LITTLE ITALY NEWS JULY 2015 EDITION

www.troylittleitaly.org www.littleitalytroy.org

troylittleitaly@gmail.com

TROYS LITTLE ITALY REVISITED by Michael A. Esposito

will be available at local bookstores and online bookseller outlets on
Monday, July 27, 2015. All royalties will be donated to Troy Little
Italy to support projects sponsored by the local neighborhood group.

The Troy Little Italy Quality of Life Subcommittee would like to thank everyone
who supported the Ziti Dinner fundraiser for the Washington and 4th Streets fire
victims. Special thanks to the volunteers, 60 vendors who donated items for the
raffles, and the Italian Community Center for hosting the event and donating supplies. The event was a success and generated $5350 to assist the people impacted
by this tragic event. Again, thanks to all for making the event a success.
Capital Roots (formerly Capital District Community
Gardens) celebrated the opening of its 50th community garden in Troys South End on Ida Street with a
special ceremony on July 1st. The garden was created in collaboration with the Troy Little Italy
Neighborhood Association and a variety of private
individuals and families. Thank you to Capital Roots
for investing in our neighborhood. Your efforts are
greatly appreciated.
>

Thank You to Andrea Daley for

chairing our June Garage Sale. It
wasnt as large as it it was in previous years but the vendors all did
well and the shoppers all left
happy with their purchases.
Andrea is working on trying to
make this a monthly event. Look
for updates on her progress.

City officials announce 2015 Hazardous Waste Collection Day

TROY NY City officials have announced that the Citys 6th annual Hazardous Waste Day
will be held on Saturday, July 25, 2015. The event will be held at the Citys Alamo site,
which is located directly across the street from the Rensselaer County Correctional Facility in
South Troy.
In order to participate in the event, residents will be required to pick up a Household Hazardous
Waste Day coupon at City Hall, located at 433 River Street. Coupons are available to be picked
up in the Deputy Mayors Office. Only 150 coupons will be issued on a first-come, first served
basis.
Coupons will be provided to individuals who present an acceptable form of identification,
which include: drivers license, Troy resident ID card, government-issued identification that
includes an address, tax/recycling/utility bills, or cancelled rent check showing a Troy address.
A drivers license showing a P.O. Box address will not be accepted as proof of City residence.
The event will serve as an opportunity for residents to dispose of items such as: aerosols, automotive fluids, asbestos insulation (must be damp and double bagged), caustic/acidic cleaners,
chemistry sets, corrosive liquids, pesticides, oil/latex paint, paint thinners, poisons, anti-freeze,
motor oil, propane cylinders, agricultural pesticides, DDT fungicides, herbicides, insecticides,
PCBs, resins/adhesives, fuels, oxidizer, household cleaners and polishes.
Items NOT acceptable include pharmaceuticals, explosives, household garbage, recyclables
(plastics, metals, glass, paper products, cardboard, etc.), bulk refuse (furniture, carpet, mattresses, toys, appliances, etc.), small propane tanks (under 20 lb.), electronics, household / vehicle batteries, fluorescent lighting (tubes) and compact florescent bulbs will not be accepted at
the hazardous waste event.
The Alamo is directly across the street from the Rensselaer County Jail near the intersection of
Main Street and East Industrial Parkway in South Troy.
The free services are available only to Troy residents. Businesses and commercial properties are
not eligible for this program. For more information, please call the City of Troys Solid Waste
Management Office at 279-7158 or 279-7161.

Please Recycle

The Troy Youth Association Inc. (CYO)

Troy CYO Center

NEEDS YOUR HELP

To fulfill its mission of sponsoring a
range and variety of quality programs
and services to all youth with social,
Recreational, educational and cultural
programs, to grow and mature into responsible adults.

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR

2015 GENERAL APPEAL
Contributions may be made to
TROY YOUTH ASSOCIATION INC (CYO)
PO BOX 867 237 FOURTH STREET
TROY, NEW YORK 12182
No donation too small

Troys Victory Gardens: A Home Front Effort

By Mike Esposito
Recently a community vegetable garden was established by Capital Roots in the Little Italy neighborhood on a
lot at 111 Ida Street, corner of Sixth Avenue. For several years a community garden has been located on the corner of Havermans Avenue and Kennedy Lane near Hill Street. At one time a vegetable garden was also available
on Fifth Avenue below Ferry Street but the land is now a parking lot for the City Station complex.
The gardens are reminders of the effort involving people of all ages who planted victory gardens during World
War I and World War II. On the home front each community made an effort to contribute in some way to the
members of our Armed Forces. During the war years victory gardening was not a hobby; it was an important
need in the nations war effort. The transportation system was strained by demands on it to carry war materials.
Labor and machinery shortages and the curtailment of other supplies added to the difficulty of food production.
Over fifty percent of the nations canned foods were used by the Armed Forces. Everyone who could find a
good row of ground to hoe was bound to grow something for their nourishment and their countrys good. The
rallying cry was Garden for Victory! Back yard gardens were credited with the production of 41% of the nations vegetables. Photos in a 1943 issue of Life magazine show families tending to vegetable gardens formerly
planted with flowers in suburban areas and prisoners working at plots near county jails. At a New York City
home for the aged, nuns grew vegetables for their residents. Victory gardens were planted at the plaza in front of
the San Francisco City Hall, at Chicagos Arlington Race Track, at Bostons Copley Square, at the Portland
(Oregon) Zoo and the back grounds at the White House.
Depending on the climate and the time of year the most popular items were squash, beans, cabbage, peppers,
eggplant, kale, tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, and other standard and reliable vegetables. Those who had any doubt
about setting up a victory garden remembered the rationing programs. The U. S. Department of Agriculture
printed tens of thousands of copies of pamphlets such as the Working Manual for Victory Gardens and Food
Preservation: How to Preserve Food by Canning, Drying and Brining. Locally, the forty-member Nutrition
Committee in Troy, chaired by Mrs. John DeLee, sponsored a weekly radio broadcast, the Victory Gardens Program on WGY on Saturdays and coordinated the distribution of 7,000 leaflets on gardening in 1943. Along with
planting and harvesting vegetables, canning was an important component of the overall program. Forty-five canning demonstrations attracting hundreds of residents were held at various sites around the city and county from a
Victory Van. The most popular exhibit at the 1943 Schagticoke Fair was the canned food exhibit sponsored by
the County 4-H Club. Lewis V. Griffin was the Director of the local Office of Civilian Protection. The Chair of
the Volunteer Office was Matilda Mallison. County Victory Garden Councils helped finances the programs. The
Council, coordinated by Samuel B. Dorrance, Rensselaer County 4-H Club agent, was organized with eighteen
members. In some parts of the county real estate boards cooperated in locating vacant lots for community plots.
The Lansingburgh Victory Garden Club tilled fifteen acres at the Knickerbocker Playground during the summer
of 1943 and held a Harvest Supper in September attended by 250 people. The Troy Boys Club victory garden
was on the Sambrook Estate on Oakwood Avenue. Prizes were awarded for the most productive garden and the
best-kept garden. According to William Tempel, Assistant County agent and 4-H Club President during the
1940s, the local effort in Troy and Rensselaer County` was primarily individual gardens on private land. Mr.
Tempel would advise people on how to establish victory gardens, provide information on insect control and visit
the gardens once established. Residents would register to participate and follow guidelines set by the Council.
Experienced gardeners volunteered to help novices. Mr. Tempel was a judge for the Victory Garden Contest
sponsored by the Troy Record Newspapers. Once the gardens were planted and growing, if pilfering were a
problem residents were told to enlist the aid of the Air Warden organization to keep an eye on the community
gardens.
By 1943 there were 18 to 20 million victory gardens in America. 200,000 bushels were harvested in the 12,986
Rensselaer County Victory Gardens that year. Three million quarts of vegetables were canned and 100,000 bushels were stored.

The World War I victory garden effort in Troy was documented in an article in the April 20, 1917 issue of The
Record. 1,500 gardens in the city were cultivated by school children and hundreds more by adults. The children
throughout the heat of the summer have kept their enthusiasm and hoed their gardens. They have been led carefully, of course, and given reasons and prompted in rivalry to keep at it. The article further reported that to
protect the gardens that will be cultivated by the children of the city it has been suggested that an American flag
be placed at each of the four corners of lots where work is going on, together with the notice: This garden work
has been ordered by the United States government. The National League for Womens Service volunteered to
help and appointed a woman in every ward to assist the young gardeners.
Home and school gardens in the city provided 2,000 families with their supply of vegetables in the summer of
1917. Potatoes and other crops to be harvested later would furnish some food for the winter. The success of the
World War I home and school gardens in Troy received national attention when officials at Cornell University
and federal officials and state education officials recognized the effort. That year Troys program, which became
a model for other areas, was second only to San Francisco in its home garden program.
All who were active in this remarkable home front effort during the World Wars were members of the greatest
generation. The spirit and the memory of wartime gardens is kept alive by the efforts of Capital Roots which
maintains dozens of vegetable gardens throughout the Capital District providing fresh food for many city residents and for local food pantries. We welcome them to our neighborhood!

JULY 15th MEETING

WILL BE HELD AT THE
ITALIAN COMMUNITY CENTER
1450 FIFTH AVENUE, TROY N.Y.
SECOND FLOOR
6 to 7;30 pm
6 PM Laura Rabineau from the Department of
Science & Technology at RPI will speak on the
possibility of a dog Park
David Buckley will be on hand to listen to
problems and help with solutions