L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2017 www.italoamericano.org L'Italo-Americano 26 LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE D ear Readers, No- vember Notes with an Italian Connec- tion:An Assassin's bullet ended the life of our 35th President, John F. Kennedy on November 22nd, 1963 in Dallas, Texas. Kennedy was 46 years old and the youngest U.S. President ever to die. *** Kennedy had an Italian Con- nection. President John Fitzger- ald Kennedy, on Columbus Day, 1962, after being introduced by Congressman Peter W. Rodino, t o l d a c h e e r i n g a u d i e n c e i n Newark, New Jersey, that some Italian blood had, through his mother's ancestors, percolated into his veins. He said: "My grandfather, John F.Fitzgerald, w h o u s e d t o b e M a y o r o f Boston, and was a Congress- man, always used to claim that the Fitzgeralds were actually I t a l i a n , d e s c e n d e d f r o m t h e G e r a l d i n i s , w h o c a m e f r o m Venice. I never had the courage to make that claim, but i will make it on Columbus Day here i n t h i s S t a t e o f N e w J e r s e y today." As soon as this state- m e n t w a s m a d e , t h e U n i t e d Press International initiated an intensive search into President Kennedy's genealogy. Reporters climbed the Kennedy Fitzgerald family tree to its top-most twig and others dub down into the ground beneath the roots. UPI turned in the following exciting report:  Christopher Columbus might never have discovered America if it hadn't been for one of Presi- dent Kennedy's ancestors. W h e n K e n n e d y s t a r t l e d Americans in 1962 by telling Columbus Day crowds he was descended on his mother's side from an Italian family named Geraldini, he also startled five Romans named Geraldini, who had no idea they might be dis- tant relatives of the American President. The Roman Geraldi- nis were Arnaldo, Rome corre- spondent of the Milan newspa- per Corriere della Sera; his son, Sergio, also a journalist; his daughter, Ornella, married to journalist Filippi Raffaeli; Count Gaetano Geraldini, a surgeon and attorney Antonio Geraldini. According to the Geraldini fami- ly archives, one of the early m e m b e r s o f t h e f a m i l y w a s Bishop Alessandro Geraldini, confessor of Queen Isabella of Spain and friend of Columbus. When Columbus proposed to seek a new route to India by sailing West, the bishop sided with Columbus. After Columbus made the voyage and discovered America instead of a new road to India, he was so grateful to the bishop t h a t h e n a m e d o n e o f t h e Antilles Island after the bishop's mother Graziosa. President Kennedy said the Geraldinis hailed from Venice. The Geraldini family records bear this out, but show the fami- ly moved to Florence in the 14th century, where they were known as Proud Ghibellines. One branch of the family, the record show, migrated to France and the to Ireland. There they changed their name of Fitzger- ald, the maiden name the Presi- dent's mother. Another branch of the Geraldini family moved to Amelia, in the Umbrian Hills o f c e n t r a l I t a l y , w h e r e t h e y became part of the Italian nobili- ty, with the title of counts. They adopted as their family emblem an olive tree on a blue back- ground with three gold stars - a symbol of peace. *** B a f f o n i T u r k e y F a r m i n Rhode Island was one of the first turkey farms in the state and one of the turkey farm pioneers in the U.S.A. The Turkey Farm was started by Joseph Baffoni, an immigrant to the U.S. from Abruzzo in 1917. After working as a textile worker and a mason, Baffoni turned to farming during the depression because industry was slow and he had a background in farming. Baffoni raised his turkeys on his farm then sold them at his market. He operated a strictly retail business until his sons A l b e r t , A r t h u r a n d D o n a l d b e c a m e i n v o l v e d d u r i n g t h e 50's. The three brothers added a small wholesale trade but retail remains the main stay of their business. People come every week to by chicken and eggs and this time of the year, folks also flock to the Baffoni Farm for f r e s h t u r k e y s s o l d a t 3 2 4 Greenville Ave., Johnson, Rhode Island 02919. During the holidays, people have company and want a nice turkey that is tender and fresh. T h e o n c e - e b b i n g m a r k e t f o r farm-fresh produce is becoming lively again. The old people (immigrants) were the first customers at Baf- foni Farm. Then, the next gener- ation sort of drifted away. Now p e o p l e a r e m o r e h e a l t h c o n - scious. The second or third gen- e r a t i o n s a r e c o m i n g b a c k because they want fresh food. Ironically, despite the renewed interest in fresher food, local poultry farmers are becoming a dying breed. A seven-day-a- week job is just not popular with young folks. For readers with family or friends in Rhode Island who w i s h t o t r y a B a f f o n i F a r m turkey, call (401)231-6315. Turkey and Poultry in Italian and English: Turkey - Tacchino Duck - Anatra Rooster - Gallo Chicken - pollo Goose - Oca *** Joe Petrosino, (1860 - 1909) the first Italian-American detec- tive in the New York City Police D e p a r t m e n t , w h i l e w o r k i n g undercover, reportedly learned of a plan to assassinate our 25th President William McKinley. P e t r o s i n o ' s w a r n i n g w a s ignored and President McKinley was assassinated on Sept. 6th 1901 while attending a public reception at the Pan-American E x p o s i t i o n i n B u f f a l o , N e w York. Because McKinley had a l w a y s m a d e a p o i n t o f h i s accessibility, the guests evident- ly were not checked very care- fully and McKinley was shot twice at close range by a young anarchist, named Leon Czolgo- s z , w h o h a d c o n c e a l e d h i s revolver with a large handker- chief. After McKinley's assassina- t i o n , h i s V i c e P r e s i d e n t , Theodore Roosevelt, took office at age 42. *** Accolades for Joe Petrosino from the Italian Ufficio Postale. 0.85 (Euro) Italian stamp was issued in honor of Joe Petrosino ( 1 8 6 0 - 1 9 0 9 ) t h e N e w Y o r k Police Department's first Italian American detective on the 150th anniversary of his birth. Joe Petrosino was born in Padula, Italy, in 1860; he immi- g r a t e d t o N e w Y o r k C i t y i n 1 8 7 3 . H e j o i n e d t h e p o l i c e department 10 years later and w a s p r o m o t e d t o d e t e c t i v e sergeant in 1895 by Theodore Roosevelt, police commissioner at the time. A pioneer in the fight against organized crime, Petrosino head- ed the city's first bomb squad, established in 1903. Also known for his undercover work, he is sometimes called the "Italian Sherlock Holmes." Petrosino was assassinated on March 12, 1909, while working undercover in Palermo, Sicily. The day of his funeral was declared a public h o l i d a y i n N e w Y o r k C i t y . Approximately 250,000 people watched the five-and-a-half-hour long procession.

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