Community Corner

Lansdale's 'La Famiglia'

Last week, Lansdale Historical Society brought back memories to many longtime residents with a look at the Italian heritage that made Lansdale Borough what it is today.

Back in the day, Lansdale had its "Little Italy"—and it took up only one street.
West Fifth Street, between Cannon Avenue and Walnut Street, and later as far out as Line Street, was the home of Lansdale's "La Famiglia." 
Lansdale in the early 20th Century was established and prospered by Italian immigrants who raised their families on and around West Fifth Street.
Today, one would find two, maybe three, Lansdale Italians with roots to the old days on West Fifth Street; the heritage did not die as much as it scattered and prospered into every ward of the borough and beyond.
In fact, you can't spin spaghetti on a fork and not fling some of Nana's homemade sauce onto a longtime, rooted Lansdale Italian.
If you are a Ricci, Saldutti, Corrado, Messina, Farina, Battavio, Del Ciotto, Giuliano, Virigilio, Riccio, Molettiere (or even a Di Domizio), chances are, your roots are in Lansdale Borough.
Lansdale's Italian heritage and its influence into the growth of Lansdale was the topic of a Lansdale Historical Society presentation last week, presented by historical society vice president Steve Moyer.
"On a row of houses (on West Fifth Street)," Moyer said, "it's thought maybe three Italian families on the entire row are left."
After the more than 2 million Italians emigrated to Ellis Island, they lived as inexpensively as possible. They took on construction jobs and manual labor, even helping to build some of the tallest skyscrapers in New York City. 
In Lansdale, Moyer said, the Italians did a number of jobs, but especially worked on the railroads in town.
One could find Italian barbers, like Frank Taverno, cutting hair at the barbershop at Tremont Hotel. Some Italians worked alongside fellow immigrant Germans and Irishmen in stove factories and foundries, like Abram Cox Stove Co. at Fifth Street and Cannon Avenue and Krupp Foundry in Quakertown.
"These were good working conditions," Moyer said coyly during one slide showing workers inside the Cox foundry. "The truth is, does anybody look happy? They're dressed in rags. This wasn't fun. They worked hard."
One slide in the historical society presentation showed the workers at W.H. Pool Shirt Factory.
"It would have been Italian workers doing work in the shop," Moyer said.
One famous Lansdale Italian—the Norristown-born Mayor Mike DiNunzio—began his cobbler career at the age of 14 in his father's shoe shop.
"Italians were the heartblood in Lansdale industry," he said.
Case in point—American Olean Tile Company. Moyer said many Italians put their hearts and souls into jobs at the company, like mechanic Dom Calafati for one.
"On Fifth Street, a number of basements were tiled with ceramic tile (from American Olean). Italians would practice being tile setters in their basements," Moyer said. "They went and got discarded tile and practiced in the basement."
There was once a festive, bombastic Italian event in Lansdale—complete with parade and fireworks—called The Feast of the Assumption. 
The Assumption is the feast of the Blessed Virgin, the mother of Jesus Christ. This feast commemorates two events: the death of Mary and the assumption of her body into heaven.
According to resident and Lansdale native John Malack, the parade would begin at St. Stanislaus Church and make its way to the St. Marie's Club at West Fifth Street and Maple Avenue via Walnut Street. Today, the St. Marie's Club building is the home of the North Penn Mosque.
Malack said the Italian families would big to carry the statue of the Virgin Mary in the parade; at one point in the festivities, Italians would make a donation in the form of money or flowers, he said.
"It was a big event for the Italian community in Lansdale," Malack said. "People would come from miles around."
The event began in Lansdale around 1918, Malack said, and the inaugural parade received much media coverage for its time.
"I thought it was a great event," Malack said, reminiscing as a youth. "There was a lot of good Italian food and festivities and fireworks. I never imagined the magnitude of it. It was quite an event with fireworks. People would just go to Lansdale and watch this."
Fireworks, he said, cost then a whopping $1,500 in 1924.
(Luckily, fireworks have returned to Lansdale via Founders Day under leadership of Councilwoman Mary Fuller: "It's my heritage. That's why we have fireworks again," she said.)
The presentation also looked back at beloved Italian markets and businesses and where they once stood in the borough.
The Grand Hotel once sat at West Fifth Street and Kenilworth Avenue, across from the former Sons of Italy hall, and even served as a food store operated by the Pennisse family.
"It sold gas," Moyer said, "but it was also a general store. Upstairs, Mrs. Pennisse had, what would be a sweatshop today, a piecework and sewing."
The Pennisse family was also known for its Pennisse and Sons American and Italian Foods at 203 Walnut Street.
"They sold food out of the back (of their company car)," Moyer said.
Pennisse and Sons then spawned Pennisse Brothers Frozen Food Co.
"My brother brought some pasta home and I thought it was really good," Moyer said. "For being Pennsylvania Dutch, I love pasta."
The Pennisse family also owned the ground where the first Clemens Market was built at 1000 N. Broad St. Today, it is an Opthalmic center.
Remember Fornari's Market at Cannon Avenue and West Fifth and West Sixth streets? Remember when Mattero's Recycling was Emert's Recycling?
How about Virgilio's at West Fifth and Pierce streets in Lansdale? It stood as the backdrop to the group picture for Ilta and Antonio Virgilio's wedding.
Of all the Italian families that helped shape Lansdale, none was more popular than Molettiere.
"The Molettiere family had five stores," Moyer said. "Four were in Lansdale and one was in North Wales." 
The North Wales Molettiere family business was at Walnut and Fourth streets, where the North Wales Laundromat now conducts business.
A. Molettiere Food Market did business at 55 E. Main St., where it sold "hot, delicious pizza pies."
Moyer featured another old Italian eatery in the presentation: Lou's Food Market at 90 S. Richardson Ave. 
Patrons who frequented Lou's may remember the motto: "Sell the Best and Eat the Rest."
"They never ran out of food," Moyer said. "It was tough times when places were open and food was rationed during the war."
Lansdale even had its own Suburban Bocce League at St. Marie's Club in 1948, made up of members like Taverno, Dom Nicolino, Lou Storti, John Mattero, Frank Corrado and Frank Tedesco. 
"I don't know what's hard about (bocce)," said Moyer. "I couldn't get near the jack at all."
Other slides in the presentation showed the display of deceased family members at a nontraditional funerals, which were done in homes and usually open casket.
"These things are wonderful and are a piece of history," Moyer said. "I think the Italian community is remarkable. The history, traditions and family ties—it's just an amazing community."
That Italian family and close-knit community was visible following the presentation—old Italian friends and distant family members gathered in small cliques inside the parks and recreation building and discussed the old days.
"The core community stuck together for a long time," Moyer said.


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