Chris Carosa, Author at Chris Carosa

Charles Angelo Siringo, The Cowboy Detective – A Classic (Italian) American Archetype

By Chris Carosa on October 16, 2018

“Ah, you’re wasting your time,” said the self-assured Butch. “They can’t track us over rocks.”

Sundance peered into the distance from behind the large boulder. “Tell them that,” he said, almost ashamed to disrespect the wisdom of his mentor.

Butch turned around to see for himself. He couldn’t believe what he saw. “They’re beginning to get on my nerves,” he said with a tinge of anger. Then, after a pause, added with heartfelt curiosity, “Who are those guys?”

“Those guys,” as they referred to in the 1969 classic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, were Pinkerton Detectives. In the film, the Pinkertons chase the outlaws after their gang had robbed the Union Pacific train. Butch Cassidy identifies one of them as Joe LeFors. No matter how hard they try, they can’t escape the posse.

In real life, the Wilcox Train Robbery, as it has come to be known, took place in the early morning hours of a rainy June 2, 1899. At 2:09 AM, a number of masked robbers – from three to six, the accounts vary – held up the first section of the westbound Union Pacific Overland Flyer about a mile west of Wilcox, Wyoming. Officials immediately suspected Continue Reading “Charles Angelo Siringo, The Cowboy Detective – A Classic (Italian) American Archetype”

Declaration of (Italian) American Independence

By Chris Carosa on October 9, 2018

“They all laughed at Christopher Columbus/When he said the world was round…” So begins the lyrics of Ira Gershwin for brother George’s 1937 composition “They All Laughed.” The Gershwins wrote the song for the movie Shall We Dance, starring Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. Frank Sinatra famously included the tune in his masterpiece Trilogy album, where he sings the closing lyrics “Who’s got the last laugh now?” with a knowing wink.

From Christopher Columbus to Frank Sinatra, it’s clear that Italians and Italian-Americans have had a tremendous impact on America. Over the next three weeks, we’ll focus on those names history books seem to have neglected.

Did you know Italian-Americans played a prominent role in the founding of America? For example, three of the first five American warships were named after Italians. These were Continue Reading “Declaration of (Italian) American Independence”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Andrea Doria, Benjamin Franklin, Christopher Columbus, Conqueror of the Old Northwest, Declaration of Independence, Filppo Mazzei, Frank Sinatra, Fred Astaire, Furioso, George Gershwin, George Rogers Clark, George Washington, Ginger Rogers, Giovanni Caboto, Giuseppe Maria Francesco Vigo, Hannibal of the West, Henry Hamilton, Ira Gershwin, Italian American, John Cabot, John F. Kennedy, Lewis and Clark Expedition, New Orleans, Patrick Henry, Shall We Dance, St. Louis, St. Vincent, Terre Haute, They All Laughed, Thomas Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Treaty of Paris, Trilogy, Vincennes, William Clark

Celebrate! October is Italian-American Heritage Month!

By Chris Carosa on October 3, 2018

According to the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, the number of illegal lynchings between 1882 and 1962 was 4,736. This data was compiled by the Department of Records and Research, Tuskegee Institute, Alabama; and published in: Ploski, Harry, and Williams, James; The Negro Almanac: A Reference Work on Afro-American, 4th ed. New York: Wiley, 1983. As you might suspect most of these lynchings (roughly 73%) were perpetrated upon blacks. It might astonish you, however, to learn the largest lynching event in U.S. history contained no black victims. Here’s how I discovered this fact.

A couple of weeks ago, Tim and Deb Smith’s “Mendon’s Historic Hamlets – Rochester Junction, Part 2” told the story of the death of Spencer Howe. The suspect, Nicolo DeNardo, fled the scene, but was later captured by police. The headline in the Democrat and Chronicle shouts “Struck Down by a Dago.” The casual use of that ethnic slur got me curious. Did other newspapers of that era also use it?

I quickly found out there’s an island called Dago in the Baltic Sea near the Gulf of Finland. Apparently, it was quite the popular place to wreck your ship in the eighteenth century.

I landed closer to my mark when I saw the following page two of the Friday, January 2^nd, 1835 edition of The New York Evening Post. Here’s what it said: “Five Dollars Reward, for Continue Reading “Celebrate! October is Italian-American Heritage Month!”

Posted in Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Christopher Columbus, Dago Frank, David C. Hennessy, Italian, Italian American, lynching, New Orleans, Nicolo DeNardo, Thomas Duffy

Facebook and Free Speech

By Chris Carosa on September 25, 2018

There’s been a lot of talk among some in the media about the suppression of the First Amendment – every American’s right to free speech. Folks like to point to President Trump’s never-ending battle with his major media opponents. You hear a lot about Trump supporters shouting down national media celebrities. You can argue the anti-media crowd is merely exercising its First Amendment right to free speech, but that’s another topic. For all the ink spilled, one thing is certain: merely complaining about the press is a far cry from actually shutting down that press.

There is, however, another national actor that actually is shutting down the free press. And that could be a much bigger problem than the sum of all of President Trump’s tweets.Continue Reading “Facebook and Free Speech”

Posted in Media, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Commentaries, facebook, First Amendment, National Society of Newspaper Columnists, USA Today, William Blackstone

Hamburger WhoDunIt Part VII: Those Amazing Menches Boys

By Chris Carosa on September 18, 2018

(The seventh part in a series of seven)

Brothers Charles and Frank Menches were prolific concessionaires. They didn’t start that way. By the time he was twenty, Charles had a “successful season” with the Bob Stickney circus. Contemporary reporters called him a “thoroughly proficient” trapeze artist.¹ After spending several years as a high wire and trapeze artist with the Bob Stickney circus and the Old John Robinson circus, Charles decided to enter the concession business full-time with his brother Frank in 1884.²

Frank, six years younger than Charles, was no slouch when it came to athleticism, either. He was an award-winning bicycle racer, competing into his early twenties.^3,4

Born in Canton, Ohio, the brothers dove into multiple business ventures at an early age. While working with the circus, Charles began dabbling in concession sales. Very quickly, he Continue Reading “Hamburger WhoDunIt Part VII: Those Amazing Menches Boys”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, Bob Stickney circus, Charles Menches, Civil War, Corn and Cone Company, Crackerjack, Frank Menches, Gee Whiz, ice cream cone, Liberty Theater, Louisiana Purchase Exposition, Menches Brothers, Norhtern Ohio Traction, Old John Robinson circus, Orrin Barber, Premium Candy, Premium Candy and Corn, Stark County Fair, Summit County Fair, Summit Lake Park, William McKinley

Hamburger WhoDunIt Part VI: A Day In Hamburger History – September 18, 1885 – Everything is the Same, Except, “You Are There!”

By Chris Carosa on September 11, 2018

(The sixth part in a series of seven)

“What sort of day was it? A day like all days, filled with those events that alter and illuminate our times… all things are as they were then, and you were there.”

– Walter Cronkite, at the conclusion of each episode of the CBS Series You Are There

On this day, September 18^th, 1885, the last day of the Erie County Fair, Hiram P. Hopkins woke up to threatening skies. While the weather appeared ominous, he breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t see the clouds as presaging rain. Rather, he saw the southwesterly breeze as ushering in unusually warm temperatures. In exchange, he’d accept the oppressive humidity.

In the early morning, before the expected thousands of fairgoers arrived, Hiram strolled the grounds. Just a day earlier, the place was packed, the crowd so dense it was difficult to move. This morning the only people Hopkins could see were the many vendors prepping their booths for the final day. Popcorn, peanuts and candy sellers had a brisk business the day before. The same was true of those selling lemonade, pop, and sandwiches.

As he passed close to the grandstand, he noticed two young men fretting about. It was Continue Reading “Hamburger WhoDunIt Part VI: A Day In Hamburger History – September 18, 1885 – Everything is the Same, Except, “You Are There!””

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Andrew Stein, Charles Menches, erie county fair, Frank Menches, hamburg, Hamburg Fair, Hamburger, Hiram P. Hopkins, Menches Brothers

Hamburger WhoDunIt Part V: CSI: Hamburg(er), N.Y.

By Chris Carosa on September 5, 2018

(The fifth part in a series of seven)

“Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk..”

– Henry David Thoreau

And then there was one. Charles and Frank Menches were born in Canton, Ohio. Their father, Jacob Menches, an engineer in Prussia, immigrated to America and became a grocer in Canton. Their mother, Charlotte Hahn Menches, was originally from France. As young men, both boys were quite athletic. Charles as a well-regarded gymnast who travelled with a popular circus as a trapeze artist and high wire walker before he turned twenty.¹ Frank, six years younger than Charles, was an award-winning bicycle racer.^2,3

While the brothers’ lives contain several amazing stories, our focus here is on only one: Their role as (potentially) the first to sell a hamburg sandwich. How this story became known is itself a story. The brothers’ claim was widely known (the headline of Frank’s 1951 obituary reads “‘Inventor’ of Hamburger Dies.”⁴ The real story, however, lay hidden for half a century and was published decades after the brothers had passed away.Continue Reading “Hamburger WhoDunIt Part V: CSI: Hamburg(er), N.Y.”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged 1885, and Ice Cream Company, Andrew Klein, Andrew Stein, Charles Menches, Corn, Crackerjack, Dan Rice, Domestic Hall, Erie County Agricultural Society, erie county fair, Frank Menches, Gee Whiz, grandstand, Hamburg Fair, Hamburg Sandwich, Hamburger, James Swinnich, John C. Kunzog, Liberty Theater, Menches Brothers, Octagon Building, Premium Candy, Tanbark and Tinsel, Waffle Cone, William M. (Pop) Robinson

Hamburger WhoDunIt Part IV: A (Swiss) Cheesehead Tale

By Chris Carosa on August 28, 2018

(The fourth part in a series of seven)

“…with each recollection the memory may be changed.”

“Memories don’t just fade, as the old saying would have us believe; they also grow. What fades is the initial perception, the actual experience of the events. But every time we recall an event, we must reconstruct the memory, and with each recollection the memory may be changed – colored by succeeding events, other people’s recollections or suggestions, increased understanding, or a new context.”

From Witness For the Defense: The Accused, the Eyewitness, and the Expert Who Puts Memory On Trial, by Dr. Elizabeth Loftus and Katherine Ketcham (St. Martin’s Press, 1991)

When you’re a reporter, you often find yourself interviewing sources to try to get a broader perspective on the story. Reporters will often Continue Reading “Hamburger WhoDunIt Part IV: A (Swiss) Cheesehead Tale”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Charles Nagreen, Elizabeth Loftus, Hamburger Charley, Hamburger Charlie, Ira Parker, James Christensen, Katherine Ketcham, New London Fair, Oshkosh Fair, Quantum Leap, Seymour Fair, Swiss Cheese Effect, Winnebago County Fair Association

Hamburger WhoDunIt Part III: The Texas Two Step

By Chris Carosa on August 21, 2018

(The third part in a series of seven)

“Heroes stand not in my presence: they fall to earth beneath my hand.”

“He answered, like a wave on a rock, who in this land appears like me? Heroes stand not in my presence: they fall to earth beneath my hand. None can meet Swaran in the fight but Fingal, king of stormy hills. Once we wrestled on the heath of Malmor, and our heels overturned the wood. Rocks fell from their place; and rivulets, changing their course, fled murmuring from our strife.”

From FINGAL, An Ancient Epic Poem. In Six Books, Together with Several other Poems, composed by OSSIAN the Son of FINGAL, Translated from the Gallic Language, By James MacPherson. (Published by Richard Fitzsimons, Dublin, 1762)

James MacPherson, a Scottish poet stunned the literary world when he published an Continue Reading “Hamburger WhoDunIt Part III: The Texas Two Step”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Andrea Murphy, Athens, Clint Murchison, Dallas cowboys, Fingal, Fletcher Davis, Frank X. Tolbert, Gary Cartwright, Hamburger University, James MacPherson, Josh Ozersky, Jr., Kent Biffle, Louis' Lunch, McDonald's, New York Tribune, Ossian, Pamela J. Vaccaro, Texas

Hamburger WhoDunit Part II: The Shrine of the Four (and a half?)

By Chris Carosa on August 14, 2018

(The second episode in a series of seven)

“You will not apply my precept,” he said, shaking his head. “How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?”

Illustration from the Monday, July 23, 1894 edition of the San Francisco Chronicle

Thus spoke crime fighting sleuth Sherlock Holmes in The Sign of the Four, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s second novel featuring his most-popular character, as published in the February 1890 issue of Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine. By coincidence, the most noted hamburger origin stories occurred within a few years on either side of this date. It’s fitting, then, that we employ the deductive techniques of the Baker Street mastermind in attempting to solve one of histories greatest culinary mysteries: Who sold the first hamburger?

First, as in all good police thrillers, let’s take a look at our line-up of suspects (in reverse chronological order). In each case, their hometowns have created what amounts to a shrine to their claims. We count them as four and a half because two are inexorably tied together. Still, for our purposes we’ll untie them. Here’s the line-up:Continue Reading “Hamburger WhoDunit Part II: The Shrine of the Four (and a half?)”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Athens, Barny's Saloon, Charles Menches, Charles Nagreen, Davenport Republican, Eliminate the Impossible, Fletcher Davis, Frank Menches, Frank Tolbert, hamburg, Hamburg Sandwich, Hamburg Steak, Hamburger, Hamburger Charlie, Iowa State Bystander, John Kunzpg, Louis Lassen, Louis' Lunch, Louisiana Purchase Exposition, Menches Brothers, Moulton, New Haven, New Haven Preservation Trust, New York Tribune, Princeton-Clarion Leader, San Francisco Chronicle, Seymour Fair, Sherlock Holmes, Shiner Gazette, Sir Arhtur Conan Doyle, St. Louis World's Fair, Tambark and Tinsel, The New Lunch Room, The Poultney Journal, The Shine of the Four

Charles Angelo Siringo, The Cowboy Detective – A Classic (Italian) American Archetype

Declaration of (Italian) American Independence

Celebrate! October is Italian-American Heritage Month!

Facebook and Free Speech

Hamburger WhoDunIt Part VII: Those Amazing Menches Boys

(The seventh part in a series of seven)

Hamburger WhoDunIt Part VI: A Day In Hamburger History – September 18, 1885 – Everything is the Same, Except, “You Are There!”

(The sixth part in a series of seven)

“What sort of day was it? A day like all days, filled with those events that alter and illuminate our times… all things are as they were then, and you were there.”

Hamburger WhoDunIt Part V: CSI: Hamburg(er), N.Y.

(The fifth part in a series of seven)

“Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk..”

Hamburger WhoDunIt Part IV: A (Swiss) Cheesehead Tale

(The fourth part in a series of seven)

“…with each recollection the memory may be changed.”

Hamburger WhoDunIt Part III: The Texas Two Step

(The third part in a series of seven)

“Heroes stand not in my presence: they fall to earth beneath my hand.”

Hamburger WhoDunit Part II: The Shrine of the Four (and a half?)

(The second episode in a series of seven)

“You will not apply my precept,” he said, shaking his head. “How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?”

Welcome to ChrisCarosa.com

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(The seventh part in a series of seven)

(The sixth part in a series of seven)

“What sort of day was it? A day like all days, filled with those events that alter and illuminate our times… all things are as they were then, and you were there.”

(The fifth part in a series of seven)

“Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk..”

(The fourth part in a series of seven)

“…with each recollection the memory may be changed.”

(The third part in a series of seven)

“Heroes stand not in my presence: they fall to earth beneath my hand.”

(The second episode in a series of seven)

“You will not apply my precept,” he said, shaking his head. “How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?”

Welcome to ChrisCarosa.com

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