Pete and Giulia Zando, War, McDowell County, West Virginia oral history

                           Pete and Giulia Zando, War, McDowell County, West Virginia
oral history with:  B. L.  Dotson-Lewis

"Strangers in Our Land"

Oral History Interview with  Giulia Ferrante Zando
     Italian Immigrant 98 years old
War, McDowell County, West Virginia
December 2, 2001

               

Notes: v  Giulia Ferrante Zando arrives in America in 1913 at the age of nine or ten accompanied by Vincent, brother, age 13 and Aminta, sister, age eleven. v  Giulia, Vincent and Aminta spend ten days on Ellis Island. v  The rich New Yorkers came to the island and tossed coins over to the immigrant children. v  Traveling from rich, fertile lands of vineyards and orchards near Naples, Italy to War, West Virginia, Southern Appalachian coal mines, was quite a shock. v  Giulia had never seen snow before nor the art of mining and processing coal in the coke ovens. v  Giulia tells me, "It was like going from Paradise to an Inferno"; Giulia tells me, "It was like traveling from Heaven to Hell." v  Giulia had not seen her father and mother since she was eighteen months old.

Giulia Ferrante Zando Zando photos:  Josephine and Mary Zando     (daughters of Pete and Giulia)

                                        "Strangers in Our Land"

            According to Josephine, Giulia's daughter, to find Giulia's house in War,  I should go past Big Creek High School, Emanuel Baptist Church (the big church with a flag on front)  and then stop at  the large stone house.  I found it with no trouble and was met at the door by Josephine, who took me to the kitchen to meet Giulia. I was in for the treat of a lifetime:  recording the oral history of Giulia Ferrante Zando.

            Because of my arrival time, I was at the house with Mary, Giulia's other daughter, while Giulia went to the beauty parlor with Josephine for her weekly hair appointment and before our photo. Mary brought out the family album and while we perused the album, she revisited memories of her immigrant family as she remembered them as well as those told to her by her mother and father.

Mary (Giulia's daughter) comments:

            My brother Raymond was an interpreter in the Army. He served under Patton during WWII.

            I live in the house next door now; that was the first one my father built.  See the stone fence in front of the house, my father built it.     My father would build on the house after working all day in the coal mines.  The house has a wine cellar.
          He, my father, would cut out the stone at night and mark each one for the house he was building for my mother.  All four children were born in the house next door.  The house I live in now.  He built a bigger house for the family when the family grew too large for the first house.

            My father boarded at my grandmother's house and mother had to get out of school and take their lunch to the boarders' workplace each day.       My father was good looking and he would walk so straight and tip his hat to the women.  He was a gentleman.

My mother wants to go back to Italy, but she has not gone back so far.

            My father was from Falcade, Italy.  He had three brothers and one sister.  His father built a big stone house in Italy with four floors; one floor for each boy and a little house next to it for his daughter.  During the War one of the armies took it over and used it.  Later, it became an orphanage.

            All of my father's brothers came to America.  One went back, but he was sick and had children over there.

            The grandmother kept them, my mother and her brother and sister, when the father and mother came to America.  All those years they lived with my great-grandmother, and when they left she was heartbroken and died soon.

            My mother must have been the active one because my grandmother had to always go with her to make sure she got to church and things like that.  On the boat to America, she was the only one who didn't get sea sick. 

            My mother has always been active in the church and other civic organizations.

They used to tell us my father, when in Europe, always went over the mountains to work with his father (when he was a young man in Austria), like in the "Sound of Music."

My mother's family had vineyards over in Italy.     They had left Paradise for Hell:  Coke ovens blazing, snow on the ground.  They spoke no English.  They had never seen snow before, coal mines, nor coke ovens.  They came to America for jobs "The Land of Opportunity."

Background notes for oral history:

            The first officials that immigrants encountered face-to-face on Ellis Island, New York, were federal physicians in search of newcomers with contagious diseases, mental abnormalities, or physical deformities that might limit newcomers' abilities to support themselves.  Those whom inspectors wanted to examine further were detained and chalked with a code letter to indicate the reason for the holdover-- "K" for hernia, "L" for lung, "E" for eye, "H" for heart, "X" for mental disorder.

            After completing the medical examination, immigrants were assembled in the Great Hall.

Life in Italy for Giulia:

            Before America:  Giulia:  I was born on September 17, 1903 to Lucano and Maria Federici in Ischia, a small town near Naples, Italy.  When I was 18 months old, my father sailed to America to find a better life.

            The coal mining agents met immigrants on Ellis Island and told them of jobs in Gary, McDowell County, West Virginia-the Southern Appalachian Coalfields.  Three children were left in Italy with my Grandmother Feerici, (my brother, Vincent; my sister, Aminta and me).  We enjoyed the closeness of our relatives and the spacious orchards of citrus, peaches, apples and olive trees while living on the farm.

            While living in Gary, my parents had a baby boy and a baby girl.  In the year 1910, my father moved the family to Berwind, West Virginia, where another baby boy was born.

My father worked as a stone mason on tunnels for the N&W Railroad.  My mother kept several Italian boarders to help out with the family income.

          In 1913 the Ferrantes sent to Italy for my brother, my sister and me (the ones they had left behind).

Chapter 1 - "Ship Ahoy" - "Only in America"

          My trip to America - One year prior to declaration of World War I, where five million people were slaughtered; nine year old Guilia Ferrante, her thirteen year old brother and eleven year old sister were put on a boat for America.  They left behind a broken hearted grandmother who had cared for the children since 1907.  The grandmother died a short time later.

Giulia:  My Story; My Life:

            In 1913 I was put on a boat sailing for America.  I was 9 years old.  It was November.  My trip to America was during rough, stormy weather.  Most of the passengers became seasick.  They seldom left their cabins.  I had "seafaring" legs, so I took food to passengers, night and day.  The ship's Captain noticed what I was doing and invited me to eat with him at his table.  He said to me, "Looks like you have been working hard.  You deserve to have dinner with me."  That made me feel special.

            Passengers were given numbers to get meals and when I kept showing up with more numbers, the ship's cooks asked me where I got all those numbers.  The food served the captain was different from what was served passengers.  It was really good.

Arrival on Ellis Island:

          My uncle, who was in his 20's, was also on board the ship, but he was supposed to go back to Italy after my father picked us up on Ellis Island.  An emergency came up in the family, so my father could not come to get us and my uncle had to return to Italy as scheduled and left us alone on the island.  It took ten days to get the legal papers ready for us to be released from Ellis Island, without a parent.  We stayed there alone.  We did not speak any English.  We had to stay on Ellis Island until the papers were ready.  We were well cared for while there.  I remember on weekends, rich New Yorkers coming up to the Island to pass coins to the immigrants (especially the children).  My brother, Vincent and my sister, Aminta, were angry with me because my coin was larger than theirs.  They thought I had gotten more money.  Later, they learned a dime, (what they had) was worth more than the nickel I had.  So, once they understood their coin was worth more than mine, they got over being mad.

Midnight Special to West Virginia, the Southern Appalachian Coalfields:

          The legal papers finally arrived.  My brother, sister and I were put on a train to Welch, McDowell County, West Virginia.  We had to change trains in Washington, D.C.

          My brother, my sister, nor I spoke or understood a word of English.  A conductor on the train was in charge of us in helping us change trains in DC.

          The train trip to West Virginia was during the cold, bleak month of November, 1913.  As we got closer to the McDowell County line, we saw the ground covered in snow, something we had never seen before.  The coke ovens on the steep mountainsides near Elkhorn were a frightening sight with fire spewing out of the tops of the ovens.  We wondered what our life was going to be like in America.

          My Father, whom I had not seen since I was eighteen months old, met us in Welch.  We spent the night there before going on to Berwind, our home.  I kept looking at the picture of my parents that I had in the locket around my neck, to be sure this was my father!  Berwind, West Virginia, "Melting Pot" for Hungarian, Polish, Italians.

          We didn't go to school right away because of the language barrier and the adjustment to these "new parents" and three smaller brothers and sister, we had never met.

          My mother kept several boarders and my father worked in the Berwind coal mine, when the railroad was completed.

          We kept busy caring for the smaller children and doing household chores.

Berwind became the "Melting Pot" for Hungarian, Polish and Italian Immigrants.  We moved to War, West Virginia (McDowell County) in 1914.  Again, my mother kept boarders in a house located next door to the War Creek tipple.  As you can imagine, keeping the place clean was a 24 hour a day job with all the coal dust!

          Finally, in 1914 we enrolled in school in War, West Virginia.  We were very happy to meet other children our age.  Fortunately, we had teachers who were understanding in assisting us to complete  assignments, doing homework, etc.  I was excused from school for thirty minutes each day to deliver lunches to the boarders who worked at William Poca Mine              The Italians kept Italian customs and enjoyed holiday traditions.  Weddings were joyous events and most of the citizens in town were included to huge dinners, dancing and fun.  Neighbors helped one another in cooking, canning, babysitting and doing laundry.  In the evenings the women visited and did sewing and handwork.

          My brothers traded their Italian food with friends for brown beans and cornbread.  We children jumped rope, sang songs and took long walks.  Each year we looked forward to a huge 4th of July celebration.  It was fun riding in a cart pulled by a goat the Mahone family owned.

Backgrounds did not matter; everyone was friendly, caring and always there when you needed a friend.

          My father quit working in the mines and started working as a laborer for Zando Construction Company.  Several years later, he returned to the skill practiced in Italy-shoe cobbler.  My parents had four more sons but three died as babies.

          The family was busy with the boarders, livestock, orchard and a big vegetable garden.  The men relaxed by sitting around a potbellied stove and playing cards, checkers or reading Italian papers from back home.  During the summer months, the men played Bocco - lawn bowling.

          More and more coal mines opened up bringing in more businesses.  Trains made traveling easy and enjoyable.  Later, bus service was available.  Few people at that time owned cars.  I worked in a dry goods store.       I married on March 7, 1923.  I married Pete Zando.  He was a local man and had boarded at my mother's house.  Pete was from Northern Italy and was used to different foods than my family.  We lived in War in a brick house.  We raised four children.

          During the Depression Era, my Pete was employed building stores, a bank and the schools in the War area.  Many of the buildings are still standing.  The buildings were built from stone and the Italians were well-known as stone masons.  During the Depression Era, we had cows, chickens, rabbits, fruit trees and a vegetable garden to provide food for us.  We made a vow to never let a hungry person leave our house.  They would always be provided with a hot meal.  These were traditions in War.

          We children were pampered by the Italian boarders who missed their own families still living in Italy.  When my children started school, I was busy serving as Homeroom Mother, attending P.T.A. meetings and other activities that are popular for mothers with children in school.  The people in War were very community minded.

          In the year 1937 we moved next door to a house Pete built in the evenings after his regular work hours.  It was a stone house with large stones that my husband marked each day after they blasted the rock in the mountains to get to the coal underneath.  At night my husband would carve out the stones to put together to make our new home.

          Many of the buildings in the area are made from stone.  The stone was available from the mountains and the Italians were gifted stone masons putting the stones together.

After my oldest son went to the Army, we rented his room to teachers who came to the community to teach and needed a place to stay.  The teachers became a part of our family.

          My blessings are many.  Pete served in World War I; my son Raymond, served in World War II, and my younger son served in the Korea War, and all returned home to us safe and sound.  My son, Raymond, served as an interpreter in the Army during WWII.

Life in War was Glorious:

          Like I said before, my life has been blessed.  My husband and sons returning home from wars safely.  My children are all retired now and visit me often.

          I am blessed with seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren and a great-great-grandchild scheduled to arrive in January, 2002.

          My husband, Pete, died in November, 1969.

          War has been a wonderful place to live, rear a family and enjoy wonderful friendships that have enriched my life.  Many changes have taken place in War and the memories of the early days and years give me peace in my Golden years.

Giulia had celebrated her 99th birthday.

A letter to Giulia

October 30, 2002
Summersville, West Virginia

To the Family and Friends of Giulia Ferrante Zando

War, West Virginia

            I received an email last evening from Joyce Wright Wood, living in Florida, Buck Wright's daughter.  She told me she read in the Bluefield newspaper the passing away of Giulia Ferrante Zando. She thanked me for capturing Giulia's life through an oral history for my educational website; www.appalachianpower.com.  She alsd  thanked me for capturing her father's life's story for the website as well.

            I am so sorry for the passing away of Giulia but her life is one of celebration.  I do not need thanks for having the honor and pleasure of getting the story of Giulia's life.  She is America.  I can read her story over and over - how she came to America from Italy at the age of nine; her stay on Ellis Island, not being able to speak any English and the funny parts like when the rich New Yorkers were tossing the coins over the fence to the immigrants and she picked up a nickel and her older brother and sister became angry because they got a smaller coin which they didn't know was a dime.  Finally, her exciting trip to Welch and later War.  Meeting her father for the first time since she was eighteen months old.

            Giulia exemplifies everything America stands for.  Her life, based on her oral history, was filled with struggles, hard work and joy.  It is apparent she was a big hit in the neighborhood by her involvement in civic activities.  Her popularity was obvious  because when  I contacted Tom Hatcher for some ideas for oral histories, her name was one of the first.  She is representative of all we should  strive to be; helping others, caring for our families and involvement in the church and the community.

            I learned a lot from Giulia.  I fell in love with her immediately.  She was so cute and spirited.  It was funny when Mary and Josephine told me she didn't want her photo made until after her weekly trip to the beauty salon.  I love the picture of Giulia and me.  She is so beautiful.  Her family made me feel welcome.  They were warm, friendly and helpful.       Apparently they recognized my need for help right off the bat, being a total novice at this big project of capturing the spirit of Appalachia, they showed me photos, they told me stories and Josephine even wrote a lot of the story down.  Thank you Josephine.

            What a family, what a community.  I am in constant awe of the natural beauty, the ole-time setting and the warm and friendly way I am treated when I come there. 

            It is I who should be thanking Giulia's family as well as all the people of War; Rush and Mary Ann Justice and Tom Hatcher, just to name a few, for giving me the opportunity of becoming a part of that special American Spirit found in your town.

            I spoke with Josephine on the phone this morning and she told me of the funeral arrangements and how the funeral was being arranged around the homecoming game and Halloween's trick or treat night and the Catholic's Holy Day, but I wanted something in hard copy to convey my feelings toward Giulia, her family and the people of War.  Josephine promised me a photo of 5 generations to add to Giulia's story.

            Although I will not be able to attend Giulia's funeral, she will be in my thoughts and always a part of my life.

            Love,

            B. L. Dotson-Lewis