i “The Struggle of Southern Italians to i become Italian-Americans in Denver” | Professor Agee December 7, 2010 Seminar: Urban History“The Struggle of Southern Italians to become Italian-Americans in Denver” “Tused to dress real sharp, | still do when Igo out. We used to have dance halls here, and if you couldn't afford to take a gal dancing you'd stag it. Well, you better believe it. There you were, dressed up real sharp, and you'd go in the dance hall and there would be sign, in big letters: NO DAGOS [sic] ALLOWED.’ It was tough for an Italian kid.” fimmy Straface reminiscing on growing up a southern Italian in North Denver during the 1920s! Southern Italian immigrants often sought out Little Italy’s as a result of the hostility they encountered in American Society. As a despised minority rooted in the working class and seemingly resistant to assimilation, Italians suffered widespread discriminations in housing, employment, and printed discrimination from the mass media press? The response Americans took to immigrants occasionally took on ugly forms, as Italians became the victims of intimidation and violence. The mainstream press of Denver viewed the Italian colony of North Denver as a disgrace to the city. The southern Italians of Denver separated themselves from the unfavorable comparisons of the northern Italians and removed the negative views of the mainstream press to secure a strong Italian community and presence in North Denver during the 1930s. North Denver Italians secured a space in Denver’s community by confronting the conflicts they had on both an internal and external level. Internally the North Denver Italians, from southern Italy, were unfavorably compared to their fellow countrymen from northern Italy who lived in East Denver. This comparison began in Italy and the historical provincial animosities were transplanted to the United States. Externally the * Linda Castrone. “Reviving Little Italy,” Denver Post (23 November 2003). pp.2. ? Gerald Meyer, “Carnevale, A New Language, a New World: Italian Immigrants the United States, 1890-1945,” Journal of American History, 96, no. 4, (2010): 277- 303.southern Italians wanted the acceptance from the general population of Denver and the mainstream press. The ability of the southern Italians to overcome the prejudice and conflict was a direct result of their learned pride and assertiveness, which helped establish themselves as a separate, contributing community, distinct from the northern Italians and other immigrant groups. ‘There were moments between the late 1890s and 1920s when the negative attitudes towards the Italian community would shift, but not completely until the 1930s. The newspapers, laws, and bills passed by the government, combined with the shared attitudes and stereotypical beliefs of the general public in the United States, represented the views towards the Italian community of North Denver. ‘The nativists of the United States from the late 1890s into the 1900s, blamed immigrants and specifically those from eastern and southern Europe for many of the problems in the cities? In 1884, just a decade prior to the swell of southern Italians into the United States, the United States Congress criticized Italy and Hungary for shipping “as many cattle, as large number of degraded, ignorant, brutal foreign serfs” to America.‘ Attacks on Italians were not limited to political comments or the printed page of newspapers, From the start of the 1880s, anti-immigration, anti- Catholic, and Nativists societies began to appear around the country.5 Mobs attacked Italians and vandalized and burned Catholic churches. In the 1890s alone, 8 Matthew Frye Jacobson, Whiteness of a Different Color: European Immigrants and The Alchemy of Race (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1998) pp. 39-41. + Italians and their struggles located at http://frontiers.loc.gov/ammem/ndipedu/features/immig/alt/italian8.html US Congress; sponsored by The Library of Congress in collaboration with their Digital Collection. 5 “Italians and their struggles” hetp://frontiers.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/features/immig/alt/italian8.htmlmore than 20 Italians were lynched In New Orleans, a group of eleven Sicilians were acquitted of a crime because of the lack of evidence provided by the accusers, but the Sicilians were then dragged from their cells by a mob of 10,000 and were lynched in the street. The United States press generally approved of the action. 7 It was the largest single mass lynching of United States history. Italy was at the climax of its scientific and popular racialist assault on the southern Italians during the late 1800s. American institutions and individuals saw this as a chance to use these Italian racialist ideas. For instance, in 1899 the U.S. Bureau of Immigration (established under the Immigration Act of 1891) began recording the racial backgrounds of immigrants and distinguishing between “Keltic” northern Italians and “Iberic” southern Italians.° Thomas Guglielmo, a historian, stated in his book White on Arrival: Italians, Race, Color, and Power in Chicago, 1890- 1945, that an influential group of positivist anthropologist “argued that northern and southern Italians are ‘different from each other materially in language, physique, and character, as well as in geographical distribution,’ While the former [northern Italian] is ‘cool, deliberate, patient, practical, as well as capable of great progress in the political and social organization of modern civilization, the latter {southern Italian] is ‘excitable, impulsive, highly imaginative, impracticable’ and has 6 Stacey Donahue, Film and Television: An Interdisciplinary study of Film and Television. “Lynching of Italians in America’. Volume 36.2 (Spring 2006), pp. 53-54. 7 Donahue. “Lynching of Italians in America”. PP. 57. 8 “Italians and their struggles” http://www loc gov/LibraryofCongress/immigration alt/italian8.htm! ° Thomas Guglielmo, White on Arrival: Italians, Race, Color, and Power in Chicago, 1890-1945. Oxford University Press, New York: NY, 2003. pp. 23. 1© Guglielmo. White on Arrival. pp. 23.‘Tittle adaptability to highly organized society." ‘These provincial differences were transplanted to the United States and the mainstream press used these differences to their advantage, Open discrimination against southern Italians in the printed press became a commonality. In the United States, ractalist theories circulated in the press, advancing pseudo scientific theories that alleged that ‘Mediterranean’ types were inherently inferior to people of northern Europe heritage.!? This was the welcoming message many immigrants, especially those from southern Italy, received upon arrival into the United States and into North Denver. Denver's population was 106,713 in the 1890s with 30 percent of the population representing the foreign born.* While the total population of Denver was increasing, Denver's Italian population was also growing, During the first twenty years of the twentieth century, Denver's Italian population climbed from 1,000 to 3,000.** The Italians began to vacate their tents from the slums, or “bottoms”, along the Platte River and moved to the northern part of Denver {referred to here after as Little Italy, North Denver or the Italian Colony). They relocated around Kalamath, Lipan, Navajo, Osage, and Pecos between West Thirty- Second and Forty-First Avenues.’ This would be where the majority of Italians in Denver settled and established their community. 11 Guglielmo. White on Arrival. pp. 23. 12“Italians and their struggles” http://frontiers.loc.gov /ammem/ndlpedu/features /immig/alt/italian8.html 13 Linda Castrone, “Reviving Little Italy,” Denver Post (23 November 2003). pp.2. Lyle Dorsett. The Queen City: A History of Denver. (Boulder: Pruett Publishing Company), pp.176. 18Dorsett. The Queen City. pp. 176.Many Italians came directly from Italy, brought by railroads needing a cheap labor source. Few of them spoke English, and almost all of them were Roman Catholic in a predominantly Protestant society.16 The majority were young, unmarried males without families. These young Italian males were viewed as threats to the women of the city of Denver."” Italians were not openly welcomed in the United States, and their language, and customs added to their predicament. 1890s - 1910 Northern to Southern Europeans Southern and eastern Europeans were rapidly immigrating into the United States during the 1890s, while those from western and northern Europe started to only trickle in, The significance of this shift to nativists meant the “desirable” immigrants from western and northern Europe who spoke English and blended into American society with their light skin complexion were not entering the US. ata rate of their fellow immigrant groups who had a darker skin complexion, stronger accents with a language Americans did not know, and other cultural differences. Anti-immigration sentiment soared along with the increase of southern and eastern European immigrants. Drawings and songs caricaturing the new southern and eastern European immigrants as childlike, criminal, or subhuman became sadly commonplace.!® One 1891 cartoon claimed, “If immigration was properly 16 Christine A. DeRose, “Inside ‘Little Italy’: Italian Immigrants in Denver,” The Colorado Magazine, 54 (March 1977): pp. 277. 17 DeRose, “Inside ‘Little Italy,” pp. 278. 18 “[talians and their struggles” http://frontiers.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/features/immig/alt/italian8.htmlrestricted, you would never be troubled with anarchism, socialism, the Mafia and such kindred evils!""9 According to historian Howard Chudacof?s, The Evolution of American Urban Society, “The social complexity, churning neighborhoods, and competition for space and jobs promoted fears that immigrants were displacing native workers, depressing wage rates, [and] blighting residential districts...” The United States was in the grips of an economic depression, and immigrants were blamed for taking ‘American jobs. Nativists’ beliefs along with economic issues made it difficult for betterment among southern Italian immigrants. The United States Census reported 3,882 Italians in Colorado and 608 in Denver in 189021 Ten years later the Italians in Denver had increased to 999.* Of the 999 Italian residents, 709 were from the Bascilitia Region of southern Italy.2 ‘The increase of Italians in Denver caused the mass media to become interested in the Italian colony. There were Italians in Denver prior to 1890, but the majority of them were from northern Italy.2* The mainstream press viewed the Italians from the northern region of Italy as Italians who could assimilate with the culture and society of America and Denver. At the start of the 1900s, the Italians from southern 19 “Italians and their struggles” htp/ /frontiersJocgov /ammem/ndlpedu/ features /immig/alt/italian8.htma 20 Howard P.Chudacoff and Judith E, Smith, The Evolution of American Urban Society, Edition 4, (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1994) pp.143. 2 DeRose, “Inside ‘Little Italy.” pp. 278. 2 DeRose, “Inside ‘Little Italy.” pp. 278, 281. 2 Angelo Marazano, Potenza Society of North Denver Scrap Book from 1901 to 1980, Box 1, Folder 2. Special Collections and Archives, Mullen Room, Western History Department. Denver Public Library. 2% DeRose, “Inside ‘Little Italy,” pp. 277.Italy were among the lowest-paid workers within the United States.?5 These regional distinctions created by Italy, the U.S,, and the Denver newspapers followed the Italians well into the 1920s. The need of assistance was great among the southern Italians who moved to Denver. The North Denver Italians formed organizations and societies to serve the new arrivals. Religious, geographic, and political divisions were the catalysts for these new groups. ‘The mainstream press immediately recognized these differences and used them to bring slander and false accusations against the original purpose of the organizations. The Potenza Society, named after a southern Italian capital, was one of the recipients receiving the most attention from the mainstream press of Denver. ‘The society was originally established to promote benevolence, unity, and brotherhood throughout the community. The societies and organizations that were formed in North Denver were in many ways similar to a present-day credit union. Each member gave the society one dollar, and then the member could receive money to open a small business. ‘The Potenza Society also helped find employment and donated money to build schools and churches within the North Denver community. The society wanted to help each other become accustomed to the American way of life27 This was a society based on all-male enrollments from Potenza, Italy, established at a time when the nativist ideas were spreading throughout the country. The mainstream press of Denver was looking through a lens of nativism. 25 “Italians and their struggles” hetp://frontiers.loc.gov /ammem /ndlpedu/features/immig/alt/italian8.html 2 DeRose, "Inside ‘Little Italy,” pp. 278. 27 Manuscript Collection. “Scrap Book Potenza Society.” Denver Public Library.and could not see any further. This negatively affected the way the citizens of Denver viewed the Italian colony of North Denver and everything it represented because for some citizens, the newspaper was their only connection to the colony. The Republican, a Denver newspaper, stated in its article titied, ‘Potenza Italians Organize,” that 120 Italians in the North Denver neighborhood "formed themselves into a secret organization to be composed only of emigrants from Potenza."2® There is truth to this statement. The organization only allowed those from Potenza to join, which more than 90 percent of the Italians in the North Denver colony originally immigrated from. But itis false that the organization was of secrecy. It can be assumed the mainstream press was playing on the nativists concerns and tried to present the society as something to fit the nativists’ views. Six other organizations had been founded prior to the Potenza Society that were also formed on the purpose of benevolence, but the Potenza Society remained the only organization the mainstream press did not approve of. ‘This lack of approval was obvious as other downtown Denver newspapers reported on the society. The Denver Times reported in their article titled, “Potenza Spirit Still Firm” that “[U]nlike the cosmopolitan citizen of the United States, who is much at home in the conservative East as he is on the ever new, bustling, breezy West, the European is given to overmuch clannishness, due to jealous rivalry as the result of wars dating back centuries.”2° The societies established by the southern Italians were seen as a threat to the way of life in the West. ‘The nativist feelings of the late nineteenth into early twentieth century was clear, especially in the newspaper articles published 28 “Potenza Italians Organize,” The Republican, 2,0ctober 1899. Sec. 1. pp.1. 23 “Potenza Spirits Still Firm,” The Denver Times, 2, October 1899. Sec. 1. pp.2.about Italians. The forming of societies in Italy is part of their culture. This is true for both regions from the North and South of Italy. The Denver Times published an article on November 17, 1901, and expressed a partial understanding of what the Potenza Society represented. The Denver Times reported, “[I]t is not a secret society and its only object is beneficial and benevolent. Itis compromised of men of means and influences, and promises to become the ‘most powerful body of Italians in Denver.”2° Unlike the previous newspaper articles, ‘The Denver Times spoke highly of the society and the members but never directly recognized the society originating in the North Denver Colony. Previous articles published by The Denver Times explained that the Potenza Society was from North Denver and not that of East Denver where the wealthy northern Italians lived. Furthermore, an article published by The Republican dated October 2, 1899 used lines as “120 North Denver Italians organize secret society” to describe the Potenza Society as a suspicious society. *t The Denver Times followed that same day and used words of clannishness and jealous rivalry to explain the new Europeans in the West? In these examples, when the mainstream press of Denver reported on the Potenza Society in 1899 they reported in a negative degrading way and always used in some form, North Denver Italians. When the mainstream press reported on the beneficial attributes of the society they failed to directly mention which group of, Italians the society was part of. While this could represent a turning point in the way the mainstream press received the societies it does not give the North Denver 30 “Italian Residents of Denver Organized into Six Societies,” The Denver Times, 17 November 1901. Sec 4. pp. 2. 34 “Potenza Italians Organize,” The Republican, 2,0ctober 1899, Sec. 1. pp.1. 22 “Potenza Spirits Still Firm,” The Denver Times, 2, October 1899. Sec. 1. pp.2.Italians the recognition or the separation from the East Denver Italians, whom they were always unfavorably compared to. Following the establishment of the Potenza Society, there were fifteen other societies formed in Little Italy within ten years.** ‘The establishment continued to closely report on the societies. ‘There was a major misunderstanding on the part of the mainstream press and the citizens of Denver over who the Italians residing in North Denver were, what their societies represented, and why they choose to settle in Denver. An article published in The Daily News on December 15, 1901 attempted to highlight the misunderstandings and concerns the citizens of Denver had toward the Italian community of North Denver. The Daily News stated, “When the Italian Immigrant rec naturalization papers he is the happiest man on earth. He feels as if he added about five inches to his height and had been given a new birth right."** The author focuses on biological issues when he presented the Italian as a man of small-stature. The author mentions naturalization papers and a new birth right which focuses on Italians and their relationship with the United States rather than the Italian's relationship with Denver. This connected the Italians to the larger picture of the United States and not just Denver. The Daily Times continues the article with, “He is a simple, industrious, affectionate fellow with a quick temper and a patriotism which makes him, when both are aroused, a very hot partner and one to look out for.”5 Generalizing all 3 Manuscript Collection. “Scrap Book Potenza Society.” Denver Public Library. 34“In Denver's Little Italy,” The Daily News, 15 December 1901. pp. 2. 35 “In Denver's Little Italy,” The Daily News, 15 December 1901. pp. 3. 10Italian men as simple and quick-tempered is demeaning to their character. When the author added patriotism to the line, it portrayed a positive vision of the southern Italians. The author of the article presented the Italian in a demeaning way in the introduction and followed with a positive vision of the patriotic Italian. In the 1900s many Italians left the United States and traveled back to Italy. This constant leaving was looked at negatively and earned the Italian immigrants the nickname, "Birds of Passage." Prescott F. Hall, Secretary of the Immigration Restriction League, explained ‘birds of passage’ as Italians “that have no wish to build up the country but to earn a few dollars. They live in a way in which no American, German, or Irishman would live for a day.” The Italians of North Denver were looked at the same way even when they had families now living in Denver when the typical “bird of passage” would not take his or her family to the United States. The Daily Times addressed the "birds of passage” stereotype by stating, “to be one of the flock is to be one of the members of this large family {the North Denver Italian Colony], enjoyed in proportion as they are shared.”*7 The author's use of the word flock can be assumed he or she was trying to associate the Italians with “birds of passage” (flocks of birds). Never directly stating that but making a hint to it and then closing the article by grouping the entire North Denver Italian colony as a large family. Families were the ones that stayed in the United States and assimilated to the culture. Again, the reporter represented the Italians in a demeaning but then positive image. To publish an article of this nature in the Sunday paper, which was 36 “Italian Immigration” The North American Review, Vol. 163, No. 477 (Aug., 1896), pp. 252-254. 57 “In Denver's Little Italy,” The Daily News, 15 December 1901. pp. 2, 4. 1the most received and read paper in Denver at the time,’ the author was responding to questions or concerns the community shared. The Denver Post continued the article with a positive image of the Italians, stating “Perhaps one reason that the Italian born citizen...is so little appreciated in America, is because he is so generally misunderstood.’ This was a turning point for the North Denver Italians because the mainstream press had previously reported on negative actions within Little Italy that were not true. Now the press is stating that the Italian could just be understood. The Denver Daily News reported, “When they come to Denver they find much to remind them of their southern home in the clear, bright blue of the sky and the almost continuous days of sunshine [with] mountains surrounding them (and feeling] dignified with the residence of people in high positions and fine public buildings.”*© The author is trying to make a direct connection between the way of life and environment in Denver with that of Potenza, Italy. The author wants to convey, which he does further in his article that the Italian immigrants of southern Italy can easily assimilate because there is a direct similarity in both the biological and environmental aspect to that of Colorado and Denver. They are quick to enroll their children in school and “work comes to the Italian quickly for he will take any that offers. He is adaptable and has a purpose in his view.”*! The author is trying to touch on the issue of labor, which was a concern of the United States citizens. The 38 "The Denver Post, 1899-1992. The Centennial Voice of the Rocky Mountain Empire for 100 Years,” Denver Post. pp. 107. 3 “In Denver's Little Italy,” The Daily News, 15 December 1901. pp. 2. #0"In Denver's Little Italy,” The Daily News, 15 December 1901. pp. 2. #0 “In Denver's Little Italy,” The Daily News, 15 December 1901. pp. 2. 12federal Immigration Commission reported the “practically universal opinion among employers that South Italians are...the most inefficient of all races, whether immigrant or native.”*? The author was trying to make it clear that the southern Italians were not inefficient, which the federal Immigration Commission reported but they were willing to accept any job that came to them and could do it because they were adaptable. The Daily News reported, “The earlier Italian settlers of Denver came from the north of Italy and now represent the aristocratic element. The northern Italian's wealth aggregates in the millions and they are scattered on the East side of town and are not members of the colony on the North side.”#3 There is a class distinction between the northern and southern regions of Italy, which the article is trying to address. The mainstream press accepted the northern Italians of the eastside of town and distinguished them from the North side Italian colony. The Daily News reported that these Italians on the eastside of town are “cultured, well educated, and most delightful to meet,” and should not be mistaken for the “simple, quick. tempered Italians” on the North side. This gave the reader a sense of comfort knowing that there are currently Italians in Denver who have assimilated and also done financially well within their community. ‘The author concludes the article with a positive note about the North Denver Italians. “Denver's Italian colony on the North Side is rated second in intelligence, conduct and morality in the United States, *2 David E. Roediger. Working Towards Whiteness: How America’s Immigrants Became White. The Strange Journey from Ellis Island to the Suburbs. (New York: Basic Books, 2005). pp.79. 43 "In Denver's Little Italy” The Daily News, 12/15/1901, pp. 2. 4#In Denver's Little Italy” The Daily News, 12/15/1901, pp. 2. 13San Francisco's standing first.” #> ‘This was a positive quote to end with but it further showed how separated the two Italian colonies were from each other, not only within Denver but also within the entire United States. The Daily News released an article titled “Little Italy in Denver” and reported, “There are a number of Italian societies in Denver all of them managed on the ‘mutual benefit system. The Italians of North Denver have all good qualities’ of the race.”*6 The mainstream press in Denver previously reported on the societies as being secretive and accused the Italians of falling into clannish behaviors. The author reported on the positive attributes the societies provide for the Little Italy neighborhood of Denver. This article published by The Daily News was a small turning point for the North Denver Italians. The mass media was reporting on the contributions of the southern Italians and how they were beneficial. Denver had fifteen Italian societies by 1905, all with presidents of Italian descent who lived in the North Denver ftalian Community.‘ For these Italian organizations, the “historic landing of Christopher Columbus in America carried special significance,”** Italians in Denver viewed the event as worthy of recognition. This was an event where the Italians of both the northern and southern regions of Italy could claim a direct connection to America, Angelo Noce, a native of Italy and an Italian in Denver, spearheaded the campaign to make Columbus Day a holiday. Noce wrote letters to every senator in the United States, encouraging them to present a bill to Congress declaring October 12* of every year to be Christopher 48 “In Denver's Little Italy” The Daily News, 12/15/1901, pp. 2. 46 “In Denver's Little Italy” The Daily News, 12/15/1901 pp. 2. 47 Giovanni Perilli. Colorado and the Italians in Colorado. (Denver, 1922) pp. 33.34. 48 Angelo Noce. Columbus Day in Colorado (Denver: n.p., 1910). pp. 2,xi, 21. 14Columbus Day (a holiday that was celebrated in Italy and Spain at the time). Through persistence Noce was able to reach the Colorado Senators who eventually helped pass it in 1905.49 Colorado was the first state to declare the Columbus Day holiday. This was an honor never accorded Italians by any other state government in the United States. Upon the passing of the bill, a legislature reporter wrote an article about the Italians in Colorado and it was further copied and printed in 250 newspapers across the United States.%” The reporter stated, "There are in Colorado some 18,000 Italians, most of them very hard working and industrious people, some of them highly cultured, but the average American child sums up all the sons of the erstwhile mighty Roman empire in the one term of derision, ‘Dago,’ and lets it go at that.” Meredith follows with a short segment on what Christopher Columbus was thought to have done for the United States and what he meant to Italians, and then follows with, "knowing the struggles of what Columbus endured for this country we live in...it might make him [the American child] a little less bumptious, a little better ‘mannered to his dark-eyed, olive-skinned comrades at school.”*? ‘This was one of the first times the mass media press recognized the actions against southern Italians and addressed it. The reporter recognized the Italians for their positive contribution to the United States while openly disapproving of the discrimination against them from American children. 49 Noce, Columbus Day. pp. 17. 59 Noce, Columbus Day. pp. 17. 15‘The mass media of Denver reported the honoring of Christopher Columbus /e event and success for the Italians in the United States. The Italians of asa po: North Denver struggled internally with the acceptance of this recognition because this was an achievement from, Angelo Noce, an Italian of northern Italy. Historian Lyle Dorsett states in his book, The Queen City: A History of Denver, “[P]rejudice feelings existed [internally] between northern and southern Italians, but southerners so far outnumbered northerners that the issue assumed little importance beyond the occasional arrogance displayed by immigrants from northern Italy toward their poorer, agrarian countrymen.’S? This was actually the opposite case in the case over Columbus Day. ‘The southern Italians were displaying arrogance against participating in the celebrations of Columbus Day. Angelo Noce struggled for the recognition of Coloumbus from the United States but he also struggle for the recognition from southern Italians in Denver. ‘The Italians of Little Italy held a grudge or dislike towards the northern Italians, similar to the one the mass media held against them. Doctor Rudolph Albi, the first Doctor from North Denver, told Noce, “[T]o you Angelo Noce belongs the merit and honor of the Columbus Day, but to you this honor and merit we [the Italian Community] will contest and will not give it to you. If you were one of our ‘gang’ you would have before this been created chevelier [sic}.”5$ Angleo Noce believed Discovery Day (Christopher Columbus Day) was important not only because it united the immigrant community but also because it 53 Dorsett, The Queen City. pp.176. > DeRose, “Inside ‘Little Italy," pp. 283. 55 Noce, Columbus Day. pp. 21. 16had the opportunity of improving the colony's relationship with the non-Italian world.5® In 1892, the first Discovery Day Parade was chiefly an Italian celebration. Fifteen years later a local newspaper reported, “besides the Italian societies, many ‘American, German, and other organizations have expressed a willingness to make the holiday a success."®” “The marshaling of our staunch Italian-American citizens,” the reporter concluded, was “a matter which afforded great satisfaction to the general public." This was a major turning point for Italians in Denver but also within the United States. The reporter did not separate the two Italians by section of town nor did the reporter solely give recognition specifically to one person. Itis clear that Columbus had started to represent a symbol of unity between the Italians and the United States. Father Lepore, priest of the Italian Catholic Church in North Denver, appeared in the local newspapers of Denver about sixty times between 1899 and 1903. Each time the mass media press mentioned him they do not necessarily mention him by name. At different times the newspapers might say, Catholic Priest of North Denver Parish, Father of Parish and a member of the Italian Community, and Priest at the first Italian Catholic Church in the city. The establishment of an Catholic Church and Father Lepore leading it were one of the first acts of business the colony took part it. This was an important part of the southern Italians community. 6 Gerald McKevitt, “Christopher Columbus as a Civic Saint: Angelo Noce and Italian American Assimilation” California History, Vol. 71. No. 4 (Winter, 1992/1993): pp. 520. 57 McKevitt, “Christopher Columbus,” pp. 521. 58 McKevitt, “Christopher Columbus,” pp. 521. 17When the southern Italians first arrived in Denver they shared St. Patrick’s Cathedral with the Irish-Americans, but it was not their Italian Catholic Church, and t who did not speak their language. an Italian could not feel rapport with a With the help of the Italian societies in North Denver, Father Lepore, and Father Carrigan from Glenwood Springs, the North Denver Italians established the first Italian Roman Catholic church of Denver, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, The Denver Post reported it would "be the most expensive church of the city,"®° and The Denver Times reported the new church would be the “finest structure in the city.*t The mainstream press spoke highly of the efforts made within the community, but this would also be an Italian Church serving the North Denver Italian Community. The establishment of Our Lady of Mount Carmel will keep the North Denver Italians in their own church. Where the newspapers were reporting on the Italians having negative contributions to Denver, they are now reporting on the how the church will be a positive addition. The church will also keep the southern Italians detached from Denver and out of the other churches. In an article in 1901, The Denver Times reported, “Father Lepore to Manufacture Fire Escapes He Invented.”®2 The Denver Times was recognizing Father Lepore (priest of the Italian church in North Denver) with a positive article of his, contribution to safety. This invention of the fire escape was extremely relevant for the time because between “1860 and 1920, the number of people living in American 59 Ruth Wiberg, Rediscovering Northwest Denver: Its History, Its People, Its Landmarks, (Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 1995): pp.17. “Church Built in Denver,” The Denver Post, 14 November 1889. pp.2. 61 “Improvements to Denver,” The Denver Times, 14 November 1889. pp. © The Denver Times, 15 December 1901. 18cities of eight thousand or more inhabitants multiplied from 6.2 to 54.2 million."63 This recognition presented the positive contributions to society from the Italian Community, although, not once in the two-column length article does the reporter ever mention that Father Lepore resides in North Denver as a part of the Italian Community. Nor does the reporter mention Father Lepore is a priest at the first, Italian Catholic Parish in Denver, as the newspaper previously reported, ‘The downtown press accepted the Italians residing on the eastside of Denver, yet the downtown press refused to recognize the efforts of the North Denver Italians, at least not the positive efforts. In the decades that followed, the community of North Denver grew stronger as Denver's only Little Italy but uncontrollable events continued to have an effect upon the neighborhood and southern Italians who were part of it. 1911-1919 Pandemic, Culture, and War The ethnic neighborhood was one of the strongest institutions of inner-city life, The urge for familiarity and cultural identity drove many immigrants to seek out their own kind. The North Denver Italian colony presented a united front against the prejudices of the Anglos, the Irish, the Germans, and many other groups, including fellow countrymen from northern Italy. Some of the “better educated, more adaptable” men from the northern provinces now lived scattered about the city, while many became wealthy and prominent. Some of the men from northern. Italy came to Denver as skilled laborers, doctors, lawyers, and some trained in music and were hired for the entertainment for the city. The men who came from the ® Chudacofi, The Evolution of American Urban Society, pp. 115. Wiberg, Rediscovering Northwest Denver, pp.42. 19agricultural southern region of Italy tended to their gardens, along the Platte River bottoms or on the many undeveloped areas of the city. ‘The main source of income for some of the southern Italians consisted of selling their fruits and vegetables at the market as peddlers.®° The lives of the southern and northern Italians of Denver were still very different. Denver had a population of 134,000 in 1900 and the population increased nearly 60 percent in ten years to over 213,000 in 1910. Mayor Robert Speer did his part to help the poor citizens of the city. He hired many of the Mexicans, Russian Jews, and Italians, and raised the wages of city laborers to $2.25 a day.” This wasa small stepping-stone for the Italians of North Denver because some Nativists accused the immigrants and southern Italians in particular of depressing the wage rates with their cheap labor.$ In the spring of 1917 Italians in the United States faced a bombardment of appeals to participate in the conflict that had been raging in the three years.® Of all the largest immigrant groups in the United States, Italians had the most direct connection to any of the Allied powers. Italians in the United States solidly supported the war efforts of the First World War. For many Italians who could not participate in the actual combat, they instead bought war bonds, donated 6S Wiberg. Rediscovering Northwest Denver, pp. 42. 6 Andrew F. Rolle, The American Italians: Their History and Culture (Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1972). Pp. 2. 67 Dorsett. The Queen City, pp. 144. 8 Chudacoff, The Evolution of American Urban Society. pp.143. © Christopher Sterba, Good Americans: Italian and Jewish Immigrants During the First World War. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003). pp. 4. 20to the Red Cross, and obeyed the demands of fuel and food conservation.”° The war brought together a bond between the immigrants, especially Italian immigrants and native born. With Italy as an ally, both were fighting for the same cause on one solid level. For many Italians, their ethnic pride pre-World War One flowed into national pride and accelerated their assimilation process.”' Historian Christopher Sterban argued in his book, Good Americans: Italian and Jewish Immigrants during the First World War, that never again would the Italian and Jewish immigrants be as culturally and politically isolated as there were before 1917.2 While this might have been true for most of the immigrants, events that occurred within the Denver Italian community periodically went against Sterban’s belief. ‘The influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 coincided with a major wave of immigration to the United States. More than 23.5 million newcomers arrived between 1880 and the 1920s, mostly from southern and eastern Europe, Asia, Canada and Mexico”? ‘The 1918 influenza outbreak in Denver and Colorado rehashed the suspicions of the mass media and general public of Denver toward the southern Italians. Influenza struck individuals of all groups and classes throughout the country. In most cases no single immigrant group was blamed, although there were many local cases of medicalized prejudice.”* According to the Rocky Mountain News, Dr. 79 Sterba, Good Americans, pp. 220. 71 Sterba, Good Americans, pp. 201. 7 Sterba, Good Americans, pp. 117. 73 Alan Kraut, Silent Travelers, Germs, Genes, and the “Immigrant Menace.” (New York: Basic Books, 1994). pp.7 74Alan Kraut. “Immigration, Ethnicity, and the Pandemic.” http://www.ncbi.nim.nih.gov/pme/article 21William Sharpley, the Manager of Denver's Department of Health and Charities, “attributed the city’s difficulty in dealing with the flu to the foreign settlements of the city.’5 “Italians,” the newspaper reported, “did not understand health rules. As many as twenty-five crowded into the rooms of sick persons, and their disregard for the ban on public mourning led Sharpley to send in the police to break up at least one funeral."?* Poverty, cultural preferences for folk healers, and the desire to be close to sick friends and relatives may have been the basis of immigrant behaviors. There could also have been a language barrier and the Italians of North Denver did not understand the language and medical words used. Some cities in the United States recognized this language barrier and worked with the immigrants instead of against. For instance, New York Cities Health Department created flyers in multiple languages to inform and educate the immigrant groups about the flu, what the symptoms were and the current health bans and restrictions.7” Historian Stephen Leonard argues in his essay, “The 1918 Influenza Epidemic in Denver and Colorado” that it was not only the Italians of North Denver who were breaking the policies; it was also the wealthy people in Denver. The newspapers never mentioned anything about the wealthy class breaking the policies. In Stephen Leonard argues, “The prevalence of the flu in immigrant sections of North Denver may suggest as the Denver Post states ‘that overcrowding in poor neighborhoods and lack of knowledge about disease compounded health officials’ problems in 75 Stephen Leonard. "The 1918 Influenza Epidemic in Denver and Colorado” Essays and Monographs in Colorado History. November 9, 1989. (p. 7,8) 75 Rocky Mountain News, 31 October 1918. pp. 4. 77 Markel H. Stern AM, editor, The American influenza Epidemic of 1918: a digital encyclopedia. (Ann Arbor: Center for the History of Medicine: [cited 2010 Nov 17]. http://www.influenzaarchive.org, 22fighting the epidemic.””* Leonard continues with “[I}t was not just the Italians of North Denver alone who refused to wear masks, or who violated the closing order. Bulkley Wells” a wealthy resident of Denver, “ignored the ban on parties just as North Denver Italians ignored the ban on public funerals."” Only two years before the Influenza Epidemic, Italians were blamed for the polio epidemic that raged through the East Coast cities.® The preexisting patterns of nativism that existed before 1918 did not vanish or accelerate during the influenza outbreak, but they did reappear especially in Denver.. Charles Rosenburg, a medical historian, reported, “the defining aspects of an epidemic are fear and widespread death, but also their episodic quality. An epidemic is an event, not a trend.”61 The 1920s: Prosperity with a Punch Prior to 1900 hundreds of transient Italians workers, known as “birds of passage,” were adding to the population of Denver.*? By 1920 most of North Denver’s Italian population were permanent Italian-American residents. North Denver was a more stable place with bu: esses that served a family community and a Catholic Church and school. Occupational mobility occurred within the North Denver Italian colony as many residence began to own their own business. Liquor control was adopted in the state of Colorado in 1916, and national prohibition laws became effective in 1920, Many criminals and small-time 7 Leonard, "The 1918 Influenza Epidemic in Denver and Colorado,” pp.10. 7 Leonard, “The 1918 Influenza Epidemic in Denver and Colorado,” pp.10. ® Kraut Silent Travelers, Germs, Genes, and the “Immigrant Menace.” pp. 108-111. ®1 Charles Rosenburg, “What is an epidemic? AIDS in historical perspective. The New England Journal of Medicine. (1989;118): pp. 3-5 % Dorsett. The Queen City, pp. 174. 23lawbreakers were formed from this new law. Police Chief Rugg Williams ordered the closing of all of North Denver's pool halls, cigar stores, and soft-drink parlors because the police suspected these were fronts for bootleggers. ‘There was never an investigation done to determine if any of these accusations were true. Fredrick Bonfils, co-owner and editor of the Denver Post, while citing his paper as, “the paper with a heart and soul,” openly discriminated against southern Italians. Bonfils, according to historian Ruth Wiberg, “had anything but a pure white reputation.” ® Wiberg further goes on to say, “[Bonfils] made the most of the prejudice against Little Italy and implied in editorials that this was where all evil in Denver originated.” Giovani Perilli, an Italian author, wrote in 1922 about what he saw in Denver, avery different view from Fredrick Bonfils. He wrote that what was once a “Prai Dog” wasteland has been changed and is now filled with plants and vegetables to. serve on the tables. The young Italian-Americans were cultivating the land, each only being there for a few years now own three to ten acres of land.*® By the 1920s the Italians dominated the local truck gardens and they represented the majority of fresh market produce sold in the city and their community. Italians of North Denver continued to climb the occupational ladder of status. ‘The North Denver Italians developed a strong community with very little outside aide or interference. They closely identified with and remained tied to the community that they lived in, Few if any Italians were in country clubs or other ® Wiberg, Rediscovering Northwest Denver, pp. 45. & Wiberg, Rediscovering Northwest Denver, pp. 45. %5 Perilli, Colorado and the Italians of Colorado. 1922. pp. 177. 24social groups throughout the city.® Italians discovered advancement through businesses that served their own tightly knit community. They started three Italian newspapers, II Roma, La Capitale, and I! Risvegilo and began to open up barbershops, restaurants, and Italian import food stores in the heart of Little Italy. They even began to open up businesses that served the larger metropolitan area of Denver, something they never had the option of prior.*” Unlucky for the North Denver Italians this was the time the Ku Klux Klan ran Colorado and things changed for the Italian community. During the 1920s in Colorado, the Ku Klux Klan saw the Catholics and immigrants as the most threatening groups to their ideologies. The North Denver Italians Catholics were a natural target for the bigotry of the Ku Klux Klan. The Klan had tremendous influence on many public officials. At one point, Denver's Chief of Detectives ordered every soft-drink parlor in North Denver (but not in any other part of the city) to be closed on the premise that each was a front for a speakeasy. This was the second time in nearly five years that that Italians of North Denver were ordered by the police to shut down their business without any evidence of what they were being accused of. Denver was a unique city because of the role the Ku Klux Klan played within it. Their existence in Denver held back some of the Italians from the progress they were making post-World War One. Denver was slower at moving its Italian community forward compared to other cities in the 1920s. Connecticut had the 20 Stephen Leonard, “Denver's Foreign-Born Immigrants, 1859-1900" (Ph. D. diss., Claremont Graduate School, 1971), pp. 192, 193. 87 Wiberg. Rediscovering Northwest Denver, pp. 72. 25second largest population of Italians in the 1920s, New York being the first Most of the Italians were centered in New Haven, and while Italians in Denver were struggling with an anti-Italian newspaper owner, Fredrick Bonfils and the Ku Klux Klan running the government, New Haven Italians experienced lite differently. ‘The Klan was non-existent in New Haven and their local newspaper The New Haven Register told a different story of the Italians. The New Have Register reported in 1922, just after the election of the first Italian Mayor the city that, “We [The New Have Register] feel now that there is nota single office in the Elm City to which the Italian-American may not aspire.”®° The Italians of North Denver did not respond to the prejudices within Denver by retreating back into their ethnic neighborhood. 1930s From Italians to Italian-Americans Into the early 1930s the North Denver Italians consolidated their gains as residents and took an increasing interest in the public arena where issues of culture, rights, and citizenship were played on out a national stage. Equality of opportunity was becoming a reality rather than a dream for most of Denver's Italian-Americans. Not only in manual labor front but also on the civic level. The election of “one of our own’ to public office helped nurture a sense of belonging to a particular place. In 1931, Eugene J. Veraldi, was elected to represent District 9 as their Council member. He was up against three others who had names of Anderson, Gallagher, and Lucy. ‘The community kept a member of their own Italian community in every year except in 1935, but then continued with southern Italian council members until the mid 1970s. Disputes between the Italians from southern Italy and northern Italy rarely 88 Sterba. Good Americans. pp. 120. 89 Sterba. Good Americans. pp. 217. 26occurred in the 1930s, The northern Italians lived throughout the city and did hold on to their culture as the strong southern Italians did. In 1935 a northern Italian woman, Elisa Damascio Palladino, became Denver's first woman city council member. She was appointed by Mayor Begole to fill a vacancy. Many of the Italians in North Denver were proud, but she also switched from the typical Democratic Party and served under the Republican. In 1931 the Rocky Mountain News wrote an article titled, “Our Little Italy.” ‘The title represented a feeling of ownership and pride of Little Italy. This was a different tone from the articles published in the early 1900s. The reporter of the Rocky Mountain News wrote, “The most beautiful babies in Denver live on Bell Street [current-day Osage Street]. They are contented, happy, brown-eyed Neapolitans, more delighted with an old tomato can than some children are with wax dolls.” ‘The remainder of the article was reporting on all the positives of Little Italy while still addressing some of the concerns the general population of Denver might have. The article continues to state, “They are bright, inquisitive, and anxious to learn ‘American customs”®? This gave the general population of Denver an understanding, that the Italians have ability to learn English but the article also keeps the Italians connected to their old world culture in small ways. Following this article the Italians of North Denver began to talk about the establishment of a park within the neighborhood. In 1931, despite the hard times of the Great Depression, the Italian community raised enough money with help of the sowiberg. Rediscovering Northwest Denver, pp. 72. ®1“Our Little Italy,” The Rocky Mountain News, 1931. % “Our Little Italy,” The Rocky Mountain News, 1931, 27church and the societies to buy a block in North Denver that had previously served as a bathhouse. The North Denver Italians gave the real estate to the city of Denver to develop a park to honor their hero, Christopher Columbus. ‘The land was dedicated as Columbus Park on October 12, 1931. This was a major accomplishment for the North Denver community because it wanted, in some way, to be part of the plans for celebrating and honoring Christopher Columbus in Denver. In August 1932 the Rocky Mountain News wrote another article titled, “Good Eating abounds in Little Italy: Old Country Costumes and Customs Mostly Slip into Discard.” (The Rocky Mountain News was the only newspaper reporting on Italians at this time, either good or bad.) This entire article dealt with ways in which the Italian community of North Denver has assimilated to the American ways of life, from cooking, to playing card games, to the way they dress. The reporter explained, “the most popular game is---American baseball,” which had been known as “American's Greatest Pastime.” The reporter touched on the culture of the young Italian-American and reported that “Parties are frequent at their halls...but the volatile Tarantella is seldom danced. The Younger folk prefer ‘You beautiful Son-of- a-Gun.” During the influenza pandemic Denver Italians were accused of spreading the flu because of the way they mourned the deceased. The reporter stated, now “Only intimate friends mourn with the family not the elaborate and long-drawn-out affair of former years.” These lines show how the community was more like an ‘American community who loved American culture from dancing to sports and wanted what was best for America and stopped many of their old ways of mourning 28the dead. Many of the earlier articles published by the mainstream press focused on labor while this article focuses on the culture within the Italian community. The author concluded, "Little Italy is perhaps the most Americanized of all the foreign settlements in the city.” While the mainstream press was stili recognizing the North Denver community as a foreign community, itis also recognized everything it had done within the community to Americanize it. ‘The mainstream press did not separate the two Italians entities in the 1930s; this change can be attributed to a few factors. Italians of the northern region of Italy have removed themselves from East Denver into the larger population of the city. When the Italians of North Denver began to move up in class status the mainstream press began to value their additions to the city, which can be seen through the articles written about the Italians in Denver from the early 1900s to the 1930s. This change in class status occurred over two-and-a-half decades of hard work. In the 1930s non-Italian civic leaders began to take part in the festivities within the Italian community, something that was never heard of in the past. In 1934 the Rocky Mountain News reported that the “Most Elaborate Program in Denver History is Being Prepared.” This was the celebration of Columbus Day. Prior to the 1930s, the Italians of North Denver had refused to celebrate the parade as an entire community because Angelo Noce, although a fellow Italian, as Doctor Albi of North Denver stated, “not a part of their gang,” * Which meant he was from northern Italy and resided in East Denver. . For the 1934 ceremony, speakers %3 "Good Eating abounds in Little Italy: Old Country Costumes and Customs Mostly Slip into Discard,” Rocky Mountain News, 16 August 1932, pp. 5. 5 Noce, Columbus Day. pp. 17. 29included the Denver Italian consul, Governor Johnson, Mayor Begole, presidents of the Italians societies and others from the Italian community. ‘The Mayor, Governor, and President of the Federation of Italian Societies lead the parade.%5 The ‘community had a presence on Denver and the mass media press it never held in the past. ‘The North Denver community began to assert itself in civic role, and learned English at a faster pace, while maintaining the tight ties within the community. This ‘was a result of the discrimination against them since they arrived in the U.S., which then followed them to Denver. The North Denver Italians wanted to protect their names and their culture, but did not want to be labeled as fascist. This is represented in a letter from a member of the Italian community to numerous US. Senators. In 1937 Frank Mancini, the President of the Italian American Federated Societies, wrote a letter to Senator Edwin Johnson and Senator Alva Adams concerning comments made by Senator Borah. Senator Borah accused the Italian government of attempting to spread the doctrines of fascism in America through Americans of Italian decent.9¢ Mancini further stated, “It is our earnest desire that our Country of origin be not the object of unjustified criticism by some of your colleagues in the Senate; we so wish that our devotion to the American country shall never be doubted,”*” Mancini points out to the Senators their accusations of the Italian government spreading 95"Denver Italians Planning Columbus Day Feast,” Rocky Mountain News, 23 September 1934. pp.t. 96 Letter from Frank Mancini, President of Italian-American Federated Societies to Senators, 1937. Clippings files, Colorado, Ethnic, Italians. Denver Public Library. 97 Letter from Frank Mancini, President of Italian-American Federated Societies to Senators, 1937. Clippings files, Colorado, Ethnic, Italians. Denver Public Library. 30fascism in America was not accurate or justified and then further goes on to ask for an apology and tests the morals of the Senators who are receiving this letter. “The Italian-Americans are sure that when the opportunity presents itself, you will publicly interpret and express our feelings, and in doing so you will not only continue to defend our good reputations, but that of all the Italo-Americans as well, and restore serenity in a regrettable debate by making the truth known."*# This is a classic example of the Italians in Denver feeling they are on the same level as any other American and deserve and to be treated that way. This was a monumental moment because it was the first time the Italian community defended themselves as American citizens, Over the next few decades, there were occasions when the United States Government and general public discriminated against the Italians. Although the discrimination never occurred over such a long period of time as seen in the past. The North Denver Italians held a solid ground on many levels of the government and within their own community. The Italians stood together as a solid group and worked together for a common goal. They achieved what many other immigrant groups never could. The North Denver Italians from southern Italy removed themselves from the laboring class of illiterate, unskilled, clannishness, diseased filled immigrants in both the eyes of the mainstream press and the general public. Denver was a city filled with nativist views in the early 1900s. The Ku Klux Klan controlled Colorado’s government in the 1920s that continued an open prejudice against immigrant groups. Denver's mainstream press reported on stereotypes of 98 Letter from Frank Mancini, President of Italian-American Federated Societies to Senators, 1937. Clippings files, Colorado, Ethnic, Italians. Denver Public Library. 31the North Denver Italians and did not care to report on them in any other way. The southern Italians of Denver were unfavorably compared to their already assimilated northern Italian countrymen, just as they were in Italy. In thirty years the southern Italian immigrant group fought against the prejudices, nativist, racists and discrimination actions and views against them and formed their successful and powerful Italian community. The Southern Italians of North Denver removed the stigma from them of being a poor, uneducated group. The Italians built North Denver into a Little Italy through pride and assertiveness when the Italians, especially those from southern Italy, were one of the immigrant groups most discriminated against. 32