The Old and the New World are all Connected

In the Italian peasant class, families used to send their children out to learn a trade. The man pictured above with his wife owned a grove in Franca Villa, and eight year old Angelo Cafueri trained on his farm.  Prior to that, Nonno had apprenticed with a barber, whose name was Manuelo Flora.  He didn't particularly like that trade, and after six or seven months, Nonno asked his family to learn something else.  Thus, he ended up on the farm. But the connection to the Barber carried over to America and played a part in our family history.

Angelo Cafueri's Mother

Manuelo on Left and Nonno's Cousin Angelo Giancolo 

By 1941, Nonno had long established himself at Giovanni's.  The Cafueri's lived on 339 East 55th, and because of nerves and stress, Nonno developed headaches. As a result, his doctor recommended that Nonno would benefit from fresh air, and that the family, "should move to the suburbs."

Mead Street

Believe it or not, the Bronx was known as the country back then.  In and around this time, Nonno became reconnected with his old mentor through his own barber.  Manuelo was working for a shop in Manhattan and lived on Van Nest Avenue. So when Nonno was faced with moving, Manuelo knew of an apartment on Mead Street, and the Cafueri's took flight.

Ada Cafueri

A small apartment with one bedroom, Ada and Lita slept in the living room.  Of course, the space turned out to be too small, and when another apartment opened up at 1738 Garfield, the Cafueri's moved again.

Then in 1942, the Daughters of the American Revolution put the house at 1726 Garfield Street up for sale, and the Cafueri's were able to pay a $6,000 lump sum.  Nonno's long time employer provided the balance. But Nonno would only accept the generosity as a loan and later paid back Giovanni.

Paid in Full

Nonetheless, Manuelo would go onto open his own shop on Union Port Road with John the Barber.  The families remained friends, and their son Joe helped Mommy on occasion with her driving lessons.  In fact, a license and Joe's assistance actually gave Ada an introduction to Westchester came long before moving to Shenorock.  She followed Joe up the narrow, windy Taconic at the designated speed limit of 35 MPH, and Sparkle Lake in Yorktown became a frequent escape.

So another fragile array of threads brings us all to today.