Great book on Italian Heritage in Chicago

The Book chronicles the lives of working Chicago Italians for 80 years through photography and text

For more than a century, Italian immigrants and their descendants contributed their labor and talent to building the city. Chicago Italians at Work focuses on a period from 1890 to 1970 when industry was king in this midwestern metropolis. Generations of Italians found work in companies such as U.S. Steel, Western Electric, Pullman, Crane, McCormick/Harvester, Hart Schaffner and Marx, and other large industrial corporations. Other Italians were self-employed as barbers, shoe workers, tailors, musicians, construction workers, and more. In many of these trades, Italians were predominant. A complex network of family enterprises also operated in the Chicago Italian community. Small shopkeepers generated work in food services and retail employment; some of these ma-and-pa operations grew into large, prosperous enterprises that survive today. Finally, Italians helped develop trade unions, which created long-term economic gains for all ethnic groups in Chicago. This book chronicles the labor and contributions of an urban ethnic community through historic photographs and text.

Author Peter Nicholas Pero is a teacher and writer. He has taught courses in labor studies for Roosevelt University and Prairie State College. Pero has published articles on workplace economics through travel in China, Japan, Costa Rica, and Brazil. He lives in Chicago's Little Italy and is a member of the city's Italian-American Labor Council.

To buy the book, visit www.arcadiapublishing.com

Know your from Chicago .....When....

1. The "living room" was called the "front room."
2. You don't pronounce the "s" at the end of Illinois. You become irate at people who do.
3. You measure distance in minutes (especially "from the city"). And you swear                    everything is pretty much 1/2 hour away.
4. You have no problem spelling or pronouncing "Des Plaines."
5. You go to visit friends or family down south and laugh when they complain about the     traffic.
6. You understand that no person from Chicago can be a Cub fan AND a White Sox fan.
7. It's "kitty corner" not "katty corner".
8. You know the difference between"The Loop"and "Downtown."
9. You eat your pizza in squares, not triangles, and you never refer to it as "pie"
10. You own celery salt.
11. You understand that the primary is the official local election.
12. You know what a garache-key is!
13. Stores don't have sacks, they have bags.
14. You end your sentences with an unnecessary preposition. Example: "Where's my coat at?" or "Can I go with?"
15. Your idea of a great tenderloin is when the meat is twice as big as the bun, "everything" is on it and a slice of dill pickle is on the side.
16. You carry jumper cables in your car.
17. You drink "pop."
18. You understand that I-290, I-90, I-94, and I-294 are all different roads.
19. You know the names of the interstates: Stevenson, Kennedy, Eisenhower, Dan Ryan, and the Eden's.
20. But you call the interstates "expressways."
21. You refer to anything South of I-80 as "Southern or Central Illinois."
22. You refer to Lake Michigan as "The Lake."
23. You refer to Chicago as "The City."
24. "The Super Bowl" refers to one specific game in January, 1986.
25. You have two favorite football teams: The Bears, and anyone who beats the Packers.
26. You buy "The Trib" and not the Tribune.
27. You know that despite being on the lake, there is no such place as the Waterfront.
28. You think 45 degrees is great weather to wash your car.
29. You picnic or ride your bike in the "fore st preserve."
30. You cried when Bozo was canceled on WGN.
31. You know what goes on a Chicago-style hot dog.
32. You know what Chicago Style Pizza REALLY is.
33. You know why they call Chicago "The Windy City."
34. You understand what "lake-effect" means.
35. You know the difference between Amtrak and Metra, and know at which station they end up.
37. You have ridden the "L."
38. You think your next-door neighbor is a cousin to Tony Soprano.
39. You can distinguish between the following area codes: 847, 630, 773, 708, 312, & 815.
40. You have at some time in your life used your furniture or a friend's body to guard your parking spot in winter.
41. You respond to the question "Where are you from?" with a "side." Example: "West Side," "South Side" or "North Side."
42. You know the phone number for Empire Carpet!