Eugene Volpe (1925-2021), 1980 June 23
Abstract
In this interview, Eugene Volpe describes how his father Frank Volpe immigrated to America, started a grocery store, and met Eugene's mother Ann Tiburzi. Volpe further expands on the day-to-day running of the business, the family's involvement in the store, and Volpe's education and social life.
Dates
- 1980 June 23
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research use.
Biographical / Historical
Eugene Volpe's father Frank Volpe immigrated to the United States in 1913 when he was 20 years old. He worked on the railroads before starting a grocery store in Baltimore in 1919. Frank met his wife Ann Tiburzi becuase he had worked with her father on the railroad. Eugene was born in 1925. He and his siblings worked in the store after school, and then full time until they were married. However, they were never expected to take over the store. By 1975, the grocery store was not making much money, but Frank continued running the store regardless.
Extent
5 Items (45-minute audio recording, tape index, and biography form.)
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Bibliography
Scope and Contents
The Little Italy oral history collection oral history collection was established to better understand the lives of Italian immigrants who settled in Baltimore from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s. This collection includes 16 audio recordings, numerous tape indexes, biographical material, and some additional articles and photographs depending on the interview. There is one full transcript for John Torrieri.
The individuals interviewed helped create Baltimore's Little Italy district into a thriving center of Italian culture. The oral histories focus on a variety of topics: initial American experiences, starting businesses in Little Italy, family life, Italian culture, the Depression, and World War II, among other topics.
The interviews were primarily conducted by Jean Vincenza-Scarpaci, known as "Vincenza," from 1979-1980, except for one recording done by Mary Thayer in 1973. Vincenza is a well-known immigration historian, in particular focusing on Italian American immigration in the United States. While teaching at Towson State University in the 1970s, Vincenza took an interest in the study of groceries and bakeries in Baltimore, Maryland, which led to the creation of this oral history collection. For more information on Vincenza's many works that could be helpful in contextualizing the interviews in this collection, please see the Bibliography.
Narrators of this collection include Thomas D'Alesandro Jr., Maryland's Delegate in the House of Representatives (1939-1947) and Mayor of Baltimore (1947-1959); Joseph Fava who created a successful macaroni brand; brothers Vincent and Michael Pastore who opened a number of groceries; Joe Vaccarino, who owned the Sole D'Italia brand, and a number of other Italian immigrants who settled in the Little Italy area.
Repository Details
Part of the H. Furlong Baldwin Library Repository
H. Furlong Baldwin Library
Maryland Center for History and Culture
610 Park Avenue
Baltimore MD 21201 United States
4106853750
specialcollections@mdhistory.org