Vincenzo (James) Pannozzi was my father. He came to Cranston, R.I. in 1912 to Pleasant St. at Frankfort st. and lived in this area for the rest of his life. He eventually bought property at 19 and at 9 Sabra St. and built a cottage at 19 Sabra in 1926.
He drove a 1919 Maxwell Truck in the early 1920's, eventually tended boilers for the International Braid Company in Providence and later worked for Providence Body Co. on Wellington Ave. until his retirement in 1969 at the age of 85.
Skilled as a gardener he also tended gardens for clients on Smith St..
He had a complete set of cobbler tools, an old Sears cast iron stove and a grape crusher in the basement. A superb cook, he would prepare the Thanksgiving dinner for hours and it would take me 40 minutes to bring all the food up from the basement.
He also built a barber shop at 9 Sabra St. (torn down in 1957 when Route 10 was built) and was known for many years as Jimmy the Barber. All the area men would come on Saturday's, many of them immigrants of every ethnicity and would get a shave and haircut for 25 cents.
I stand in awe of this man, who single handedly built a home for himself and his family by sheer work and determination from the pre-World War 1 era right though the great depression, World War 2, the 1950's and 1960's.
He drove a 1919 Maxwell Truck in the early 1920's, eventually tended boilers for the International Braid Company in Providence and later worked for Providence Body Co. on Wellington Ave. until his retirement in 1969 at the age of 85.
Skilled as a gardener he also tended gardens for clients on Smith St..
He had a complete set of cobbler tools, an old Sears cast iron stove and a grape crusher in the basement. A superb cook, he would prepare the Thanksgiving dinner for hours and it would take me 40 minutes to bring all the food up from the basement.
He also built a barber shop at 9 Sabra St. (torn down in 1957 when Route 10 was built) and was known for many years as Jimmy the Barber. All the area men would come on Saturday's, many of them immigrants of every ethnicity and would get a shave and haircut for 25 cents.
I stand in awe of this man, who single handedly built a home for himself and his family by sheer work and determination from the pre-World War 1 era right though the great depression, World War 2, the 1950's and 1960's.
