L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2024 www.italoamericano.org 14 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE D ear Readers, "Toot! Toot!" — that's me, t o o t i n g m y o w n h o r n ! I began writing for L'Italo- Americano in mid-1977, forty-plus years ago. As 2024 begins, let me pass on some good advice and January jot- tings to you! *** A d v i c e f o r t h e N e w Year: nobody can go back and start a new beginning but anyone can start today and make a new ending. *** Astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit t h e E a r t h i n 1 9 6 2 p a s s e d away in December 2016, at the age of 95. This reminds m e o n c e a g a i n t h a t t h e a c c o m p l i s h m e n t s o f o u r modern-day astronauts and their voyages were undertak- en with the backup of thou- sands, both in personnel, technology, and money. But to me the real pioneers of travel were our fathers and mothers and our grandpar- ents who left their isolated and obscure villages to begin a journey to what was, for them, like another planet; to a world thousands of miles away they set out, with no money and the added bur- den of not being able to read or speak one of the world's most difficult languages. The fact that we are here, literate and able to read our copy o f L ' I t a l o - A m e r i c a n o , founded in 1908, represents an Old World dream fulfilled and honored. By supporting the efforts of our American Italian heritage associations, m u s e u m s , a n d s i m i l a r groups, we help assure that our children will never forget what modern-day media has ignored, neglected, or dis- torted, that is, the history and brilliance of Italian-con- nected gifts to the civilization of the world. *** Italian Americans cre- ated many of the familiar items we enjoy every day. The Jacuzzi hot tub and spa were invented by the Jacuzzi family, whose seven sons and six daughters came to Ameri- c a i n 1 9 0 7 . I n 1 9 1 5 , t h e y formed the Jacuzzi Brothers Incorporated, which sup- plied the American military with propellers. In 1926, they developed the deep well (jet) water pump, that led to the famous whirlpool bath. Mr. Coffee, the best-sell- ing coffee maker, was invent- ed by Vince Marotta, who also developed a better way to extract oil from coffee b e a n s a n d i n v e n t e d t h e p a p e r c o f f e e f i l t e r . S i n c e 1972, more than 50 million Mr.Coffees have been sold. A n e s t i m a t e d 1 0 b i l l i o n Mr.Coffee paper filters are sold annually. T h e c o n v e r t i b l e s o f a w a s i n v e n t e d by Bernard Castro (1904- 1991), who came from Italy and opened an upholstery shop in New York in 1931. In 1945, he invented the famous space-saving sofa that even a child could open. Chef Boyardee, the man behind the nation's leading brand of spaghetti dinners, pizza mix, sauce, and pasta, was really Ettore Boiar- di, who began as a chef's apprentice at age 11, eventu- ally opened a restaurant in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1924 and began packaging pasta and sauce for his customers to take home. In the 1930s, he began selling pasta and sauce in cans. A food distributor convinced him to change the spelling of his name to make it easier for Americans to pronounce. During World War II, the company was the largest supplier of rations for the US and Allied Forces. Antonio Meucci invent- ed the telephone in 1871, five years before Alexander Gra- ham Bell, but the impover- ished inventor did not have the funds (about 25 USD) to file a patent. The chocolate bar exists t o d a y i n p a r t d u e to Domenico Ghirardel- li. In 1867, he perfected a m e t h o d t o m a k e g r o u n d chocolate. Today, Ghirardelli chocolate is sold all over the world, including the square in San Francisco named after him, where his chocolate fac- tory — now a shopping cen- ter — still stands. M r . P e a n u t a n d t h e Planters Peanut Compa- ny were created by Amedeo 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. Obici and Mario Peruzzi, t w o I t a l i a n i m m i g r a n t s . Obici, who came to America from Oderzo in 1889, began s e l l i n g f i v e - c e n t b a g s o f p e a n u t s o n t h e s t r e e t . I n 1897, he took Peruzzi as his partner. By 1930, the two had four huge factories and raked in over 12 million USD annually. Today, the Planters Peanut Company has over 5,000 employees. The cough drop was creat- e d b y V i n c e n t R . C i c - cone, who began his career in the 1930s as a janitor at the Charms Candy Co. and r e t i r e d a s t h e c o m p a n y ' s president and chief executive officer. Ciccone secured 20 patents, including the "Blow Pop," a lollypop with a bub- ble gum center. He died at age 81, in 1997. C h a r l e s A t l a s , b o r n Angelo Siciliano, invented the body-building technique called "Dynamic Tension" in 1921 and was dubbed "Amer- ica's most perfectly devel- oped man" by Physical Cul- ture Magazine. By the 1950s, the former Coney Island jan- itor had over one million fol- lowers. He died in 1972 aged 79, while jogging too soon after a heart attack. The ice cream cone was invented by an Italian immi- g r a n t t o N e w J e r s e y named Italo Mancini in 1896. The Big Mac, a McDon- ald's sandwich classic, was invented by Jim Delligatti, owner of a McDonald's fran- chise in Pittsburgh, Pennsyl- vania. Since its introduction in 1967, more than 14 billion Big Macs have been sold, making it the most popular sandwich in the world.

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