Dear Readers,
As the New Year 2012 begins let us look back to the year 1912 to see what a difference a century makes:
The American flag had 45 stars.
The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was only 30. Crossword puzzles, canned beer and iced tea hadn’t been invented yet.
There was neither a Mother’s Day nor a Father’s Day. Two out of every 10 adults couldn’t read or write. Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school. The average life expectancy for men was 47 years.
Fuel for his car was sold in drug stores had he been able to afford Henry Ford’s Model T, “the motor car for the multitude” that appeared in 1908.
Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub and toilets were often outdoors, hence early immigrants called the toilet a “bacauso”, Ital-English for back of house.
Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone. There were only 8000 cars and 144 miles of paved roads in the U.S.A. The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 miles per hour. The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower. The average US wage was 22 cents per hour. The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year. A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, a dentist $2500 per year, a veterinarian between $1500 and $4000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5000 per year. More than 95 percent of all births took place at home. Ninety percent of all Doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION! Instead, they attended so- called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press as “substandard”.
Sugar cost four cents a pound. Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen. Coffee was fifteen cents a pound. As we begin 2012, I want to wish all my “Dear Readers” Buona Salute fino a Cent’Anni. Let us all aspire to inspire before we expire...
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Reminder:
Italian Children’s Market. The Italian Children’s Market (1536 W. 25th Street, Ste. 321, San Pedro, California 90732, tel. (310) 427-2700) can be your source for Italian Culture and Language Products for children throughout the New Year and beyond.
The “abbondanza” of Italian connected products for children under one is just fantastic. Call for their brochure. Here is a sample:
Teach Me Everyday Italian Vol. 1.
Bring language alive through brilliant illustrations as you listen, learn, and sing along with classic songs for children. Presented in a new dual language format, children can easily follow the songs and story as they learn a new language. This new edition of Teach Me Italian features full color illustrations and is expanded to 32 pages with hardcover binding and compan- ion audio. Hardcover & CD...$19.95
Italian for Children
Along with its charming visuals and lively activities, the series now provides in CD format the stimulating sounds of language to entice preschoolers through primary graders into learning a second language. Cute, catchy songs and the humorous, serial adventures of SuperCat are sure to captivate the imagination and foster language acquisition. Each set in the series contains an 80-page full color activity book coordi- nated with two 60 minute CDs as well as an Instructor guide packed with helpful hints...$29.95
Italian Dictionary for Beginners
A colorful dictionary with over 2000 words and phrases illustrated with amusing pictures of busy everyday scenes.
Arranged thematically so words appear in context with topics on “Buying Food”, “At Work” and “In the Countryside” and more...$12.99
CD of Italian Music
This music CD includes songs that teach in both Italian and English.
Songs in Italian: The Alphabet Song, Let’s Eat! Number to twenty, Learning Colors, My Family is Special, The Days of the Week, Name the Animals, The Hello Song, Five Day Weather Forecast.
By just singing along with this CD, your child will learn 100+ words and phrases in Italian!... $16.95
Wooden Pinocchio Toys Made in Italy
Pinocchio toys have delighted children around the world for more than 60 years. From the workshop of Italy’s Mastro Geppetto, where skilled craftsmen create with local wood and non-toxic paint, come these bright cheery products sure to warm the hearts of children of all ages. Brown Bear Giovanni sings and speaks in Italian. It’s never
too early or late for a child to learn about his or her heritage. And by simply holding close this cuddly
bear, the adventure begins. Press his furry paw, and in Italian he greets you, inviting you to respond.
Join him when he counts to ten, and when he sings “Giro, Giro Tondo” and “La Bella Lavanderina”. Listen while Giovanni teaches you “Good Night” and “Good Bye” with the promise of seeing you again. Giovanni speaks only Italian and comes with a translation guide. Giovanni’s sweater bears the Italian colors, and on the bottom of his left foot, a miniature Italian flag. 15” from head to foot. Requires 3 AA batteries (included)...$34.95
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“Grazie” to Signora Lorraine Capurro McCloud for discovering the ItaliansRus.com website and sharing the info with us. I can assure you that the Italian connected info on this website will keep you informed and inspired throughout the New Year.
If, like me, your computer skills are skimpy, please ask your computer literate “bambini”, “marito” or friends to connect you to the Italiansrus.com site so you can experience first-hand the astonishing “abbondanza” of Italian connected information you will find there. The Italiansrus site was created by first generation Italian American Anthony Parente, who worked nearly four years creating over 1000 informative pages on a variety of topics dealing with Italian and Italo-American culture and it shows!
For example, on the “Welcome to Italiansrus.com” page was an Alphabetical Resource Index that began with Actors and ended with World War II, with Regional Recipes, Soccer, Traditions and over a hundred and fifty topics in between.
So, I asked my “marito” to push the button next to actors, and in an instant a list of actors from Aiello, Danny to Valentino, Rodolfo appeared. When I selected Durante, Jimmy, five pages of photos, film clips, bio info and movie or T.V. appearances going way back to the early 1950’s. And, the same treasure trove of information is there on any other Italian or Italian-American actors you might select.
Here is a sample of what you will find when you click cuisine, Regional, Sicily on Italiansrus.com:
DOLCI
Enjoy these great recipes for desserts like cannoli and sfinci.
La Gastronomia Siciliana
A nice introduction to Sicilian cuisine. The article is written in Italian.
Nicosia
Get a basic description of the typical cuisine from this city.
Select “Ricette Nicosiane” to get a list of traditional recipes to select from.
Typical Food & Recipes of Sicily
Just select a province to get a list of typical recipes from towns within that province.
Ricette Siciliane
Browse through a list of recipes for antipasti, primi piatti, contorni & insalate, secondi piatti and dolci.
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Looking back, a hundred years ago to 1912: USA, 6 January 1912. New Mexico becomes the 47th state. South Pole, 17 January 1912. the British explorer Robert Scott reaches the South Pole to discover that his Norwegian rival, Roald Amundsen, has beaten him to it. USA, 14 February 1912. Arizona becomes the 48th state. China, 15 February 1912. Yuan Shikai takes over from Sun Yat-sen as provisional president of the Republic of China. Morocco, 30 March 1912.
By the treaty of Fez, Morocco becomes a French protectorate. Britain, 13 April 1912. The Royal Flying Corps is set up. Rhodes, 4 May 1912. The Italians occupy the Ottoman island. Russia, 5 May 1912. The first issue of the Bolshevik newspaper Pravda appears. Los Angeles, 8 June 1912. Carl Laemmie founds Universal Studios.
Britain, 22 July 1912. The admiralty recalls British war- ships from the Mediterranean to the North Sea to counter the growing German naval threat. Europe, 1 August 1912. An air-mail service begins between London and Paris.
USA, 23 September 1912. Mack Sennett releases the first Keystone Cops film.
Switzerland, 18 October 1912. The Ottoman empire and Italy sign a treaty at Ouchy whereby the Ottomans cede Tripoli and Cyrenaica to Italy. Morocco, 27 November 1912. France and Spain sign a treaty outlining their respective spheres of influence in Morocco. Europe, 5 December 1912. Germany, Austria and Italy renew their triple alliance for six years. Peace on Earth be it 1912 or 2012 continues to elude us.
