|
1895-1897 From Italy to Arkansas |
||||
 Father Pietro Bandini |
1897 - Father Bandini’s Vision for Tontitown Colony Meanwhile, Father Pietro Bandini had been sent to America to help these immigrants. Bandini was of good birth and highly educated. He was passionately involved in the plight of improving the lives of his fellow Italians. He organized the St. Raphael Society to work with the Immigration Service in New York. Hearing of the conditions at Sunnyside, Bandini came to Arkansas to help. Father Bandini remembered traveling through the Ozarks where the terrain was high and dry; a place where the sick could regain their health, and colonists could cultivate crops that were more familiar. He convinced 18 families to wait while he secured land. He found a farm near Springdale that an American, William Woods, was selling for two or three dollars an acre because he couldn’t cultivate the stony land. The Giovanni Battista Bariola family was the first to follow Father Bandini in January 1898. By March, at least 40 families had arrived. They came by coach singing the same songs theyhad once sang on the voyage from Italy: “Quando da Napoli Fra Suoni e Canti Vengano dalI’Italia Due Cari Amanti . . .” translated “When from Naples, amid music and song, we departed from Italy . . . They bought the land on mortgage, dividing the farm and a few other small parcels in 10-acre tracts for each family. That first winter, the familieshuddled in a few wood and mud huts. The men worked in the mines of Oklahoma, while the women did their best to make homes of those huts. Every dollar the men made in the mines was used to save the mortgages that were very close to foreclosure. A few thousand rabbits caught in traps were the only food for the community. The local Americans gave no help, in fact boasting they would oust the Italians the first year. By late spring, the community began planting their first crops of vegetables and fruit. They began to cultivate one acre of land, placing grape vines on it. They planted the fig and chestnut trees from their native Italy, and the American apple tree. The fig and chestnut trees died during the first year, but the apples prospered. Day by day, from dawn to late night, each man attended to his acreage, trying to improve the land, while working for his richer American neighbors. From Italy, they received willow branches with which they tied the grape vines, and in each vineyard planted one of these trees. The Italian Willow, which does not bring rust to the grape, as wire does, nor cut it, can be used repeatedly for tying without breakage. Father Bandini was officially appointed pastor. They named the colony Tontitown for Henri De Tonti, the first Italian and LaSalle’s Chief Lieutenant, who had established the first white colony in Arkansas. During the latter part of May, disaster struck as a tornado destroyed the top portion of a log home, killing Gaetano Gilante. But soon after came new life, when the first baby, Virgil Pozza, was baptized July 17, 1898. Families began building separate log homes. An old school at the crossroads was reopened where Miss Brady, a teacher from St. Louis, taught the children English and mass was held on Sunday. Legend has it that Indians set fire to this building, but Father Bandini, seeing the flames was able to extinguish them before the building was destroyed. A picture of St. Joseph was left untouched on the scorched back wall, so the church was named for this Saint. After a most stern warning from Father Bandini to their unfriendly neighbors, peace began to reign in the newly developed community of Tontitown. Antagonism gave way to a new respect for a people who refused to be pushed around. |
|||
|
1900’s - Making Tontitown Home Tontitown families worked hard and played hard. Their festivities always included music. Father Bandini led the Tontitown Band, which became well-known. The St. Joseph’s Church was busy and supported the opening of St. Mary’s School and Convent in 1906, first under direction of Ursuline Sisters and two periods by the Sisters of Mercy. May 16, 1905 was a day of honor as the Italian Ambassador to the United States, Baron Edmondo Mayor des Planches visited Tontitown. Both Italians and Americans greeted him. Ambassador Mayor des Planches was overwhelmed with the abundance of fruit and other crops, and how well accepted his people were now in this part of America. “It was a day of celebration,” his Excellency wrote to Italy, “that here at last were Americans who had recognized the value of my people, such as it really is, and to love it. I could not restrain my tears, but they were tears of joy. They celebrated with a banquet, with both rare and abundant fruits,home-cooked Italian dishes and wine made by Italian methods. Everything that was served at the table was made in Tontitown. The next two decades saw much growth in Tontitown. On June 28,1906, the citizens of Tontitown published a souvenir newspaper called L’AVVENIRE, which sold for ten cents a copy. It included ads for the following Tontitownbusinesses: • (Felix and Peter) Ardemagni Brothers Winery • John Bash - Miller • Eustacchio Cortiana - Shoemaker • Domenico Danzero - Tontitown Wine & Fruit Distilling Company • Joe Fiori - Cooperative for dairy and lime kiln • Adriano Morsani - Mason • Emilio Morsani - Builder and contractor • Memo Morsani - Agent of several nurseries • James Neale - Hotel • Peter Pianalto - Mechanic, blacksmith, mason and carpenter • Pozza E. Maestri - General merchandise • Mrs. Josephine Maestri and Miss Rose Bastianelli - Millinery Store • Giuseppe Taldo - Fine vineyards and wine. 1909 - Father Bandini Elected Mayor |
 Examining the grape vinesPhoto courtesy Maudine Sanders/Shiloh Museum of Ozark History |
|||
 Frank Baudino General Merchandise. They sold candy, material, sewing goods. Lighting consisted of string connected to lights that were turned on and off as you wentthrough the store. The manager, Mr. Moellar, lived in back and was the organist at church. Photo courtesty Tontitown Museum/Shiloh Museum of Ozark History |
||||
