L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MAY 30, 2024 www.italoamericano.org 14 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE D ear Readers, Ellis Island had no wall to k e e p t h e "undesirable" immigrants out of the USA, but it had an abundance of r u l e s , r e g u l a t i o n s , a n d r e s t r i c t i o n s t h a t d i d . M y f a t h e r V i n c e n z o c a m e through Ellis Island in the 1 9 2 0 s , b u t m a n y I t a l i a n - Americans have grandpar- ents who got off the boat in B o s t o n o r B a l t i m o r e because they arrived on out- s h o r e s b e f o r e t h e 1 8 9 2 opening of Ellis Island. With the US government in charge, a series of immi- gration laws were enacted that would deny the right to stay in America to convicts, polygamists, and anarchists. Upon arrival, immigrants w e r e t a g g e d , w a t c h e d b y inspectors and doctors, and t h e n m e t w i t h a r e g i s t r y c l e r k ; t h e r e w e r e i n t e r - preters to help with a litera- cy test and, if you passed all criteria, you entered your n e w c o u n t r y . I f n o t , y o u were either held or denied entry. Additional exclusions included: "likely to become a public charge" (the most likely reason as subjective as it might have been), dis- ease, and contract labor, because the unions did not want you to say you had a job in hand. *** A little history tells us that, in 1667, Isaac Bed- l o e , a D u t c h c o l o n i s t , o b t a i n e d a c o l o n i a l l a n d grant for a small island later known as Bedloe's Island. In 1794, after the American Revolution, federal dollars were appropriated to con- struct fortifications on it, so t h e U S A r m y b e g a n c o n - struction of a star-shaped fort in 1807. Edouard de la B o u l a y e p r o p o s e d t h a t F r a n c e g i v e t h e U n i t e d States a statue representing liberty for its centennial, a n d b y 1 8 7 0 , F r é d é r i c - Auguste Bartholdi became the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty. The statue was c o m p l e t e d i n F r a n c e i n 1884 but had no pedestal s o , i n t h e U S , J o s e p h Pulitzer led a fundraising d r i v e t h a t r a i s e d o v e r $100,000 to have it built. On June 17, 1885, the statue a r r i v e d i n N e w Y o r k a n d was placed in storage for a year, while the pedestal was c o m p l e t e d . I n 1 8 9 6 , o n October 28, the statue was unveiled at a dedication cer- emony on Bedloe's Island, w h i c h w a s e v e n t u a l l y renamed Liberty Island by a joint resolution in Congress, signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956. *** In 1992, the centennial year of the 1892 opening of Ellis Island, the American Immigrant Wall of Honor was unveiled, and with the salesmanship of Lee Iacoc- ca — legendary Chrysler Corporation CEO, who in 1982 had been appointed by President Ronald Reagan to serve as the Statue of Liber- ty Ellis Island Foundation first chairman — my father Vincenzo's name was added to the American Immigrant W a l l o f H o n o r . T h i s w a l l pays tribute to those brave individuals who, with little money or ability to speak English, risked everything f o r t h e c h a n c e t o b u i l d a new life in the land of the free. Located directly behind Ellis Island's main building, t h e W a l l o f H o n o r , t h e largest wall of names in the world, is inscribed with the names of over 410,000 indi- v i d u a l s a n d f a m i l i e s w h o have been honored by their d e s c e n d a n t s t h r o u g h a donation to the Ellis Island Project. This very personal tribute is a gift of gratitude a n d r e m e m b r a n c e t o a n ancestor whose courage and d e t e r m i n a t i o n p a v e d t h e w a y f o r t h e f r e e d o m a n d opportunity we so often take for granted. Today, children are proud to find the names 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. o f t h e i r g r a n d p a r e n t s o r great-grandparents record- ed with others who came and built America. *** R e m e m b e r , M a y i s Senior Citizens Month. Who is a senior citizen? A senior is one who was here before the Pill and the pop- ulation explosion. We were here before television, peni- cillin, polio shots, antibi- otics, and frisbees. Before frozen food, nylon, xerox, radar, fluorescent lights, credit cards, and ballpoint pens. For us, time-sharing m e a n t t o g e t h e r n e s s , n o t computers and a chip meant a p i e c e o f w o o d . W e g o t m a r r i e d f i r s t , t h e n l i v e d together: how quaint. Clos- ets were for clothes, not for coming out of, bunnies were small rabbits, and rabbits were not Volkswagens. We were here before pantyhose and drip-dry clothes. Before ice makers and dishwash- ers, clothes dryers, freezers, and electric blankets. Before Hawaii and Alaska became s t a t e s . W e t h o u g h t f a s t f o o d s w e r e w h a t y o u a t e d u r i n g L e n t . W e w e r e before Boy George, before FM radios, tape recorders, electric typewriters, word p r o c e s s o r s , e l e c t r o n i c music, disco dancing — but we don't say that's all bad! In our day, "grass" was for m o w i n g , " c o k e " w a s a refreshing drink, and "pot" was something you cooked in. We are today's senior cit- izens, a hearty bunch when you think of how our world has changed and the adjust- ments we've had to make.

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