442 Whittaker Avenue, The Burg
Once upon a time this was the Pentecostal Holiness Church
according to my records:)
UPDATE: Carlo adds....
Carlo said...
Hi Mack, Back in the early 1900's until my early childhood,
this was the Immanuel Italian Presbyterian Church run by a
Rev. Serafini. During the early days of the Italian
immigration many Protestant churches tried to attract the
Italians who were predominately Catholic. A few joined but
most remained Catholic as did their children.
Virginia adds...
My father's family was one that converted. I think Immanuel
was their first church, later Bethany at Hamilton & Chestnut.
People still think it's unusual that I"m an Italian who
isn't Catholic.
Maizie adds...
My dad, Nicholas "Bootsey" D'Angelo belonged to this church.
He sand in the choir and the director, Miss Lane, stayed in
touch with him and other choir members even when they were
overseas during the war. She sent them presents for their
birthdays and holidays! According to my dad, this church
helped the Italians in Chambersburg a lot during the
depression. I was surprised to find out that there was a
lot of prejudice against Italians at this time..I have
some photos of my dad singing in the choir...I will see
if I can find them. Virginia, I bet your Dad knew
mine!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment