Salvatore DeStefano

Where were you born?

I was born in New York City on 112th Street between First and Second Avenue.

What do you remember from growing up?

Well, hold on a second. I’ve got to go back a lot of years. I remember that my father had a shoe repair shop, because in Italy he used to repair and make shoes.  When he came over here he opened a shop on 112th Street near Second Avenue and he made 15 dollars a week. In those days that was big money.  My father came from a small town in Italy, north of Naples.  He and my mother came over to the States in 1920 and I was born in 1922. 

What was your family like?

I grew up in a large family and everyone had a job to do.  My father worked and in those days the mother was the boss of the family in my neighborhood.  I had four brothers and sisters: Susan, Alfonse, Michael, and Joey.  I was the second youngest and Joey was the baby of the family.