Taylor Street Archives
www.taylorstreetarchives.com
Vince Romano
1524 So. Sangamon #803
Chicago, IL 60608
312-443-6241 (Business) 312-218-4044 (Cell)
Idols, Heroes and Role Models
Luke Capuano: Growing up in Taylor Street’s Little Italy:
Part 2
As reported by: Vince Romano
“A child’s life is like a piece of paper on which every person leaves a
mark.”
Elsewhere in these Taylor Street Archives is a story that begins as
follows: In India, they have a saying reserved for those individuals who
had influenced and shaped our lives. That saying is, “You are my
Gemma.” The Gemma is a tributary to the Ganges River. From the
point at which the Gemma flows into the Ganges, the Ganges is no
longer the same river. Its course is forever influenced by the Gemma as
it winds its way down to the ocean…ultimately influencing and shaping
the landscape of distant shores. “You are my Gemma.” A tribute
reserved for those who had become our Gemmas during our personal
journeys through life. A tribute reserved for those who made us
something different than we would have been had we not met them.
I never knew what a Gemma was. In fact I never knew there was a river
in India called the Gemma. Now that I know of their existence, this
story about four of my early childhood mentors is a story of my
Gemmas. Because of them, I and others became something more than
we would have been. I am grateful that these Taylor Street Archives
have given me the opportunity to record and memorialize their names.
I’m sure that each generation of kids in our neighborhood had their
share of Gemmas. Every one of us should take the time to see that their
names and their deeds are recorded in these Archives for posterity. In
fact the names of all who had the good fortune of growing up on Taylor
s Street, first and second generation Italian Americans alike, should, at
the least, have their names recorded in the Taylor Street Archives for
posterity. Now that the Archives have taken root, we should all see to it
that our immigrant parents and grandparents are recorded as well.
Taylor Street was unique. Everybody watched out for everyone else’s
kids. It was a close community. The respect we held for our parents we
also held out to their friends, their relatives, their paesans…the entire
neighborhood for that matter. Hillary Clinton may have recently
discovered that it “Takes a Village.” We, growing up on Taylor Street,
knew, long before she published her book, that it took a village.
I’m not sure what the threshold or litmus test is for Gemmas, but there
are 4 guys that I’m sure who qualified. During my formative years, I
had the good fortune to have been coached by Tony Boggia, George
Cappizano, John Soto, and Pat Fatigato. While sports may have been
the common denominator that brought us together with these mentors,
we came away with more than finely tuned athletic skills. Their words,
their actions and the values they imparted upon us continue to guide
and influence us during our adult lives. It was because of unselfish
men such as these that armies of kids were afforded the opportunity to
reinforce the values their parents and teachers began instilling in
them. The Taylor Street Archives afford me this opportunity to
memorialize their names and their deeds. Hopefully, the Archives will
resurrect and record the memories of other Gemmas held by others
who were also Taylor Street bred.
They were our Gemmas. Whether recognized or not, they had also
influenced the development of my boyhood friends who had the good
fortune to have had them become part of their lives as well.
Tony “Bo Jo” Boggia was a father of 4 at the age of 33. Every Monday,
Wednesday and Friday he devoted himself to teaching us how to play
football. As outstanding as he was in teaching the fundamentals of the
game, it was the mental aspect of the game that he was able to impart
that enabled us to overcome the size deficit we encountered at each of
our Sunday games. Competing against kids from other neighborhoods
meant playing against other ethnic groups. Since a six-footer was a
rarity in our neighborhood, they always had a size advantage over us.
Bo Jo, as he was called, was a man of few words. The intensity with
which he looked at you when making an important point assured that
he had your undivided attention. A task master of Vince Lombardi
vintage, he was always there when you needed guidance,
encouragement or just someone to talk to. He was there for you when
you needed to talk about things you couldn’t (or wouldn’t) talk about
with your mom or dad. His home was your home. He was your
confidant. His death at an early age (Bo Jo died at age 33) denied a lot
of young kids growing up on Taylor Street the opportunity to be
coached by a truly great guy.
Paul Cappizano was a man who knew every aspect of baseball. As a
young man in his 20’s, he gave freely of his time to legions of little
leaguers seeking to develop the complex skills necessary to compete at
the highest levels of little league baseball. His knowledge of the finer
techniques of hitting, running, pitching and fielding enabled us to
compete against and, more often than not, beat teams of superior talent
and experience. As I look back, I recall with admiration the patience
he displayed in the practice sessions designed to develop, not just the
basic skills, but the finer techniques that would ultimately determine
the outcome of those close games. I recall the rented buses and the
pool of neighbors’ cars that he organized for our benefit. Because of
George, we had the opportunity to break away from the confines of our
neighborhood and play at a multitude of suburban parks where kids
lived in 3 and 4 bedroom air conditioned homes. It was because of his
efforts and his sacrifices that we experienced playing in stadiums with
hundreds of spectators. Can you imagine a bunch of Taylor Street kids,
(not far removed from playing in the fire hydrants, or playing kick the
can, or running after the “rags-a-line man” to see how much he would
give us for a piece of scrap iron) felt when the announcer introduced
us. Jogging out to our positions, as each of us was introduced by the
home town announcer, we were, for that fleeting moment, lifted into a
world far removed for the asphalt pavements of the inner city that
radiated the summer’s heat. It wasn’t until the first hit or the first
catch that the question burning inside each of us before each game was
answered, “Will we be competitive against these well honed suburban
teams?” Thanks to George Cappizano, we more than measured up to
our opponents. We always walked off the field proud of our
performance. Vince Lombardi was quoted as saying, “The supreme joy
of life is to lie exhausted on the field of battle, victorious in the
knowledge that you had given your all, not just in the contest itself, but
in preparation for that contest as well.” God bless you George (and the
others) for those “supreme joys” we experienced so early in life. He too
passed away at an early age.
John Soto was a kind and mild mannered man who gave himself to the
difficult task of guiding kids off the streets to the playing fields. While
he developed in us the skills to compete and excel in sports (football
was his forte), he viewed sports as an opportunity to develop the
emotional strengths needed to meet with and successfully cope with
those life challenges that awaited us in our later years. A fixture at the
Midland Boys’ Club on Loomis Street, John, a family man and a humble
man, is best remembered as someone who placed the happiness and
well-being of others before himself. He was happiest when others were
happy. Although John passed away, he, like all Gemmas, lives in the
minds and hearts of those whose lives he touched.
Pat Fatigato, like the others, was a giver. Pat gave freely of his time to
the community and its residents. He willingly shared the knowledge
and experience he had acquired. In my mind he was one of the best. I
was fortunate enough to play Little League baseball under him.
Although my senior, our athletic careers merged again when we played
against each other in football. Later, we were teammates on the same
championship softball team.
A walking sports encyclopedia, he was also a superb all-around athlete
and never abused the physical gifts he had been given to take
advantage of others. Never once did I know him to bully or belittle
anyone. A super guy with no pretenses, he was the first to laugh at his
own mistakes. The manner in which he handled himself made you
wonder if he was already fully grown when he was born. Pat also had
been given only a limited number of years to be a Gemma. He passed
away at the age of 42.
I know that everyone, at one time in their lives, is in need of guidance
from someone other than an immediate family member or teacher.
These gentlemen also served in that capacity for me and others in our
community. They are just a handful of the many members of our
community who deserve to be remembered. Hopefully, the readers of
this article will find the time to include their names in the Archives
designed to preserve the memories and histories of all of us who were
“Taylor made.”
This site, the Taylor Street Archives, is dedicated to the memory of all
of those Taylor Street mothers who nurtured their Taylor Street
children through a time and place unmatched by any other. The
Profiles of those strong willed mothers who nurtured us through the
great depression (and other, not so visible obstacles of similar
magnitude) will be found in these archives … Vince Romano
