This picture is of me, (Danny) as a young boy I was leaning on a palm tree on the front side yard of Nonno’s house. You can see Uncle Pepe’s car in the background.
It was May 30th, 1947, on a Thursday morning around two o’clock in the morning the best I can remember. I was born in Tampa, Florida, at the original St. Joseph’s Hospital; a yellow brick building surrounded by narrow brick roads. Across the street was an old wooden building for newborns.
I lived with my parents in a rented apartment adjacent to where they owned a grocery store on Osborne Avenue. Our home was a small old wooden building and was in an established Anglo-Saxon neighborhood with many children for me to play with. My fondest memories were those of hearing my mom and dad laugh and talk, operate the store, and having my baths. There was one time he fell asleep while bathing me and my mom had to wake him up. I could hear her loudly saying, “Stafford, wake up!” I have memories of staying at the store and I remember them placing a cot in the back, where I would take my naps and they could keep an eye on me.
During that time, there were conversations in which they discussed how hard times were and the struggles of everyday life. Customers did not always pay and they were hard -pressed as well. On occasion, I had a baby sitter, who lived behind the store and those were the times I got to play with my friends. She did not kept a close eye on me as I remember playing with friends and not staying with her that much. I still do not know how it got started (as we were around the age of two or three), but we began jumping off roofs of houses and garages. We even used umbrellas as parachutes, but I do not know what prompted this action. Of course after my parents found out about this, there was no more babysitting! Our innocence and the act of being kids without supervision (at times) made us do some silly and strange things. Later on, this action resulted in having my first hernia operation around the age of three or four due to the jumping.
During this age you begin to learn about friendships and somehow people begin to influence you for whatever reason. This is a critical time in your life when you begin to learn behaviors and what your surroundings are all about. There was an older boy in the neighborhood (I can no longer think of his name) that was considered my hero. If anything bad was to happen or I would imagine anything bad happening to me; I thought he would be my hero and rescue me. His parents shopped at the store frequently and I identified with him on a child’s level. Although he possessed no powers or even interacted with me that much in my mind he was my friend and protector. Perhaps he was my first imaginary friend, but still real. It’s funny when you are young how thoughts are made and perceived. I believe his name was Wayne, but I’m not sure anymore. For years (even after moving), I remembered him although he really did not spend any time with me. I have fond memories living there, even though the store and the apartment were very small and dim. The love generated by my parents and the feeling of being in the same place where they worked was so sensational the memory has never left me. Many of my thoughts to this day occur when I think about the delightful time there. As a young child everything is bright, magical, and unspoiled (no matter what the circumstances). There were many boys that came to the store to play but I cannot remember any of their names. I do remember they came often to play or perhaps to be in the store. Once, my mom told them they would have to stay outside as they were becoming annoying. Although she was never rude, the memory has stayed in my mind and I think of it as funny to this day.
The Move to West Tampa
As time went on, my parents (for whatever reason) decided to move. It was because my father was going back to get his GED and attend college under the GI Bill. The store on Osborne was not doing well because the depression, so they sold and moved to an area of Tampa called “West Tampa”. This was a small section of Tampa much like the area called Ybor City with all the similar traits of a small town. It was composed mostly of Latin immigrants in small neighborhoods. The area was self-contained with local stores such as the Alessi Bakery, a couple of movie theaters, a small drug store, hardware store, barber shop, and of course a very nice library for the time. The library is still there (a very neat red brick building) next to the (later built) U.S. Post Office. This is where I checked out my first library books. I would see students checking out many books and I would check out more than what I needed, thinking this is what is done. I realize I was very young when I did that.
As one of only ten public libraries in Florida funded by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, The Carnegie Library on Howard Ave. was constructed in 1913 in Neo-Classical Revival Architectural Style; Land for the building was donated by Angel Cuesta, a prominent cigar factory owner. The city of Tampa annexed West Tampa in 1925, and today the original library building continues to serve as the West Tampa Community Library.
Originally built in 1903 to house the Fernandez Cigar Company, it later became the office for the MacFarlane Investment Company. In 1931, the building was expanded in the rear to house the Alessi Bakery. The original location of Alessi Bakery is on the southwest corner of Howard and Chestnut. Since the taking of this photo, it has been painted gray with red trim and is now being used as the Mt. Horeb Assembly church.
My parents met during a dance held in Ybor City in the 1940’s. Our father was from Louisiana and worked as a lineman, but before that he worked for a telegraph company. Because of the war (even though he did line work), his boss could not exempt him from the draft although he tried. (The club where they met) was located on a corner in Ybor City and still exists today. As the story is told by Mom, our father offered her a coke to drink, so she felt “obligated” to dance with him. This story would always make me laugh!
Nonno was very strict when it came to dating any of his daughters.
After a series of chaperoned dates, which sometimes included my first cousin, Shirley Mistretta, they got married. Dad was later sent to war and was stationed in the barracks near West Tampa. My father and my mother had an agreement to save as much as they could while he was away. During those hard times, he sent money back and Mom (living with her parents) stockpiled all the proceeds. This gave them the money they needed to build their first home on St. Louis Street which for the time was expensive, but they were able to pay in cash.
Dad was stationed at Drew Field and the following is a little background of the area where he lived in for a while.
Drew Field in its early history is uneventful. A private landing field, the property was acquired by the city of Tampa in 1928 for the purpose of establishing a municipal airport. At that time, Drew presented the dreary prospect of damp marshy land, stretches of sand covered over with a sparse growth of palmetto scrub.
Practically nothing was done toward the development of the project until January, 1941, the United States government took over and plans were laid for the militarization of the site. Only then did the story of Drew Field begin to unfold.
Lt. Henry M. Sallery, Engineer Corps, was ordered from Mac Dill Field, Dec. 1, 1940 to supervise the preparation of the abandoned field for military use. Under his supervision, administrative buildings and barracks were erected. Jan. 16, 1941, Capt. James C. Hardwick, Air Corps, arrived, attached to the 27th Air Base Squadron and assigned to command of Base Detachment, Drew Field. He was accompanied by a force of 31 men, half of whom were detailed for guard duty.
The building, which was built for three airlines, was soon swamped. The Civil Aeronautics Board granted Capital, Delta, Northeast, Northwest and Trans World Airlines authority to fly to Tampa during the late 1950s and as a result created havoc at the undersized terminal. An annex was built east of the terminal to accommodate the new carriers
Bay area hotel reservations were just a 5-digit phone call away in 1952 from T.I.A.
It was at that time phones were not private. We had what was called a party line and you had to obey standards that were taught even in school.
Such rules were not to listen to other people’s conversations and not to stay on more than three minutes as others would want to use the phone. Of course these rules were broken all the time. Even into the middle to late sixties if there was a long distance call the rule was that took precedence. The call was being charged and no one wanted to waste time on a long distance call. We got our first semi-private line in the late 1950’s and finally moved into a private line in the 1960’s.
Jet-powered operations began in 1959 when Eastern Air Lines introduced the Lockheed L-188 Electra. The following year National Airlines began turbo jet service with the Douglas DC-8 jet liner. Flights to Mexico City began in 1961 with weekly service by Pan American. Congestion became a serious problem at the terminal when the airlines began to replace their piston powered equipment with larger jet liners. As a temporary measure the terminal was once again expanded to handle the growth in traffic.
During the early 1960s, the aviation authority began making plans to build a replacement terminal in an undeveloped site at the airport. Airport leaders chose the Landside/Air side design in 1965 after a careful study of different types of terminals. Construction on the new terminal began in 1968 between the airport’s parallel jet-capable runways. When completed in 1971 the new jet port was highly praised by the press and has become one of the best airports in the nation.
This picture of Dad was taken in 1945, while he was in Edinburgh, Scotland. He traveled to many countries and wrote the names and places on his holster and knife case. Over the years, the writing has faded and is hard to read.
“Shirley Mistretta”, is the daughter of Paul Mistretta, Shirley at sometimes chaperoned Mom and Dad on dates at the request of Nonno.
Upon writing to her in February 2013 she stated she did not remember much about chaperoning, but she did send me this memory:
“oh and it just came to me – when we were all having a family day at Clearwater beach when i was little, i was underwater drowning, and all of a sudden, Matilda’s arm snatched me up – she literally saved my life. i will never forget that”.
From Shirley Mistretta Perez
The yellow brick house in West Tampa located on 1912 St. Louis Street is fondly fixed in my memory, as the address of the store which was 1912 Columbus Drive. It is the same numbered address of the store they purchased half ownership with Julian and Lillian Turlington. (a math problem 1+9+1+2=13, but 1+3=4) (Remember 4 is my favorite number)!
Julian’s first partner was an alcoholic and was not reliable; our parents had expressed an interest in the store for a long time. I remember the story of them buying a chuck steak from what was then called Big Barn (which became a chain of stores) in the Tampa area.
I must have really enjoyed the steak and told my mom. She put that comment in her head and was determined to do something about it. She told me that one day, I would always be able to have steak when I wanted it!
I was now in third grade and was having trouble physically. My legs were giving out on me and walking (occasionally) was very difficult for me. I had seen several doctors and at one point the doctors thought about putting braces on my legs. The last six to eight weeks of my third grade, they discovered I had Rheumatic Fever. I was placed in St. Joseph’s Hospital to recover.
Here is a brief description:
Rheumatic fever is an inflammatory disease that may develop after an infection with Streptococcus bacteria (such as strep throat or scarlet fever). The disease can affect the heart, joints, skin, and brain.
Rheumatic fever is common worldwide and is responsible for many cases of damaged heart valves. It is not common in the United States, and usually occurs in isolated outbreaks.
Rheumatic fever mainly affects children ages 6 -15, and occurs approximately 20 days after strep throat or scarlet fever.
Symptoms
- Abdominal pain
- Fever
- Heart (cardiac) problems, which may not have symptoms, or may result in shortness of breath and chest pain
- Joint pain, arthritis (mainly in the knees, elbows, ankles, and wrists)
- Joint swelling; redness or warmth
I knew how I had contracted the disease and this is not easy for me to admit for it was due to my reckless and adventurous nature. I am sure you could think of some other words to describe my actions! I know I can now!
As young boys we had much freedom, and one of the times after a rain, we dared each other to drink rain water from the lid of a garbage can…….yes, that’s as “irrational” as you can get! I would like to explain that the freedom came from living in the times. Even though our parents looked after us, the crimes and traffic was very sparse; therefore, we had the option of playing in our neighborhood unsupervised. I say this because it was a common practice for neighbors (back then) to look after each other’s children.
The second time I did this, I was with my cousin Chuckie at his house. He told his mom, Grace Mistretta, and I remember her blessing me out! She phoned my parents and when I got home they did the same thing. To this day, I feel this is how I contracted the Streptococcus bacteria.
For my foolishness, I was very sick for many months. Drinking that water was very foolish and I shall never forget it. The doctor (after having high fever) decided to place me in the original St. Joseph’s Hospital where I was kept for about six to eight weeks or perhaps longer. Each day I was given pencilium several times a day for treatment, as well as having my blood tested daily (at the time this was the treatment plan). Since then I have developed an allergic reaction to pencilium and sulfa.
Dr. Visits:
Health Care and the way doctors operate have changed so much since I was young. If we got sick you could go see a doctor, go to a Health Clinic, or be admitted to a hospital.
The best part about doctors was that they would sometimes schedule house appointments. If you were sick, they would bring their “black bag” which usually had what they needed and if you needed a prescription he would write it out. Our pediatrician, was Dr. Dean, was of average height and weight and had a great bedside manner. He was our family doctor for years and almost like a family member. If we needed prescriptions, we would have them filled in West Tampa, at Eagle Drugs, which was owned by a customer of our store. I enjoyed that he was our doctor but I was always fearful of getting a shot.
My parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles would often visit me at the hospital. The best part of their visit was their company along with the extra food they would bring (especially flan)! One of the best toys my parents gave me was a United States map puzzle that taught me all the states and capitals. It was a children’s ward and during my stay I saw many children come and go (some with serious ailments). I made friends with a few, but the friendships were short lived.
Toward the end of my stay, I remember my parents coming in after Dad had finished work; they both sat on the bed and said, “We have a great surprise to share with you.”
They tried to let me guess, but after a few minutes they told me they had purchased the store and from here on, we could have steak when we wanted. I was not all that excited about the steak, but thought how nice it was to have a store again! Also, I was so happy to see they were excited about their new purchase and adventure.
After a long stay in the hospital, I went home and that is when things began to change. It was great to be in the neighborhood, and having my mom work close by was a plus. From time to time (in the fourth grade), I would go to work with them. It was not always fun, and many times I would “escape” to go play, but was sought out and returned in order to be at the store with my responsibilities. Not only that, I don’t think they trusted me to be alone! Usually the responsibilities were not very difficult; it may be sweeping, bagging groceries, or putting up stock, but there was always something there for me to do. As time went on, I was shifted to the meat department as the sales started to climb. I wasn’t working with the stock or the produce section as much. It was a small store built of a wood frame construction, small windows on the side, and a tiny stock room.
Ray and Bobby, my brothers, were home but due to the age difference we had times we played together and times we would argue as brothers do. We had lots of fun and many times would play kick ball in the living and dining rooms. After breaking some items we were scolded and told not to do that again. Ray and I shared a room and Bobby slept in the middle room. We would enjoy making tents out of sheets or covers, draping them over chairs or beds or anything we had to create a fort for play. After fights sometimes we were threatened by our Dad to get what was called a “whipping” and would place pillows in our back sides, then run from our father! We would be scared and yet laugh as we knew nothing would happen, (most of the time)………….ha!
Our dog, Poochie, was the “toughest” dog in the neighborhood. He was great with kids but would go after any dog that threatened his territory. Later on, the city would send dog catchers to look for dogs that did not have a collar. One time Gaston Fernandez and I were playing in the front yard at night and a dog catcher truck stopped, but was not able to take him as he ran. From then on, we began to look out more for him.
We all had times together and sometimes we would play with our respective friends. We were also fortunate that our cousins, Phyllis and Roseanne, lived in the next street behind us and we could go over there to play as well.
There were many boys in the neighborhood. One of the larger families was the Martino family and I would go to their home to play “chase”. They were much older and when I could not get away from them, I would trick them by dropping to the ground and Sammy Martino would jump over me in fear. This gave me a chance to escape. I would laugh, but it kept him from tagging me.
Ray (sometimes) went across the street to the neighbor who watched him. She was an older lady and they enjoyed watching soap shows together. Bobbie played with the Sampson’s (Mitchell), which I never knew well. They had older sisters, but the age differences keep us apart. Of course, there was always one sweetheart in the neighborhood and her name was Lorraine. We were in “love” with her, but never even talked to her. It was just a crush while growing up!
Much of our friendship was playing outside, riding bikes, and sometimes building model cars, eating at each other’s home, or spending the night. Owning a television was rare as not everyone had a television. If you did at the time, it was considered a luxury.
During this time, moms sometimes would work, but it was not considered the norm. It was the father that “brought in the bacon”, but I could see it was slowly changing.
Mosquitoes were a problem too. Many people stayed inside, as the weather was warm into the night and during the summer months days were long. The health department would send mosquito trucks at night and spray each street. Due to ignorance many of us chased the trucks at night to hide in the fog they sprayed. We thought the spray would not harm humans, in fact we probably never thought about it.
Living in Tampa, the street lights helped us to play at night. We had to stay close by, but could go from house to house as long as we did not leave the block. It was sort of an unwritten rule.
“Although the Yellow Fever vaccine virtually eliminated the deadly virus from the United States in the 1930’s, Malaria and Dengue Fever continued to plague Floridians for several more decades, and St. Louis encephalitis virus remains endemic to the state. Only through concentrated efforts on the part of a dedicated force of pioneering men and women in the field of mosquito control were these diseases finally brought under control.
Mosquito trucks were used for spraying in order to help eliminate the deadly virus from the United States in the 1930’s, Malaria and Dengue Fever. We would sometimes get inspectors to enter the yard and turn over any container that held water. This sometimes meant the dog dish that contained water and we would then re-fill it.
Hillsborough County was no exception. In 1949, after a series of mosquito control projects and efforts in Tampa, Mac Dill Field, Davis Islands and surrounding areas, a county-wide Mosquito Control unit was officially formed and placed under the oversight of the Sanitary Engineering Division. With just one machine for fogging, one for misting, a handful of pesticide storage tanks and a few surplus jeeps and trucks, Sanitation Division Director Henry B. Crowell set up shop in an old barn and declared war on mosquitoes in Hillsborough County.