like any "family" mem- ber, especially one that had been part of people's lives for over fifty years, Frank's fans still miss him… In days gone by, many fans dedicat- ed party rooms to Sinatra. Mauro Potestio of Portland, Oregon, had a room dedicat- ed to Frank that was filled with Sinatra memorabilia he had collected since his high s c h o o l d a y s . M a u r o , a retired teacher, owned every commercial record Sinatra made in 78s, 33s, 1/3s and CDs, He never drove a mile without having Sinatra on the speaker system. In the p a r t y r o o m d e d i c a t e d t o Sinatra were over 60 framed pictures. Here he would host a dinner party every year in December, Frank's birthday month. *** Minnesota became our thirty-second state on May, 1 1 t h 1 8 5 8 , s o I t h o u g h t I would share this miracle of America's story where an I t a l i a n - A m e r i c a n n a m e d Luigino Francesco Paulucci (1918-2011) could go into the Chinese food business in the Scandinavian county of N o r t h e r n M i n n e s o t a a n d become a multi-millionaire. As a child, Jeno Paulucci gathered coal along the rail- road tracks to help heat his family's stove, but today he's worth an astounding $400 m i l l i o n a s a r e a l e s t a t e developer and the founder of Jeno's Pizza and Chun King Chinese Food. "I'm living proof you can make it in this wonderful country of ours without a college degree!" *** B o r n t o i m p o v e r i s h e d I t a l i a n i m m i g r a n t s i n A u r o r a , M i n n . , a t 8 J e n o made a little red wagon out o f d i s c a r d e d p a r t s a n d pulled it along the railroad tracks to gather stray coals to heat the family stove. At 14, he worked in a grocery m a r k e t b e f o r e a n d a f t e r s c h o o l a n d a l l d a y o n Saturdays, hawking fruit at vegetable stands. He quit j u n i o r c o l l e g e a n d s o l d canned goods in Minnesota, N o r t h D a k o t a , a n d W i s c o n s i n t o s u p p o r t h i s family. He slept in his car, shaved in gas stations and, soon, through commissions, 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. he was making more money than the company's presi- dent. *** "One day, " Paulucci nar- rates, " I discovered that the O r i e n t a l i m m i g r a n t s i n Minneapolis were growing bean sprouts in their bath- tubs. They only took seven days to mature. I thought it was like printing money! I l a u n c h e d w h a t w a s t o b e c o m e t h e C h u n K i n g Corporation. The company grew and grew until I sold it 2 0 y e a r s l a t e r t o R . J . Reynolds Tobacco Co, for $63 million in cash." *** He formed the Jeno Inc. and began producing frozen pizzas, frozen hot snacks, and Jeno's pizza rolls and party snacks. "Next is a planned com- munity named Heathrow in central Florida. It will take a b o u t a b i l l i o n d o l l a r s t o build." *** Cotton (oro bianco, or white gold) has become a n e w s o u r c e o f w e a l t h f o r S i c i l y , a s t h e a m o u n t o f Sicilian land under cultiva- t i o n h a s b e e n d o u b l e d t o reduce the amount of cotton Italy buys each year. The country imports over $600 m i l l i o n w o r t h o f c o t t o n every 12 months. If you sing "I Wish I was in the Land of Cotton" these days, you may n o t " w h i s t l i n g D i x i e , " a t least not the geographical region that we assume Dixie to be. ***

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