[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 184 (Friday, December 2, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2164-E2166]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       DeLAURO MEMORIAL TABLE UNVEILING IN NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, December 2, 2011

  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, the following remarks were delivered by our 
colleague, Representative Rosa L. DeLauro of Connecticut's Third 
Congressional District, on the occasion of the DeLauro Memorial Table 
Unveiling in New Haven, Connecticut, on Sunday, October 23, 2011.
  Her remarks chronicle the extraordinary story of her mother and 
father, Luisa and Ted DeLauro, their neighborhood, their patriotism, 
and their service to a beloved community. It is the story of an 
American family, and the story of America as well. It also informs the 
U.S. House of Representatives why our colleague, Representative Rosa L. 
DeLauro, exhibits her values with such passion and excellence with her 
fighting spirit on behalf of her constituents, continuing the legacy of 
her parents' history and heritage.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask the entire House of Representatives to pay tribute 
to our colleague, her parents, and all the members of the community who 
chose to honor the DeLauro family with their lasting tribute to them 
for all they have stood for and contributed. The name `DeLauro' is 
synonymous with patriotism and service across generations and it is a 
privilege to place these words in the Congressional Record which 
describe how one family has so enriched the America they loved and 
served so magnificently.

                  Remarks of the Hon. Rosa L. DeLauro


                   DELAURO MEMORIAL TABLE UNVEILING,

                        SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2011

                       (As prepared for delivery)

       Well, this is very special, and I do not know how to 
     express my appreciation. I am beyond words. What a turnout.
       Above all, I am appreciative that my mother Luisa is here 
     to witness what you have built, and to hear your thoughts 
     about my dad Teddy and her and their work. Luisa will be 98 
     this Christmas Eve and, as you can see, she knows when she is 
     the center of attention.
       I want to thank Mayor John DeStefano who had the inspired 
     idea for this tribute. He met with Lynn Fusco, Jamie Cohen, 
     Gerry Weiner, Barbara Segaloff, Robert Mele and others to 
     bring his idea to fruition, consulting with community 
     contacts in hopes of this being a surprise to Luisa and me. I 
     only found about this effort well after it was under way.
       In a cynical time, it is sometimes difficult to believe 
     that someone's motives are just what they seem, trying to 
     find a way to honor people's contribution. Mayor, your words 
     today capture so much of our shared history and heritage--and 
     I will not forget the many who were generous enough to 
     support this work.
       I should also thank Alderman Michael Smart. Independently, 
     he had the idea of naming the corner of Academy and Chapel 
     for Luisa. That too was a surprise, which only underscores 
     this neighborhood's feelings for Luisa.
       Jamie Cohen is the closest of friends, a neighbor and now 
     head of the Valley Community Foundation. We started together 
     working for Chris Dodd and the Dodd family and I love that he 
     helped organize this effort, mobilize such talents and call 
     on people's generosity. I will always remember his words 
     today.
       I am in awe of Senator Chris Dodd deciding to be here and 
     offering such a special view. More than anyone, Chris 
     combines humanity, loyalty, family and effectiveness to play 
     such an historic role, captured at the University of 
     Connecticut's Thomas Dodd Research Center. He did not say it, 
     but Chris took some of the biggest risks on me--to run his 
     first Senate campaign, to lead his office in

[[Page E2165]]

     Washington and run his re-election when I was still 
     recovering from cancer surgery. No one has such a legacy and 
     he continues to shape our future.
       I especially want to thank Joe Carbone, who came to play 
     the same role as me as chief-of staff to the mayor and who 
     knew my Dad and believes his generation was touched by Teddy. 
     I can remember my dad coming home from the supply house and 
     saying, ``Lou, the Carbones just had twin boys, Billy and 
     Joey.'' And to this day, Joe will visit Luisa every weekend, 
     where my mother gets so much joy in recounting the old 
     political stories--Dick Lee, Arthur T, John Golden--and the 
     exploits of so many neighborhood kids that she will tick off 
     name by name, tale by tale.
       I have to thank the Italian Societies who organized the 
     reception for today's unveiling and who played such a 
     critical role in this neighborhood and the Italian American 
     community.
       St. Andrews. Ladies and Men. Theresa Argento and Frank 
     Gargano--and Theresa, that is a family that should be 
     honored.
       Santa Maria Maddelena--Ladies and Men--Andy Consigilio, who 
     is always there for me; Rheta Debenedet
       St. Catello. Irene Flynn
       St. Trofemina--Julia Nicefaro
       Santa Maria Delle Virgine--Ruby Proto
       We have all been shaped by what our families brought with 
     them from Amalfi, Scafati, Minori, and Maori. They forged a 
     life in America centered in this neighborhood and now shape 
     our future through at least three generations. My family's 
     story is just a thread in that fabric of history. And this 
     memorial is just a moment in that living history.
       So many hands took such care and contributed so much to 
     create this memorial. Darren Antolini at Fusco Corp and 
     everyone who was part of the construction and installation; 
     Barry Svigals at Svigals Partners; Anthony Capasso of Capasso 
     & Sons; John DiTullio at Sign Lite; Start Community Bank; 
     Bruce Alexander and Yale Press. I can see the love of their 
     work in this table.
       And so many people in the city government worked for this: 
     Robert Levine, Parks Director, Christy Hass, Rosemarie 
     Lemley, a force of nature, and Michael Abeshouse--who worked 
     so closely with my mother for years providing support on the 
     Board of Aldermen.
       From the neighborhood: Harvey Koizim, Andy Ross, Beverly 
     Carbonella, and so many others.
       A committee of devoted friends of this community worked to 
     produce this precious program booklet, above all Anthony 
     Riccio, who has written so eloquently of the Italian-American 
     contribution to this city and country and today devoted his 
     words to capturing the lives of Teddy and Luisa and this 
     family.
       I want to thank in particular Barry Svigals, the sculptor 
     who embraced this mission and captured my family's kitchen 
     table on Green, Chapel and Olive Streets, where so many 
     people sought help maneuvering through the maze of 
     institutions not so welcoming to Italian Americans. But even 
     more, they talked, planned and conspired on how to get the 
     city to pay attention to this neighborhood and its needs. 
     This table and chairs for me is timeless. It captures the 
     humanity of an emerging community, now shared with others in 
     this park. I thank you for that and I think so will this 
     neighborhood.
       Teddy and Luisa were devoted to me and made sure I got 
     every possible lesson--dance, piano, French, horseback 
     riding--How many Italian horseback riders do you know? And 
     the very best Catholic education. I had the chance to go to 
     St. Louis School, Lauralton Hall, Marymount College, the 
     London School of Economics and Columbia University. And above 
     all, that I not work in the shirt shops, the mills or 
     factories or the primer shop at Winchester--where my mother 
     worked as a young woman during the war. Imagine what they 
     would have done with the education they gave me.
       They gave me my values too. We are today right across from 
     St. Michael's Church reminding us that my father was a devout 
     Catholic and daily communicant. There and at this table, life 
     was a living lesson about hard work and decency, thinking of 
     others, community and the honor of working to help others.
       Luisa and Ted are special because so much of what they did 
     they did together and shared around this table, just as Stan 
     and I get to share in each other's work. Stan is here--just 
     back flying overnight from Italy and Venezuela where he is 
     working to elect new leaders. I regret that Stan never knew 
     my father because they shared such a passion for politics and 
     campaigns, from the local to the presidential.
       My father was born in Scafati and came to the United States 
     in 1913 and walked away from school in the 7th grade when 
     they made fun of his halting English. Where do those values 
     and will come from? He was totally self-educated, became the 
     city court interpreter, helped translate letters for 
     neighbors, and assisted on Yale research projects. He was a 
     self-taught musician who became the first clarinetist in the 
     U.S. Army band, and surrounded us with every Italian opera 
     that he knew by heart. My folks took me at age 9 to see Aida 
     at the Met. He had me listen to Beethoven's Symphonies, and 
     asked me to identify the instruments, which I could not--but 
     he could. He took me with my cousins to see the Yankees play. 
     Only Joe DiMaggio was a bigger passion. When Stan worked for 
     President Clinton, and we met Joe DeMaggio in the suite, I 
     told him on Wooster Street people asked not how the Yankees 
     did, but how Joe did. I wanted to find a way to call my Dad.
       And he was so intense and animated about what was happening 
     to people in this neighborhood. That was true whether he was 
     going around door-to-door collecting insurance premiums 
     during the Depression--and paying them himself when people 
     were broke--or when he saw what the city and state 
     contemplated for this neighborhood. That was true when he 
     took the position as neighborhood liaison and director of 
     this area's redevelopment. He went door-to-door showing his 
     faith in this community, coaxing people to invest in their 
     properties. With a band of architects, he convinced the 
     owners to transform Court Street from a den of drunkenness, 
     disease and odors to become the gateway to Wooster Square.
       Teddy's passion sometimes became a temper. Ask Bill 
     Donahue, who is here today. When he disagreed with the agency 
     at a hearing, he would give up the gavel, go sit with the 
     residents, and back them against the city. In fact, he and 
     Luisa stood in front of the bulldozers to prevent them from 
     razing more houses and from putting a highway through this 
     neighborhood. So, I urge those who enjoy the quality of life 
     in this neighborhood to remember the immigrant activists who 
     made this possible.
       My Mom and Dad wrote to me while I was at college in London 
     October 23, 1962 during the Cuban Missile crisis, proud that 
     President Kennedy was calling ``Khrushchev's hand,'' but 
     virtually in the same paragraph he wrote he was heading a 
     ``committee to finance the bust of Dr. Harry Conte, also to 
     have a Community Christmas tree in our park. . . . Next week 
     we will move from this office to the corner of Olive and 
     Court, and the present site will be demolished to make room 
     for the new Greene St. housing. I'm sure that by July 1963 
     when you get back you will see many projects completed. . . . 
     There is no need to tell you how much we miss you, and we are 
     counting the days until your return.''
       My Dad was known as the `Mayor of Wooster Square' and he 
     and Luisa founded and headed the Wooster Square Neighborhood 
     Association, worked to have this neighborhood declared the 
     first historic district in the city and Luisa started the 
     Cherry Blossom Festival.
       It was Teddy who decided politics was the right way to make 
     a difference. He became head of the 10th ward Democratic 
     committee when Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman defined 
     what it meant to be a Democrat and a proud American. He ran 
     once for the board of aldermen, giving it up to make enough 
     money to pay for my college education. Luisa lost her first 
     efforts to win the 8th ward, before winning and serving 
     amazingly for 35 years--the longest serving member of the 
     Board in this city. Our home was surrounded by books of 
     minutes, agendas, budgets, as she took her role very 
     seriously on the Board of Finance--holding six mayors and 
     innumerable department heads accountable.
       As was expected at the time, my grandmother had my mother 
     leave school when she was 13--starting to work at Strauss 
     Adler when she was legally able at age 14. Think of that. She 
     would educate herself at night but she worked in the 
     factories through the war. She was still working on the 
     sewing machine for piecework wages when I was a young girl in 
     the 1950s.
       Yet in 1933 at age 20--three-quarters of a century ago--she 
     wrote in the tenth ward's Democratic newsletter--``my motive 
     . . . is to encourage the female members of this organization 
     to take a more active part in its affairs. We are not living 
     in the middle ages when a woman's part in life was merely to 
     serve her master in her home'' and should enter the ``here-
     to-fore stronghold of the male sex: politics.'' ``Come on 
     girls, let's make ourselves heard.''--those words now 
     immortalized in this sculpture.
       Where did that come from?
       She was so dogged and fearless and nothing brought out her 
     qualities like a good fight. She worked for affordable 
     housing, from Columbus Mall to Winslow Celantano to Farnam 
     Courts. She was unrivaled in trying find people a job. Above 
     all, she went to the senior centers and worked for the 
     residents of Winslow Celantano like they were her own 
     parents. When they lost their heat, she went around to every 
     store on Wooster Street every day to make sure the residents 
     had food. Long before America got it, she fought for everyone 
     regardless of color or gender.
       She was above all and continuously a woman of her times 
     that had no end point. When this country faced the tumultuous 
     cultural changes of the 1960s and the Vietnam war, my father 
     was not at all comfortable with what he saw. We had some 
     serious moments. In one of my parents' letters during the 
     Cuban Missile Crisis, he wrote, ``Now, I'm going to preach 
     again. This concerns the situation between us, and Cuba. In 
     your conversations with the English, you may note they are 
     not in favor of the blockade. Please do not get into any 
     controversial arguments. Do not join any demonstrations in 
     London either for or against anything. Occupy yourself with 
     your studies, and whenever you have free time enjoy 
     yourself.''
       A decade later, Luisa DeLauro in her sixties backed Joe 
     Duffy, the anti-war Democrat against the wishes of the 
     machine, not to mention Joe Lieberman against Ed Marcus. She 
     supported the primary challenge of Frank Logue against the 
     machine

[[Page E2166]]

     candidate and faced political wrath of Arthur Barbieri, 
     including a primary challenge for her own seat.
       My own story is not so interesting once you think about the 
     two great influences in my own life. It was written. And I 
     will not dwell on my work, though so much of this began at 
     this kitchen table. My father wanted me to be a pianist and 
     if not that, to make $10,000 a year. He asked me what I 
     wanted to be when I grew up. I said a dancer--he said get a 
     more stable profession! He did not think I would make it 
     politics because I had too much book learning in my head and 
     not enough experience working and living with people--
     understanding their lives.
       But politics was in my blood and for many years I worked 
     for a succession of civic and elected leaders--from the 
     Community Action Institute to the city of New Haven, from 
     Frank Logue to Chris Dodd.
       When I was discovered to have ovarian cancer and beat that 
     back with wondrous nurses and doctors at Yale New Haven 
     Hospital, I made a decision that I too had to run for office 
     and play a role in this tradition. Nothing was a bigger honor 
     than to be elected to the Third Congressional seat in the 
     tradition of Albert Cretella, Bob Giaimo, Larrry DeNardis, 
     and Bruce Morrison. Eleven times the people of this district 
     have sent me to Washington to battle for them--as my father 
     and mother would have done in their day. I now believe it is 
     no accident that today my bill to bar discrimination against 
     the unemployed is part of President Obama's Jobs Bill, 
     because my dad asked in his time why the workers at Candee 
     Rubber Company who helped make it profitable in good times 
     lost their jobs in bad times. And I believe it is no accident 
     that I stood right behind the president when he signed his 
     first law, The Fair Pay Act, because my mother asked the same 
     challenging questions when she was but 20.
       What motivates what I do springs from growing up in an 
     Italian-Catholic household, with Teddy and Luisa DeLauro. 
     This sculpture brings it full circle, with all our words 
     captured here.
       Mayor, thank you for getting this started, thank you all 
     for joining my family today, and enjoy this neighborhood 
     where my mother still lives and where it all began.
       All the best.

                          ____________________