Taken in the 40's

Tony was a wonderful man, a great husband, father and grandfather. He was a very colorful and happy person and always had a story to tell. He and his brother lived in Chicago and would make extra money shinning shoes. On one spring day they were out on the streets and Al Capone stopped and had Tony shine his shoes. He laughed telling me all about it and about the big tip Al gave him. On one summer day in 1934 when Tony was 15 he was out with friends when he saw a lager group of people waiting in line in front of the cook county morgue. They asked what was going on and were told that John Dillinger had been shot by police and they were wait to go in and see the body. So Tony and his friend waited in line and were some of the 15,000 people who viewed the body. Tony was a accomplished musician and every Christmas he would play Christmas songs on the Accordion and also on the piano. When I got out of the Marines in 1992 I went and visited him in Pennsylvania and that was the first time that he did not talk to me as a grandson but like a man and that was the day the I realized that my grandparents did the exact things that my generation when they were young, they were just on out in the open about it. I kind of blew my mind. Both of my grandfathers were dead before I was born, so Tony, my step grandfather was the only grandfather I ever knew, and I was blessed to have known him. When I was young I was called Jamie and in the 3rd grade I changed my name to my birth name James due to a dumb kid at school calling me Jamie Summers from the 6 Million Dollar Woman show. I told everyone to call my James but Pop Pop aka Tony never did, he called me Jamie until the day he died and I was just fine with it. I love him dearly and I hope he is never forgotten. God Bless you Tony!