Pt 1: A Complex Life of Family, Faith and Unending Love

The Story of Louis J. Corbo (my grandfather)

It’s rare for the Aurora Borealis to appear over places in Southern Europe - and rarer still for a place like Benevento, Italy in the south of southern Europe. So it’s not surprising that on the rare occasions that they do appear, they cause quite a stir and until fairly recently were enough to terrify a populace unaware of the Aurora’s origin. Many believed the lights to be a bad omen, heralding the outbreak of war or death. Given the rarity, it seems unlikely that Antonio or Guiseppa ever saw them in their home country. But in the early morning hours of 15 May 1921, the sky in St. Paul, Minnesota was a “parade of Northern Lights.” On this night it’s hard to believe the beautiful celestial display symbolized anything but magic and wonder in their eyes, for this is the night that their first child was born.

Antonio and Guiseppa (who went by Tony and Josephine) had married just nine months prior. They knew each other in their home town of Benevento in Italy and most likely were betrothed prior to Tony immigrating to America in 1913 at age nineteen. The plan had been for Josephine to make the journey just a year or two later and then they’d marry and begin their new life together in Minnesota. As it turned out, they were separated for seven years before they were reunited in the summer of 1920, marrying just one month after she arrived. 

The reunion was joyful and Louis John Corbo was delivered at 3 AM by a midwife at their home in East St. Paul which at the time was a predominantly Italian neighborhood, remaining so throughout the 1920s and 1930s. Tony’s father’s name was Luigi and per Italian naming tradition, this is the inspiration for Louis’ name. According to Louis, his mother and father always called him Luigi. But as common as the name “John” is to most Europeans, it is a highly unusual name — even as a middle name — for an Italian. In fact, first and middle names typically were family names and saint’s names. Perhaps as new Americans, busting Italian tradition was purposeful. In any case, it wasn’t long before Louis had a house full of younger brothers and sisters — oddly, most with traditional Italian names — and Louis took the role of older brother quite seriously.

Before Louis was even born, (six years before, to be exact) a foundation of faith — which became the bedrock beneath his feet his entire life — was laid for him, in part by his father. In the early years of Tony’s life in America the Italians of the East side raised funds to create their very own church—Saint Ambrose Catholic Church, which soon became a “vibrant parish rich in Italian traditions and dedicated to maintaining  strong families.” It was a red brick building on lower Payne Avenue, right in the heart of the neighborhood. It was the church where Tony & Josephine were married and it would be the church at which all of their children would attend weekly services and receive their first three Holy Sacraments: Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation.

Louis on his confirmation day.

Their neighborhood consisted primarily of Italian immigrants who had been in America only a handful of years and were banding together to form a community within the larger community - one that preserved the spoken language, values and religious customs of their homeland. Neighbors and shop owners only spoke in Italian; their priest was of Italian heritage. In his home, Italian was the only spoken language. While this was comforting to Tony and Josephine, it made school particularly challenging for Louis once he started at Lincoln Elementary at age five. By this time, the English language, for all intents and purposes, was a foreign language for Louis. In the 1920s there were no special helpers or classes to assist children with this type of need. Before he even started school, he was behind his classmates in verbal skills. In the early elementary years, he was held back twice. He was relentlessly teased for his English speaking (or lack thereof) skills and he routinely was graded poorly in written essay projects as well as reading assignments. 

It isn’t difficult to believe that Louis disliked school very much. His mother tried to reassure him with advice dolled out in Italian on a regular basis: “Today is your day and make the best of it. Yesterday is gone. Don’t worry what happen yesterday there is nothing you could do about it . . . Don’t worry about tomorrow. When you wake today live best you could and thank God for that . . . Live best you could and believe in God.” 

Louis did have a friend at school who helped him learn to speak better English, but nevertheless his struggle with the English language is what precipitated his decision to drop out of school after 8th grade at age 15. But, he had career aspirations! He wanted to be a salesman or real-estate agent, both which would require good English language skills. So he took a course and earned a “certificate of completion” in the Palmer Method of Business Writing. Meanwhile, he began working at a local farmer’s market in the summer months and earned $1 for three hours of work. Then he became employed by the state of Minnesota, picking up paper and leaves at Como Park and getting paid $30/month.

These seasonal and odd jobs were enough to get by from 1936-1941, while working on improving his writing skills. But in 1941, everything changed.

Note: Along with solid genealogical research, much of this information is from Louis’ own words, provided in writing to his daughter in 1998.