THE LIOI FAMILY
by
Andrew Lioi

     Bruno Lioi came to the United States in the early 1900s and worked building the railroads in Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky. When World War I broke out he returned to Italy and fought against the Austrians until taken prisoner. He returned to his home village of Sant Andrea Dell Ionio and married his sweetheart of eight years, Rosaria Addino. After the birth of his child, Catherine he returned to the United States.
Bruno had been a farm worker as a young man and his dream was to work in the United States, make enough money to buy a farm in Italy and raise his family there. He returned to Italy in 1924 and his son Andrew was born in July, 1925. Now his perspective changed and he felt the best opportunity was for his family to be here in America.

     The family arrived at the docks in New York City and after a train ride the family reached its destination, Baltimore. Bruno had rented an apartment from Mr. Fox at 922 E. Pratt Street. The apartment consisted of three rooms on the second floor and then two more rooms down the steps and at a lower level toward the back of the building. On the third floor a German family by the name of Jentsch occupied that apartment until they moved to west Baltimore. On the first floor of the building was a drugstore known as Lazzaro’s but later became a confectionery store.

     There was no central heating but had a pot bellied stove in the kitchen made of cast iron that burned wood and coal. Later the stove was replaced by a kerosene unit that had a wick in it and burned twenty-four hours per day by refilling the tank.

     There was only cold running water but there was a gas stove and an ice box. Ice had to be purchased at a Jewish store on Lloyd Street south of Pratt Street or from Sergi’s ice truck. There was a commode in the hallway and that was much better than some of the homes where the residents had to walk out the side yard to the “back-house.” What was worse, the smell in the summer or going out in the freezing weather of winter with snow and ice on the ground?

     Because the bedrooms were unheated frost would form on the inside of the window panes during winter. The children would not get up until Bruno had built a roaring fire in the pot bellied stove. Rosaria would use blankets instead of sheets to keep the children warm when they slept. In the summer there was no air conditioning so the window would remain open for the insects and especially the flies to come in. The depression was on and Bruno could not afford a screen for the windows or fans for cooling. But he could afford the rent which was $10.00 per month.

     Theresa was the first child born to Bruno and Rosaria in the United States, born on July 8, 1932 the exact same day as Andrew only seven years later. Paul was born in 1933, John in 1935 and finally Gerard in 1938. Rosaria was forty-five years of age when she gave birth to Gerard. Catherine by that time had married at a young age and gave birth to her Joanne in 1937 so she had to call younger Gerard, “Uncle..”

     When the family first came from Italy Catherine attended School #40 located at Orleans and Aisquith. There she met many other immigrant children from Europe and especially the Jewish community south of Baltimore Street. Andrew was enrolled in School #93 located on Central Avenue south of Orleans Street. However, he was transferred to the second grade at St. Leo Parochial School in the 900 block of Stiles Street. Theresa, Paul, John and Gerard all attended St. Leo with Theresa then going to Seton High School and the boys going to Patterson Park High School.

     When Bruno first brought the family from Italy he only could find part-time work as a ditch digger for the Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. However, in 1933 he got a job with the Pennsylvania R.R. as a crossing watchman and stationed at Guilford and Madison Streets for a period of time and Boston Street near the Esso Refinery. He worked six days per week and was paid $18.00. In order to add to their income it was decided to make wine and sell it to friends and neighbors. Today we hear much about “supplemental income” but Bruno and Rosaria supplement their income in their own fashion.

     Much of the wine made by Bruno and Rosaria was commonly known as “Dago Red” which was made from the zinfandel grapes. For white wine Bruno would use muscat grapes which were sweet and pulpy. By mixing
two boxes of zinfandel grapes to one box of muscat, Bruno would make a wine that was a lighter red and a sweeter flavor. The price of the wine was fifty cents a quart or two dollars per gallon.

     Being frugal, taking in two boarders and with a loan from Bruno’s brother and a mortgage from the Colombo Building & Loan in Little Italy, Bruno and Rosaria were able to by the building from the estate of Mr Fox for about $3700. The family lived upstairs and collected rent from the drugstore which was now a confectionary store.

     The confectionery store was still known as the “drugstore” and became a hangout for the young people of Baltimore. The store had a marble fountain to make fountain sodas, sundaes, candy ice-cream and Tastykakes. They Cohen’s Coddies (Cod Fish Cakes) and for two cents you got a coddie, two crackers and mustard. During the hot summer they sold snow-balls with fountain flavors and the line would go from the marble counter out onto the sidewalk. There were show-cases with patent medicines and other sundry items
.
     There were two telephone booths, two pin-ball machines, three booths for people to occupy and a Wurlitzer “juke-box.” Swing, jazz music and ballads were played on the juke-box and there was sufficient room for the couples to dance. The Jitterbug, the Mooch, Swing and the routines were the vogue at that time as well as slow dancing where the boy held the girl in his arms while they danced. A few of the couples who met and danced at the Drugstore later married.

     “ Living the American Dream” is the expectation of all immigrants who come to America with so little but by their work ethic and frugal ways they managed to share in the wealth of the nation. Bruno & Rosaria not only bought the building where they had rented an apartment but in 1944 they purchased the Drugstore. Now they were entrepreneurs and Bruno was still working for the railroad. Catherine, her husband Joseph Seminazzi, and Rosaria as well as Bruno worked shifts in the Drugstore which was open sixteen hours per day, all year long. When Andrew came home from World War II he also worked at the drugstore where he had worked before for someone else.

     Now the members of the family were assimilated into the American culture.

     Catherine, (Deceased), the oldest married at an early age and worked for Lakein’s Jewlers on Broadway and Harford Road. She was also a manager of a women’s clothing store and for a short period of time also opened a woman’s dress shop in Little Italy. Her daughter, Joanne had a beautiful operatic voice and sang in operas. Her sons John was an Assessment Officer for the State of Maryland and Andrew was one first for the State of Maryland but now for the State of Florida.
Andrew attended Baltimore City College then was drafted into the army and sent to Anzio and the Italian Campaign. He received the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star and the Infantry Combat Medal. Upon discharge he worked in the Drugstore for a while and married his childhood sweetheart Geraldine Bonanno. Andrew worked for Baltimore City but attended the University of Baltimore at nighttime where he earned his J.D. and LL.M degrees. He worked as House Counsel for State Farm Insurance.

     Theresa married Joseph Jankowski who had various jobs until he and his brother opened D’Jeannes Drapery and Furniture Store. Theresa was the mother of three boys and two girls One son, Joseph III is the Chief Operating Officer of a local automobile distributor. Michael is a school teacher in Perry Hall and the youngest son, Mark, is an attorney and partner with Ron Shapiro in “Shapiro Negotiations Institute. One daughter, Karen, is a partner in a mortgage providing company and the other, Theresa is a physical therapist in Virginia.

     Paul became a sergeant in the Baltimore City Police Department in charge of the Arson Squad. He received many commendations and also the Medal of Honor. His daughter Jeannie is married to an officer of a home building company and two sons. Raymond is a dentist in Churchville and the other Dan, is a lieutenant in the Baltimore City Police Department.

     John had various jobs but finally became steadily employed by the Public Service Commission as an inspector in the Taxi-cab Bureau. His son, John David, joined the Baltimore City Fire Department but had to retire due to injuries received in the line of duty. His other son, Frank, is a Captain with the Maryland State Police.

     Gerard worked as a Constable of the District Court of Maryland. He had two sons, one, Gerard Jr., is working for a computer company and the other Victor, has had various types of employment.

     The area from Baltimore Street on the north, Fleet Street on the south, President Street on the west and Bond Street on the East was known as Little Italy. What a misnomer! There were many other ethnic groups that lived in this area who were not Italians. Of course the Italians were in the majority and the Jews were the second dominant group but before the Italians there were the Irish and German families that lived there and remained even after the Italians moved in. There were a few families who were Lithuanian, Russian, Poles, Chinese and English. Their children mingled in and inter-married with the children of the immigrants.

     And now a tour of Little Italy. There was a Jewish Synagogue at High and Stiles Streets that for many years housed the offices and warehouse of “Suns Of Italy” products. Evidence of it being a synagogue were still evident when the building was razed to make a parking lot.

     On the north side of Pratt and Exeter Streets was Klein’s Tobacco Store with the carved wooden Indian kept outside of the store. The Indian statue had his hand raised and placed over his eyes as though he was peering across the intersection. Further down Pratt Street were several bars where the men gathered to play cards. There was also a Russian grocery store and the garage for the Bureau of Sanitation near Central Avenue.

     Up the street from Kleins was another synagogue at which Andrew for a nickel every Friday night became the “Shabus Goy.” He would go over to light up the gas stove and the candles.

     At the southeast corner of Pratt and Exeter Streets was a Jewish bookstore and in an alley off of Exeter Street where several garages that were used by a Jewish owner to make quart bottles of soda. Down the alley to Lloyd Street, across from Number Two School was a Jewish Ice House which also sold coal in nineteen pound bags and later on gallons of kerosene which was commonly called, “coal oil.” Next to it was a small Italian confectionery store.

     On the west side of Exeter Street north of Pratt Street was the “Red Devil” tavern that was owned by Al Hoffman and a few doors away and operating out of his home was Jake the Jewish Plumber. Down the street was Obertiers Confectionery Store who had a daughter Bertha and she married an Italian brick mason. Eventually she opened up a sandwich shop across the street from the Police Headquarters on Fallsway.

     At the northwest corner of Exeter and Granby was another tavern owned by an Italian. Continuing to the southwest corner of Lombard and Exeter Streets was a building that housed the Consolated Beef Company. Across the street from that was Smelkinson’s Dairy Store. Here one could buy fresh eggs packed in boxes with a cardboard layer between the tiers and butter that came in what appeared to be five or ten gallon tubs. South of Smelkinson was an Italian cheese maker who catered to the Italian Community selling ricotta, mozzarella and scomozzi cheese.

     To the west of Exeter Street on Lombard was Holtzman’ Bakery as well as Fire Engine #3. Across the street was another confectionery store and a house in which a Chinese girl by the name of Ruth Chen lived. She could have been related to the Chinese laundry located at Pratt Street near High Street.

     Further down at High Street was Speerts Confectionery Store which also was a hangout for some of the young men in that area. West of High Street was the Carrolton Mansion and the City operated a youth center and gymnasium. Various hobbies were taught in the class-rooms and sports played in the gym.

     Further west came the Jones Falls followed by the wholesale fruit and vegetable market as well as the Fish Market. Italy being a peninsula had a fishing industry which provided fresh fish to all parts of the country. Now the Italian immigrants flocked to the Fish Market to buy their favorite fresh fish. And at that corner of Market Place and Water Streets was a water fountain where the horses pulling the wagons would quench their thirst.

     On Lombard Street going east from Exeter Street were the live chicken, duck and turkey stores. The patrons could pick out a live fowl of their choice and the store-owner would kill and dress the fowl before placing it in a bag to be given to the customer. Among the chicken stores was Tulkoff’s Hot Radish store.

     On the south side of Lombard going east from Exeter Street was Garofolo’s Grocery Store and Giammona’s Produce stand. This was followed by a liquor store owned by Goldie Messner and her son Herbie. Then came the Jewish grocery and produce stores as well as the delicatessens of which Attman’s was the most famous. This is where the people of Little Italy were introduced to corned beef, pastrami, dill or sour pickles and white pickled onions in small kegs or barrels, lox and cream cheese on a bagel and “halava.”

     The elder Attman would always give a customer a slice of corned beef to eat while he was slicing the meat for the sandwich. His son Seymour had been born with a disfiguring ear so the father made Seymour wear long hair down to the jaw line to hide the ear. Seymour with his page-boy hair cut looked like Prince Valiant of the comics. Of course he was ahead of the times and later long hair became popular with young men.

     Close to Lloyd Street on Lombard was Stone’s Bakery. They advertised “Hot rolls, every 30 minutes.” Just eating a dry hot Kaiser roll in itself was very satisfying and sandwiches or hot dogs would not taste as good unless it was on Stone’s bread or rolls. The pastries were extraordinary and who could forget their chocolate tipped cookies or the buns with the chocolate icing?

     Further down Lombard Street were two stores that sold clothing and shoes. One was Faiman’s and the other was Bob’s. The people of Little patronized these stores because the prices were affordable. In those days a child’s dress or a boy’s short pants sold for $2.00. It was interesting how the owners and the patrons communicated with one another because it required the Italian immigrants to speak a little broken English and Faiman’s and Bob’s to learn basic Italian phrases.

     On Lloyd Street north of Lombard Street is one of the oldest synagogues in the United States. It now houses “The Jewish Museum of Maryland. and north of that was Watson Street where a few African-Americans lived.
Baltimore Street contained many Jewish merchants including clothing stores, and tailor shops. One such tailor shop which had started out on Exeter Street was Alpert’s which specialized in custom-made suits. What made him a popular successful tailor for all of Baltimore is when “Zoot Suits” became the rage in the late 1930s and early 1940s and he catered to the “jitterbugging men” of the metropolitan area.

     East of Exeter Street on Baltimore Street was a Jewish Hall which had a stage and held various events. Across the street was the Baltimore Ear, Eyes, Nose and Throat Hospital. Further down Baltimore Street was Hendler’s Ice Cream Co which was the most popular ice cream in Baltimore.

     There was a Presbyterian Church at Aisquith and still further east was the Jewish Educational Alliance. They also had a gym in which they played basketball. Around the corner on Central Avenue was the Enoch Pratt Library followed by #30 and #93 public schools.

     North of Fayette Street on Front Street was St. Leo Orphanage and St. Vincent Church. There were a few Italian families living in that area of Front Street. The rest of the area above Baltimore Street were studded clothing manufacturing companies where many of the Italian immigrants worked sewing primarily men’s clothes. Some of these manufacturing companies would have an employee deliver men’s jackets and trousers to the home of the immigrants so that the women could sew the clothing at home. The company employee would deliver another bundle the following day and pick up the finished products. The main department store for the residents of Little Italy was Blum’s Lucky Seven Store located on Gay Street.

     Coming back to Pratt Street going west from Exeter was the Borshay Pickle Co. It specialized in pickles of every kind from sweet gherkins to the large dill pickles. They imported olives and then repacked them in bottles with their label. They made their own fresh sauerkraut and mayonnaise. One product that they made was to buy watermelons by the truckload. Then they would cut away the red fruit while peeling off the green skin and cut the rind into chunks to be pickled.

     Louis Borshay took over the business from his father. He worked hard, sorting the cucumbers, making up the seasoned brine, packing, labeling and keeping the books. His brother-in-law, Sam Cohen drove the truck and delivered the products to the Baltimore and Washington D.C. area. Louis’s brother Al also worked there for a while but then left to become a professional photographer. Louis kept expanding to Federalsburg on the Eastern Shore and also in Virginia so he could by directly from the farmers, He would then pickle the cumbers and store then in huge vats until the product was trucked to the plant in Baltimore.

     Louis had several Italian-Americans working for him but Andrew age seven wanted a job so Louis let help to run errands and he got to be older he helped load and sort out the cucumbers, packed the jars into the cases and prepared the cases for delivery. Louis even brought Andrew to his mother’ house on Reisterstown Road below Carlin’s Park and that is where Andrew learned to eat gevelta fish, chopped liver and matzah balls.

     As mentioned before there was a Chinese laundry further down Pratt street and then Schilipotti’s Barber Shop. Hair cut, fifteen cents and a shave was ten cent. On the corner of Pratt and High Streets was LoPresti’ grocery store and across from that was the DeManns Hardware Store. Further west at the corner of Albemarle was the Flag House.

     Across from Borshay’s on Pratt Street was a brass factory downed and operated by a Jewish family. Further down was the Acme Tile Co. owned and operated by the Pizza Family. Vellegia’s Restaurant was on Pratt Street between High and Albermarle Street. It started out as the Friendly Tavern where Mr Vellegia worked during the day as a stone mason while his wife tended bar. She started making sandwiches for her patrons, and finally meals until the tavern became a full fledged restaurant.

     Little Italy was a self-contained community having grocery stores, bakeries, restaurants, confectionery stores scattered throughout the area. The families did their shopping every day and bought all of their meats, fish and produce fresh from the merchants. Very few knew of or used canned vegetables or fruit. In the area, south of Pratt Street were butcher shops of LoPresti and Vaccarino on Stiles Street while Trovato’s Grocery store was on High Street. Bakeries, baking good Italian bread included Giordano, Marinelli, Schelsi and Impalerria. Sergi’s Ice House was on Fawn and Albermarle Street which later became a restaurant.

     The restaurants that existed before World War II in Little Italy were the Neopolitan, Roma Restaurant and the Pizza Restaurant were all on Fawn Street. Other restaurants like Sabatino and Maria’s came after World War II and now in Little Italy there are over twenty restaurants. DiNittis Pizzaria was at the corner of High and Fawn Streets and later became a full fledged restaurant on Trinity Street. Kelly Poggi Drug Store was at Fawn and Exeter Street while Louge’s Confectionery across from Pizza’s and Lancelotta’s on Albermarle Street,There were several contractors located in Little Italy such as Matricciani, Trinity Construction Co and Marocco’s . and a few families of boxers such as Transparenti, Baccala, Monfredo and Matricciani.

     At the corner of Exeter and Stiles Street stood St. Leo The Great Roman Catholic Church and this was the center of activity for the Italian community. They were baptized there. Got married in this church and had their babies baptized there. They sent their children to St. Leo School down the street on Stiles Street and next to the school was the convent that housed The School Sisters of Notre Dame who conducted classes from the first to the eighth grades. From the cradle to the grave the people of Little Italy kept their faith and practiced it at this church.

     The Italian-American people of this parish had great faith in their saints and would join in celebrations where after the Mass the statute of the saint was paraded around the streets accompanied by the clergy, the various societies, the school children and the marching bands. The streets were gaily decorated with Italian and American flags and strings of colored lights crossed the streets. There were booths of food and games of chance.

     Two festivals exist today in Little Italy which is the Feast of St. Anthony and the Feast of St. Gabriel. The Feast of St. Anthony is a celebration that dates back to the Baltimore Fire of 1904. The flames that destroyed downtown Baltimore were threatening Little Italy. One of the men got the statue of St. Anthony from the church and took it to Fallsway. The people prayed for St. Anthony to protect their homes and they would honor him with a festival each year. The winds shifted saving Little Italy so today the children, great-grandchildren and the great-great-grandchildren still conduct the festival each year in June.

     There were many commercial companies in Little Italy including Scarlett Seed Co. which is now Scarlett Place Condominiums, lumber yards where boards were stacked on their property or the sidewalk and a scrap metal company that recycled used iron and steel. There was another scrap metal company on Central Avenue that had a crane that had a large round magnet attached to cables. The magnet would lift up batches of scrap iron or steel by magnetic force and pile it up or load the trucks. There was a factory on Central Avenue and Bank Streets that made steel nails. Sheets of steel were fed into presses which then stamped out various sizes of nails. Also on Central Avenue at Gough was the Seven Valley Flour Co.

     The community also contained the Pumping Station, the Baltimore City Morgue, the President Street Railroad Station and the fire boat at the end of President Street. At the end of President Street just before the fire boat was an old barge and this is where the young boys of Little Italy would go swimming (sometimes in the nude) in the mucky waters of the inner harbor during the heat of summer days.

     Without a doubt Little Italy produced preeminent public officials. The first was Thomas D’Alesandro who served in the Maryland House of Delegates, Baltimore City Council, Congressman and a third time Mayor of Baltimore. His son Thomas D’Alesandro III served in the Baltimore City Council both as a member and as Presiden and then elected Mayor. Thomas D’Alesandro Jr.’s daughter, Nancy Pelosi, served in the House of Representatives from San Francisco and made history when she was elected the first Woman Speaker of the House. Senator Joseph Berterorelli served as a Maryland State Senator and John Pica served in the Baltimore City Council.Many of the children of the original immigrants as they married and became more affluent moved to the suburbs. However enough children remained in Little Italy to raise their children and to keep alive the heritage, culture and customs of their immigrant parents. Little Italy today is much the same as it was when the immigrants came to America. The homes are well maintained with pots of flowering plants and greenery on their steps or sidewalks. It is a tourist attraction for visitors from out-of-state and also a popular place for the people of the metropolitan area to celebrate a birthday, graduation, anniversary or any other special event at one of the Little Italy restaurants.