From April to June 2001, the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) exhibitedFrom Italy to Indiana County: The Italian Immigrant Experience in Indiana, Pennsylvania and Environs, 1900-1950 , an exhibit developed in partnership with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. The exhibit, curated by Nick Ciotola (former curator of the Italian American Collection at the Senator John Heinz History Center) and Donna Cashdollar, exposed the narrative of immigration, settlement, community formation, and assimilation of southern Italians in Indiana County.
In particular, Ciotola and Cashdollar featured the Italian immigrant population's contributions to the coal mining industry in Indiana County. This included a glimpse into the padrone system, a process by which Italian labor agents would recruit immigrants to work in industry by arranging for their passage to the United States. In addition to the coal mining industry, the exhibit also highlighted those Italian immigrants in Indiana County that embraced other occupations such as produce wholesalers, bakers, shop owners, barbers, tailors, butchers, and grocers. Also addressed were the mutual aid societies, Roman Catholic parishes, and the familial units that sustained the Italian population of Indiana County.
Throughout the course of exhibit development, Ciotola conducted 11 oral history interviews with Italian immigrants and their descendants in Indiana County. The overall purpose of the oral history interviews was to document Italian immigration into Indiana County in the words of Italian immigrants and their descendants. Throughout the course of his oral history fieldwork, Ciotola also collected black and white photograph prints and corresponding negatives that depicted the Italian American presence in Indiana County between c1890 and 1953.
The From Italy to Indiana County: The Italian Immigrant Experience in Indiana, Pennsylvania and Environs, 1900-1950 Photographs consists of black and white photograph prints (reproductions) and corresponding negatives documenting the Italian American presence in Indiana County between c1890 and 1955. These photographs were collected during the course of oral history fieldwork by Nicholas P. Ciotola as part of his research for From Italy to Indiana County: The Italian Immigrant Experience in Indiana, Pennsylvania and Environs, 1900-1950, an exhibit sponsored by the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Museum in partnership with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. The images in this collection depict such subjects as immigration, coal mining, mining accidents, the Coal and Iron Police, company towns, the railroad industry, family life, beneficial societies, community bands, storefronts, leisure practices, parades, festivals, wedding ceremonies, Italian foodways, and Catholicism. Some of the Indiana County localities featured in these photographs are the borough of Indiana, Clymer, Blairsville, and Homer City.
None.
Gift from Lena Patti Babyak in 2001.
Archives accession # 2001.0157
Gift fromJohn Barletta in 2001.
Archives accession # 2001.0158
Gift from John F. Busovicki in 2001.
Archives accession # 2001.0159
Gift from Blairsville Historical Society in 2001.
Archives accession # 2001.0160
Gift from Richard Furguiele in 2001.
Archives accession # 2001.0161
Gift from Louise Pace Kenosh in 2001.
Archives accession # 2001.0162
Gift from Pierinu LaMantia in 2001.
Archives accession # 2001.0163
Gift from Joseph P. Lubold in 2001.
Archives accession # 2001.0164
Gift from Lillian Lynett in 2001.
Archives accession # 2001.0165
Gift from Anna Michelotti in 2001.
Archives accession # 2001.0166
Internal Transfer from Nicholas P. Ciotola in 2001.
Archives accession # 2001.0167
Gift from Albert Saiani in 2001.
Archives accession # 2001.0168
Gift from Maria Signorino in 2001.
Archives accession # 2001.0169
Gift from Louis Tate in 2001.
Archives accession # 2001.0170
Gift from Maria Petrarca Violi in 2001.
Archives accession # 2001.0171
From Italy to Indiana County: The Italian Immigrant Experience in Indiana, Pennsylvania and Environs, 1900-1950 Photographs, c1890-1953, MSP 344 , Library and Archives Division, Senator John Heinz History Center
Preliminary processing by Sierra Green on 05/08/2013.
Property rights reside with the Senator John Heinz History Center. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Library and Archives of the Senator John Heinz History Center.
Nicholas P. Ciotola, From Italy to Indiana County: The Italian Immigrant Experience in Indiana, Pennsylvania and Environs, 1900-1950 (Indiana, Pa.: Indiana University of Pennsylvania Museum, 2001). qF160 I8 F76 2001.
From Italy to Indiana County: The Italian Immigrant Experience in Indiana, Pennsylvania and Environs, 1900-1950 Records, 2000-2001, MSS 344, Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives, Senator John Heinz History Center.