[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 112 (Friday, August 1, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1581]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO ALBERT L. PICCETTI

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                           HON. JACK KINGSTON

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 31, 1997

  Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, about a year ago, at the invitation of 
Rosemary Mucklow, I had the opportunity to go to San Francisco and 
speak to the National Meat Association. While there, Rosemary invited 
us to a reception at the home of Agnes and Al Picetti. It was a 
wonderful house perched high on the slope of one of San Francisco's 
many hillsides. The view was spectacular, the food tremendous, and the 
host family as delightful and graceful as a California spring day.
  The Piccetti, Gatto, and DeMartini family members made us all feel at 
ease. Their home was ours. Their generosity was ours to enjoy. Their 
obvious and apparent success was ours to celebrate.
  How did one get to live such a life? How was it that the family of 
first generation of Americans could experience such a generous slice of 
prosperity and affluence? Was it luck? Desire? Hard work? Or belief in 
a greater ideal and that of the American dream?
  I left believing it was the latter. Mr. and Mrs. Piccetti had put in 
their time, taken risk, worked long hours, persevered and succeeded, 
but throughout their highs and lows, victories and defeats, they 
believe in America. What it stands for and what an individual can 
accomplish in our great system of enterprise and government.
  Their story is worth telling. Ms. Mucklow was kind enough to write a 
brief biography, and I am honored to enter it into the Record.

                           Albert L. Piccetti

       Albert Piccetti was born to John and Viola Piccetti in 1918 
     at their home in the North Beach Community of San Francisco, 
     California. He grew up on Telegraph Hill, a working class 
     neighborhood that was home to new immigrants from Italy and 
     Spain. Eight-year-old Albert learned the value of hard work 
     as soon as he was old enough to accompany his father on his 
     garbage pick-up route through the streets of San Francisco. 
     As one of his earliest work memories, Al remembers his father 
     persuading a reluctant team of Clydesdale horses to back up 
     on a wooden ramp to empty the wagon's haul for the day.
       Surrounded by the strong work ethic of new Americans, young 
     Al's first business venture was as a shoe shine entrepreneur. 
     After painstakingly building his shoe box, Al was ready for 
     his first customers in Washington Park. It wasn't long before 
     he received a lesson in ``sales territories'' from the 
     established shoe shine boys. It was to be Al's shortest 
     business endeavor!
       At the age of 16, Albert became the sole support of his 
     parents and younger sister when his father suffered a 
     debilitating stroke. Although not physically tall in stature, 
     he survived the rigorous initiation of a partner-worker into 
     the Golden Gate Scavenger Company working alongside men the 
     age of his father as the primary breadwinner for the family.
       He met his life's partner, Agnes Gatto, at the local 
     Italian social club. She was chaperoned under the very 
     watchful eyes of her brothers. When they return from their 
     honeymoon, a draft notice from Uncle Sam was waiting. During 
     the war years, Al was most proud of her certification as an 
     instrument flight trainer and used his natural drawing 
     talents to instruct new pilots.
       Following the war, Al joined his wife's family in operating 
     a local bar and grill in the produce and printing district of 
     San Francisco. Al took this opportunity to sharpen his 
     culinary skills, which are still widely appreciated today by 
     friends and family!
       In 1957, Al Piccetti, along with is brother-in-law, Felix 
     Gatto, and his boyhood friend, Ernie DeMartini, purchased a 
     family-run Italian sausage factory, and kept the name: San 
     Francisco Sausage Company. They learned every aspect of their 
     new business making traditional Italian salame. The company 
     was, and is today, best known for its Columbus brand salame. 
     Considered more an art than a science at the time, their 
     growing success soon demanded a larger manufacturing plant. 
     Moving a cured dry sausage operation entailed unknown risks 
     due to the fastidious requirements of the white, Penicillin-
     type molds that grow on the surface of the salame as it 
     matures. Those early years were a challenge to their 
     fortitude in unraveling the mysteries of mycology. Albert was 
     on the forefront of implementing new scientific methods to 
     ensure the safety and tradition of the product that his 
     forefathers introduced to the United States. After almost 30 
     years in the business, Albert retired from the San Francisco 
     Sausage Company as President and CEO in 1985. He and his 
     partners left the business in the hands of the next 
     generation of Piccettis, Gattos, and DeMartinis.
       Upon retiring and with his four children grown, Al, 
     characteristically, moved on to pursue a new dream. Al and 
     Agnes Piccetti purchased hillside acreage in the Dry Creek 
     Valley of Sonoma County, north of San Francisco. Local 
     realtors scratched their heads in puzzlement at his choice of 
     undeveloped scrub brush property; but, Al already envisioned 
     the slopes lush with grapevines. The newly retired couple 
     spent their nights in a small trailer, with Al busy designing 
     and planting their first vineyard. In time, they built their 
     home. Al's designs are evident in every facet of the AA 
     Ranch: precise layout and trellising of the grapes; the 
     functional beauty of the iron work in the ceiling beams; and, 
     the careful placement of stone water causeways.
       Al Piccetti's warmth, generosity and friendship have 
     touched thousands of people in his communities, church, 
     family, and business. Al's accomplishments are the story of 
     the American Dream of hard work, love, dedication and 
     respect. We're pleased to place this acknowledgement of his 
     continuing life in the Record.

     

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