One in a collection by Allen Bachoroski,
Local Historical Writer,
Tales Along the
Highway of Legends
Note: This
is one in a series of historical stories about local families
in the Trinidad region.
Click here to find out more
about how these stories were collected.
The dream of America as the land of opportunity led Antonio
DiPaola and Rosina Dolce to leave the island garden of
Sicily and emigrate to the coal fields of Las Animas County.
These immigrants were willing to risk finding success
and happiness in America even if it meant beginning their
quest in the most difficult type of manual labor -- working
in the coal mines -- and living in the least attractive
environment in Colorado, the sprawling coal towns owned
by the Colorado Fuel and Iron Corporation north of Trinidad
at Ludlow. Their quest was successful as the unfolding
events in their history will reveal.
Both Antonio DiPaola and Rosina Dolce were born in Collesano,
Sicily, an attractive small town nestled at the foot of
a mountain range about an hour's drive from the capital
of Sicily, Palermo. Antonio was born on August 24, 1876
and Rosina on May 9, 1885. There is no evidence to indicate
that Antonio and Rosina knew each other in Collesano,
although in a town of not more than a few thousand people
most families surely knew each other as they mingled in
the large central Diazza and attended services in the
same Roman Catholic church.
Rosina left Siclly with her family in 1893. The Dolces
settled in the mining town of Hastings, Colorado probably
because they knew of relatives and friends from Sicily
who had already located there. Antonio arrived in Hastlngs
a year later in 1894 and went to work in the coal mines.
It is difficult to understand why the DiPaola and Dolce
families would leave the somewhat idyllic landscapes of
Collesano with their vineyards, citrus groves and flower
gardens for the grimy, back-breaking work in a totally
foreign environment. One can only surmise that the quest
for a better life drove them to endure the initial hardships.
The circumstances of their marriage reveal a determination
and an independence that would guarantee their future
success. When Antonio first asked Rosina's parents for
permission to marry their daughter, they refused because
they felt Rosina, then fourteen, was too young. Antonio
was told to wait a year. A year passed, and the Dolces
still refused to allow Rosina to marry Antonio. The couple
then made the first in a series of critical decisions:
they decided to elope and get married in nearby Pueblo
in 1900. The newly-weds returned to Hastings and Antonio
continued to work in the mines.
In 1904 Antonio's father-in-law Bartolomeo Dolce opened
up a tavern in Trinidad and invited his son-in-law Antonio
to work with him. Antonio agreed for he and Rosina saw
this move as a way to extricate themselves from the drudgery
of life in the coal towns. In the meantime the DiPaola's
first child, Concetta (Jennie), was born in Hastings in
1902. A second daughter, Josephine, who was born in Trinidad
in 1904. Antonio worked for seven years in the tavern
until he and Rosina made another crucial decision. Antonio
was invited by relatives to go to California to work in
the fruit groves because of his experience earlier in
Sicily as a tree grafter. Rosina was reluctant to leave
Colorado and suggested that instead of moving to California
they ought to go into the grocery business. Antonio agreed
and in 1911 Antonio and Rosina opened the DiPaola Grocery
on Godding Avenue in Trinidad. While Rosina managed the
store, making her quite possibly the first business woman
in Trinidad, Antonio loaded up his horse-drawn buggy and
delivered groceries from the store to the families living
in the coal mining towns.
The DiPaola family continued to grow with the births of
Stefano. Rosaria (Sara), Salvatore (Sam), Rosario (Roy),
Maria and Rosa Maria The grocery business was very successful,judging
by two examples. The DiPaolas were the first family in
Trinldad to own a washing machine and to own a touring
car. Rosina's success as a business woman is all the more
remarkable since she did not go beyond the third grade
in school, initially could not read or write English,
and had to manage her business by speaking in three languages:
English, Italian and Spanish.
Antonio died at the early age of 51 in 1927. Rosina continued
to manage the grocery store while raising her seven children.
Rosina retired in 1942 after having found the success
and happiness in search of which she left Sicily. She
died in Trinidad in 1983.
(Note:
if you have Photos of this family or know of anyone that
does, please have them get in touch with us so that we
might share some photos of the family here)