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# 50 • DECEMBER 28 , 2014
# 50 • DECEMBER 28 , 2014
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THE INTERVIEW:
MARY JO GAGLIANO
I
t is known that millions of Italian immigrants went to the big cities on the two coast: but some of them spread all over the
United States, looking for a place to start
a new life. Those who went to smaller and
less known places, in smaller but not less
important communities, had an experience
that is similar but at the same time different
than their fellow Italians in the big cities.
“
WHEN I WALKED INTO THE EXHIBIT ON
THE OPENING NIGHT I TRULY FELT THE
PRESENCE OF MY BISNONNA, NONNO,
NONNA, UNCLES AND OF COURSE MY
FATHER STANDING BESIDE ME
“
6 | WE THE ITALIANS
www.wetheitalians.com
In Birmingham, Alabama, Italians are now
celebrating their heritage with a beautiful
exhibition, and they won’t stop at it: that
is why we are so glad to welcome Mary Jo
Gagliano, who planned, organized, managed and brought this project to fruition,
with the help of some members of the
Italian American Heritage Society of Birmingham.
Mary Jo, please tell us something more
about this wonderful project sponsored by
the Italian American Heritage Society of
Birmingham, Alabama: “La Storia: Birmingham’s Italian community”
I feel that I must give you a small history
on the Magic City of Birmingham, and tell
you a few important facts about Vulcan
Park and Museum, where the exhibit is on
display. There is a mountain overlooking
Birmingham called Red Mountain, and the
mountain is named so because it was one of
the major iron ore vein being mined in the
formative years of the city. A few leaders of
the City of Birmingham wanted to showcase
the iron and coal industry in Alabama. They
decided: what better place than the 1904
World’s Fair in St. Louis, Missouri? So they
decided to build a statue, and it won the
grand prize.
An Italian immigrant Giuseppe Moretti, whose credentials scanned the world, agreed to
complete a plaster cast of the Greek God of
Iron, Vulcan, in forty days. Giuseppe took the
plaster cast to New Jersey and there with
the assistant of sixteen Italian immigrants
cast the 56 foot God of Iron. It was shipped
by train to Birmingham and workers in Sloss
Furnaces poured the cast with pig iron to
form the 56 foot statue. After the World’s
Fair, the statue was on display at the State
Fairgrounds. Many years later Vulcan was
set atop a stone monument built by Italian
Immigrants, most who lived in Birmingham
and a few from other areas of the US.
I heard from one of our members that Vulcan Park and Museum was looking for an
Italian organization to help them in compiling an exhibition focusing on Italian immigrants. I phoned them and spoke to the
Director of education. He responded that
the next exhibition at VPM would showcase
the Birmingham downtown black District. I
immediately responded that an exhibition
featuring the Italian immigrants to Birmingham would be perfect to follow the one
about the Birmingham Black community.
The Italian immigrants, not being accepted
into any white Anglo-Saxon communities,
made their home in the black communities
and opened their businesses in those communities.
I must say that I believe that the directors
agreed with me, because he wasted no time
in getting back to me. Once these decisions had been made, I began the planning
stages, asking for society member to volunteer on various committees. We planned
a memorial book where one could place
their beloved family members from the first
generation through present generations.
We also designed a bronze plaque for the
Italian families to honor their immigrant
ancestors by having their names engraved
on the plaque.
My co-chair Leone Chiarella along with
another member, Angie Piazza Giardina,
sold corporation advertising and family
memorials for the memorial book. With the
memorial book funds, the bronze plaque
purchases, and of course a few social events, we raised $65,000. We collected artifacts,
oral histories, photos documents from the
Italian immigrant families. There was a great
amount of material collected, but we feel
that this is only a drop of information from
a large pool of ancestors of these Italian
immigrants in Birmingham.
It took 16 months from inception to the
opening of the exhibit. I must say that when
WE THE ITALIANS | 7
www.wetheitalians.com