Reflections from the South Side

This is a story about a neighborhood that was formed by emigres from a hill town and surrounding area called Terravecchia, in the Province of Cosenza, in Calabria, Italy. This neighborhood began to develop on the south side of Des moines, Iowa, in the beginning of the twentieth century. The poverty, oppression, lawlessness, and hopelessness experienced by people from the south of Italy caused a mass migration to the United States during that period. The conditions at that time prompted this move to a foreign country to allow the emigres an opportunity to start a new life for themselves and their families. Although the assimilation and acculturation of these newcomers was difficult, they overcame many challenges as they earned the right to become full-fledged Americans. This account gives some insight of how the immigration process was intended to work. The author, Albert Coco, is a first generation Italian whose immigrant father was a shoemaker. Here, he is able to share his very personal thoughts and memories about his family and members of the south side community from that first wave of immigrants and the positive effect they had on their families, community, and country.