Francesco Pescatello
[A] group of Italians were concentrated in and around
Shaw Street [New London]; this did not encompass a large area. (We must note
that there were other groups of Italians living around the city; it is not
possible to include them at this time.) The area extended for a short section of
Bank Street to its intersection with Truman Street not far beyond Jefferson
Avenue. It went up Truman Street not much beyond Belden Court. It extended down
Shaw Street past Pratt Street and Steward Avenue, just about up to Moore Avenue.
At this time, Shaw’s Cove had not yet been filled in so that Woodbridge,
Division and Elizabeth Streets were across the brook and not part of the
community. It is well known that many of the Italians in this community were of
Sicilian origin, often from the same village of Tusa in Sicily. Hence the
creation of the Tusana Lodge, founded in 1921 by Francesco Pescatello,
grandfather of John F. Pescatello, Robert A. Pescatello, Francis T. Londregan
and Thomas J. Londregan.
Sicily was beset with a depression, poverty and
harshness that eventually drove countless thousands of its young men and women
to foreign lands to seek a better life. One of these young men was a man named
Francesco Pescatello. In 1900, he left the little town of Tusa, high above
Sicily’s northern shore, and found his way to America. He left a wife,
Domenica Longo Pescatello, and a one-year-old daughter, Angelina.
Francesco had to support a family and he could no longer
do that in Sicily. He found his way to New London where he had heard there was
employment. He went to work for the Public Works Department of the city of New
London as a street sweeper. After working for a year and saving enough money, he
sent for his wife and daughter. He had an exceptional work ethic and a charisma
that endeared him to a wide cross-section of New London’s society. He became a
very well-known and respected member of the community. Over the years he was
able to acquire a few pieces of real estate, one of them being located at 39
Truman Street, where he raised his family of five children.
Francesco immersed himself in the Italian community and
his counsel was sought by many. His success in the New London community inspired
many other Tusanis to follow in his footsteps. He made it his practice to meet
the newly arrived Tusanis at the train station and take them to some prearranged
place where they would be housed until they could move out on their own. He
would then introduce them to prospective employers. All too frequently,
unfortunately, he would also take them to the Mariner Savings Bank where we
would cosign a note so they would have some money to get them through an initial
period.