Z' Amoroso

Amoroso Cefalo 

You may have seen the above photo in a previous blog post without any mention of when it was taken.
How do I know when it was taken? I cropped this image from a more inclusive photo in the Foto di Persone section of the Torre le Nocelle web site. The original photo is from a banquet in honor of Dr. Giovanni Di Dominicis under the auspices of the Torrese Colony on December 23, 1923. Recognize anybody? You can find Amoroso on the right hand side of the photo sitting at the base of column. And...if you're ever in Torre le Nocelle, you can inquire about visiting the Circolo Operaio Torrese building where you can see the photograph of the banquet hanging on the wall.

Luigi Cefalo

Amoroso was born in Torre le Nocelle. His parents were Luigi Cefalo and Vincenza Selvitella. I would like to tell you when he was born, but his World War I draft registration gives his birth date as December 3, 1876. When he registered for the draft in World War II his birthday was December 3, 1877. Finally the birth date associated with his Social Security number is November 14, 1876.

Two brothers and two sisters survived infancy; Ardita, Nicolangelo, Generoso, and Silvia. Ardita was my maternal grandmother.

Cefalo Siblings: Silvia, Amoroso, & Ardita

Here is a video of Amoroso walking down to street to visit his sister Ardita in Revere, Massachusetts. You can also see him in the video of the 1950 Circolo O Torrese picnic

I seem to always remember Z' Amoroso wearing a suit jacket and tie. That's probably because I usually saw him on holidays and other festive occasions such as Sunday dinner.

Z' Amoroso in 1957

Amoroso worked for many years as a cobbler at the French, Shriner, and Urner shoe factory in Boston. He worked well beyond retirement age. My father said that it was a struggle to get him to apply for his Social Security benefits. Amoroso was also qualified to received some unemployment benefits. My father took him down to the state offices to apply. When he saw the line of applicants, Amoroso said an Italian equivalent of "to hell with this" and left. He never tried to apply again.

Amoroso passed away on January 5, 1964 and is buried in St. Michael Cemetery in Boston.

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