As a little boy, he was known as Joe. His grandmother, Justina Camarota Lerro, and her son, Charlie “Eggie” Lerro, found the orphanage, paid a fee, and brought the boy into their home at 1024 South Ninth Street in Philadelphia. He was seven years old.
The first floor of the building was Lerro Meats, a butcher shop catering to the Italian immigrants pouring in through New York and Philadelphia. The Lerro family lived on the second and third floors of the little row house in four small bedrooms. A small bathroom would later be added to the second floor. The largest area was the vast basement that ran the length of the property, with steps to the little backyard and the front sidewalk.
Justina had learned to run the butcher shop while her husband, Pasquale, worked for the City of Philadelphia and taught English to Italian immigrants. Their sons, Joe’s young uncles, sold fruits and vegetables from carts on the narrow sidewalk out front. Justina kept a loaded revolver behind the counter – just in case. She had become a widow in 1918 when Pasquale suddenly succumbed to the Spanish Influenza.
Little Joe grew up by his grandmother’s side and appreciated the affection. He was closer to his uncles than to his own father or mother, both of whom lived nearby. "I used to help Charlie with the butcher shop, and Wally with the fruit stand. My mother used to pass by and wouldn't look at the butcher shop."
Growing up in the butcher shop gave the boy his first practical skills. Throughout his life, Rick Lerro would not be too far from a butcher shop. His primary duties in the Navy were in the cramped, steamy kitchens on destroyers in the Pacific. After the war, whenever he needed extra money Rick would find work at butcher shops.
Justina kept the family together and the business afloat. Most importantly, she kept alive the dream that she had shared with her young husband when they decided to leave Italy. She and Pasquale are buried side by side in Philadelphia’s Holy Cross Cemetery.
Justina Camarota Lerro (b. near Napoli 1870- d. Philadelphia August 28, 1939)
Pasquale Lerro (b. near Napoli 1866-d. Philadelphia March 18, 1918)
I learned a lot from my cousin Richard when he visited Philly from Dallas. I was working at the fruit stand in front of the meat market on weekends. My cousins Pasquale and Wally Jr also worked at the market.
ReplyDeleteLEN DIAMOND