In the larger cities at that time, cheap labor was needed by the "financiers" they therefore encouraged importation of European immigrants. In the 1894 NY Times Index for July 23: "Labor Bureaus at Barge office and in Greenwich Street protest against Employment of Immigrants at reduced wages." For May 13, 1900 under Emigrants: Rome letter to Times on how travel is promoted and proposed government restrictions." A worker disabled on the job was easily replaced, how he existed thereafter was his concern, his employer releases himself of all responsibly. Over the years, the worker’s basic human conditions were improved only because of the struggles of early organized strikers demanding pay rises, lower hours and workmen’s compensation for the injured; presently known as Union workers.

In the time of the roaring twenties when the economy was super and the flappers were swinging, the immigrant females running their households were baking bread in an oven heated by wood and in good times heated by coal which held the dual purpose of heating the kitchen on cold winter mornings. Although, electricity was lighting New York in 1900, oil lamps and gas lamps lit most homes. My children ran hot water into the tub without a thought, I had to go to the basement and light the pilot, the children of the immigrants used terms such as "sponge bath" and galvanized tubs filled with water heated on the wood heated stove. Included in yesterday’s vocabulary is the "outhouse" where the bodily function was completed rapidly because of the freeze in winter and the flies in summer.  The neighbors boasted thriving flower gardens from gathering daily deposits of waste dropped by the horses used by vendors such as the fish man, milkman, iceman, produce man, trash collector and ash collector.

Vacation was an unheard word by the materially deprived children of our Philadelphia immigrants. The fortunate children looked forward to summer visits to large city parks such as Fairmount Park and League Island Park providing spacious grounds to play or visits in the country to relative’s farm. The less fortunate, reluctantly looked forward to travels to the Hammonton, NJ area to help Italian farmers needing pickers for harvesting their fruits and vegetables. Either way, these experiences became happy memories; the children of the third generation enjoyed hearing the second generations repetitious telling of them.   The materially deprived second generation also were emotionally deprived of a comforting doting grandparent relationship and they felt bad about this loss. Their only contact being the envelope with a black border received  when a grandparent passed on and sometimes a picture.

John focused on providing for his family and when he finally progressed to a fine house, the depression destroyed the economy. Suddenly his vocation was swept away; however, this outgoing, well spoken, businessman downsized his living expenses and started a successful family business.