Irvine Park is a small neighborhood close to downtown St. Paul which I love. Today while photographing houses there which I will publish in subsequent days, I learned that it is the Old Levee neighborhood for the Italian immigrants. Today is also Grandparents Day which was officially established by President Jimmy Carter in 1970. What better way to honor those Italian who have helped build this city than share this small site with you that was donated by two Italian families, the Cossettas and the Mancinis. Both families have been prominent in the grocery store, food service, and restaurant business for several generations.
That's a very cute statuette, very nice touch.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad now I know about it thanks to you =)
Quaint. Charlie Brown??? Odd too, the or two random touches of Italian rather than having the dedication in both languages. Actually it all adds to the naïve charm.
ReplyDeletePassante, Yes, the statue seems totally unconnected, but Schultz grew up in St. Paul. For three years in a row HUNDREDS of statues of the cartoon characters appeared in every nook and cranny in the city. http://www.doghousedaysofsummer.com/history.php
ReplyDeletePerhaps the families entered into the spirit of this tribute and just added one to their site, honoring both the Italians and the memory of Schultz. No Italian? I wonder how many people still speak Italian here? Primarily settled by Irish, Germans, and Scandanavians. Now you've sent me on a task to learn more about my city!
this is cute! it seems a lot of finns migrated over to these parts as well. would be interesting to see if there r links to show this..
ReplyDeleteKate, great post, I never thought of St.Paul having Italians! Rather more Scandinavians.
ReplyDeleteAh, now I understand the Peanuts connection!
ReplyDeleteLike you, I doubt there are many Italian speakers left. I found interesting the odd touches: the rather eccentric "andiamo americano" (literally = "let's go American" and is meaningless in Italian); the date preceded by the Italian for "from"; and the use of "famiglia." Half-remembered remnants I suppose.
Kate, great post and information, I love Charlie Brown, good grief!
ReplyDeleteAnother great picture Kate, good onya. Greetings from Perth. We have a big Italian community here in Perth and a lot of our friends are Italian, will pass on the picture and related story, who knows they may have relations.
ReplyDeleteGreat picture Kate, will share with Italians in our community. There is a big Italian community in Perth, who knows they may have relatives in your town.
ReplyDeleteTake care and greetings from Perth Down Under.
Caio, Kate. It's fun to see Charlie Brown and edifying to learn of St. Paul's Italian settlers.
ReplyDeleteI wish you all the best for your birthday, good health and lots of great photos!
ReplyDeleteJazzy
that's charlie brown? oh, he's a cute character :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info. I had no idea.. :) Great shot!! :)
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