"La
sede è dove il cuore è. Ciò ora è la nostra sede."
By
Jay Nies
Editor,
the Catholic Missourian
In her final column for the Rapid City
Journal in
She then began work on Searching for
Ms. Calvitto plans to visit
"Of all the places I visited for
the book, I'd say Rosati came closest to reflecting the title," she said.
In “Searching for
"So many of the people I talked to
said, 'I can't imagine what I could tell you that would be of interest,'"
said Ms. Calvitto. "What they don't always understand is that everyday
life is very interesting to people -- those small details you can't find
anywhere else."
The author wanted to gather firsthand
histories from some of the rural areas in the
"It doesn't have to be
earth-shattering to be of interest," she said. "It may not seem
important to them, but it is important to other people who want to know about
that era and how they lived. Most of the people I talked to understood that and
gave wonderful details about their life.
"One girl talked about the dress
she wore when her father would come home from the coal mines," she said,
"and about how they would slaughter their own hogs and make their own
sausage -- the everyday things that really give you a perfect picture of what
life was like for Italian immigrants in rural America in the last
century."
"Lost
forever"
Ms. Calvitto's search for Italy in
America began in Mount Kisco, New York, in 1992, when she was in charge of
organizing a local observance of the Christopher Columbus Quincentenary (500th
anniversary of Columbus' arrival in the New World). During that time, Ms.
Calvitto, who received the 1991-92 Civic Award from
"My grandfather came from the same
town as Padre Pio: San Giovanni Rotondo," she said. "Grandma was from
Cento, near
She had long regretted that she didn't
ask her grandparents more questions when she had the opportunity.
"I wish I had shown more interest
in how they got here and what it was like for them," she said. "A lot
of that has been lost forever.
"I guess I'm trying to find
answers in other ways."
Although her family settled in urban
Italian enclaves in the Northeast, she has connects better with rural areas and
roads-less-traveled.
"The smaller, the better,"
she said.
Once, while taking one of her signature
"road trips to nowhere in particular," she arrived in
"I was thinking, 'Italians in
She sought out contacts in Clinton,
Ind.; Herrin, Ill.; Oelwein, Iowa; Pittsburg and Frontenac, Kan.; Krebs and
McAlester, Okla.; and of course, Rosati, Mo.
"The Internet is a wonderful
thing," she said. "I developed contacts in each community, for people
to help me find subjects.”
Each town has its own chapter in
Searching. The book also includes favorite recipes from people featured in the
book, including Corrine Zulpo's gnocchi and Leo Cardetti's
"Mama Cardetti style" peas.
"I can't tell you how many people
came out of nowhere to help a stranger fulfill her dream of writing a
book," said Ms. Calvitto. "I found wonderful people and made lifelong
friends. It has been one of the most fulfilling things I've ever done, and I've
had a long career in journalism."
Active
identity
Most of the towns she visited had
several nationalities, but the Italians seemed to be the most active and
ethnically cohesive ethnic group, she said.
"In each community, the Church
seemed to be the center of their community life," she said. "In many
cases, it was the glue that helped hold things together."
A man in
"He told me it was the Church that
helped bring them together," she said. "It was always a huge factor,
if not the major factor."
Ms. Calvitto's trip to Rosati coincided
with the
"It was a really beautiful
experience," she said. "It shows how the Church really brought
everybody together, and still does."
Running
interference
Ms. Calvitto emphasized the importance
of intermediaries clearing the way for her interviews in the towns she visited.
"You can't just show up on
someone's doorstep and expect them to share their life's story to a
stranger," she said. "A lot of the folks are older and a little
gun-shy. Most of them have never talked to reporters or writers before. I asked
for addresses and wrote them letters, explaining who I am and who recommended
that I talk to them. So by the time I met them, they were a lot more comfortable."
She found Rosati through an Internet
website -- http://rosatimo.com -- researched and maintained by Steve Zulpo, who
grew up in Rosati.
He turned out to be a tremendous
resource and an adept intermediary.
"Steve was a big help," said
Ms. Calvitto. "You can't find Rosati on a map, but you can find everything
you want to know about it on that website."
All the other towns featured in the
book had drawn immigrants through to work in coal mines or on the railroads.
Mr. Zulpo explained to her that Rosati was different: The founders were farmers
searching for a home that looked like northern
"Rosati is really, really
emblematic of the whole book," the author said. "It's a rural area.
People came to try to find something better, and they did, and they worked at
it, and they kept at it. As far as the location and the philosophy, Rosati is
pretty much the essence of the title of the book."
Ms. Calvitto found people in Rosati who
remember its early days from their youth. She talked to Mr. Zulpo's parents,
Joe and Corrine Zulpo; Leo Cardetti; Jodie Donati; and George and Vera Piazza.
Each section in the Rosati chapter includes photos, the family's place of
origin, and information and quotes gleaned from face-to-face interviews.
"I think I was really fortunate to
find the places I found," she said. "They were so representative of
the people and the era."
Much
in common
She found that the Italian communities
in the towns she visited have much in common in terms of their philosophy and
way of life. Each has some kind of annual commemoration of their Italian
heritage.
"In fact, I've had many people
call and ask me how to get in contact with someone they read about in the
book," she said. "I think this is something anyone who went through
the immigration experience -- or who is descended from someone who did -- can
relate to, no matter where they are."
Each community in the book is working
to preserve the sense of community and shared experience, and pride in the
immigrant experience, she said.
"Everyone does their own thing in
their own way," she said. "People are really trying to keep it going.
That's what I saw. Now in another generation or two -- who knows?"
Every family and every community needs
a Steve Zulpo to draw together and publicize its heritage, she said.
"What he's done with his research
and his website is absolutely phenomenal," she said. "He's sort of a
one-man Rosati preservation society. Rosati is really lucky to have him. People
like Steve are keeping it together."
She said people on her dad's side of
the family are thrilled with the book.
"I think they understand why I
went to another part of the country, because that really interests me,"
she said. "But they also know how much in common we have with the people I
wrote about."
Still
searching
Ms. Calvitto lived and worked all over
the country during the 34 years with her daily newspaper business. She left a
job outside
"I don't mind that the next big
metropolis is six hours away," she said. "Besides, I don't like to
travel in cities. I love this country and the back roads, that's how I go. If I
can avoid an Interstate and an urban area, I do it."
Ms. Calvitto left her job as a politics
reporter and columnist at the Rapid City Journal to write this work. Right now,
she's free-lance writing and traveling to promote the book.
She said the traveling, writing,
publishing and promotion of the book have been stressful but well worth it.
"I'd do it all again," she
said. "In fact, I want to do a Searching for
Her own Internet website --
www.searchingforitaly.com -- has information about the book and how to order
it, as well as links to newspaper and radio interviews.
Call 1-800-882-3273 to order a copy of
Searching for