L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2023 www.italoamericano.org 14 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE D e a r R e a d e r s , A p r i l s h o w - ers bring May f l o w e r s a n d an abbondan- za of Italian connections. *** President Lincoln was a s s a s s i n a t e d o n A p r i l 1 4 , 1865. If not for the assassi- nation of President Lincoln, there would not be a Pull- man Company. In 1865, Mr. George Mortimer Pull- man was building railroad cars in Detroit, but his busi- n e s s w a s n o t s u c c e s s f u l . When President Lincoln's b o d y a r r i v e d i n C h i c a g o C o l o n e l J a m e s B o w e n , a personal friend of Mr. Pull- man, was put in charge of the funeral arrangements. C o l o n e l B o w e n w a n t e d a railroad car worthy of carry- ing the body of President Lincoln to his final resting place, Springfield, but he c o u l d n o t f i n d a s u i t a b l e one. Then, he remembered George M. Pullman had a car in Chicago named The Pioneer: he asked Mr. Pull- man if he could use it for the President. Mr. Pullman s a i d y e s a n d o n M a y 2 , 1865, the funeral train, with President Lincoln in The P i o n e e r , l e f t C h i c a g o f o r Springfield, Illinois, some 200 miles away. The train took two days to reach Springfield because it stopped at every small town between Chicago and Springfield to let people pay their final homage to the late President. When people saw what a beautiful rail- road car Lincoln's body was i n , t h e y w r o t e l e t t e r s t o their relatives and friends telling them about Lincoln's funeral and Mr. Pullman's car, The Pioneer. C o v e r i n g t h e f u n e r a l w e r e m a n y n e w s p a p e r reporters from all over the country, as well as around the world. In their stories, they gave a glowing report o n G e o r g e M . P u l l m a n ' s luxurious railroad car. All the publicity made Pullman famous as a train car manu- facturer and orders began to come into his factory in Detroit and, later, in Chica- go, where many Italo-Amer- i c a n c r a f t s m e n f o u n d employment making plush furnishings for the trains. Mr. Pullman also received a w a r d s f r o m t h e U S a n d I t a l i a n g o v e r n m e n t s f o r providing employment to Italians and Italian Ameri- cans on both sides of the Atlantic. *** Buona Pasqua (April 9 2023)! Here are some lessons for living you can l e a r n f r o m t h e E a s t e r Bunny: Don't put all your eggs in one basket; Everyone needs a friend who is all ears; Keep your paws off other people's jelly beans; All work and no play can make you a basketcase; Let happy thoughts mul- tiply like rabbits! *** The US Mint was estab- lished on April 2, 1792. It is said that George Washing- ton provided his own house- hold silver for the coins. *** "In God we Trust" (all o t h e r s p a y c a s h ! ) : t h e s e words have been imprinted o n p e n n i e s , n i c k e l s , a n d dimes ever since the motto was approved for American coins by Congress, on April 22, 1864. *** Caruso and the 1906 E a r t h q u a k e . I n A p r i l 1 9 0 6 , t h e w o r l d - f a m o u s tenor Enrico Caruso was on a n a t i o n a l t o u r w i t h t h e Metropolitan Opera Compa- ny and arrived in San Fran- cisco a few days before April 1 8 t h . O n t h e e v e n i n g o f April 17th, Bizet's Carmen was scheduled at the Opera House, then located on Mis- sion Street, near the present site of the Moscone Center. T h i s p e r f o r m a n c e w a s t o spotlight Caruso in one of his best roles. According to the San Francisco Chroni- cle, this gala evening was a huge success. San Francis- c a n s t u r n e d o u t i n l a r g e numbers and the bejeweled audience enjoyed what the critics called "a notable per- f o r m a n c e t o a n o t a b l e 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. house." Caruso himself was singled out for "giving bril- liancy to the performance" a n d b e c a u s e " h i s r i n g i n g tenor woke up the house on his first phrases and raised anticipation which was ful- filled at the end." According to one legend, after the conclusion of the performance Caruso, high in spirits, approached baritone Antonio Scotti, and slapping him on the back invited him t o g o t o N o r t h B e a c h f o r some spaghetti and fun. The legend never confirmed if they had spaghetti or fun, h o w e v e r , t h e y d i d g o o u t t o g e t h e r a n d r e t u r n e d t o t h e i r h o t e l r o o m s a t t h e Palace Hotel around 3 am. C a r u s o w a s a w a k e n e d a t 5.12 am by the earthquake and was so bewildered and confused that all he could d o w a s p a c e a r o u n d t h e r o o m . H i s f i r s t c o n c e r n , after he gathered his senses, was his voice. He opened his bedroom window and start- e d t o s i n g t o t h e d a z e d crowd that assembled a few f l o o r s b e l o w . S t i l l f r i g h t - ened, but assured his voice was not harmed, he vowed he would never come to San F r a n c i s c o a g a i n . I n h i s words, "San Francisco was a n ' e l l o f a p l a c e " a n d h e would take Mount Vesuvius anytime. After a few narrow scrapes, he finally worked his way to the foot of Market Street, boarded a ferry for Oakland, and later took the first train available to New York. He kept his promise: he died in 1921, never set- ting foot in San Francisco again.

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