Staunton
The City of Opportunity

Tiffany Ritter
Civic Memorial High School, Bethalto

Have you ever wondered why you live in America, in Illinois, and in the city where you reside? Are you curious as to why your descendants chose to come to America in the first place? Like many others, my great-grandfather, Matteo Caldieraro, came to the "land of opportunity" for a job. But why did he settle in Staunton, Illinois?

From the 1880s until only recently, coal mining was the principal industry in Staunton. The decades of the 1890s and the early 1900s saw a great deal of European immigration to America, and many—especially Italians—settled in Staunton. The population of Staunton grew as immigrants from Germany and Italy came to this country to find jobs. These immigrants heard of the prosperity in America and came here to make their fortunes, hoping and planning to eventually return to their homelands as wealthy people. Coal mining was the thriving industry during this era, especially in Pennsylvania and Illinois. As the immigrants came to America, arriving first at Ellis Island in New York, they were processed and then went on to their destinations. Many considered settling near the coal mines of Pennsylvania, but as they passed through the state on the trains that carried them, they saw dirty cities and dilapidated tenements and opted for a more rural setting. Illinois and the mines and land around Staunton became the destination for some. They were in a strange country, and many spoke no English. They settled in Staunton because the setting was more like the small towns in Italy from which they had come.

As each group of immigrants arrived in the Staunton area and found jobs, they wrote their relatives in their native land to tell them about their lives and work. The relatives then immigrated to America, sponsored by friends or relatives who were already here. Many of the married men who came to Staunton left their families in their homeland to come to America until they could earn enough to pay for their family's passage to America. Often, the married men told the single ones about a female friend or relative back in their native countries who they thought would make a good wife. These single men then sponsored the women to come to America, paid their passage, and married them when they arrived. Most of the single men married the women they sponsored. These "arranged" marriages were quite typical dur-

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ing this era of immigration and coal mining.

One such immigrant from Italy was Matteo Caldieraro. He was born in Rotzo, Italy, on September 25, 1885. He first arrived in America in 1906 and worked alongside his cousin and friends in a coal mine in Staunton. He returned to Rotzo, Italy, in 1911, got married, and then convinced his new wife to return with him to America. According to the ship's manifest, Matteo and his wife Clotilde had twenty-five dollars each upon arriving in the United States. They used some of their money to pay for food and the train to Illinois. The document shows that their destination was rural Staunton. They resided with friends for a few months until they saved enough money to purchase a small home. The home they had purchased had an extra room or two and Matteo saw a chance to make extra money by using those rooms to board six single miners. The miners not only needed lodging, but also meals and clean clothing. Clotilde cooked breakfast, packed lunch pails, cooked evening meals, and laundered the miners' clothing. The miners slept on cots and had very few possessions other than their lunch pails and a few changes of clothing. One of the boarders was Dominick Costa, Matteo's friend who had sponsored Clotilde when she came to America. Clotilde told Dominick that she had a younger sister, Pierina, who wanted to come to America and that she would be a perfect match for him. After a few months of convincing him and of sending letters back and forth to Italy, he sponsored Pierina and paid for her passage to America. They married in Staunton shortly after her arrival, bought a home, and also took in boarders for extra money.

Many male immigrants to Staunton spent much of their time in their new homeland underground, mining coal.

One thing the Caldieraros and other immigrants brought from Italy was the grape vine. The grapes were planted, harvested, and the immigrants then donned white sterilized hip boots and smashed the grapes by stomping on them. After the grapes were smashed, they were strained and then fermented in a vat until they were ready to be bottled and aged. The resulting fine red wine was served with every meal. Like many immigrants, the Caldieraros raised or grew most of their own food. They raised chickens for eggs and meat and grew a large variety of vegetables in the garden. The excess was stored in a cellar for the winter or cooked and canned in jars.

Since most Staunton residents were immigrants, many tried to settle near those from the same country. Most could speak some English, but more often they spoke in their native language. Even into the 1960s, although they could speak English fluently, when the immigrants visited with friends who came from the old country they generally conversed in Italian.

There were few expenses for the new immigrants except for food and clothing. Wood or coal was used for heating. The Caldieraros saved well and sent all of their savings back to a postal bank account in Italy for safekeeping. They had hopes of returning to their homeland and becoming wealthy landowners in Italy after they made a big profit in the United States. Unfortunately the money, which was converted into Italian lira, became devalued and most of it became worthless. Also, as their children grew older and married, they knew they should stay in America and become naturalized citizens.

The Caldieraros lived and prospered in Staunton until their deaths. Matteo retired from coal mining in 1951. He and his wife were part of the "melting pot" of immigrants who became Americanized in Staunton because of jobs provided by the coal-mining industry. If it were not for the coal mines that attracted immigrants to the Staunton area, I would not be living where I do today. — [From John Bergen, et al, A Century of Progress; Mary Dorrell Kilduff, Staunton in Illinois; S.S. France Manifest of Alien Passengers for the United States Immigration Officer at Port of Arrival (New York 1913); student historian's interview with Jacqueline Valentee, Sept. 6, 1999.]

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