June a special time of year for New Haven’s Italian community

Within the span of 50 years, beginning in1900, the ItalianAmerican community in Wooster Square as able to utilize the free public schools to fully integrate into American society.

Even though many of the first-generation children were unable to take full advantage of the opportunity to get a diploma, by mid-century almost everyone graduated from high school and many went on to colleges and universities to pursue professional careers.

Everyone understood the importance of an education, and even those whose economic circumstances required children to work had aspirations for their children to graduate from eighth grade at Columbus School on Green Street, or Hamilton Street School, near Grand Avenue.

The graduation ceremonies were considered great accomplishments for the entire family, and something of which to take pride. But even celebratory events were modest, at home, with family. The neighborhood lifestyle dictated simple, familyoriented expressions of milestones: everything within your means, and nothing beyond the reality of life’s primary obligations to maintain and support the family.

A diploma, especially for a young woman, could take one out of the shops and factories into a different work environment with possibilities for a higher standard of living.

Some jobs were considered highly favorable, such as working for the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, headquartered in New Haven. A job with the railroad was considered a lifetime opportunity to earn a good living, as were public safety jobs in the police and fire departments. Unfortunately, those jobs were difficult to acquire with the prevalence of prejudice against the southern Italians who made up the local community. It would take many years of struggle before children of Italian immigrants were able to be accepted into these desirable workplaces.

But, working at Sargent Hardware Co. on Water

Street or the New Haven Clock Co. on Hamilton Street also could be considered good places to earn a decent living, doing work that kept you reasonably clean and paid more than the minimum.

The first Italian-American teacher in New Haven was named Maria Popolizzio, a very significant accomplishment for her, since she needed a degree from New Haven Normal School. It would be several years before Wooster Square children met teachers in the local schools that looked and had names like theirs. And many children, meanwhile, were subjected to difficult treatment in schools where their foreign ways were frowned upon. Even their names were difficult for others to master with Trofeminas and Salvatores and Philomenas appearing in class.

At St. Michael, June would be the beginning of the wedding season, with young couples taking flight from their families to start out on their own. Sometimes it was a necessity — an adult child was expected to move on and out of the apartment, since aging parents needed to be relieved of the responsibility of child rearing.

However, any child who didn’t marry remained at home, male and female alike. It was not considered an option for an unmarried person to live independently of their family.

St. Michael remains the repository for the records of all the important occasions that affected the community. Christenings, weddings and burials were all written in the ledgers for posterity, originally in Latin, then in Italian and eventually in English. Those ledgers contain the history of several generations of residents who came to the church to commemorate these important life occasions, and they need to be preserved and accessible to the public.

There were certain rituals and old world beliefs that surrounded an impending birth. A pregnant women was supposed to be allowed to satisfy whatever food desire that she had in fear of the unborn child being affected. It’s la voglia — “the want,” pronounced as vuoglia in certain parts of the southern Italy — and it was taken seriously, especially by the expectant father. In addition there were those women who professed to be able to predict the child’s sex by observing the women’s shape.

The preparations for the birth didn’t begin until the predicted time was near; preparing too early was considered bad luck. A layette would be purchased at one of the local dry goods stores, or downtown, and the crib might be gifted by one of the grandparents. A new baby in the family was always welcomed and the christening, usually within a month after the birth, was celebrated with a cake and white almond candy or confetti, a longstanding Italian tradition to greet the baby with sweets to ensure a sweet life. The godparents or comadre or compare, were considered members of the family after serving in that capacity.

Of course, June 28 was the feast of St. Andrew, patron of Amalfi, home to many of the new residents. Their wish was to replicate as many of the patronal festivities here as an homage to their beloved traditions. Early on, a replica of the statue of St. Andrew in the cathedral right in the center of Amalfi was brought here and ensconced in St. Michael church. The tradition of processing the statue throughout the village was continued here with a grand assemblage of proud Amalfitani walking behind the silver-hued rendering of St. Andrew. There would be a full marching band, members of the society, men and women, children dressed in white, and those collecting donations to defray the cost of the celebration.

In the evening, for three days a grand festa was organized on Wooster Street, festooned with lighted arches, with food vendors, musical entertainment and opportunities for neighborhood camaraderie. This festa would be the first of several taking place throughout summer; St. Maria Maddalena, St. Trofemina, St. Catello, proud representations of a cultural and religious tradition that helped define who they were.

Everyone welcomed the warmer weather with the extra time outdoors. Italian ices or lemonata would appear at the pastry shops and it would be considered a treat to buy a fivecent cup of hand-dipped lemonata as a special treat after supper; just three flavors: lemon, chocolate and vanilla, with bits of almonds in the mix.

Again and again, we recognize the simplicity and dedication to tradition that characterized life in Wooster Square.