Reardon 1 Taylor Reardon Mrs.

Raymond English 1103 15 October 2013 Reardon Family History My great great grandfather, Joseph Gasperi and my great great grandmother, Josephine Gasperi were both born in Italy. Just to clarify, this is on my grandfather's side of the family. I found out the following information by looking at a 1930 Federal Census. Their first place of residence in the United States was Pennsylvania which is where this census was recorded when Joseph was thirty-nine years old. The Census is basically a survey, therefore, I was able to find interesting facts about Joseph Gasperi and his family. Joseph was the head of the household with his wife Josephine. Joseph was twenty years old when he married Josephine who was sixteen. Both of their parents were from Italy and they both spoke Italian in their homes. They immigrated to the United States in 1908 when Joseph was sixteen. Here in Pennsylvania they had five daughters: Mary, Lita, Helen, Orena, and Flora Gasperi. The entire household could speak English. They were able to rent their house for eight dollars a month because Joseph was employed as a miner at Pearl Mine (1930 US Fed. Census). While looking on my grandmother's side of the family, I found that my second great grandfather was James LaRue. His wife was Alice LaRue and they, along with their parents were both from Tennessee. They held their residence at a farm that they rented. James LaRue was a farmer but had currently been unemployed for three months when the Census was taken. They had a total of thirteen children! At the time the census was taken, however, they only had

Reardon 2 ten (1910 US Fed. Census). I assume their large number of children was due to their need of help on the farm. Neither James nor Alice LaRue could read or write in English but they could speak it. During the time the census was taken, five of their children had attended school for two months and could read, write, and speak English (1900 US Fed. Census). While I searched Joseph F. Reardon, my great grandfather, I became intrigued with all of his accomplishments I found. Joseph F. Reardon was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania and was married to Mary Gasper. He finished college at the University of Scranton and played a few years of professional minor league baseball, umpired for a few years and eventually earned a living driving Greyhound buses and local taxis during the depression years. That all changed in 1939 when the Boston Red Sox American League Baseball Club decided to start a team in Scranton. A baseball stadium did not exist at the time but they were able to start playing at a large football stadium. Herb Pennock, General Manager of the Boston team, came to town looking for a business manager to help fill the stadium seats with fans. Joesph Reardon believed he was the man for the job. He did indeed get the job but went out of his way to do so by going to Mr. Pennock's hotel every opportunity he could to introduce himself. Eventually, after many occasions of small talk, Mr. Pennock invited Joe for an interview and offered him the job. Even after I discovered all this, I wanted to know more. I searched on Ancestry and found a newspaper article on him! The article states that Joseph F Reardon, a 38-year-old general manager of the Scranton, Pa, baseball club of the Eastern League has been named head of the farm system of the Philadelphia Phillies. It goes on to say that the he signed contract was for five years and he would earn $12,500 a year. It also states Reardon is willing to try almost anything. When the attendance figures slipped, Scranton had every 'night' imaginable, including

Reardon 3 community nights and father and son nights. It also explains that on many occasions my great grandfather would offer prizes such as silk stockings for woman fans, turkeys, hats, and even ice boxes to fans in order to persuade them to come to the baseball game (Reno Evening Gazette). I have also come to the conclusion that this is why my grandfather, Joseph F. Reardon Jr., is in love with baseball to this day. My grandfather, Joseph F. Reardon Jr., is also known by Joe. After receiving his Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering Joe went to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas for six weeks of basic training and intense pilot qualification physicals. When training was completed he and his new friends thought it would be fun to go to St.Louis for the fourth of July weekend. They brought there uniforms along with them to attract women. Sure enough, their plan worked because this is where he meet my grandmother Mary Reardon. Joe and Mary dated while Joe continued on his path in the Air Force. They soon began to discuss marriage. Joe wasn't sure if Mary was up for the hectic and sometimes lonely life of an Air Force wife. He additionally wanted her to take instructions in the Catholic religion if they were to be married in the Catholic church and she would also have to agree upon raising their children in the Catholic faith. Mary made her decision and completed the required lessons. They were married on November 22 in St. Barbara's Catholic Church in St. Louis. Later in Joe's flight career, Joe was the first in his class to complete his final check. In addition, my grandfather provided me with a picture of newspaper article he kept which reads Second Lt. Joseph F. Reardon Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Joesph F. Reardon, 1324 East Gibson St., recently became the first member of BSE class 59-H of the 3615th Pilot Training Wing, Craig Air Force Base, Ala., to solo in jets(Reardon).

Reardon 4 Works Cited Reardon, Joseph. Personal Interview. 7 Oct. 2013. (Reardon) Reno Evening Gazette (Reno, Nevada). Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Web. 10 Oct 2013. (Reno Evening Gazette) 1930 United States Federal Census. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002. Web. Oct 9 2013. (1930 US Fed. Census). 1910 United States Federal Census. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Web. Oct 9 2013. (1910 US Fed. Census). 1900 United States Federal Census. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Web. Oct 9 2013. (1900 US Fed. Census). Peer Review Comments/Suggestions: You have a lot of great facts about your history but you should try to tell more of a story with your facts instead of just stating them. This will help keep your reader interested.