Amanuensis Monday: "Newlyweds at the Mori Home"

From the Santa Cruz Sentinel (Santa Cruz, CA) June 16, 1938 --

     Mr. and Mrs. William Whelan of San Francisco are spending a part of their wedding trip with the bride's sister, Mrs. Angelo Mori and family at 288 Otis Street.
     The wedding was June 5 at St. Finbar's church, San Francisco.  the bride before marriage was miss Pauline Molfino.
      Mrs. Mori's mother Mrs. L. Molfino, and sister and brother-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. C. Casattas, also were here.  All attended the graduation of John Mori from Chaminade high school.

This is my wife's grand-relatives.  The Mori's and Whelan's are her grand aunts and uncles; Mr. and Mrs. Casattas are her grandparents, and L. Molfino is her great-grandmother Louisa, the matriarch.

Copyright © 2014 by Kevin W. Walker

Sunday Obituary: Assunta Filicina Augustina Molfino Casattas (1899-1982)

From Santa Cruz Sentinel, 13 June 1982, Page 75 --

Assunta A. Casattas

     Assunta A. "Sunny" Casattas, a former resident of Santa Cruz, died Saturday in Fremont.  She was 82.
     A native of San Francisco, Mrs. Casattas lived in the Santa Cruz area for 20 years.
     She is survived by a son Paul S. Casattas of San Jose; two daughters, Josephine Juhl of Santa Cruz and Sister Marie Julie SHF of San Jose; two sisters, Mary Mori and Pauline Whelan, both of Santa Cruz; a brother, Enrico Molfin of Santa Cruz, a son-in-law, Jens Juhl of Santa Cruz; six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
     Mass will be celebrated at the Holy Family Convent, 159 Washington, in fremont on Monday at 7:30 p.m.  Friends and relatives are invited to visit at the convent on Monday after 2 p.m.
     Internment will be at the Holy Cross Cemetery in Santa Cruz on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.
     Darling-Fischer Garden Chapel, 471 E. Santa Clara St., in San Jose is in charge of arrangements.

Copyright © 2014 by Kevin W. Walker

Italian Swiss Colony Wines and g-grandpa Paulo Molfino (1859-1924)

Remember the jingle?



Decades before Americans were enjoying fine wines, they would enjoy wine as a daily beverage, and by far the largest seller was the wine produced by Italian Swiss Colony in its iconic straw-wrapped jug. "Italian Swiss Colony," was founded in 1881 by Andrea Sbarboro, who formed an entire community in California, with other Italian and Swiss immigrants.  When newcomers from Italy first arrived it was hard for them to find work and get set up independently.  Sbarboro's operation greased the skids to assimilation for the immigrants.

In the 1960's, the Italian Swiss Colony was the second largest tourist attraction in California, next to Disneyland.  It was a favorite place of my mother's and I remember her taking me at least twice.  I never understood what she found in it to like so much.  The only thing as a child I had to look forward to was the train ride.

Why is all this relevant to our family history?  Take a look (click to enlarge) --

-- This picture of the Italian Swiss Family Colony family was taken July 23, 1907 (click to enlarge).  Bottom picture, seated, second row, second from the left, is my wife's great-grandfather Paulo Molfino (1859-1924).

Lots more to learn here.  Is the bottom pic the same date as the top?  If not, are there relatives in the top picture?  Are there more relatives in bottom pic?

In the meantime it would be cool to get an antique straw-wrapped Italian Swiss Colony jug for my wife, empty of full it doesn't matter.  Vintage enough, maybe her ancestors touched it.

Copyright © 2014 by Kevin W. Walker