V. Fontana & Co. - Colma, California - 100 Years

'V. Fontana & Company: Setting the Foundation in Stone'

Victoria Anderson - Linkedin.com - March 6, 2021

In a town just south of San Francisco, California, resides a city unknown to many: Colma. Colma, also known as the “City of the Dead,” is home to 17 cemeteries that occupy 73% of the city; in other words, the dead outnumber the living 1,000 to one. This tiny, yet unique town is home to V. Fontana & Co., my family’s monument business that has been in existence for 100 years come this April. The business was established in 1921 by my great-grandfather, Valerio Fontana, who emigrated from Italy to the United States in hopes of finding masonry work—the skill and livelihood of his ancestors. Since Valerio’s death in 1961, the family business has been passed down two more generations. What makes V. Fontana & Co. truly unique is the fact that it represents one century of service our family has provided in the U.S, all of which can be traced back to when Valerio originally established the business in 1921.

V. Fontana & Co. is specifically recognized for its custom manufacturing of all types of granite and marble products. Blocks of granite and marble are imported from quarries all over the world where they are transformed into products in our factory to meet customers’ needs. Valerio set the standards high for the business immediately when it first opened, using only the finest quality materials that would literally stand the test of time. Over the past several decades, the business has diversified beyond monuments as the demand to incorporate granite and marble in commercial and residential design has skyrocketed. V. Fontana & Co. is the successful business it is today because of Valerio’s determination to overcome both geographical and cultural boundaries to become accustomed to the American culture and to achieve the “American Dream.”

It all began in 1887, when Valerio was born in the small-town of Saint’ Andrea, located in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. He was one of six children and was born into a destitute family. Valerio’s father required that all of his children work at a young age to lend support to the family’s struggling financial situation. He and his siblings did work that included various kinds of physical labor, one of which was stone cutting. Valerio not only had a knack for stone cutting, but also developed a passion for it. No matter how much work the children did, however, it barely made ends meet. Growing up with a close-knit family, Valerio took matters into his own hands and decided to leave Italy to seek job opportunities to provide a better life for his family. Valerio’s childhood in Italy instilled a strong work ethic in him, which was able to transcend the border with him when he came to North America.

con't....

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www.vfontana.com

 

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San Bruno Mountain can be viewed directly behind downtown, not to be confused with the north Santa Cruz Mountains in the far background

 

I only occasionally post an entire borrowed article, as I know the concern would want their site to be the one cited in any instance. I hope they don't mind me posting the image. At one time, Colma WAS Genoa, Lucca, Bologna, etc; generally a "little northwest Italy." Even today, it represents at least some semblance of a geographical community for our people. Another way of looking at it, historically-speaking, is the whole area surrounding San Bruno Mountain. Crocker Amazon was once more Italian than North Beach, then there's the Excelsior, Bayshore and Hillside in Daly City, Broadmoor, South San Francisco, Colma, and generally all around the perimeter of the mountain.

In the many aerial images of San Francisco's skyline facing southward that we've seen for decades, San Bruno Mountain just stands there in the background like a phantom that nobody really notices. It's 1,319 foot peak is taller than the tallest building in San Francisco (the Salesforce Tower, designed by the late famous Cisalpine-Argentine architect César Pelli, is 1,070 feet). One of the best kept local secrets is the little parking lot at the top of Radio Road on San Bruno Mountain. If anyone hasn't been there, you should wait for a nice day, and bring a camera!

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Summer 2020

New Amendment to the Constitution needed ASAP

It's clear to me that a new Amendment is needed to once-and-for-all outlaw "uncodified laws." The latest abomination of the week is the "cancel movement." The following piece is regarding more-or-less "canceling" someone's career over a comedy bit from 24 years ago. Whether or not you like him, whether or not what he did would be shunned today or not, or whether or not you care about it at all, has got nothing to do with it. Both the video and the comments reflect people who have nothing to do with The Law, but want to "interpret" de facto "laws" based on how they happen to "feel." Rules for a company or institution are a separate idea; this is about sweeping "rules" that everyone is expected to abide by which are not part of any codified system and have no legal basis at all! The Law is something which, in theory at least, we all agree to. In this way, it's official status is important. Another problem which has slowly crept up on us is the issue of entirely private organizations actually writing legislation and using their wealth to pass it through. That should also be addressed in the new Amendment.

Wayne Brady Weighs in on Jimmy Kimmel's Racially Insensitive Past (Exclusive)


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Robin DiAngelo: "Moral Busybody"

It's a well established fact that every race and ethnicity has produced individuals who think absolutely nothing of waging war against their own people. Somehow history does not provide any answer to how this can happen. Those atypical individuals simply have never shared their reasoning. They always take it to the grave with them. Usually something in their background seems to be the foundation. The historical record of these individuals is long and painful. Robin DiAngelo is described as a 63 year old academic, a San Francisco native, and an Italian-American. I'm not her genealogist; I have no idea if she has any real connection to our people. I would say that it doesn't really matter in this case.

The American "right and left" paradigm has never been a very good fit for Italian-Americans. The term "Conservative Democrat" has been used by many. In Italy there is the Christian Democrat party, which may give some hint at a natural inclination before Globalist behavior modification efforts. In the Bay Area, the old blend of private business and trade unionism has fallen flat on its face in this hostile socio-political climate, as well as the values and inherent culture, not to mention the living space of Italian-Americans in general. If history is any measuring stick, neither political slant has been very friendly. I think I can go out on a limb and say that many Italian native San Franciscans have, over the decades, been very unhappy with the endless waves of people who have been quite hostile to their culture and way of life. I have experienced first hand the social farce of, for example, having old world Italians existing in the same community with people who believe that every person on the face of the earth is the product of rape.

It's obvious to me that Robin DiAngelo is a person who at some point literally "switched sides" in this zoo of coexistence. The larger parent culture of Judeo-Anglo Liberalism is powerful and well-financed. The global elite hand picked this socio-political dynamic as the replacement of our culture. What is particularly frustrating is that they really can't quite come out and say that they hate us in the same manner that they antagonistically and openly attack the larger "white culture." In other words they can't say that they hate us, and it would actually be much better if they did. They have so much more power and financing than we could ever hope to have. The power of banking, media, politics, education, corporatocracy, lobbying, legal, and all the rest of it. To them, we're just a feeble remnant of an old archaic patriarchal culture that needs to disappear. They are, in fact, racist.

Robin DiAngelo is a champion of this powerful and pervasive force, and far from simply going along with it, she is a spearhead of it. Making as much as $12,000 per speaking engagement, she is one of the most vehement "anti-white" or "anti-Western" advocates in the entire country. Yes, that's now a thing. She's like one of the Native Americans who volunteered to track down Native tribes who were targeted for extermination. She's like one of the Jews who turned in other Jews. She's like one of the black slaves who volunteered to help capture escaped slaves. Admittedly, if she was merely another common Judeo-Anglo Capito-Marxist opponent, I probably wouldn't have thought much of it. Their ways have been the norm for a very long time. They simply rule us, and we're powerless to do anything about it. Some of our people, just like all other peoples, have joined them. That's the only option they allow.

Parts of north San Mateo County represent some of the last vestiges of Italian-American life left in the Bay Area. I've noticed this month, perhaps for the first time, quite an open display of "Pride" month, despite that there isn't much of a local call for it. The idea of pride of any European ancestry is largely forbidden, at least according to those who govern us. I recall in 1982 after Italy won the World Cup, the east Daly City neighborhood I grew up in suddenly became like an Italian village. It was a big deal. I was there at my mother's home right after Italy won the World Cup in 2006... and there was nothing of the sort. It was then an Asian neighborhood; largely upper middle class mainland Asians. However, at least they don't torment us like the current rulers do, and their paid foot soldiers like Robin DiAngelo.


“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”

-- C.S. Lewis


I remember one of the first jobs I had was at a branch of a then popular retail corporation in South San Francisco. The main supervisor was a guy who was a couple of years older than I, and grew up not very far from where I did. Through other people, I was aware of him, but I never knew him. The district where he was from was San Francisco's "Harlem" at that time. His family was of a particular European culture which had been quite prevalent in that area at one time; not specifically of our people so to speak. It could not have been fun to grow up there for him. I remember if our school bus even drove near there, it would be pelted with rocks and debris.

This guy held a supervisory position of which he was a go-between between management and the employees. The company was set up where the two had little contact. However if one side or the other had concerns, he was the one who administered the issues and parley. Actually, he made no attempt to even pretend that he was a mediator of any sort. He saw his job as to please management, and oppress the employees. He didn't even pretend to be fair! Additionally, he made up his very own house rules which he expected us to follow. For example, if one of us was cutting up shipping boxes, he had a rule that we must slide in the blade each time we set it down. It didn't matter if we had a hundred boxes to cut! He insisted that we take the time to slide the blade in each and every time it was set down. It didn't matter if it was set down for five seconds! This wasn't company policy; it was his own house rule.

He didn't even bother putting his set of rules in writing. He actually enjoyed enforcing those rules verbally. If we broke one of his rules, he would let out a nauseating "how many times to I have to tell you!?" In his mind I'm certain, he heard these words in an authoritarian tone; in fact, they were emitted as a loud whine. Since he was the go-between with management, there was no way to even complain. He was an incorrigible snake who was living a fantasy of sorts. He was given authority over others, and he loved it. Needless to say, he had no friends among the employees under him. Being a social climber, he had no need to cultivate them. To me, Robin DiAngelo is this same type of pitiful social climber. She's like the Jew who would turn in other Jews for personal gain. The type of person who would sell out family, culture, country, etc., to please those in power. I remember the line by the character Sir Lawrence Wildman from the film 'Wall Street', when he said to Gordon Gekko: "Not only would you sell your mother to make a deal, you would send her C.O.D." I suppose the idea was that Wildman was something of a tyrant in his own right, but even he wouldn't sell his own family into slavery for money. Robin DiAngelo, on the other hand, would.


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Watch: Christopher Columbus Statue Pulled From Lake After Protesters Tear It Down | NBC News NOW

133,368 views - June 10, 2020

NBC News

A statue of Christopher Columbus was retrieved from a Richmond, Va., lake after protesters at a demonstration honoring indigenous people was ripped from its foundation, spray painted, and set on fire.


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Rioters came to South Philadelphia to Marconi Circle where a stature of Columbus stands. They came to bring it down. Some of the residents there came out to defend the statue. They were armed. They weren't about to allow Antifa and BLM to come to South Philly and humiliate them.


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Protesters topple statue of Confederate general in Washington DC

44,247 views - June 20, 2020

Guardian News

Protesters in Washington DC climbed up a bronze statue of Brig Gen Albert Pike and brought it down with ropes before setting it alight on Friday.  A US holiday known as Juneteenth that commemorates the end of slavery takes place every year on 19 June. Demonstrators took about an hour to fell the three-metre statue, as Juneteenth celebrations and anti-racist protests took place across the US. The police surrounded the area but did not appear to intervene.


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This represents some friendly fire for the Globalists, as they certainly would not want the Masonic Pike statue to be removed. Even the Cecil Rhodes' statue at the University of Cape Town in South Africa is targeted for demolition (Rhodes Must Fall). The main Rhodes Memorial, which is important to the Globalists due to the fact that Rhodes was one of the founders of their ideology, is very unlikely to be removed. I suspect that they figure that they will erect larger statues at some future point in time. The old Masonic strategy of "order out of chaos" must be allowed to rule the day over any sentimental feelings about a few statues.


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Watch: Mahatma Gandhi statue vandalised in Washington DC, US apologises

93,235 views - June 4, 2020

Hindustan Times

A statue of Mahatma Gandhi outside the Indian Embassy in Washington DC was reportedly vandalised. US ambassador to India Kenneth Juster apologised for the vandalism and desecration of Mahatma Gandhi's statue. Reports suggest that unruly elements involved in the ongoing protests against the death of George Floyd were behind the vandalisation. Watch the full video for all the details.


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Gandi was an Indian Nationalist and advocate for Indians living in Africa who saw both Anglos and Black Africans as potential threats to his people. Sounds pretty reasonable to me. He was standing up for his race. In his criticisms, he used language which would not be acceptable today according to the "uncodified political correctness doctrine." So yes, even Gandi is "racist" and must be erased from history according to the stringpullers.


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San Francisco's everyday Conservative thugs of the post 60's era

Let have some more negativity since it's the order of the day anyway. I recall as a child in the 70s and 80s, many 40+ white males were extremely bitter. They were native San Franciscans, "Conservative" in the way that "everyone was a Conservative" at one point in time, and they probably were largely Democrats, many were trade unionists. They never bargained for their San Francisco to become a dramatic and radical hub of a new social movement. They were fighting angry! However, instead of going uptown and confronting or counter-demonstrating, they took it out on the youth of their own people. They generally didn't see the newcomers as being from another part of the country, or of a different ethnicity perhaps, or of being from upper middle class families. They densely thought that this was entirely some sort of organic-synergistic uprising against them.

Since the Anglo Leftist newcomers never stepped foot in the southern stretches of the city, the thugs in question took the cowardly approach and were particularly nasty to young lower middle class white children of more-or-less their own brood. I remember experiencing their wrath very well. I should point out that this was a relatively small number of men, but you would run into them from time to time. I should also point out that these "Leftists" were not in any way interested in, for example, the Labor Movement. They had an entirely different program. Of course, the social engineers behind the scenes wouldn't have been interested in the Labor Movement. Life was already challenging then, and to have these cowards to deal with, and having no way to fight back, was quite a demusing memory. Apparently they would see one of us and just have the attitude that "he'll be another protestor in a few years." Yes, they truly didn't put all the pieces together. They really did believe that this was just an all-out attack by "the youth" at large! In reality, they were thugs, punks! I'd sure like to have a time machine experience with a few of them. San Francisco was violent then, not just in a few places. You just got it from all sides. I remember having older black boys actually come up and just spit on me on a couple of occasions. I can remember a black man, for absolutely no reason, tearing into me... calling me every four letter word, every obscene name you can thing of. When you were outside of your neighborhood, bad things could happen.

I had older Mexican men throw cigarettes down on top of my head from a second story window on Mission Street at a young age, and just laugh at me. A lot of males would try to humiliate someone who couldn't fight back in order to make themselves feel superior. That was big back then. Common street thugs would usually just cannibalize their own in their own neighborhoods, so those types of racial conflicts outside the neighborhood could often be avoided. Of course, not always. By today's standards we all should have had PTSD by early adulthood! I remember having impoverished Asians throw chicken bones out the window at me from tenement buildings, although it's more likely they were just throwing them out the window and not necessarily at me in particular. We did things to all of them as well. Everybody did everybody. I didn't personally, but I'm generalizing about Blue Collar white Catholics in general. There was even ethnic bigotry between them, although that was rather rare by that time. I recall overhearing the father of one of my friends mention something about an "It***n pimp" (we don't need any exacto searches for that one). If that was me now, I'd offer him 500 bucks if he could show me one! In reality, where I lived the "Italians," overwhelmingly of northern ancestry, were the model citizens among European groups. It was the Irish, and Portuguese in the East Bay, who had the "youth problems." I remember a couple of Irish kids I grew up or went to school with who died violent deaths; one in a knife fight.

My uncle, who was a professional boxer who had fought in the Pacific during WWII, was abusive towards Asians in particular. This idea that I enjoyed some kind of "white privilege" is insane! Those were the days of the Zebra Killings as well. You just never knew what was going to happen from day to day. You just got it from all sides! I just wanted to mention those pitiful ole punks! I only wish I could have a fair fight with one or two of them, and the verbally abusive black man as well. There were also a lot of old timers then who would says benevolent things like "you don't want to have your hair long like a girl, do ya?" when I was getting my hair cut in one of those old fashioned barber shops with the "barber's pole" outside. We actually lived just outside of the city. The man who cut my hair was named Mario, an older good natured Sicilian man. A few older men hanged around there talking, smoking, reading boxing magazines, that kind've thing. I'm not talking about guys like that. I'm referring to a particular type of brutal character. I never really thought of my mother as being like "tough," but in hindsight I can recall her numerous times standing up to these pieces-of-you-know-what who were floating around. A coward never seeks a fair fight.


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When You Weren't Looking, Billionaires Did THIS...

170,938 views - June 26, 2020

reallygraceful

325K subscribers

This video documents the earnings of prominent billionaires since March 2020, the departure of major CEOs over the last year, and asks questions about the future.

Patreon: http://patreon.com/reallygraceful
Please subscribe to my backup channel: http://bit.ly/reallygracefulsecondchannel
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Instagram: http://instragam.com/reallygraceful


Sources:

These Healthcare billionaires have gotten richer off of corona https://www.forbes.com/sites/giacomotognini/2020/05/04/these-healthcare-billionaires-have-gotten-richer-off-the-coronavirus-pandemic/#30e1235961ba

These 7 billionaires’ net worth is up more than 50% since start of the Covid-19 pandemic https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/16/billionaires-net-worth-grew-amid-covid-19-pandemic-from-market-lows.html

US unemployment rate as of June 26 2020 https://fortune.com/2020/06/09/us-unemployment-rate-jobs-report-how-many-americans-jobless-unemployed-bls-labor-market-faq/

Amazon donates $10 million to organizations supporting justice and equity https://blog.aboutamazon.com/policy/amazon-donates-10-million-to-organizations-supporting-justice-and-equity

Insider trading rules don't apply to congress https://www.forbes.com/sites/kylesmith/2011/06/01/insider-trading-rules-that-dont-apply-to-congress/#3e328c806167

Why Congressional Insider Trading is Legal https://investmentu.com/why-congressional-insider-trading-legal-profitable/

Elon Musk and Jeff Bezo want "$5 billion in grants or loans to keep commercial space company employees on the job and launch facilities open." They also want the IRS to give them cash for R&D tax credits. https://twitter.com/matthewstoller/status/1241446042232594434?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1241446042232594434&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fmarkets%2Fstop-coronavirus-corporate-coup-here-list-everyone-demanding-bail-out

Billionaire wealth surge 2020 https://ips-dc.org/billionaire-bonanza-2020/

Why have more than 1,300 CEOs left their post in the past year? https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/why-have-more-1-000-ceos-left-their-post-past-n1076201

Major CEOs who stepped down in 2020 (a thread) https://twitter.com/reallygraceful/status/1232653701149536257

Amazons sweetheart deal with USPS https://www.freightwaves.com/news/2017/8/1/amazons-sweetheart-deal-with-the-usps

The US post office gets an 18 billion dollar tax payer gift every year https://fortune.com/2015/03/27/us-postal-service/

Microsoft government contracts https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/2020/02/14/amazon-microsoft-jedi-cloud-contract-government-10-billion-injunction/

The Details About the CIA's Deal With Amazon. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/07/the-details-about-the-cias-deal-with-amazon/374632/

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'Oakland mourns the looming closure of 90 year old Genova deli'

David DeVincenzi (right), son of Genova Deli owner Dominic DeVincenzi, helps customer Mrs. Gasparro, while his wife, Patti, kneels in front of a display case to help Joe Scodella (center), a deli customer since 1956.

'Oakland mourns the looming closure of 90 year old Genova deli'

Ethan Fletcher - San Francisco Chronicle - April 26, 2016

The vibe inside Genova Delicatessen on Monday afternoon had the feel of a living wake, with old friends gathering one last time to celebrate a loved one soon to pass.

In this case, that loved one took the form of overstuffed Italian sandwiches, homemade meat ravioli and softball-size fried artichokes, all of which longtime customers were loading up on one last time before this immensely popular 90-year-old Oakland institution closes for good on Saturday.

While the announcement was officially made late last week, the closure had been threatened — and for many locals, dreaded — since January. That’s when news leaked that owner Dominic DeVincenzi was considering shutting down his family’s flagship Italian deli due in part to a rent dispute with the property owners of Temescal Plaza, where Genova has been located since 1996. (It’s been in Temescal since 1926.)

According to David DeVincenzi, son of Genova Deli owner Dominic DeVincenzi, the family is continuing to work on finding a new location in Oakland.

“We’re working on a couple of places,” DeVincenzi said. Where that might be exactly, however, DeVincenzi was unwilling to divulge.

The Temescal neighborhood’s reputation has soared in recent years as a foodie destination — home to the likes of Pizzaiolo, Burma Superstar and Bakesale Betty — and as a hot spot for house hunters priced out of San Francisco. But the crowd inside Genova, packed with everyone from families to firefighters, felt very old school.

Customers pack Genova Delicatessen for their last orders and to say goodbye before it closes on Saturday after 90 years in Oakland.

Generations of patrons

Terry Barnes, 41, grew up around the corner and said he’d been coming to Genova since he was 4 years old, back in the days when it was located in a tiny Victorian on Telegraph Avenue, and lines would stretch out the door and down the block. He was waiting for his number to be called — which even at 3 in the afternoon was taking upward of an hour — to get one final Italian combo sandwich with extra dry salame and marinated cucumbers. “And a cannoli. Gotta have my cannoli,” Barnes added.

“My family, my mother and my grandmother and all my cousins, we all grew up on this,” he said. “My kids grew up on this, my kids’ friends and their cousins all grew up on this. Every girlfriend I ever had, I would take them here, and now I see all of them coming in with their kids. So it’s sad to see this happen because you would think this place would stick around.”

Genova’s factory and Napa store will remain open, and the property’s landlords have said they’re looking to keep the space as a deli. That seemed small consolation for many customers, nearly all of whom it seemed had been coming for decades and knew each other.

Another customer, Emmy Fearn, ordered three sandwiches — an Italian combo, a coppa and a pastrami. One was for her, one was for her husband getting treatment at a nearby hospital, and the third was for her husband’s doctor, who had promptly put in an order upon hearing the deli was closing. Like many, Fearn expressed shock that Genova was actually closing.

“At first I thought that it was just a play to get some leverage with the landlord,” Fearn said. “But now that it’s really happening, I think it’s horrible. I think it’s a terrible loss to the community.”

‘This is a real loss’

Inside, she ran into an old friend, Marge Gibson Haskell, a former Oakland city councilwoman who had worked with Dominic back in the 1980s to ensure that the deli remained in the neighborhood.

“Back then, there was hardly anything else around here, so you had to really hold on to what you had,” said Haskell while waiting for her Italian combo (light on the peppers). “That was really important for this neighborhood and to a large extent made it possible for everything else that came here afterwards. This is what started it all. … I think not keeping this here is a serious mistake.”

“This city has changed a lot over these last few years, some good, some bad,” said Haskell. “But this. This is a real loss.”

Similar sentiments were echoed by many inside Genova, where there was a palpable sense of unease among longtime locals at the speed with which the rapidly gentrifying city was changing and losing its ties to its past. And while it’s unclear to what extent any rent increase played in the store closing — Genova’s owners have cited the general cost of doing business in Oakland and not wanting to pass that on to the consumer as the main factor — there was plenty of blame to go around that something couldn’t be worked out.

“I understand you want to get fair market value and all that, but you can’t expect people to pay so much, especially in the restaurant industry where the margins are so thin,” said Lex Gopnik, loaded up with a big bag stuffed with Italian provisions. Gopnik said he has been coming to Genova since he moved to the East Bay in 1988. Genova has served as a touchstone for him, his wife and three kids, whether it was grabbing takeout to bring to an A’s game or as an easy dinner for a busy family of five.

“It’s indicative of what’s happening here in the East Bay and the Bay Area in general. I think they would have had to charge like $20 for a sandwich. So it’s sad to see them go, but I respect them for taking a stand and saying, ‘No, I don’t want to do that.’”

‘Things change’

Gopnik is more familiar with the industry than most. He’s been looking for space to open a Montreal-style deli in Oakland, but says news like this makes him reconsider whether he has a future in the city in which rising rents threaten the feasibility of the types of small, independently run businesses that make the place so attractive in the first place.

“I just don’t understand that mentality,” he says. “To me it seems so shortsighted.”

Brian McCabe, an Oakland native waiting for one last turkey sandwich on sourdough, took a more pragmatic view.

“I’ve been coming here for years, and it’s a special place,” he said. “It’s been around for so long, and there’s something comforting about that. But things change.”


Ethan Fletcher is a Bay Area freelance writer. Email: food@sfchronicle.com


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Giovanni Beltramo, who opened a wholesale and
retail wine and spirits business in Menlo Park in
1882, in his vineyard. Photo courtesy Beltramo family.

'Menlo Park: Beltramo's closing after 134 years'

Melanie Wong - Chowhound - May 9, 2016

Whoa. Beltramo's ends 134 years in business this summer.

https://www.beltramos.com/

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It would be worth it to click on the above link just to see the old photos, and there's a short interesting history. When Beltramo's opened, it was the El Camino trail with horses and carriages. The story of Beltramo's, the family originating from Piemonte, is everything our people have been about in northern California. I didn't realize that they were initially in the wine business. It was a truly great store. Why do I miss things most when they're no longer there...

'Beltramo's Wines and Spirits is closing its doors in Menlo Park' (history and old photos)

'Menlo Park's oldest business, Beltramo's, is a family tradition' (history)

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Zoppé Italian Family Circus in Redwood City Oct 9 to 25

Zoppé, An Italian Family Circus
 
The 7th Generation - Since 1842

October 9-25, 2015
Matinee & Evening Showtimes Circus Tent: Red Morton Park
1455 Madison Ave. Redwood City
[see above link for details; along left side]

The Circus is coming to town! Redwood City is pleased to welcome, for the eighth year, Zoppé, An Italian Family Circus from October 9th through October 25th for spectacular two-hour performances that will enthrall the entire family!
About the Show

The Zoppé Family Circus welcomes guests into the intimate 500 seat tent for a one-ring circus that honors the best history of the Old-World Italian tradition. Starring Nino the clown, the circus is propelled by a central story (as opposed to individual acts) that feature acrobatic feats, equestrian showmanship, canine capers, clowning and plenty of audience participation.

Sixth generation circus performer Giovanni Zoppé traces the beginning of performance art to the circus arts, with its humble beginnings in street clowns and jugglers. "The circus is antique," he says, "it's history." In his case, it's something more. It's family history. Giovanni's son Julien Veneto Zoppé, who was born at Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City in 2009 and made his first appearance in the family circus when he was just six days old, celebrates his sixth birthday this year. Folks who attend "Zoppé An Italian Family Circus" during its Oct. 9-25 run at Red Morton Park might see him perform alongside his father as his mini me, "Nineto". Julien will participate for a week this year, and while his specialty is being quite adorable, he also performs hat tricks, balancing acts and more. Giovanni's sister, Tosca, continues in her family's footsteps by combining death-defying equestrian feats with exquisite grace as she dances on horseback.

"The show changes every year," explains Zoppé. So no worries if you saw last year's Redwood City gig. Highlights of this year's show include several performances by guest artists which features two new acts: the world-famous Black Bear Group interprets one of China's oldest art forms with dazzling acrobatic displays and Jose and Elizabeth Ayala from Mexico bring Rolla bolla performances and gravity defying hair hanging.

The Circus is a Zoppé Family Tradition!

The Zoppé Family Circus has an amazing, unique story. The Zoppè Family Circus emerged more than 160 years ago to become one of the legendary circuses in all of Europe. And like many good legends, it begins with a boy and a girl falling in love. In 1842, a young French street performer named Napoline Zoppè wandered into a plaza in Budapest, Hungary, looking for work. There, his eyes glanced upon a beautiful equestrian ballerina named Ermenegilda, who captured the hearts and minds of the crowd with her grace and showmanship. More importantly, this talented beauty captured Napoline's heart.The Zoppé Family Circus has an amazing, unique story. The Zoppè Family Circus emerged more than 160 years ago to become one of the legendary circuses in all of Europe. And like many good legends, it begins with a boy and a girl falling in love. In 1842, a young French street performer named Napoline Zoppè wandered into a plaza in Budapest, Hungary, looking for work. There, his eyes glanced upon a beautiful equestrian ballerina named Ermenegilda, who captured the hearts and minds of the crowd with her grace and showmanship. More importantly, this talented beauty captured Napoline's heart.

owever, since Napoline was a clown, Ermenegilda's father saw him as beneath her and disapproved of their relationship. The two ran away to Venice, Italy, and founded the circus that still bears their name. Alberto Zoppè, Napoline's great-grandson, inherited the circus almost 100 years later.

Alberto's children, Giovanni, Tosca and Carla, along with their spouses, have all been active at one time or another in the family business. Giovanni revived the Zoppè Family Circus in America eight years ago, and has since been building its reputation with audiences and critics as an enchanting exhibition of traditional European circus.

The Zoppé Family Circus is a once-a-year event not to be missed, so get your tickets early!


Zoppé website

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The super-gentrification from San Francisco to the South Bay

This is a difficult subject to delve into because it’s tied to so many other issues—past and present—each with its own legitimate “bottom line.” Many people are simply incapable of compartmentalizing each sub-issue for critical review… after which all of the parts need to be put back together for a final conclusion. The only overwhelming “bottom line” that I can think of is that if we look at our particular local gentrification from 1990 to 2030, literally millions of local residents will have been forced to relocate out of necessity. Some have been referring to this as the issue of “the right to replace.”

We’re not talking about someone taking over a neighborhood or even a city, but of an area of at least 2,000 square miles as the epicenter of a particularly ruthless gentrification. This isn’t “urban renewal,” as it very dramatically affects a large diverse area and every citizen in it. Even the despotic robber barons of history at least allowed their subjects a place to dwell. The newly formed economic-establishment simply want local residents out... period! A portion of the highest socio-economic classes of the old order have even issued complaints for various reasons. We’re living amid a massive social and economic upheaval; and also political, as we witness even San Francisco politicians welcoming the extreme replacement and change over their own long-time constituency.

Like any well-organized colonization, this region has even been renamed… “Silicon Valley”… after what had long been merely a nickname for the technology industry in the South Bay. HBO even produces a series called ‘Silicon Valley’, which I am not familiar with, but what appears to be about IT hipsters; Fabian capitalists in sandals, urban cowboys conquering a new frontier. So, what does that make us? Indians? For every action (mass migration), there’s an opposite re-action (replacement). In many ways, this harsh fact is how humans have interacted for thousands of years; but at least then the aggressors were open about their intentions… such as ‘The Indian Removal Act’. With us, there is neither a name for our ouster or even much complaint from us; just a slow moving push out the door.

The first that I ever really pondered this subject was in the late 90s, when a company which I was working for was closing down the location due to a buyout. One couple, in their late forties, had worked there as well. He worked in the warehouse, while she worked in the office. On the final day, as I spoke to the very down-to-earth couple in the parking lot on that warm late summer evening, they told me that they were moving to Georgia where he had family. San Mateo County had gotten too expensive, and the surrounding area was going the same way. They left, and in some small way, we became metaphorically poorer as a result. I can recall back in the 70s and 80s when the South Bay was booming. New residents migrated in from many places. It was an exciting time then. The growth seemed large, but was not overwhelming. It didn’t hurt the agricultural industry, which has much room to fan out. The new residents were a positive influence.

The only real plus for the locals is if they happen to own a real estate. In the town of Burlingame, for example, a small two-bedroom home is now worth about 200 times what it probably was worth in the 50s… where a barber or a warehouseman could purchase it on one-income. This home equity serves as our only symbolic severance pay for our collective eviction. According to HUD, you should not pay any more than 30% of your net income on rent; which would mean that in order to pay even the bare minimum rent anywhere in San Mateo County and maintain that 30%, a person would need to net about $5,700 a month. Even if a local wished to stay anyway because they can afford it, do you really want to live in a rootless place where you’re the dinosaur? Where are YOU from?

I say this also for people in New York City or any place where a local population has been given their subtle “walking papers” by out-of-towners who want them out… starting yesterday. There’s no comparison between someone simply moving to a new location, and a person with one particular skill set who believes that everything in the world… belongs to them. You can’t resist the whole country when word has gotten out that your backyard is “the place to be!” Nobody can. Of course, they wouldn’t like it if it happened where they're from. It’s like abortion; it’s okay as long as it’s not YOU. I’m not a fan of Spike Lee, but he’s correct about gentrification, such as in regards to a place like Harlem… which is a new hipster paradise. Of course, an entire component to all of this—which is best looked upon as a separate issue—is that many now doing the complaining, sprang from people who got where they are through large-scale demographic change aka “replacement.” Still, that’s a separate issue, and doesn’t make them wrong.

Some individuals of great wealth who have relocated here, then have become “zero-growth” advocates and “open-space" proponents the moment they get here! Before we pat them on the back “at least for that,” many of them are the types who buy up land along the coast or in the many unspoiled areas of the Santa Cruz Mountains, and then block off access to the general public. In other words, under normal conditions, those locations would have largely remained public property in the first place. Still, the great majority are pro-urban sprawl via gentrification. The South Bay will then go into a mode of “ever-expansion outward!”; such as with the Los Angeles Basin. The only reason that the Bay Area has so many open spaces is through the work of a lot of good people over the decades. That is about to change.

Many newcomers of this new-guard will make their buck and then go back “home” again… having forever changed our world. This whole “happening” is the biggest joke… because its foundation rests upon an open secret: They need us out. There’s no way around that fact. Even local retired homeowners, who normally would have remained here, are now given this very lucrative option of selling high and buying low somewhere else. Although this is a great opportunity for them, it further dismantles local roots by breaking down its organic pillars.

What can one say when even upper middle class neighborhoods are being gentrified? San Mateo County was one of the wealthiest counties in the whole country before 1990! Some years ago, a South Bay student who had been away to college, came home to discover the tremendous changes which had taken place in just several years. He produced a documentary about it, of which the name escapes me. However, somehow this all seems so contrived; beyond the typical “change and progress” line that is always fed to society. It’s a feeding frenzy… on our watch. I know of what was once a very beautiful open-space area, amid a nice tree-filled South Bay neighborhood, with wonderful views of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Nothing over three stories high. In the course of about five years, all of it was gone except the official park itself. Skyscrapers now block out the view of the mountains, the once open area along the creek is lost amid a new concrete jungle, and when walking through you always have that feeling of "being watched" with thousands of windows peering down at you. Contrived over-development can sometimes be a downright backward and primitive thing to do. This development is entirely out-of-scale in relation to the surrounding area. Total ruination.

Strangely, local police often favor the newcomers; usually by picking on automobiles which aren’t consistent with the new-guard, and asking “what are you doing down here?”… and followed by “why can’t you do those things up there?”… even if you’re three miles away in the next town over where you live, and you grew up in the area anyway. This is based on the experiences of many individuals, including myself. I was pulled over for no reason on one occasion, and they asked to search my car. Usually they don’t bother asking, so I agreed. This particular officer opened my trunk where I had tools and debris from building a fence for someone. I observed the officer with amusement as he was looking very closely at simple tools, such as a wrench, as though he were examining ancient artifacts. WOW!! If that isn’t a perfect metaphor for what’s been happening, I don’t know what is! Just for the record, as we should acknowledge, police departments vary vastly from city to city. The police are simply a reflection of their superiors. I learned this when a few years ago I went into a building on a local community college campus where there was a police training academy. As I walked in dressed in a coat and tie from a job interview I just had… the cadets walking in the hallway immediately lined up against the walls and saluted me. That… kind’ve says it all.

There are numerous once-major cultural groupings long predating World War II, whom contributed greatly to the local area, which have been massively pushed aside for at least thirty years even before this super-gentrification period. Cisalpines/Italians, Japanese, Irish, Scottish, Croatians, Slovenians, Russians/Ukrainians, Maltese, Portuguese, Germans, Oklahoma-north Texas migratory descendants, etc. This often difficult-to-define umbrella-grouping contributed more overall to local history, culture, free market, self-determinism, and in terms of spirituality--much more-so than those who followed; yet they’re never discussed, spoken of, or referred to in any way in public affairs. They exist only in the abstract: “North Beach” or “Japanese Gardens.” It’s just a perception that there are “Italians in North Beach.” If you don’t officially exist, then any concerns which you may have probably aren’t likely to exist either.

I know so many of you feel the same way, because you’ve told me so time and time again. I’m just defining the entire scope of what you have collectively told me. There are endless examples of where the rootless have defeated local cultures over the years. These socio-economic interests are just the latest in a long line. There was an equally disturbing socio-political migration that was endured for such a long time. Again, these examples are not the same as someone merely moving to a new location. What I’m referring to are people who come in for practically the expressed purpose of taking over, and they need and fully expect us to get out of the way for them. There are many huge corporations which have entire departments dedicated to “finding housing” for incoming employees; including purchasing real estate. Although it sounds almost innocent, this places further stress on the limited opportunities on real estate and housing for locals. They need us out, plain and simple. They know this, we know this, and they know that we know this.


6-10-15 ADDITION:

I wanted to add this thoughtful article from the American Sociological Association, entitled 'Understanding Super-Gentrification in San Francisco' (John Stover - University of San Francisco - April 2014). Actually, I didn't get the term "super-gentrification," from this piece, but maybe I heard of it somewhere.

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Half Moon Bay Joe's (restaurant review)

Just a shot of Half Moon Bay; obviously that's not the place.

Half Moon Bay Joe's Restaurant

I had lunch at this restaurant yesterday, for the first time in a long time. I think I can give some type of reasonable review based on yesterday, past experience, and getting a further idea from reviews. Half Moon Bay is a nice town to visit in general, a basically rural area of San Mateo County along the coast, easy to reach via 92 West. Half Moon Bay Joe's is located right along Highway 1 (2380 S. Cabrillo). It's a very clean and comfortable location just visually, parking-wise, and there's a lot of elbow room inside.. especially during non-breakfast/lunch/dinner hours. The large windows all along three sides provides a bright, cheerful atmosphere; as well as its sizable booths along the outer perimeter. It's open daily from 7 AM to 10 PM. It's an Italian restaurant with a number of seafood items. They have pretty much anything you would look for. I'm old enough to remember some local Italian restaurants where the founding family actually ran the day-to-day operations, and that's true with Joe's. There's perhaps some Catalan/Argentine connection to the family I think.

There's a sizable breakfast menu, and many pragmatic lunch and dinner dishes. It has a solid "4" rating, and deserves more like a 4.5. Some of those Yelp reviewers take themselves way too seriously, so 4 out of 5 is a very good rating. The prices are reasonable and they serve you a lot. I think it's great. You won't go away hungry. From past times I have visited there, the sauce was something that I specifically remember. I had a Calamari steak sandwich yesterday, which came with fries and a choice of salad or clam chowder. The sandwich was good, with two big halves served, each double-thick. I had New York-style cheesecake for dessert, and it was big and very tasty without being too rich. The person with me ordered a reuben sandwich, and thought it was great. The good-sized menu is on the link above. The meal came pretty fast too, and the staff was extremely friendly, polite, and helpful without overdoing it. I would really recommend it.

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Beltramo's Wines & Spirits - Since 1882

Beltramo's Wines and Spirits
1540 El Camino Real
Menlo Park, CA 94025

(650) 325-2806
(888) 710-WINE (9463)
(650) 323-8450 fax
sales@beltramos.com

From Beltramo's website - History:

In 1880, Giovanni Beltramo arrived in California with Nebbiolo and Barbera grape cuttings from his native town of Castel Nuovo di Don Bosco in the province of Asti, Italy. He cultivated a vineyard in Menlo Park, and in 1882 he established a wholesale-retail wine and spirits business in town. After Prohibition his son Alexander moved the family business nearby to the store's current site. The store is half-way between the cities of San Francisco and San Jose, and just a few minutes away from the Stanford University campus, and although the family no longer cultivates any grapes, the store is within driving distance of the finest wine cultivating regions in California.

Since the late 1950's, Beltramo's has carried the largest selection of fine wines and spirits in the San Francisco Bay Area. Still a family-owned business, John R. and Daniel Beltramo, sons of Alexander Beltramo, have been guiding the store since the mid-1960's. The store was one of the first to specialize in imported wines. In the mid-1970's you could find 1947 Petrus for $99.00, 1967 Chateau d'Yquem for $27.00 and Domaine Dujac's first vintage of Morey St. Denis for $9.95. With the expansion of the California wineries, Beltramo's introduced the first vintages of new wineries such as Spottswoode, Chalone, Duckhorn, Silver Oak, Chateau Montelena and Ridge to the Bay Area's wine lovers.

Continuing with the family tradition of excellence in service and selection, Beltramo's has also been voted "Best Place to Buy Wine" in local polls of Menlo Park and Palo Alto for the last 10 years in a row. It has received recognition over the years as "Retailer of the Year" by Market Watch, the wine industry affiliate of the Wine Spectator and by the state of California by the National Liquor Stores Association with further recognition as “a top wine shop” from publications such as Food and Wine Magazine’s Wine Guide and The New York Times.

The Beltramo Family remains committed to keeping Beltramo's Wines and Spirits one of the world's finest wine stores, with a broad selection to suit everyone’s tastes and budget.

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Beltramo's has a nice wine tasting room. See website for their wine tasting schedule. I have found the staff to be very friendly and helpful. I recommend a visit if you haven't been there.