LAGO is town in the Province of COSENZA
within the CALABRIA Region of Southern ITALY


Panorama of the town of Lago

Padua, Italy January 2007

The author is Dr. Francesco Gallo, a Medical Doctor, Specialist in Psychiatry who also is a Local History Researcher especially about Lago (Cosenza) Italy, his hometown.
Please send E- mails to angall2@libero.it with any comment or suggestion about this publication.

The LAGO- SALIDA CONNECTION

This booklet wishes to give RECOGNITION to LAGHITAN PIONEERS who were among the first immigrants to settle and help develop SALIDA. They found a semi-unexplored territory within the rugged Rocky Mountains of Chaffee County in Colorado and through their great courage and determination, contributed to making Salida one of the “Dream Towns” of the USA where 6% of its entire population has their ancestry linked to the town of Lago (Cosenza) in Calabria, Italy.

SUMMARY

Preface
List of Laghitan pioneers
Arrival in New York of Laghitans directed to Salida
Topographic analogies between Lago and Salida
Events that favored emigration
Why did they go to Colorado?
How farmers lived in Lago and the Homestead Act
Farming in Salida and comparisons
Others occupations Laghitans held in Salida
Salida a “Dream Town”
Cultural differences and prejudice
Oral interviews of descendants of Laghitan Pioneers of Salida

Domenico Posteraro
Giuseppe De Luca
Pietro Barone
Saverio Ciciarelli
Raffaele Cupelli
Altri pionieri laghitani

Study and research methods and Conclusion

My GRATITUDE goes to those who sent me the BIOGRAPHIES of their PIONEER GRANDPARENTS who emigrated from Lago to become FRONTIERSMEN in the settlement of Salida.

I DEDICATE this research to those who sent me their letters, pictures and E mails and described by phone their grandparents’ biographies.

Preface

Salida today has 5700 people, out of which about 300 (6% of the population) have ancestors born in Lago. This is a very high percentage for a single Italian town especially if we consider that the entire Italian community forms 11% of Salida’s inhabitants. This strong presence of Laghitans is one of the main reasons why I began this project and believe it would be proper to consider them “Twin-Towns”.

After having written two books about the Italian town of Lago in the Province of Cosenza within the Region of Calabria, this new project aims to pay tribute to the pioneer spirit of our fellow townsmen for contributing to making Salida one of the “dream towns” of the U.S.A and the seat of Chaffee County.

I began by contacting some descendants of the 100 Laghitans who emigrated to Salida from 1885 to 1920, and tried to discover their cultural and affective bonds linking them to Lago, the town of origin of their ancestors and thus this study is called “The Salida-Lago Connection”.

Located within the Rocky Mountains of Colorado in the U.S.A., Salida is similar to Lago: a valley sculpted by a river and surrounded by mountains and forests, a sunny climate with an average annual temperature of about 50-70°F.

When these first immigrants lived in Lago, they were often exploited and understandably, upon reaching Salida, were better prepared to face and overcome certain obstacles: long working hours, wheeler-dealers who tried to deceive them, a new language and a new culture. They could not disregard the strong discrimination against Italian-Americans who were considered “Non-Whites”. In fact, in 1896 because of xenophobic sentiments, six Italians were lynched in Wasenburg, a town south-east of Salida, after they were unjustly accused of having killed the owner of a saloon. In spite of this, many arrived, allured by free agricultural fields through the Homestead Act, need for railroad workers by the “D & RGW” Railroad, for miners and smelters. In the new Country they were able to be in direct contact with nature as in Pignanese, a suburb of Lago (the name “Pignanese” comes from “pines” ) where many came from, refusing to settle in the unhealthy, crowded slums of the big cities of the American Atlantic coast where the vast majority of Italians migrated.

Coming to Salida meant uprooting themselves both physically and culturally. Thus, they knew from the very beginning that they had to settle there definitely without planning to return to their hometown. This was an important factor as to why they adjusted to the New World and yet preserved certain Laghitan traditions, such as having a strong family, working hard to better themselves socially and economically, and attending liturgical services (the Church also served as a meeting place for them).

Lastly, I would remind my readers that the fact that when someone is of Italian, Calabrese or Laghitan ancestry, this does not detract from being a true and loyal American since the secret of American greatness is based on the multiculturalism of its society, offering a broader view for understanding and solving various problems.

I encourage these descendants to fully discover their roots by reading about the history, culture and traditions of Calabria, finding out if they have distant relatives in Lago and perhaps by visiting their parents’ or grandparents’ birthplace in order to fill the gap between past and present, and to understand the reasons behind a certain mentality and approach toward life.

LIST of 100 PIONEERS IMMIGRANTS to SALIDA
from 1885 to 1920 from the Italian town of LAGO (Cosenza)

This list was completed after many months of long research. It shows the date of arrival in Salida, the name of the immigrant and name of the relative or friend that sponsored and/or welcomed him in Salida.

• 1885: Domenico Posteraro (brother Bruno in Pennsylvania
  Saverio Posteraro ( brother Bruno in Pennsylvania)
• 1887: Domenica “Mamie” De Luca (husband Domenico Posteraro)
  Bernardino Posteraro (father Domenico Posteraro)
  Maria Posteraro (father Domenico Posteraro)
• 1890: Giuseppe De Luca (brother-in-law Domenico Posteraro)
  Cesare Ciciarelli (went to Minturn, then to Salida)
• 1898: Giuseppe Canonico (brother Pietro)
• 1899: Pietro Barone (brother Angelo)
  Giovanni Molinaro (cousin Giuseppe De Luca)
  Raffaela Muto (husband Giuseppe De Luca)
  Giuseppe Muto (brother-in-law Giuseppe De Luca)
  Tommaso Muto (brother-in-law Giuseppe De Luca)
  Gaetano Sacco (brother-in-law Posteraro in Trinidad)
  Giuseppe Spena
• 1901: Giovanna De Luca
  Pietro Groe
• 1902: Angelo De Luca
• 1904: Angelo Aloe (brother Gervasio)
  Domenico Saverio Aloe (uncle Giuseppe Veltri)
  Nicola De Grazia (cousin Francesco De Grazia)
  Nicolina De Luca (son Giuseppe Scanga)
  Saverio De Luca (brother Giuseppe De Luca)
  Luigi Salvatore Posteraro (uncle Antonio Policicchio)
  Filomena Posteraro e children Francesco e Giuseppe Sacco (husband Gaetano Sacco)
  Pietro Spena ( cousin Giuseppe Spena
• 1905: Angelo Barone (cousin Vincenzo Barone Muto)
  Franceso Barone (cousin Giuseppe Scanga)
  Nicola Ciciarelli
  Giuseppe Cupelli and Nicola Muto (godfather Saverio Muto)
  Domenica Faconetti (brother Domenico)
  Gregorio Piluso
  Vincenzo Barone Runco (resident in USA from 1896 until 1903)
  Carmine Veltri
• 1906: Carmine De Pasquale (yrs 40), wife Rosa Barano (yrs 38) and children Angelo (yrs 3),
  Ventura (yrs 7), Mario (yrs 10) e Letizia (yrs 13) by son Francesco De Pasquale
  Carmine and Angela Mazzotta (father Saverio Mazzotta)
• 1907: Pietro Barone
  Maria Cupelli and son Francesco Muto (husband Nicola Muto)
  Maria De Grazia and children Filippo and Pietro Runco (husband Nicola Runco)
  Saveria Politano (husband Vincenzo Costa)
• 1909: Angelo and Emilio Canonico (father Pasquale)
  Raffaele Cupelli
• 1910: Gabriele Ciciarelli (father Nicola and brother Cesare)
  Antonio and Gaetano Peluso (brother-in-law Angelo De Luca)
  Pasqualina Valle (husband Francesco Ferraro)
• 1911: Calvano Giuseppe (brother Nicola)
  Calvano Orazio (brother Nicola)
  Calvano Raffaele (brother Nicola)
  Coscarella Elisabetta (son Nicola)
  Palermo Angelo
  Spena Antonio
  Veltri Francesco (brother Pasquale at Poncha Springs)
• 1912: Ferdinando Cupelli (father Raffaele)
  Bruno Martillotti (friend Spena)
  Pasqualina Scanga
• 1913: Canonico Angelo (cousin Emilio)
  Coscarella Fedele (cousin Michele Coscarella)
  Coscarella Pasquale (father Michele Coscarella )
  Cupelli Emilio
  Cupelli, Ferdinando (uncle Nicola Muti)
  De Grazia, Carmine (brother Raffaele)
  De Luca Domenica (husband Giuseppe Posteraro)
  Palermo Raffaele (cousin Giuseppe Molinaro)
  Posteraro Bernardino (father Domenico Posteraro)
  Scanga Giuseppe (cousin Gaetano Fusco)
• 1914: Giovanni De Grazia (nephew Pietro Barone)
  Francesco Falsetti (brother-in-law Gaetano Cupelli)
  Rachele (yrs 22), Clementina (yrs 28), Rosina (yrs 41) and Gaetano Posteraro (yrs 38)
  by brother Ferdinando Posteraro 34 yrs old). Their sister Vincenza Posteraro (36 yrs)
  and mother Rosa Runco (70 yrs old) arrived in 1920. They all died in Salida:
  Gaetano in 1925, Ferdinando in 1970, Vincenza in 1958 and Rosa in 1921.
• 1915: Emilio Ciciarelli (father Nicola, brothers Cesare and Gabriele)
• 1920: Bruni Elvira (father Luigi Bruni)
  Calvano Assunta (father Giuseppe Calvano)
  Calvano Clementina (husband Giuseppe Calvano)
  Calvano Carmine (father Giuseppe Calvano)
  Calvano Elisabetta (father Giuseppe Calvano)
  Calvano Gaetano (father Gaspare)
  Coscarella Bruni Maria (husband Luigi Bruni)
  De Luca Francesco (brother Giuseppe)
  Falsetti Maria (uncle Nicola Muto)
  Posteraro Vincenza (brother Ferdinando)
  Runco Rosa (son Ferdinando Posteraro)
• Other Laghitans who arrived in Salida after 1920:
• 1929: Fiore Ciciarelli (father Nicola, brothers Cesare, Gabriele and Emilio)
• 1930: Saverio Ciciarelli (father Nicola, brothers Cesare, Gabriele, Emilio and Fiore)
• 1949: Francesco Ciciarelli (father Saverio)

SHIPS landing in New York with groups of Laghitans having Salida as final destination

S = Single, M = Married, W = Widow (er); t = tons, n = nodes, p= passengers

	Ship CALIFORNIA * August 23,1899 from Naples (2.600 t., 9,5 n., ? p.) names of passengers from Lago	age	civil status	family in Salida welcoming them
	Aloe, Domenico Saverio	14	S	uncle Giuseppe Veltri
	De Luca, Nicolina	70	W	son Giuseppe Scanga
	Posterano, Luigi Salvatore	14	S	uncle Antonio Policicchio
	Spena, Pietro	34	M	cousin Giuseppe Spena
	Ship HESPERIA November 7,1899 from Naples (3050 t., 11 n., 760 p.)
	Barone, Pietro	23	S	brother Angelo Barone
	Cupelli, Francesco	23	S	brothers Raffaele and Luigi
	Molinaro, Giovanni	22	M	cousin Giuseppe De Luca
	Muto, Raffaela	26	M	husband Giuseppe De Luca
	Muto, Tommaso	26	M	brother-in-law Giuseppe De Luca
	Ship HOHENZOLLERN 20.06.1901 from Naples (6700 t., 16 n., 1200 p.)
1.	Groe, Pietro	43	M	?

	Ship  NECKAR April 27,1904 from Naples (9700 t., 14 n., 750 p.)
	De Grazia, Nicola	22	S	cousin Francesco De Grazia
	De Luca, Saverio Gaetano	28	M	brother Giuseppe De Luca
	Posteraro, Filomena	39	M	husband Gaetano Sacco
	Sacco, Francesco	10	S	father Gaetano Sacco
	Sacco, Giuseppe	12	S	father Gaetano Sacco

* The ship “California” was a very slow ship, it took 20 days to reach New York from Naples, Italy. On it, the widow Nicolina De Luca was the oldest Laghitan woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean: she emigrated in 1899 at age 70 to meet her son in Colorado. Once she reached New York, she took the train and travelled for another week to reach Salida! She symbolizes all those emigrants whose great determination, stamina and courage makes them overcame many obstacles.

	Ship “KÖNIG ALBERT“ June 15,1905 from Naples (10,500 t., 15.5 n., 2175 p..)
	Barone, Angelo	15	S	cousin Vincenzo Barone Runco
	Ciciarelli, Nicola	41	M	?
	Cupelli, Giuseppe	23	S	Godfather Saverio Muto
	Muto, Nicola	35	M	Godfather Saverio Muto
	Ship CITTA’ di GENOVA June 7,1906 from Naples (3900 t.,12 n.,1260 p.)
	Barano, Rosa	38	M	son Francesco
	De Pasquale, Angelo	3	S	son Francesco
	De Pasquale, Carmine	40	M	son Francesco
	De Pasquale, Letizia	13	S	brother Francesco
	De Pasquale, Mario	10	S	brother Francesco
	De Pasquale, Ventura	7	S	brother Francesco
	Ship CRETIC September 21, 1906 from Naples (13,000 t.,16 n., 1500 p.)
	Mazzotta, Angela	18	N	Salida (CO): father Saverio
	Mazzotta, Carmine	19	C	Salida (CO): father Saverio
	Ship REPUBLIC November 24,1907 from Naples (15400 t., 16 n., 2200 p )
	Cupelli Maria	35	M	husband Nicola Muto
	De Grazia Maria	35	M	husband Nicola Runco
	Muto Carmine	23	M	brother Vincenzo Muto
	Muto Francesco	5	S	son of Maria Cupelli
	Politano Saveria	27	M	husband Vincenzo Costa
	Runco Filippo	9	S	son of Maria De Grazia
	Runco Pietro	5	S	son of Maria De Grazia
	Ship MOLTKE June 3,1909 from Naples (12,300 t., 16 n., 2100 p.)
	Canonico, Angelo	27	M	father Pasquale
	Canonico, Emilio	15	S	father Pasquale
	Ship CLEVELAND April 21,1911 from Naples (16,900 t., 15 n., 2840 p)
	Palermo, Angelo	22	C	uncle Saverio ( was in Colorado 1905-08)
	Spena, Antonio	40	C	brother Pietro ( was in Colorado 1904-06)

	Ship TAORMINA August 22, 1911 from Naples (8,200 t., 16,5 n., 1430 p.)
	Calvano, Giuseppe (in Salida 1902-10)	37	M	brother Nicola
	Calvano, Orazio	13	C	brother Nicola
	Calvano, Raffaele	15	C	brother Nicola
	Coscarella, Elisabetta	55	W	son Nicola
	Ship MOLTKE August 18, 1913 da Napoli (12.300 t., 16 n., 2100 p.)
	Canonico, Angelo	32	M	cousin Emilio
	Cupelli, Ferdinando	18	S	uncle Nicola Muti
	De Grazia, Carmine	18	S	brother Raffaele
	Palermo, Raffaele	26	M	cousin Giuseppe Molinaro
	Scanga, Giuseppe	17	S	cousin Gaetano Fusco
	Ship AMERICA April 28, 1914 from Naples (8,900 t., 16 n., 2,650 p.)
	De Grazia, Giovanni	39	M	nephew Pietro Barone
	Falsetti, Francesco	25	M	brother-in-law Gaetano Cupelli
	Ship VERONA May 21, 1914 from Naples (8,200 t., 16 n., 2500 p.)
	Posteraro, Rachele	22	S	brother Ferdinando
	Posteraro, Clementina	28	M	brother Ferdinando
	Posteraro, Gaetano	37	M	brother Ferdinando
	Posteraro, Rosina	41	M	brother Ferdinando
	Ship TAORMINA 14.02.1920 from Naples (8,200 t., 16,5 n., 1430 p.)
	Bruni, Elvira	19	S	father Luigi Bruni (709 W. First Ave.)
	Calvano, Assunta	1	N	father Giuseppe Calvano
	Calvano, Carmine	10	S	father Giuseppe Calvano
	Calvano, Clementina	41	M	husband Giuseppe Calvano
	Calvano, Elisabetta	15	M	father Giuseppe Calvano
	Calvano, Gaetano	15	S	father Gaspare
	Coscarella, Bruni Maria	45	M	husband Luigi Bruni (417 W. First Ave.)
	De Luca, Francesco	26	S	brother Giuseppe (71 W. Front St.)
	Falsetti, Maria (709 W. Front St.)	23	M	uncle Nicola Muto
	Ship DUCA d’AOSTA December 22,1920 from Naples (8,000 t., 16 n., 1830 p.)
	Posteraro, Vincenza	42	M	brother Ferdinando
	Runco, Rosa	69	W	son Ferdinando

COMPARISON of SALIDA’S TOPOGRAPHY with that of LAGO
	Salida is a town in the State of Colorado (USA) with 5700 inhabitants, founded in 1880. It is located in a valley at 2000 meters above sea level, sculpted by a river (Arkansas), surrounded by 3 mountain chains ( “Sawatch” to the north-west, “Mosquito” to the north and “Sangre de Cristo” to the south) all over 3000 meters, and for these reasons the place was called “Salida” which in Spanish means “exit” Salida: aerial view 15 km. above sea level T M = Tenderfoot Mountain, A = Arkansas River, HA A= Harriet Alexander Airport, D = D & RGW Railroad, 50 = Route 50 Hwy
“Salida recalls Lago’s topography, a valley formed by a river, surrounded by mountains and forests”
	.Lago is a town in the Province of Cosenza in the Region of Calabria in Southern Italy. It has 3000 inhabitants, is located in a valley 485 meters above sea level, is surrounded by 4 mountains (Mount Cocuzzo 1541 m., Mount Verzi 1000 m., Mount Difesa 880 m., Mount S. Lucerna 1256 m.) and was sculpted by 2 rivers (Eliceto and Acero). Aerial view of LAGO: P = suburb of Pignanese, 278 = Highway 278 to Amantea, E = Eliceto River
Similarity of MOUNT VIRZI of Lago to MOUNT TENDERFOOT of Salida
Mount Virzi: Lago (Cosenza)
Tenderfoot Mountain: Salida (Colorado)

EVENTS in ITALY and in LAGO that encouraged EMIGRATION

POOR ECONOMIC and SANITARY CONDITIONS
During this period, the average life span for males was only 40 years and for females 34-35 years, infant mortality was very high ( 50% died before reaching 5 years of age), illiterate rate was 74% of the total population, many areas were infested with malaria and cholera, many suffered from hunger or malnutrition, and many had died from the influenza epidemic of 1918
HIGH TAXES also on bread
The Italian government was indebted (for example, to pay for the construction of the national rairoad) and attempted to find the necessary finances through heavy taxation. Taxes on personal property damaged businessmen and those on indispensable goods such as wheat, negatively affected the poor.
In 1915, 200 Laghitan citizens manifested against the high prices of bread, wine, oil, clothing and shoes and in 1919, Laghitan citizens looted stores and occupied City Hall as a violent form of protest against the high cost of living
The seriousness of the situation can be understood if we consider that at the time a worker in Lago earned only 10 lire per day and yet the cost in LIRE of 1 kilogram of the following products was: bread 1,6 – rice 2,3 – salty cheese 7 - goat meat 7 – dried cod 7 - pork 12 – coffee 22.
VERY SERIOUS AGRICULTURAL CRISIS in ITALY
A sharp drop of wheat prices was due to importation in Italy of American grain grown in virgin fertile lands and transported at very low cost with new steam boats.
POPULATION GROWTH
From 1881 until 1921 Lago’s population had increased by 50% (from 3631 inhabitants to 5400) and this worsened unemployment and poverty.
URBAN INDUSTRIALIZATION and ASSEMBLY LINE
Farmers became factory workers where assembly line productions did not require particular skills.
EARTHQUAKE
1905: many of Lago’s homes were badly damaged
TRANSPORT to NAPLES FACILITATED
1895: inauguration of the rail line from Naples to Reggio Calabria with local stop in Amantea (about 10 miles from Lago)
1910: inauguration of public transport from Lago to Amantea. The horse carriage was replaced by a motor coach bought with a donation from Luigi De Grazia, a Lago-citizen living in Price (Utah) USA (his uncle Nicola De Grazia had migrated to Salida in 1904)
WORLD WAR I
Many men emigrated to help the family since their older brothers or fathers were busy fighting and were no longer supporting the family. Others left to avoid being drafted by the Italian Army to fight in World War I.

REASONS WHY they EMIGRATED to COLORADO

Between 1885 and 1920, 70 % of the Italian population was employed in agriculture. Why is it then that 90% of our countrymen settled in large American cities such as New York, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles? Why did they accept to live in urban slums instead searching for lands to cultivate? One of the reasons why this occurred was that when Italians arrived, colonizzation of the American frontier had almost finished, many farm lands belonged to railroads and those that remained were less fertile, more peripherally located and were expensive to buy. Another reason was that our countrymen did not possess the capital needed to set up a farm (the little money they had was spent for the trip and each arrived in USA with only $20 to $70 in their wallet).

Besides, true large-scale settlement of rural lands could have been possibile only through the financial and political support of the Italian government. Another factor to consider was that many who embarked for America did so as “passing birds” wishing to remain overseas for only a short period. They desired to save some money, return to Italy to buy a house and farm land and be financially secure. Upon arrival in USA, they considered themselves “temporary” settlers although many actually remained there permanently. They also knew that the racism against Italians, their language and cultural difficulties could be better overcome in cities where large groups of Italians already had organized themselves in cultural associations for mutual help. In cities, while the various “Little Italy” neighborhoods offered protection and support, and gave them the feeling of being at home, they also inhibited Italians to become Americanized, isolating them in ghettoes that protected and preserved their ethnic and linguistic values.

Those who choose to settle semi-unexplored lands where their participation in early land development and building was required, must have had a strong determination, enabling them to overcome many obstacles and risks and a willingness to live in the wilderness. This was the case of Domenico Posteraro and Giuseppe De Luca who arrived when Salida had just been declared a town.

However, Laghitans were also influenced by advertisement which promised easy earnings, free lands, mines rich with gold, silver and lead and many job as railroad workers. It was a place where a hard-working, honest individual could be more appreciated than in the unhealthy overcrowded slums and sweat factories of the big cities of the North Atlantic Coast.

As soon as they disembarked in New York, our “paisans” saw publicity signs which invited them to take a free train to the Western States and meet brokers sent by owners of mines and railroads such as those of Colorado. The famous slogans of a few decades before still echoed in the minds of immigrants: Go West Young Man!”, “Pike’s Peak or Burst” or “Gold Rush” and they imagined the long caravans of pioneers leaving the East to go West. It was the rush to the mythical Western Frontier, the moving boundary that transformed Europeans into Americans. Many settled uninhabited and uncultivated lands through Lincoln’s Homestead Act which granted lands for a small fee. These lots were found to be very fertile and farmers utilized agricultural machinery such as McCormick’s thresher, a machine almost unkown in Europe.

When the first Laghitans arrived, steamboats started at New Orleans and sailed up the Mississippi River where commercial trades developed along that entire important route. In 1869 the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads inaugurated the first important railway line crossing the USA from east to west. After a few years, the Northern Pacific crossed the Northern States and Southern Pacific crossed the Southern ones. By 1909 the entire American territory was intercrossed by a closely knit railway network 240,000 miles long. Our townsmen found jobs in railroads and worked very hard in extremely inhospitable regions.

They were also employed as miners, a well-paid but an extremely dangerous job where they were treated as slaves, forced to accept the violence of foremen. The owners disregarded safety conditions and many workers became victims of disabling or mortal accidents.

HOW FARMERS LIVED in LAGO

In Lago, farmers survived by working as farm hands , working very hard from early morning until late at night, seven days a week.

Instead, in Salida, farmers took advantage of the “Homestead Act” whereby a 21-year-old male who was head of a family, could occupy 160 Acres of land if he made the commitment to cultivate and settle it for at least 5 years and promise to become a citizen of the USA. What a difference compared to Lago where the land owners were always the same noblemen!

Homesteaders had a chance to grow as humans, as citizens and as Christians, and thus by staying away from big cities; they were less exposed to poverty, diseases, segregation, exploitation and violence.

To become successful farmers they had everything they needed: being fully committed and motivated, the Arkansas River that guaranteed enough water to irrigate their fields and plenty of sunshine 330 days a year with an average temperature of 75 °F in July and 40°F in January.

Some Laghitans, besides being active as farmers, were involved in ranching (livestock breeders) as in the case of Domenico Posteraro and Giuseppe De Luca.

HOMESTEAD ACT of 1862

SECTION ONE
“Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States in Congress assembled. That any person who is the head of a family, or who has arrived at the age of twenty-one years, and is a citizen of the United States, or who shall have filed his declaration of intention to become such, as required by the naturalization laws of the United States, and who has never borne arms against the United States government or given aid and comfort to its enemies, shall, from and after the first January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, be entitled to enter one quarter sections or a less quantity of unappropriated public lands.”

SECTION TWO
“And be it further enacted That the person applying for the benefit of this act shall, upon application to the register of the Land office in which he or she is about to make such entry, make affidavit before the said register or receiver that he or she is the head of a family, or is twenty-one or more of age, or shall have performed service in the army or navy of the United States . . . and that such application is made for his or her exclusive use and benefit, and that said entry is made for the purpose of actual settlement and cultivation, and not either directly or indirectly for the use or benefit of any other person or persons whomsoever; and upon filing the said affidavit with the register or receiver, and on payment of ten dollars, he or she shall... be permitted to enter the quantity of land specified: Provided, however, That no certificate shall be given or patent issued therefore until the expiration of five years from the date of such entry; and if, at the expiration of such time, or at any time within two years thereafter, the person making such entry; or if he be dead, his widow, or in case of her death, his heirs or devisee... shall prove by two credible witnesses that he, she, or they have resided upon or cultivated the same for the term of five years immediately succeeding the time of filing the affidavit aforesaid... shall be entitled to a patent.”

The Homestead Act whereby the “head of a family” could freely acquire a 160-acre farm “for the purpose of actual settlement and cultivation” did not always work out as planned since an immense amount of fraud enabled speculators, instead of actual settlers, to occupy the land. The requirement that candidate owners settle and cultivate the land was met by laying down a few logs and by scattering a few grains of corn. At times the “head of a family” was someone who had temporarily adopted his neighbors’ children. Finally, in Salida, the most desirable land, near railroad lines, was usually controlled by the “D & RGW” railroad which sold it after 5 years without charging high prices because they wanted settlers to cultivate the land, and thus large settlements of people who had to use the railway to transport their produce to city markets were created.

FARMING in SALIDA

Farmers of Lago used to work very hard for long hours because they did not utilize any machines to plow the land and harvest the crops. The soil was turned over and broken up with a plow drawn by a bull. Wheat was harvested by using a sickle. Farming tools and produce were transported on a donkey or mule. Things began to change when they arrived in Salida and began using the tractor for plowing and threshing machines for harvesting. They also utilized fertilizers and pesticides to increase crop yields.

ANIMALS, VEGETATION and MINERAL RESOURCES: a comparison

in LAGO
ANIMALS:	cattle, pigs, ovine, poultry, donkeys, mules, boars, wolves, foxes
VEGETATION:	oak, pine, poplar, mulberry, chestnut, walnut, beech, fig, citrus fruit, olive, cherry, apple, pear, apricot, plum. Wheat, corn, barley, grapes, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, zucchini, onion, garlic, melons, mushrooms, carrots, peas, fava beans, celery, fennel
in SALIDA
ANIMALS:	cattle, pigs, ovine, poultry, horses, mules, donkeys, bison, buffalos, coyotes, rattlesnakes, bears, elks, squirrels, beavers
VEGETATION:	oak, pine, beech, poplar, cactus, cherry, pear, apple, plum wheat, corn, barley, sugarbeet, tomatoes, potatoes, melons, carrots, celery, fennel, beans, peas
RESOURCES:	petroleum, carbon, natural gas, silver, gold, vanadium, lead, iron, tungsten, molybdenum, zinc, uranium.

In a letter in Laghitan dialect written in 1913 to his relatives, R. P. a Laghitan farmer who had immigrated to the USA compares his life in Lago as a farmer hand and in Salida as a land owner:

“…‘Me ricuardu quand’eru allu paise,.. e sordi un d’aviamu propriu ‘e nente. Hiniamu ‘e lavurare quandu era scuru ed eramu stanchi muarti. Durmiamu intru ‘u pagliaru e i patruni un ne hacianu hare nu passu avanti. …’A carne na mangiavamu suvu quandu muriadi ‘nqua bestia, sinnò sempre patate, cucuzzialli, cipulle e milingiane. Nu paru ‘e scarpe e nu vestitu u nu putiamu cumprare... Cca a Salida se lavuradi troppu pecchì stu terrenu ‘Homestead’ è grande. Lavuramu assai ma sempre menu du paise ‘nduve ne cunzumavamu ‘e lavuru ‘ppe nente. Armenu cca, dopu sie anni ‘e lavuru, simu proprietari de due bialli campi. M’iadi arrivatu ‘u Homested Deed o certificatu de proprietà propriu ieri. Avimu cumpratu ‘a simenza, ‘u hertilizzante, ‘u pesticida, e certe machine ppé simminare e ‘ppe ricogliere ‘u granu normale e chillu turcu. Aje ‘e lavorare senza m’abbentare ppe fare cchiù priastu a me pagare i debbiti alle banche, e s’un pagu, se piglianu tuttu, puru u terrenu.. Ca simu supra na chianura avuta chi se chiamadi ‘Gret Pleins’ e c’iadi u jume ‘Archansa’ chi passadi vicinu ‘ndo nui e chi ne servadi ppe dare acqua allu terrenu. C’iadi sempre sule ma un sudamu ‘ppecchì u tiampu iadi asciuttu. C’iadi puru a hermata du trenu D & RGW ‘ppe jire allu mercatu ‘e Denver a vindare u granu, u granu turcu, i vui e li vitialli. A duminica jamu alla missa alla Ghìasi ‘e San Giuseppe puru ‘ppe ne ‘ncuntrare ‘ccu tante hamiglie vachitane migrati ‘cca (Posteraru, Saccu, Mutu, De Luca, De Grazia, Cupialli, Ciciarialli e Runcu). Ieri su scisi certi indiani Ute da muntagna, su bbenuti ‘ndu nui ‘ppe ne dare cuariu e pelliccie allu postu du vinu, de sazizze e de suppressate vruscenti nostre ad usu vachitanu…”

Translation: “… I remember when I was in Lago…we had no money. We finished working when it was dark and when we were dead tired. Our land owners did not allow us to improve, we slept in a straw hut…we ate a piece of meat only when a working animal died, otherwise we always had potatoes, zucchini, onions and eggplants. We couldn’t afford a pair of shoes or a suit… Here in Salida the vastness of the ‘Homestead’ plot forces us to work very long hours. We work hard but not as much as in Lago where we got no results. Al least here, after 6 years, we became owners of of two large plots of land. I just received the Homestead Certificate of Property yesterday. We bought seeds, fertilizers and pesticides and certain machines to harvest wheat and corn. We work without breaks because we want to get rid of our bank debts as soon as possible. If not, the bank might take everything away from us, even our land…We live in a high plateau called the Great Plains, a place where the Arkansas River flows near us, supplying irrigation for the farm fields. Although the sun is always shining, we don’t sweat because it’s not humid. We also have a rail station of the ‘D & RGW’ Railroad. We use it to reach the Denver market where we sell our wheat, corn and calves. On Sundays we go to Mass at St. Joseph’s, there we meet many Laghitan families such as the Posteraro, Sacco, Muto, De Luca, De Grazia, Cupelli, Ciciarelli and Runco. Yesterday a couple of Ute Indians came down from the mountain to trade their leather goods for our food items such as our Laghitan-style wine, hot salami and sausages…” Nick

On page 50 of the book “Old Calabria” written in 1915 by Norman Douglas, one reads:
“…Previous to this wholesale emigration, things had come to such a pass that the landed proprietor could procure a labourer at a franc a day, out of which he had to feed and clothe himself; it was little short of slavery. The roles are now reversed, and while landlords are impoverished, the rich emigrant buys up the farms or makes his own terms for work to be done, wages being trebled…”

OTHER JOBS LAGHITANS HELD in Salida

The fist Laghitan settlers worked as:

• MINERS in lead and silver mines (At Leadville, the “Climax Molybdenum Mine” opened up in 1917 and had about 3400 workers who received high salaries. Molybdenum is a mineral used to harden steel.)
• LEAD SMELTERS (“Ohio & Colorado Smelter”) active from 1902 until 1922.
• RAILROAD WORKERS at the “D & RGW” Railroad

The “Ohio & Colorado Smelter”where lead was melted in Salida from 1902 until 1922. Their chimneys were 350 feet tall and represent a monument to all those workers who risked their lives by exposing themselves to the poisonous fumes of molten lead.

Railway workers at the “Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad” or “D & RGW Railroad” in 1907

The D & RGW Railroad linked Denver with Leadville, Buena Vista, Poncha Springs and Salida up to the Rio Grande River, south-west of the lead mines within the mountains surrounding Salida.
Salida’s train station was an important switching and exchange rail terminal with a roundhouse packed with locomotives. Trains with cars of narrow gauge (3 feet wide) filled with mineral ores arrived at the station and were hand shovelled to regular gauge trains (over 4 ? ft wide) that left for smelters in other cities. Only these smaller trains could overcome the sharp turns and steep hills to reach Salida from the nearby mountain mines. At the time, Salida had only 1500 inhabitants but 2000 people coming from nearby towns were working for the railroad. Many Laghitans also found jobs at D & RGW, for example, Domenico and Saverio Posteraro, Raffaele, Ferdinando and Ralph Cupelli, Nicola, Saverio and Francesco Ciciarelli. They loaded and unloaded goods, built arches, supported bridges, dug tunnels, upkept and fixed rails, stabilized mountain rocks to avoid rock slides and shovelled snow that blocked the trains after a storm.

HOW LAGHITANS contributed to making SALIDA a “Dream Town”

The above described occupations which contributed to making Salida become one of the most attractive cities in the USA (a “Dream Town”). It’s a small city of only 5700 people and yet it offers a vast number of services:

• Seat of Chaffee County (prior to 1928 it was Buena Vista)
• “D & RG Hospital” found in 1899 for railroad workers, reorganized in 1989 as the “Heart of the Rockies Regional
• Medical Center” con 49 beds
• a local newspaper (“The Mountain Mail”) found in 1880
• the “Salida Regional Library” founded in 1894
• the “Salida Museum” on 406 Highway 50 West,
• the “Chaffee County Courthouse” founded in 1932
• an Elementary, Junior High and High School at 9th Street
• the “Harriet Alexander Airport”
• an important railway terminal (“Salida Railway Station”)
• “St. Joseph’s Catholic Church”
• “The Salida Hot Springs Swimming Pool” in the Centennial Park built in 1938
• the “Salida Golf Clubhouse” founded in 1926
• Palace Hotel founded in 1910 by Delacey Ramsey and run by his son Ambrose Delacey until 1970
• the “F Street Bridge” built in 1907
• four parks (“Riverside, Alpine, Centennial and Marvin Parks”)
• the office of the “Heart of the Rockies Chamber of Commerce”
• the “FIB Ark” started in 1949 as an international kayak competition on the Arkansas River (from Salida to Canon City)

Photo: Street Map of Salida. On “F Street” many red-brick buildings represent one of the town’s main attraction.

CULTURAL DIFFERENCES and PREJUDICE

In Salida one finds the Colorado Lodge 1309 “Cristoforo Colombo” of the “Order Sons of Italy in America” (OSIA) web site: www.osia.org. The OSIA protected Italian-Americans against racial discrimination. In the last century, Salida’s newspapers unjustly called for “justice” against Italian “thieving dagos who used to hang around” the D & RGW” railroad disregarding the fact that our immigrants contributed to building it. In Colorado, the racist group “Ku Klux Klan” terrorized Catholics, Blacks, Jews and immigrants. At night, white hooded Klansmen used to burn crosses on the lawns of Italian immigrants. Italians were seen as “not quite White” and were not permitted to enter Salida’s swimming pool, a structure that they themselves had helped to build.

In the early days, Laghitans and Mexicans of Salida were segregated at “West Sackett Street” while most of our people formed a “Little Lago” neighborhood from West 1st to West 3rd Street. Since they did not feel welcomed, they decided to join the OSIA. Endowed with patience and a great spirit of survival, they overcame these obstacles by marrying women from Lago, holding on to their traditional values and slowly adapting to in the New World.

Foto: OSIA Meeting at Salida in 1921

In contraposition to the “Knights of Labor”, a union established in 1869 to defend miners and transportation workers, the “American Federation of Labor” or “AFL” led by Samuel Gompers (1850-1924) and established in 1886, aimed to defend skilled workers and thus limited itself to the interests a selected few. The AFL considered the illiterate Italian workers as competitors responsible for lowering salaries and breaking strikes. The Federation was instrumental in every restrictive immigration law passed by the U.S. Congress from 1882-85 until 1921-24 to limit the coming of immigrants from the Mediterranean countries and from Eastern Europe. Thus, in America, our countrymen found a hostile environment and became victims of ostracism originating from strong racism that classified Italians as “unwanted people”. There existed a xenophobic form of hostility often supported by defenders of the WASP stereotype (“White Anglo-Saxon Protestant”) that led to cruel and atrocious criminal actions by the Ku Klux Klan or to linchings of Italians in New Orleans (Louisiana), Tallulah (Florida) and Wasenburg (Colorado) as forms ”justice by the mob” without a trial.

Monsignor Giovanni Battista Scalabrini, Bishop of Piacenza (Italy) wrote at the end of the XIX Century: “..the English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese emigrants, upon leaving their countries and crossing the seas, know that they will find a port, an island or a Continent where they shall be protected and judged by the laws of his native country, where they speak their same language, where the flag waving is the same they defended in battle, where on the altar they worship the same religion…Unfortunately, our countrymen do not have all these advantages….”

ST. JOSEPH’S CHURCH

In 1885 Rev. P. J. Gleason became Salida’s first Catholic Pastor who celebrated Holy Mass in the “Old Central School”. In 1909, “St. Joseph’s Catholic Church” was built between 5th Street and D Street. Next to it, from 1930 until 1990, “St. Joseph’s Parish School” was active and directed by Benedectine Nuns. Many Laghitants attended this Church, sent their children to the parish school and were devoted to St. Joseph and to the Blessed Mother, continuing the devotion they felt in Lago at the “Chiesa di San Giuseppe” and that of the “Madonna delle Grazie di Laghitello” although no traditional processions were held in Salida..

By the year 1900, Salida had 56 Catholic families of whom at least half came from Lago.

Foto: St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Salida.

ORAL INTERVIEWS of DESCENDANTS of Laghitan Pioneers of Salida

Arthur Posteraro (born in Salida in 1923) phone conversation of November 14th and 20th 2006 Domenico Posteraro (1859-1951), Arthur’s grandfather, emigrated from Lago in 1885 together with his brother Saverio or “Sam” (1856-1938) and settled in Pueblo (Colorado). They started working as railoaders for “D & RGW” and applied to become “Homesteaders” in Salida. In the same year Domenico returned to Lago to marry Domenica “Mamie” Rose” De Luca (born in 1865 in Lago- died in 1950 in Salida, she was Giuseppe De Luca’s sister). Right after their wedding, he was called to serve as a soldier in Italy’s “Ethiopian War”. His son Bernardino or “Benjamin” (1886-1979) and daughter Mary (born in 1887) were born in Lago. After the war, in 1887, the entire family left for Salida and upon arrival, they asked the Stancati brothers to build their first home. Foto: Domenica “Mamie” Rose De Luca and Domenico Posteraro in Salida in 1940 approx. (Arthur Post Photo)

Seven (7) more children were born in Salida: Louis (only child: Robert), Carolina (children: Joe and Carmela), Giovanni (children: Manie, Wallace and Dorothy), Letizia (children: Adelina, Lloyd and Betty), Fiorina (children: Frank, Donald and Norman), Raffaele (children: Edward and Harold), Ersilia (only child: Eleonora) and Saverio (children: Bill and Dan). Photo: Bernardino Posteraro’s Family in approx. 1950. Seated, from left to right: Arthur Posteraro, Bernardino Posteraro and wife Nicolina Scanga. Standing, behind: Dominick, Eileen and Ernie Posteraro (Arthur Post Photo) Bernardino Posteraro (1886-1979) Domenico’s son had 3 children: Dominick (1919-1974), Arthur (b.1923), Ernie, Eileen and Gene (b.1928)

After Domenico became an American citizen, he sponsored the arrival of many other families from Lago, offering them jobs on his property and ranches. Some of these families were: Groe (name was changed to “Groy”), Aloe (name was changed to “Alloy”), Scanga, Muto, De Luca, and Spina.

In 1913 he went to Lago together with his wife and son Bernardino, to visit his parents and in-laws (Giuseppina Scanga and Giovannina Posteraro). They returned to USA on July 2nd 1913 with the “Olympic”, sister ship of the Titanic, that had left Southampton in England.

He became quite rich because he invested in real estate and land and many buildings of “Downtown Salida” (he lived on “Poncha Blvd”) which increased in value as Salida’s importance grew .

He was so well-known that two Ute* Indian Chiefs (Shavano and Ouray –photo-) came to trade their leather goods for Domenico’s food.

Since there was some discrimination against Italians and because Americans had a hard time writing and pronouncing his last name, “Posteraro” was officially changed to “Post”.

Because the Posteraro’s were very devoted to St. Francis of Paola and Our Lady of Grace, they went to Church often (Mamie went to Mass every morning) and all her children and grandchildren attended St. Joseph’s Parish School.

*Before settlers occupied Colorado, almost the entire territory was inhabited by Ute Indians.
In 1879, with the excuse that some Indians had killed 11 Whites, Ute Indians were permanently expelled from their lands and forced to live in two Indian reservations of Colorado. Salida honors two Ute Indian chiefs by using their last names to call two of its main roads (“Shavano Avenue” and “Ouray Avenue”) in the “Downtown” area.

Original handwritten Birth Certificate of Bernardino Posteraro at the Registrar Municipal Office of Lago

It reads as follows: “In 1887, June 20th, at 5.08 PM came before me Giovanni Coscarelli at the Municipal Office since the Mayor and the Registrar of Lago were detained elsewhere, DOMENICO POSTERARO, age 27, farm hand, living in Lago, who declared that at 4.07 AM of June 20th, at the home located at the Manieri suburb, DOMENICA ROSA DE LUCA, his wife, farmer, age 22, gave birth to a male child that he showed me and named him BERNARDINO.”

Interview of Robert Post by Beth Smith (Salida Library) on Februry 6th, 2004

“…Ah, I’ll go back to the beginning when my Grandfather Dominik Posteraro and his brother Saverio “Sam” Posteraro came from Italy. The only way you’d come from a foreign country to America, many, many years ago, was if you had a sponsor and a job. And their older brother was a carpenter, building contractor in Pennsylvania. And he brought them over here. And they worked for him for a short period of time. And then they decided because they heard so much about the West developing, they got themselves a couple of saddle horses and started riding West. And they rode all the way across until they ended up in Pueblo, Colorado. And they got a job with the Rio Grand Railroad. The Rio Grand was at that time building the road from Canon City, the railroad up through the canyon. And they worked on that for quite some time. But then, one day they decided to take a little time off, they got on the horses and rode up the canyon and they came out into this valley. My Grandfather always told me about, “you won’t believe it how the city of Salida was, the pine trees were so thick where this town is today, you couldn’t walk through ‘em” Well him and his brother rode West further, and they got up there about 7 miles West of Salida and it opened up and there was real nice meadows and fields up there. So this is where they decided they wanted to take advantage of the Homestead Law that had just come into effect. And they applied for homesteads. So my Grandfather applied for a homestead in that area and his brother, Sam, down on the river, on the Arkansas River. And ah, so they got their homesteads approved and they had to build a small cabin to live in to get them approved. They had to have a living facility. And they got those done. After my Grandfather got everything going well, and things were working well for him, he was going back to Italy to marry the girl that he had met and wanted to marry. And her name was Mamie De Luca. And ah, so he went back and his brother stayed here to take care of the places. And he got back to Italy and got married and just a few days after they got married he was called into the Italian Army, he was drafted into the Army. And he went in into the Cavalleria which was the cavalry at that time and sent to North Africa. He spent nearly a year in North Africa, that war they had, the Italian war with North Africa. So then when he returned back to Italy, he ah came back to the States. He brought his, his wife with him. They had a one little daughter who was just a baby, which was my Dad’s oldest sister, Mary. Her name Mary is Mary Feloso. She married a fellow named Louie Feloso here in Salida. And ah they came back here and then he had to start establishing a place to live, and he built a little cabin they lived in. Then in the meantime, my Grandfather decided, because his family was growing, that he would build a big ranch home there on the home place. And they ah got the Stancati brothers at the time who were building contractors and brick masons to build this big home so he could raise his family in it. And ah course that was the home originally. That was where my Dad was born too, in that same area. So then all the k…., all of Grandpa’s children were, were born in that house. The whole family, all but Aunt Mary, who was born in Italy. They had eleven children and ah then, I was born in that same house . And ah then my Dad, after a short period of time, my Mother and my Dad lived in a little cabin behind the main home there. And then my Grandfather assigned these ranches, these different pieces of land to his sons. And the ranch he gave his son, my Dad, ah he decided to build a home on it…in the carpenter business. So he went out with a couple other fellows and they built a home for my Dad and my Mother. And we moved in there when I was just a little kid, into that home. And I grew up in that house. I lived there for 31 years ‘til they sold the ranch.

Oh yeah, oh well. Well, originally you probably wouldn’t believe this about Salida. But, and I’m just a kid….

The Railroad was a big industry in Salida… You go downtown Salida, you could not go down “F”, or main street, which was a very small street at the time. There were very few businesses on that street. And ah you go down that street and the railroaders coming off of shifts were so thick you couldn’t have driven a car down there, just masses of men walking up the street. A little over 2,000 men worked down there in the shops and on the rib track. And this was the center for the Rio Grand railroad at one time. That’s why the hospital was here, the Rio Grand Hospital….

…. the only way anyone could come to this country you had to have a sponsor and a job. So the Groe family, which is quite familiar in this town, my grandfather brought the old man Groe, old John Groe here and he worked for my grandfather and my grandfather helped him acquire a piece of land up by Maysville. And ah, got him going. And then the Scanga’s; which his sister was married to a Scanga. He brought them over and helped them get established down there on this ranch, which is Scanga Ranch, still part of it. And ah got them going and got them started. And the De Luca’s; which old Joe De Luca, which was my grandmother’s father. He brought them over and got them started in the ranching and farming business. And this is what he did for a lot of people in those days.

He brought an awful lot of ‘em over here. Ah, the Muto family, he brought them here too. The Spinas, the Mutos, huh, the …so he brought ‘em over he helped them acquire a piece of land. Each one of ‘em had a ranch. And he helped them acquire these pieces of land which were very inexpensive, but he had a source of where they could get the money to finance it. And so he did all these for all these people, which ah was a tremendous thing in those days, to help all those people.

The city of Salida, to watch it grow, I think back and it was unbelievable. Up here where we live on Shavano Ave. We used to come down to my grandfather’s house and my mother used to do her laundry down there, because we didn’t have any running water on the ranch. We’d come down here to do the laundry once in awhile. And me and my cousin Louie Barbiero, we’d ah go rabbit hunting up here. There wasn’t anything on this mesa, not a thing but the old Barkett house at that time over here. And we used to hunt rabbits up here. And then I remember ah it started to develop some. A few houses started to be built. And then ah, they built the golf course. The golf course in 1935. That took a big chunk of the land. It just started to develop along with that. As far as Poncha Blvd., there was not one thing on Poncha Blvd…

I didn’t tell you how the name Posteraro was changed to Post.

Well, my grandfather and his brother, the old country way of doing things where your oldest son would be named after your father. And it just got to be, well, they were all, they just kept getting bigger and bigger. And each generation as they had another son, the oldest son would be named after the grandfather. So John Voyle was his name, he was an attorney, and he called, he was my grandfather’s attorney, and he called him one day and said I have to talk to you. And he said we’ve got a mess, on especially on land and all the holdings. He said, just can’t keep ‘em straight there at the Court House. They can’t keep ‘em straight in the Buena Vista Court House. He said do you mind if I changed your, all your holdings to POST? You still can keep your name of Posteraro, you don’t have to give that up, but your land holdings, change it to Post. So they agreed. They went to all this trouble of changing all his holdings into Post. His brother Sam said “I like that name, I’ll change mine too”. So they didn’t gain any ground by that. And that’s ah how the name Post came by. So then, 'cause it was a lot simpler than Posteraro, all the kids, they all started changing their names and becoming Post.

… my grandfather had the first car in the family. My grandfather had a Hudson. And then ah when the Argys Brothers opened their garage down here on E. First St., ah my Dad bought a Nash, it was a coup at that time, about a 19…probably ‘35 or something like that. And my Uncle Ralph, he bought one too, same time. And had that for a few years, then he, Ford’s got real popular, the Model A’s that came out. And he bought a Model A, ah Sedan, which was a lot nicer, it carried more people in it. And ah had that for several years. And then ah, then the Plymouth, I think the Plymouth came out. He bought a Plymouth and he had that for several years. …..

My Grandfather owned a lot of real estate downtown. You know the building where the Greenburgs furniture’s at? He owned all that building. And up there where Dr. Lund's office, he owned that whole corner there, clear down to, clear to the bank building. He owned all that back in there. And where Safeway store’s at, he had, there was a big ah, at that time, a big packing plant there, where they used to pack lettuce and stuff and ship it out. And ah he owned that, and rented it out to,. But ah, then the buildings across from the theater, him and his brother owned all those buildings right across from the old Salida theater, on that street. He owned a lot of the old ones around here. Along with the Groe family. The Groe family that he brought over here, they’d start building all of F Street…

… My grandfather became a very close and good friend of Chief Shavano and Chief Ouray. They used to come into the ranch and they would trade him ah leather goods that they made and blankets for food to eat for their, for their immediate families. And ah, then he ah, he helped the ah, ah they used to come through here. Their Indian tribe would go over into the South Park and then they would move across into the Gunnison, or into the ah San Louis Valley. This, this across here, this is the Ute trail, that’s why that call it the Ute Indian Trail. And ah they became great friends of his. And at one time, ah my Grandfather had a picture, and just, I think it would be worth a fortune today, of Chief Shavano and Chief Ouray and him standing with their arms around each other. A wonderful picture.

David De Luca
(phone conversation of October 15, 2006):

Giuseppe De Luca was born in 1868 in Lago in the suburb of Margi. He arrived in New York around 1888, headed for Salida (Colorado) where he was met by his sister Domenica who had married Domenico Posteraro. In 1895 he went to Lago to marry Raffaela Muto* and in 1899 she emigrated to Salida together with her brother Giuseppe Muto. In 1904 Giuseppe’s brother Saverio Gaetano De Luca (born in Lago in 1875) joined them and in 1920 by his brother Francesco (born in Lago in 1878) both of whom remained in Salida until 1923 when they decided to return to Lago where they bought some farml and in Mariciallu of Terrati (Saverio was the grandfather of Reverend Anthony De Luca, Pastor in Monroeville, Pennsylvania).

As the head of a family, Giuseppe decided to become a “Homesteader” and slowly converted the farm fields into ranches with plenty of livestock. He bought other fields so that every son or daughter inherited a ranch from him. He died in Salida in 1937 and after four generations, his descendants still live there. Most of them married individuals who had directly or indirectly originated from Lago, such as the Veltri, Muto, Cupelli and Posteraro.

Photo: Giuseppe De Luca in 1930 (Joe De Luca Photo)

Marriage Banns Publication of June 23rd 1895 (photo shows original publication in Lago’s Municipal Registrar Office)

”… Gabriele Muti, Municipal Registrar of Lago... came before me, Giuseppe De Luca age 28, farmer, resident of Lago, son of Nicola, farmer, age 73, and son of Chiara Abate, housewife, resident in Lago, and Raffaela Muto age 23, resident in Lago, daughter of Gabriele, farmer, age 58, resident of Lago and of Maria Cupelli, housewife, resident in Lago…the witnesses …Raffaele Scaramelli age 24, land owner, and Raffaele Spina age 38, businessman…. Marriage took place on July 8th 1895, signed by Gabriele Muti.”

Giuseppe DE LUCA had 6 children:

• Henry who had 3 children: Joseph F., Henrietta (obtained a degree at the University of Colorado), e Mary (pharmacist who lives in Lakewood CO)
• Gregory who had 1 son (Jack)
• Francis who had 3 children (David, Richard and James)
• Dominic who had 1 son (Nick)
• Carolina o “Kerry” who had 2 children (Ralph and Theresa)
• Amadeo died young

Giuseppe and Saverio De Luca (photo) were the sons of Nicola De Luca (born 1836) and of Chiara Maria Abate (b. 1840) who had married in Lago in 1863. Saverio married Maria De Simone (1875-1958); she always remained in Lago. Their first son was Nicola De Luca (1898-1975), father of Reverend Antonio De Luca (b.1928) who lives in Monroeville (PA).

Pietro Veltri (1852-1948) son of Benedetto and Carmina Runco, married in 1885 Patrizia Scanga (1865-1943) the adopted daughter of Giuseppe and of Rosa Runco, and had 5 children: Carmina 1890, Benedetto 1896, Luigi 1897, Rose 1903 and Maria 1906. Pietro had previously gone to Algeria where he learned the railroad construction business. In 1890 he emigrated to Pittsburgh PA, moved to Crested Butte (Colorado) working in mines and for the railroad, and went to Shavano (Colorado) to be a miner. In 1896 his wife and daugher Carmina arrived. They moved to Poncha Springs (Colorado) and finally to Salida in 1897 where they bought a ranch.

Pietro Veltri nel 1925 ca.	Patrizia Scanga nel 1930 ca.

BIOGRAPHY of GIUSEPPE DE LUCA

Tales of an Italian immigrant (Giuseppe DeLuca) and his family history from Lago to Colorado U.S.A. by Joseph H. De Luca (January 7th, 2007)

“Giuseppe De Luca was born in Lago, Italy on June 10th, 1868 to Nicola De Luca and his wife Chiara Abate De Luca.  Little is known of his life as a child in his homeland except that his family were farmers, but as other Italians in the southern part of Italy during that period of time, Giuseppe made the decision that life in America offered better opportunities. During the time that Giuseppe decided to immigrate to America, the economy of southern Italy was poor and several natural disasters had provided additional stress to an over populated region. Little is known about the timing and details of Giuseppe’s trip to America other than passed-down verbal history.  The following are the verbal stories that have been passed through various generations (we believe his original passport is stored somewhere and we are searching for it).

From Italy to America

Giuseppe did not land in New York at Ellis Island as many immigrants did, but rather entered the United States at Philadelphia. 

Philadelphia to Colorado

We do know from verbal stories that Giuseppe worked in the stockyards in Chicago and Kansas City before finally making it to Chaffee County Colorado where his older sister Domenica Rosa lived.

Ranching & Farming in Colorado

Joseph Frank De Luca, the grandson of Giuseppe, remembers his grandfather and father telling the story that Giuseppe was sponsored to America by his godfather and that he received twelve silver dollars which he saved rather than spend them to get to Colorado. 

Giuseppe had an older sister Domenica Rosa De Luca and who had married a one of the earliest Italian immigrants to the Chaffee County, Domenico Posteraro.

Giuseppe purchased his first ranch by borrowing money from the Sandusky Bank; he was able to convince the banker that he could pay back the loan with his hard work and good business skills.  His first ranch was in an area called Adobe Park and was not near the ranches and farms of other Italians. Adobe Park is between the City of Salida and the small town of Poncha Springs.  The weather must have been in a wet cycle, the fields were so wet in Adobe Park that it was almost impossible to bring in the crops and the neighbors were not friendly to Italians.  Giuseppe sold the ranch and moved to an area west of Poncha Springs that would become the center of the family holdings.  This area was populated with fellow Italians and relatives.  Italians such as Naccarato, Posteraro, Scanga, Porco and Lionelle all owned and operated ranches.

In 1895, Giuseppe returned to Italy to get married with Raffaela Muto born in June 13, 1873 in Lago.  Although he was already a naturalized U.S.A. citizen, he was drafted into the Italian army and sent to Ethiopia for three years, according to stories he told his family.  He said that in Ethiopia the water was undrinkable and all they had to drink was whisky.  Upon returning to Italy, he took his wife Raffaela to America and continued an interesting and successful life as a farmer, rancher and father.  The date he returned to America was approximately 1898.

Most of Colorado is a high mountain desert. The valley that Giuseppe settled in is at an elevation of 7000 to 8200 feet.  The Arkansas River runs through the valley and its headwaters are in Leadville (Colorado)–photo- approximately 60 miles upstream from Chaffee County. The valley is surrounded by mountains and the only way into or out of it is either over mountain passes or down the river through a steep canyon (photo: Royal Gorge of the Arkansas River with a narrow wagon train visible).  It has deer, elk, bear, antelope, trout, mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes and even wolves at that time.  There may have even been a few buffalos left at the time.  Crops had to be irrigated by ditches which captured the snowmelt from mountain streams.  Giuseppe helped to build many miles of ditches and helped to construct a mountain reservoir at 10,000 feet altitude to water the fields.

Giuseppe hauled slaughtered beef to the town of Leadville (Colorado) which was at the headwaters of the Arkansas River.  Leadville was the gold rush boom town of the State and is located at 10,000 feet altitude.  An original narrow wagon trail is still visible along the Arkansas River.  This trip was made during winter months when meat was in strong demand and hard to come by in the wild mining town. 

His family still keeps the double barrelled shotgun and lever action 30-30 calibre Winchester rifle that he carried for protection from wolves and thieves along the trail.  The trip took a minimum of four days to climb the steep trail.  This is just one example of the entrepreneurial effort that allowed Giuseppe to succeed in America.

Giuseppe and Raffaela had their first child (Henry) in 1900 born as the new century began.  A second child (Carmina) was born December 10th, 1901. 

The attached family picture showing Giuseppe holding Henry and Raffaela holding Carmine, was taken approximately 1902-1903 by estimating the age of the children.

Giuseppe continued his success by buying a second ranch and then another and another.  The family continued to grow with the birth of four more boys Dominic, Gregory, Amadeo and Francis.  All survived except Amadeo who died as a child.
Giuseppe purchased the second 80 acre ranch by again borrowing the money from the bank and planted a crop of potatoes; it was a bumper crop year and wagonloads of potatoes where hauled to the train yard for shipment.  The ranch was paid for that year (this is the ranch that was given to Dominic De Luca).  Greg and Francis received 80 acres each of the second ranch purchased by Giuseppe in America on County Road 140, it was always called the home place.

Photo: from left to right: Francis, Henry, Giuseppe, Dominic and Greg De Luca in 1925 approx.

In the ranches, chickens, hogs, beef and sheep were raised, potatoes, grains and hay were grown, and every ranch had a garden and an orchard to provide the family with vegetables and fruit.

Henry De Luca was given the third ranch purchased and developed in one of the oldest and largest forest permits in an area for running cattle in the National Forest during the summers (this allowed the fields to be dedicated for hay production and the storage of hay to feed cattle in the winter).  Henry and his wife Rose Veltri De Luca spent most of their summers in the mountains watching the cattle.

Henry also obtained a 160 acre tract of land through the government Homestead Act.  This land was dry grazing land, not suited for farming but this homestead is still owned by the family. Henry purchased and ran the first school bus in our school district. . 

Foto: Wedding Day of Henry De Luca and Rose Veltri on November 16th 1924 in Salida (Courtesy of Mary De Luca)

At its peak, the total family holdings were 480 acres.  Each son received an 80 acre ranch from Giuseppe. Only Henry retained his ranch plus the 160 acres he homesteaded and he later purchased and paid for it and added an additional 160 acre ranch to his holdings.  He paid for this ranch by logging in the U.S. Forest during the winter.  Joseph Frank De Luca remembers his father Henry wrapping burlap feed sacks around his legs and pouring tar on them to act as leggings during the winter logging operations.

Today Joseph Frank De Luca owns the original 80 acre ranch Henry received from Giuseppe and the homestead.  Mary De Luca Boardman and Henrietta De Luca Hehn, daughters of Henry, are still proprietors of 80 acres each of the 160 acres the ranch Henry purchased and paid for by logging.

Joseph Frank De Luca was born in 1925 and remembers riding on his grandmother’s back as a young boy while she picked potatoes.  This tiny woman could bend over and pick potatoes all day, haul her toddler grandson on her back and cook meals for the family and sometimes for other ranchers that might be helping to bring in a crop.”

(Joseph Frank remembers that his grandfather Giuseppe used to speak Laghitan dialect with him. He also recalls that in 1935, at 10 years of age when he suffered from a fatal renal disease, his father Henry, being very devoted to Saint Francis of Paola, vowed to the Saint a pilgrimage of prayer to the Sanctuary in Calabria, Italy if the Saint would spare his son’s life. Joseph was healed from his illness and they both kept the promise by going to Calabria in 1947. They also visited their uncle Saverio who at the time was 81 years of age).

Photo: Statue of Saint Francis of Paola at the Church of the Annunciation in Lago

“ The De Luca family did not forget their Italian roots, outside brick bread ovens dotted the countryside, “suppressata”, wine and cheeses were made.  During the Depression Era when many families went hungry, the innovative Italians ate well even if they were poor.

Joseph Frank De Luca also remembers riding to town a six mile trip in the winter covered with a blanket as his grandfather Giuseppe drove the horse and buggy.  Ice would form on Giuseppe’s moustache from the cold weather.

Joseph Frank De Luca had three sons: Joseph Henry, Frank and Patrick Henry.  Joseph Henry De Luca is an engineer with a BS/MS in mechanical engineering.  He had a successful career in aerospace concluding his career before semi-retiring.  In his last assignment he was the Telescope Program Manager for the Chandra X-ray telescope. He also served a term as the Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners. Joseph Frank De Luca and his two sons Frank and Pat built a successful liquefied petroleum distribution business and ran it for 37 years (Until the year 2004, Joseph was the owner of the “De Luca Gas Company”, founded in 1967, located on State Road no. 50). His daughter is Lucy who is 5 years old. Joseph Henry has two children, Jason, age 24, who is a Sheriffs Deputy in Chaffee County and Jennifer, age 20,who is studying aerospace engineering at the U.S. Naval Academy.” Joseph H. De Luca.

David De Luca, son of Francis, and Giuseppe’s nephew, is 58 years old and still lives in Salida near his grandfather’s ex-ranch. He was very helpful in supplying the data needed for describing the saga of Laghitan pioneers. Through him I was able to contact Arthur Posteraro and Lenna Finck. He told me that Salida is 7000 feet above sea level, that it has a population of 5500 people, 11% of whom are of Italian origin and 6% (or 300 inhabitants) of Laghitan extraction. Many of his relatives and friends are descendants from the town of Lago.
He told me that his grandfather spoke in dialect with his children and nephews and raised them as Catholics with a strong devotion for Saint Francis of Paola and Our Lady of Grace while David’s Laghitan grandmother (Raffaela Muto) used to prepare typical Laghitan delicacies (David still makes homemade Laghitan salami or “suppressate” and sausages or “sazizze” ).

Lenna Finck (Barone) from letter dated 11.02.2006)

Lenna’s father, Pietro Barone, born in Lago in 1890, arrived in Salida at 17 years of age. His brother Angelo Raffaele who had emigrated in 1897, was waiting for him.

Pietro married Giovanna Genoveffa Veltri born in Lago in 1906 and they had 3 children: Lenna, Ersilia and Samuele or “Sam”. Pietro or “Pete” was called the “Coal Man”: he sold coal and made home deliveries with a small pick-up truck

(see photo-Courtesy of Lenna Finck).

Pietro Barone also worked in road construction.

Photo: Pete Barone in the middle during the 1930s (Photo: courtesy of Lenna Finck)

Sam F. Barone, the son of a Laghitan who became Principal of a Junior High School

”Samuel Francis Barone was born Nov. 8th 1920, in Salida, the son of Pete and Joanna (Veltri) Barone. He was raised on the family farm where Italian was the only language spoken, learning to speak English after he enrolled in school in Salida.

After graduating from high school, he enrolled at “Adams State College” where he completed “Bachelor of Arts” and “Master of Arts” degrees in Education. He served in the military during World War II for 43 months, fighting overseas.

On August 22nd 1948, he married Shirley Cavaliere in Salida. They moved to Meeker (Colorado) in January 1951 after they were hired to teach there.

He taught 6th graders for two years and was appointed principal at the junior high that in 1975 was renamed “Barone Junior High” in his honor.

He also coached football, track and basketball programs at the same school.

Mr. Barone was a hard-working, warm, and intelligent teacher who was always close to his students during his 30 years of teaching.

He retired in 1981, remained active in Meeker, played golf, went hunting and fishing. He was a director of the “White River Electric Association”, and was a member of the Meeker Lions Club and Holy Family Church. He also had a particular talent as a leather craftsman and taught a leather craft class in the junior high for many years.

Sam F. Barone, 84, died on May 12, 2005, at his home in Meeker.”

Description of the Pete Barone’s Family by Lenna Finck (May 6th 2007):

“My Dad Pete Barone worked in the coal mines in Pennsylvania before coming to Salida. His brother, Gaspare, died in a coal mine and I don't know if this happened before or after Dad moved west. He must have had some connections to have come here and I think it might have been with the Scanga family. The marriage between my parents was arranged by the families. My Dad was a farmer and Grandpa Veltri needed a farmer in the family and so his eldest daughter was married to a farmer. She was just 13 years old and Dad was almost 28 when they married. My Mom died on their 64th Wedding Anniversary and Dad died  six months later. They were very devoted to one another. The "arrangement: was a good one. They had four children. Sam, Elsie, Leonard (died as an infant in 1937) and me. I am named after him.
 
You had my brother's obituary and it adequately describes him. He was well educated but also very humble. At the school where he taught in Meeker, Colorado, he did whatever was necessary to get his school ready for the academic year. If it meant, painting walls, washing windows, scrubbing bathrooms, mowing the lawn, he was ready and willing do do whatever he could. He was a wonderful brother. Sam was nearly 20 years old when I was born. He was drafted into the U.S. Army during World War II so was gone a lot of the time until I was about 5 years old.
 
My sister, Elsie, was 17 years old when I was born. She was and still is a wonderful sister. More than that, she was a wonderful daughter, always working hard with the household chores when she lived at home, and even after she married she always helped my Mom with grocery shopping, spring cleaning the house, and in many other ways. She is married to John J. Tancik, who was a farmer and a very hard working, honorable man. He worked his parents farm during their early married life, until his parents death and the farm was sold and they moved into town. They have one son, John Edward Tancik. They also live in Salida. They both are retired and my nephew, John, is a Correctional Officer. My nephew is divorced and is living with his parents.
 
I was born Leonardine Joann Barone on May 28, 1940. I've been married to Robert Finck for 35 years. He was a correctional officer at the Buena Vista Correctional Facility for 27 years. He retired from State Employment in 1993. I worked at the Chaffee County District Court from 1970 until February 1999. We have no children together but I have a daughter, Debra Joann (now Gallagher) and Robert has a daughter, Debra Lynne Finck (Parks) and three sons. (Had we known we would have eventually married each other, we might chosen different names for our daughters!), but my daughter was five years old before I ever met Robert (Bob). I retired from my job in February, 1999. My husband has a sprinkler installation business and I keep books for him. We would love to sell the business now but there are not many people who like to work as hard as is necessary to make a go of it.”

Francesco Ciciarelli (phone interviews on the 6th and 14th of November 2006)

Francesco was born in Lago in 1929, lives in Salida since 1949 when he emigrated to be joined to his father Saverio (1904-1982) who had arrived in 1930. Saverio was married with Elisabetta Cupelli (1906-1983) and lived in Pignanese ‘e Supra.

Uncle Cesare emigrated to Salida around 1890 and then sponsored the arrival of his father (Francesco’s grandfather) Nicola (1861-1940) in 1905, who was 41 years old. Other uncles also came: Gabriele in 1910, Emilio in 1915 and Fiore in 1929. They all started working for the “D & RGW” railroad. Francesco’s sister, Maria (b.1927) married Giovanni Sesti (b.1926) and settled in St. Louis (MO). One of Francesco’s cousins, whose name is Ugo Iuliano, lives in Lago in the suburb of Pignanese.

Francesco’s cousin, Gabriele Ciciarelli was born in Lago in 1930, emigrated in 1949 to Salida where he worked as a miner for 15 years in the “Climax Mine”. He married Ann Zahoropoulou, a Greek woman and they had 4 children: Carminia (“Karen”), Gabriella, Nicolina and JoAnn. In 1965, Gabriele and family moved to St. Louis (MO) where they remained until his death in 2005.

Even his brothers Nicola, Antonio and Angelo settled in St. Louis (MO), his sisters Rosa (married to Salvatore Sesti) lives in St. Louis (MO), Mafalda (married name Scanga) lives in St. Louis (MO) and Francesca (married name is Barone) lives in New York. He was Rose Ciciarelli’s nephew.

Facts obtained from a phone conversation with Ralph Cupelli and Rose Peluso (November 8th 2006)

Rose’s (dob 1923) parents were the Laghitans Gregorio Peluso (dob 1894) who arrived in Salida in 1905 at eight years of age, and Pasqualina Scanga (1901-1988) who arrived from Lago in 1908 at 18 years of age (she was the sister of Giuseppe Scanga who had arrived in 1901 and who had a canned-foods store in Salida).

Photo: Gregorio Peluso and Pasqualina Scanga the day of their wedding
(Courtesy by Ralph Cupelli)

Rose married Ralph Cupelli (dob 1923) son of Ferdinando Cupelli (1895-1982) a Laghitan born in the suburbs of Pignanese, reaching Salida in 1912, and of Carrie De Luca (1901-1948) born in Poncha Springs, Colorado (she was Giuseppe De Luca’s daughter). His father Ferdinando worked for D & RGW and sponsored the coming of his brothers Michele and Giovanni from Lago (his sister Rosa remained in Lago). Ferdinando was the cousin of Elisabetta, mother of Francesco Ciciarelli.

Ralph had 2 sisters: Theresa (Preston) and Mary (Eilja).

Photo: Ferdinando Cupelli and Carrie De Luca on the day of their marriage (Courtesy of Ralph Cupelli)

His grandfather Raffaele Cupelli (1876-1910), married to Teresa Muto, had emigrated to Salida in 1909 and started working for D & RGW but died in 1910 when he was run over by a train locomotive in Minturn (CO). Similar to his grandfather and father, Ralph also worked for the railroad until 1954 (in 1937 he had completed St. Joseph’s Grammar School and in 1941 finished Salida High School). As a child, Ralph could understand the Laghitan dialect and during the Christmas holidays his mother Carrie would prepare many typical “cullura” and “turdilli”. Ralph and Rose have 3 children: Karen
(57 yrs), Fred (55 ) and Marsha (51).

Rose Peluso’s niece was Jennie V. Scanga born on June 26, 1925 in Salida to Giuseppe Scanga and Pauline Groe from Lago. She married Mr. Henderson.

For many years, she was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church and member of the choir, of the Sweet Adelines and the Noteables. She loved to play the organ and to travel. Jennie had married Mr. Henderson, and had a brother Frank of Salida.

She died February 24, 2005.

Photo: Ralph Cupelli and wife Rose Peluso (Courtesy of Ralph Cupelli)

Other BIOGRAPHIES of LAGHITAN FAMILIES in SALIDA

Maria Cupelli arrived in Salida from Lago in 1907 at age 35 years, together with her son Francesco Muto (age 5) to join her husband Nicola Muto who had arrived in 1905, at 35, together with Giuseppe Cupelli of 23 years and were welcomed by their godfather Saverio Muto. In 1909, Nicola was working in “Victoria’s Bar” at the north-east corner of Salida, between F Street and Sackett Street, then called “Front Street” (located on the ground floor of Hotel Mildred, it was a typical Western saloon inaugurated in 1900).

Luigi Muto had arrived in Salida in 1899 together with his sister Raffaela Muto (Giuseppe De Luca’s wife).

Today, one finds in Salida: Angela Cupelli, 79 years old, and Mary Cupelli, 83.

Other descendants of the Muto family are:

• Helen, Marion Irene (age 75), Mary, Paula (98), Peter, Phillip J., Theodore A. ( 71) and Theodore A ( 95).

DE PASQUALE

PORCO

At 14, Raffaele Porco (b. in Lago in 1889) arrived in 1903 with his mother Francesca De Pascale at Crested Butte (Colorado) where his father Nicola Porco had immigrated in 1897 at 35 years of age (Crested Butte is located west of Salida). Raffaele married Pasqualina Valle and they moved to Salida where their 9 children were born: Viola, Nick, Joe, Fannie, Susie, Frances, Jane, Rose and Dominic.

Dominic (1917-2004) married Josephine Porco and they had 6 children:
Nick, Ralph, Lanny, Don and Mary Jane (married name Cicero)

SACCO

Gaetano Sacco (b. Lago 1865) arrived at Trinidad (CO) in 1899 and was a guest of Saverio Posteraro, the brother of his wife Filomena (b.1863) who arrived in 1904 together with sons Francesco (age 10) and Giuseppe (age 12). After a few years, the entire family moved to Salida.

SCANGA

Giuseppe Scanga married Jennie Posteraro and they had 8 children:
Ralph L., James, Bruno, Gregorio, Emilio, Dominic, Nettie (married name Post) and Mary.
Ralph L. (1907-2001) married Jane Turano in 1948 and they had 5 children:
William, Ralph, James, David and Eileen (married name Horan).
Ralph (1907-2002) starter a business, the “Scanga Meat Company” (at 9250 Country Road 156, Salida) well-known for the quality of their meats and salami both in Salida and in nearby towns. His son Ralph (1942-2004) continued to run the company, was an excellent cook and member of the “Sons of Italy”.
He had 4 children: Clinton, Jerry, Deborah and Anna Marie
William (1942-2004) marriede and had 5 children
(Larry, Clinton, Jerry, Deborah and Anna Marie)

SGANGA

Rocco Liberti in the “Storia dello Stato di Aiello in Calabria” described that Giuseppe Sganga (the first Laghitan who in 1884 emigrated to America) returned to his home town after he had saved enough money.
Liberti continued by writing “… This was not the case of his children born under a different sky and to whom Lago meant nothing. They remained in the New Continent, exactly within the State of Colorado and continued to grow in prosperity…

STUDY METHODS and SOURCES of RESEARCH
used to prepare this publication

Direct Contacts with descendants of the first Laghitan immigrants in Salida

Consultation of other publications

• “Laghitani nel Mondo” by Francesco Gallo, ADB Conselve PD, 2006
• “Guida Storico Culturale di Lago CS” by Gino and Francesco Gallo, Text PD, 2005
• “Chaffee County: The First 125 Years” by Kay Marnon Danielson, Garna, Salida, 2004
• “Storia dello Stato di Aiello in Calabria” by Rocco Liberti, Barbari, V.V., 1978.
• “Archivio Audio-Visivo della Memoria di Lago” by Maria Sacco e Laida Provenzano, Tipografia Mazzitelli, Cetraro Marina CS, 2005.
• “Storia del Comune di Lago CS (1093-1976) e dell’Emigrazione Transoceanica (1870-1976)” by Alberto Cupelli, Manuscript, 1976.
• “Sersale: Storia di una comunità presilana” by Michele Scarpino, Rubettino, Saveria M. CZ, 1982.
• “L’Orda” by Gian Antonio Stella, BUR, Milano, 2002.
• “America, America” by Antonio Margariti, Galzerano, Casalvelino Scalo (SA), 1985.
• “Vecchia Calabria” by Norman Douglas, Giunti, Firenze, 1992.

Consultation of Records

• Recordings of Immigrants arriving at the Port of New York (1892-1924)
• Agnelli Fooundation: Data Bank of the Temple University (passengers arrived in New York from 1880 to 1891).
• USA Census Records (1900, 1910, 1920, 1930)
• White Pages of Salida (Colorado)

Example: ship records of passengers landing in New York

Record of passengers (“Original manifest”) aboard the ship “Republic”:
English ship of 15,400 tons, speed of 16 nodes carrying 2200 passengers, that took 12 days to reach New York on November 24th 1907 from Naples.

The numbers 23 and 29 correspond to the below-listed names found in another group of records called “Text Manifest ” ( “U” means “Unmarried”, “M” means “Married”, “y” means “years”). I had to combine the two tables to obtain the complete set of data described below.

0023.	Politano, Saveria	M	27y
0024.	Muto, Carmine	M	23y
0025.	De Grazia, Maria	M	35y
0026.	Runco, Filippo	U	9y
0027.	Runco, Pietro	U	5y
0028.	Cupelli, Maria	M	35y
0029.	Muto, Francesco	U	5y

number 23 corresponds to Saveria Politano, age 27, final destination was Salida in Colorado to join her husband Vincenzo Costa;
number 24 is Carmine Muto, age 23, going to Salida (Colorado) to his brother Vincenzo Muto;
number 25 is Maria De Grazia, age 35, going to Salida (Colorado) to her husband Nicola Runco;
numbers 26 and 27 are the children of Nicola Runco, Pietro of 5 years and Filippo of 9 years;
number 28 corresponds to Maria Cupelli, age 35, going to Salida (Colorado) to her husband Nicola Muto and
number 29 corresponds to her son Francesco Muto of 5 years of age.

CONCLUSION from the book of Antonio Margariti “America, America”:

“…Now the times have changed. Once other nationalities did not accept us not even as their neighbors and if we did arrive, they would move. Today everything has changed: the sons of Italians live with the children of other nationalities because of schools and colleges, and the sons of rude and illiterate Italians who had emigrated carrying a sacks on their shoulders, are now engineers, physicians and lawyers. This progress was due to the opportunities that this great Nation has such the possibilities of attending schools…”

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