Thursday, April 30, 2009

1931
November 23, 1931: New York Daily News headline:
"NOTHING UNUSUAL STARVATION"

There was no longer anything unusual about riots outside the Sixth Ave. employment agencies. There was no longer anything irregular about the sight of elderly women bashing one another with their handbags over a place in line at the city relief offices. Police called out to quell these daily disorders tried not to swing their sticks too hard. This is a depression here.
Hawthorne, New Jersey: Shortly before midnight, Fred Viglione takes his pregnant wife, Caroline, to Saint Joseph's Hospital in nearby Paterson New Jersey .This will be their fifth child. They have four boys and Caroline desperately hopes this child will be the girl she wants. Her room, crib and all the furnishings are for a girl, pink.Shortly after midnight Caroline delivers another boy! They don't even have a named picked. The nurses ask what will his name be? They said "give us a few minutes". Fred said; let’s call him Gene after the boxer Gene Tunney. Kitty (Caroline) said his middle name will be, Lawrence, after the adventurer, Lawrence of Arabia.The nurse did not change the calendar from November 23, the birth was shortly after midnight, so when she wrote down the date of birth, she wrote the 23 rd, even thou it was the 24th. About 7 AM ,Fred ,returns home, Pop, as the boys call him, is proud to have another son, even though he is the runt of the litter, barely 6 pounds, he is healthy.The boys,Gaetano(Tom) 13,Stanislaus(Stan)12,Frederico(Fred) also called more often "Junior" 10,Carlo(Carl)5, are all at the elegant family home, a stately 10 room 3 story house at 342 Lincoln Av in Hawthorne. New Jersey .Grandma Giovanni, Kitty’s mother, has spent the night at the house, along with their maid. The boy's are eating breakfast, Pop, bursts in and loudly says, it's a boy! A cheer goes up, Stan shouts, now we got a basketball team. Pop pulls 5 year old Carl aside , who is big for his age,and says "You got to always take care of your little brother".
1927
Fred has his electroplating business on the compound. It is a plating plant of about 10,000 square feet, called American Electroplating Co. It is well known for innovation and quality. He was chosen in 1927, to do the interior hard chrome plating on Charles Lindbergs airplane, by Wright Aeronautical, the manufacturer of airplane engines. The process Fred used enabled the engine to fly for 27 hours without stopping and cross the Atlantic.
1931
Pop, walks over to the shop, opens it as the workers arrive.Pop, s younger brother Donato, is also working with him.Donato is deaf and cannot speak, as a result of an ear infection when he was 4 years old. Donato communicates by reading lips. He is called by his family "the dummy", but he is far from that. In fact he and Fred have invented the shower door. Up till this time, just bath curtains were used, but they came up with the idea of making glass framed metal doors for showers. Uncle Don (Donato) was also a great artist and sculptor; his designs were used on many shower doors. Uncle Don and Fred also came up with the idea of miniature golf. Golf was very popular with the affluent but others could not afford it. They had built a few miniature golf courses for people. However Pop's main success was in electroplating
1906
.He had learn the business as a result of when he got his first job. He was only 12 years old when he quit school and went to work; his family was living in New Haven, Conneticut. He got a job in a company that made locks and screws, they would electroplate them. There he learned about electroplating
1897
Fred was born in 1897 in Caserta, Italy. His father Gaetano Viglione was a craftsman shoemaker, who would custom hand craft shoes for wealthy noblemen. Gaetano developed a process in the handcrafting of custom shoes, to make them always sound like new ones, with a squeak. He became very popular, so much, even with the women of the parish. One day the priest called him in and gave him a one way ticket to America.
1901
In 1901 Gaetano was doing well enough to send for his wife and children to come to America.
1931
It is now Wednesday; Thanksgiving will be tomorrow, grandma Giovanni (Jenny) is preparing plans for the dinner. She has lots of help with the fulltime maid .On Thanksgiving
Day she prepares an entire dinner to take to Kitty who is still in the hospital with newborn "little Eugene”. She enjoys it very much, and little gains 2 oz. thru nursing!
Weather, unusually warm for November, temperature in the 70,s.
1931
Hitler's Nazi party in power in Germany
In October 1931, the former Austrian Corporal was presented to the former Field Marshal. Hitler was a bit unnerved by the old gentleman and rambled on at length trying to impress him. Hindenburg was not impressed and later said Hitler might be suited for Postmaster, but never for a high position such as the Chancellorship of Germany. October of 1931 marked the beginning of the political intrigue that would destroy the young republic and ultimately make Hitler Fuehrer of Germany.

1933
Family moves to Florida, Pop sells business and retires, spends time with family going to beach and fishing.
Pop opens a gas station on the circle in Hollywood Florida, all the boys go with him every day. One day Ernest Hemmingway pulls in for gas, on his way to Key West. Ernest sees the cute little 2 year old Eugene, and wants to buy him, Pop says an empathic No ! He offers Pop $ 5,000. Cash for him. Pop tells him to get out of here.

1935
A bad hurricane rips through Florida, they decide to move back North.
They move to New Haven, Conneticut where Pop was raised and his Mother and Father live.

2 comments:

  1. What a great story!!

    ...I have a question...what was Hemmingway thinking? Was it common for kids to be bought and sold in thoses days...were Italians treated like 2nd class citizens, like people of color?

    You can respond off line if this is too personal.

    dosk

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hemmingway was always looking for material to write about. He had no intention of buying young Eugene, he wanted to see the reaction of the father.

    ReplyDelete