Dear Readers,
November Notes with an Italian Connection: An Assassin’s bullet ended the life of our 35th President, John F. Kennedy on November 22nd, 1960 in Dallas, Texas. Kennedy was 46 years old and the youngest U.S. President ever to die.
Joe Petrosino, (1860-1909) the first Italian-American detective in the New York City Police Department, while working undercover, reportedly learned of a plan to assassinate our 25th President William McKinley. Petrosino’s warning was ignored and President McKinley was assassinated on Sept. 6th, 1901 while attending a public reception at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York.
Because McKinley had always made a point of his accessibility, the guests evidently were not checked very carefully and McKinley was shot twice at close range by a young anarchist, named Leon Czolgosz, who had concealed his revolver with a large handkerchief. After McKinley’s assassina- tion, his Vice President, Theodore Roosevelt, took office at age 42.
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Accolades for Joe Petrosino from the Italian Ufficio Postale. “Grazie” to Signor Enrico H. of New York, I learned that an 0,85 (euro) Italian stamp was issued recently in honor of Joe Petrosino (1860-1909) the New York City Police Department’s first Italian American detective on the 150th anniversary of his birth. Joe Petrosino was born in Padula, Italy, in 1860; he immigrated to New York City in 1873. He joined the police department 10 years later and was promoted to detective sergeant in 1895 by Theodore Roosevelt, police commissioner at the time.
A pioneer in the fight against organized crime, Petrosino headed the city’s first bomb squad, established in 1903. Also known for his undercover work, he is sometimes called the “Italian Sherlock Holmes”. While working undercover, Petrosino reportedly learned of the plan to assassinate President William McKinley. Petrosino’s warning was ignored, though, and the President was assassinated on Sept. 6, 1901.
Petrosino himself was assassinated on March 12, 1909, while working undercover in Palermo, Sicily. The day of his funeral was declared a public holiday in New York City. Approximately 250,000 people watched the five- and-a-half-hour long procession.
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Baffoni Turkey Farm in 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. He went into it in 1935 and stayed in it.
Baffoni raised his turkeys on his farm then sold them at his market. Baffoni operated a strictly retail business until his sons Albert, Arthur and Donald became involved during the 50’s. The three brothers added a small wholesale trade but retail remains the main stay of their business. People come every week to buy chicken and eggs and this time of year, folks also flock to the Baffoni Farm for fresh turkeys sold at 324 Greenville Ave., Johnson, Rhode Island 02919.
During the holidays, people have company and want a nice turkey that is tender and fresh. The once-ebbing market for farm-fresh produce is becoming lively again. The old people (immigrants) were the first custumers at Baffoni Farm. Then, the next generation sort of drifted away. Now people are more health conscious. The second or third generations are coming back 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 wish to try a Baffoni Farm turkey, call (401) 231-6315. Turkey and Poultry in Italian and English: Turkey - Tacchino Duck - Anatra Rooster - Gallo Chicken - Gallina Goose - Oca
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BreadCrumbs made a millionaire out of Philip Zaffere, son of hard-working Italian immigrant, Frank Dinato Zaffere, who made his way from a $3-a-week sweat- shop in New York City to the Eastern Shore of Federalsburg, Maryland, where he met his future wife and with her opened Zaffere’s Bakery. In addition to their own Baked Goods, Philip’s father became a distributor for Hostess Cupcakes, Roman Meal Bread and Mrs. Smith’s pies and had delivery routes all over the shore.
Philip Zaffere grew up in the business. He attended high school in suburban Baltimore during the week but hitchhiked home to the shore on weekends to work in the bakery. He didn’t go to college, instead stayed home to take over the thriving bakery from his father. But the boom times didn’t last, because supermarkets came along with their own in-house bakeries and the small bakeries could not compete.
When Zaffere saw what was happening he looked for other avenues and started to go into further processing and became processor of dehydrated carbohydrates. Breadcrumbs made the business and Stove Top Stuffing made him a very rich man. By 1986, Zaffere was the owner of Shore Food Technologies in Federalsburg, Md., a family-owned firm that grew out of a bakery business. Shore made breading for Mrs. Paul’s fish sticks and flavorings for Lean Cuisine frozen dinners.
Then Zaffere and company researches took Stove Top Stuffing to new heights. This may sound mundane, but Shore’s innovation was such a big deal that the company became a hot commodity. It was a classic case of a small firm that develops the right product, or the right process, and makes a name and money for itself. It used to be that Stove Top came in a box, and cooks had to use the whole package, whether or not they needed all of it. But market research showed con- sumers wanted more flexibility in their stuffing.
Shore Foods was already providing the bread- crumbs. What Zaffere and his company did was find a way to mix all the spices and coatings to the breadcrumbs without pulverizing the entire mixture. They created one-step stuffing. It was a hit! Working with researchers at General Foods, Stouffers and Progresso, the plant was running 24 hours a day, seven days a week. After the Stove Top success, Zaffere, who had been getting offers from bigger companies, decided to sell Shore to Illinois Central Corp. for an undisclosed amount.
But as is often the case in Cinderella business stories, the boss left the firm with plenty of money, but after the sale the welcome mat was rolled up. Stove Top is now owned by Kraft, according to the box I recently picked up for my research.
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Continuum Estates Winery is the name of Tim Mondavi’s new winery and it is his addition to the Mondavi legacy - one built on decades of work in the Robert Mondavi family business. After selling their winery in 2004 to Constellation Brands, the world’s largest wine company, the Mondavis found themselves well compensated but little more than figureheads. Suddenly the first family of American wine had lots of money but no winery to its name. So Tim Mondavi, a wine maker trained at U.C. Davis, wants to make sure there will be a Mondavi Continuum.
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Carlo Levi, was born on November 29, 1902, in Torino. He first came to my attention as the author of Christ Stopped at Eboli, because although it was a “warts and all” portrait of “La Basilicata” it was an honest por- trayal of an area where many of our parents had roots but up until that time, most Italo-Americans did not know it existed. I later learned, Carlo Levi was a multi-faceted man and most facets he used for social good. During his lifetime, Carlo Levi distinguished himself as a doctor, painter and writer.
His documentary novel, Christ Stopped at Eboli, became an international sensation and introduced the trend towards social realism in post-war Italian literature. Although he was exiled as a young man for anti-fascist activity – experience which he would draw on in his writing – in later life he won a place in the Italian senate, and his commitment to social and political issues pervaded his work as a writer.
