Category: Cappiello

This article was written for the Auburn Citizen Newspaper on 17 September 2007 by Carmelo Signorelli (1921-2012), first cousin twice removed of Carla Ann Cappiello Golden.

Writing again, with thoughts of childhood By Carmelo Signorelli Sep 17, 2007 

Hi folks. Surprise! I’m back. I’ve had to quit writing my column for a while because of a health problem. I do hope to get back to my regular four-week schedule – at least I’m going to give it a good try. Advanced age sure does pose problems, as I’ve learned only too well.

Today’s column is going to be somewhat different, as it will cover my early childhood years. It might ring a bell with some of you seniors.

I was born in a large house on Hulburt Street when it was a residential area. The house was originally the convent for the nuns of St. Mary’s Church, most of whom were teachers at St. Mary’s School. The school was on Clark Street, next to the rectory.

An uncle of mine, Joseph Carnicelli (1874-1952), bought the house when a new convent was built on the corner of Clark and James streets. Many is the time I saw the nuns walking to or from the convent, always in twos.

My uncle converted the old convent into apartments which he rented to his in-laws. Five siblings lived in the house, including my father (Luciano Louis Signorelli 1889-1977), who was the only one who was not yet married. He lived with his parents. When he did marry, he continued with them in the apartment and there is where I was born.

My uncle Joseph moved to Rochester and opened up a grocery store. I remember that we used to buy some of our groceries from him and they would be shipped to us in a barrel.

After several years, he decided to move back to Auburn so my parents gave up their apartment and moved into one on Green Avenue, a short street behind Hulbert Street.

There were quite a few Italian families in that neighborhood, but it was not primarily Italian as were some of those in the western part of the city. In addition to Hulbert Street, the area included McMaster Street, Pine Street, Church Street, Green Street, Green Avenue and about a block of Clark Street.

An uncle of mine by marriage was Salvatore Cappiello (1884-1975) who, with his brother Angelo (1888-1946), ran an Italian bakery. They had emigrated to America from a town in Italy called Biccari. Their bakery was originally located on Garden Street but later they had a masonry building erected behind Angelo’s on Hulbert Street. It was a two-story building with the bakery on the first floor and a multi-purpose hall on the second floor, which was rented out for various reasons.

The Cappiello Bakery produced an excellent variety of Italian bread that you can’t buy anymore. The bakery had a panel truck with which bread was delivered to the many family-owned Italian grocery stores in Auburn at the time. My uncle Salvatore would also fill a large basket with bread every day and make deliveries to the relatives in the area. I remember that my mother would purchase two loaves a day.

The Cappiello Bakery was across the street from where we lived on Hulbert Street and, occasionally, as a young child, I would go to the bakery and watch bread being made. I guess it was something to do.

I also attended social functions, such as wedding receptions, in the upstairs hall with my parents. I enjoyed the food that was served and had fun watching the dancing, which included the tarantella and other Italian dances. People in those days certainly knew how to have a good time.

The Italian Band of Auburn rehearsed in Cappiello Hall during its early years when nearly all of the members were Italian immigrants. My father was a member and played the clarinet. I remember that we had a large photograph of the band in their uniforms marching in formation on Hulbert Street.

The Iacovino Grocery was on Clark Street, near the Hulbert Street intersection. Many of the Italian immigrants in the area shopped at Iacovino’s because the proprietor could speak Italian. My mother bought groceries there, but it wasn’t long before she did most of her grocery shopping at the downtown stores because of their lower prices. Those stores were the forerunners of today’s supermarkets.

(Maria Cappiello 1874-1930, sister of Salvatore Cappiello, married John B. Iacovino 1867-1953.)

Hulbert Street was only a block from downtown and very handy as most people in our neighborhood didn’t have cars. Occasionally my father would take the family to Drake’s Confectionery on Genesee Street for a treat, usually sundaes. Drake’s was located where the Boyle Center is today, and was just a short walk from where we lived.

I started going to school at the age of five and went to James Street School, which was just two blocks away. On my first day of school, I was taken there by one of my older girl cousins, who also attended James Street School. She took me to the kindergarten teacher, who asked in a very friendly manner, “Is this the new boy?”

Going to James Street School was a great educational and social experience and I truly enjoyed it. The teachers were not only very competent, but also had pleasant dispositions and treated us as if we were their own children. How fortunate I was to be able to spend my first seven school years there.

Well, I guess I’ve rambled on long enough. I plan to be back next time right on schedule, the good Lord willing.

Arrivederci.

Carmelo Signorelli is an Auburn resident who enjoys reminiscing about the good ol’ days.

Ormie King’s Legends • A Friend Remembers Joe Cappiello
Post-Standard, The (Newspaper) – August 10, 2006, Syracuse, New York Page 12

Today’s Legends of Auburn story was written by Renee Campbell, a longtime friend of Joe Cappiello. Ormie King says, “I had the good fortune to play football, with his son, David Cappiello [1938-], and he was truly a ‘chip off the old block’ as he mirrored his dad’s career. Dave was an outstanding halfback on our undefeated football team and also was a gifted musician who played at many of our reunions over the years as well as an outstanding sports orthopedic surgeon in Asheville. N.C.. Joe Jr. [1944-] is vice president of JCAHO, a national hospital organization.”

Life was good in so many ways for Joe Cappiello [1912-2006]. He lived a long and productive life, he raised two successful sons. He was loved and cared for by friends and family, and he ended his 94 years just as he wished, living at home with his dog, Bianca. But Joe Cappiello had a gift and a passion that defined his life – his love of music and his ability to share it with others. Weaving his musical tapestry through so many generations, Joe Cappiello touched so many in a manner that only a master musician can do. He brought to life the magic of music through the ivory keys of the piano. He opened the minds of the young and old to appreciate the wonders of music. The joy, the discipline, the hard work and the persistence that music demands were shared with so many over the decades. He could not traverse the aisles of Wegman’s without someone coming up to him to remind him that they were a former student or that he played at their wedding. And he remembered them all.

Joseph Lawrence Cappiello was the son of Salvatore “Sam” [1884-1975] and Gilda [1893-1980] Cappiello, born February 16, 1912, at 7 Hulbert Street, Auburn. His parents built and co-owned the Cappiello Bakery located behind their residence on Hulbert Street with Salvatore’s brother, Angelo Cappiello [1888-1946]. During the Depression years, young Joe worked with the city street department and carried out family responsibilities in the bakery, cutting and weighing dough for bread. The Cappiello Bakery prospered and was rivaled by the Antonacci Bakery as the premiere Italian bakery in Auburn. Joe attended Auburn Academic High in the Class of 1931. He was a left halfback on the football team as well as captain of the track team. The Y-Field Reunion in 2002 proved to be a special occasion for Joe and provided the opportunity to reminisce about his former teammates and adversaries. Joe was proud to be part of the colorful past of sports in Auburn and to be in the company of so many well-known athletes.

Joe met Mary Colella [1916-1962], his future wife, at a dance hall above the bakery. Her brother, Louie [Lucian Milton Colella 1916-2006], had brought her to the dance and introduced them. Joe asked Louie if he could take Mary home that evening, under his watchful eye, of course. Following that night, when the couple started seeing each other exclusively, Mary’s mother [Antonetta Perillo Colella 1892-1998] directed that her brother must accompany them as a chaperone. In those days, Italian girls didn’t go on dates that were not chaperoned. Joe married Mary on November 23, 1935 in St. Francis Church. They lived at 6 Adams Avenue beginning in 1946, and together raised two sons, David and Joe.

Joe first took piano lessons from his cousin, Concetta lacovino [1900-1997]. His second teacher was Mrs. Vanderhoof, whose studio was located on William Street in a home that was converted into a parking lot for Westminster Church. Shortly thereafter, Joe became a founding member of the Joe Manzone Orchestra, an Auburn landmark throughout the late ’30s and early ’40s. Joe later started his own band with Mike Cervo (trumpet), Louie Scala (clarinet and sax), Herbie LaHood (drums), Bruce Doan (sax) and Mike Signorelli (sax). Joe played the piano, did the arranging, and the band stayed together for many years, even though the membership would change. Many notable musicians would come and go and return again. For Joe, the band was a bunch of good friends doing what they loved to do – entertain and make music.

At the height of his teaching career, Joe carried a roster of more than 100 students. Long into the evenings, on Saturdays and even on Sundays, the sounds of music would pour from Joe’s studio on the second floor of the house on Adams Avenue. No one really knows the number of students who passed through the studio on Adams Avenue. The number is irrelevant. What is important is the impact the music made on so many.

The house is quiet now. Music no longer wafts through the neighborhood. The maestro is gone. Joe Cappiello died with dignity and peace on May 31. You just know there is a hell of a jam session going on in heaven!

Post note: Ormie King’s Local History Room, with its several thousand photos and news clips, is open for your pleasure and reminiscing at the Cayuga Community College Library. For further information and library house, call 255-1743 ext. 2296.

EXTERNAL LINKS:

Look Back at Some Legendary Auburn Musicians by Ormie King 29 November 2015
Ormie King: Memories of Legendary Auburn Bands 27 September 2018