Dominic 'Mimi' DiPietro - Transcript

8/9/2019 Dominic 'Mimi' DiPietro - Transcript

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BALTIMORE NEIGHBORHOOD HERITAGE PROJECT847 North Howard StreetBaltimore, Maryland 21201

The undersigned Informant Donor does hereby give and grant to the

Baltimore Neighborhood Heritage Project, as a donation to its archival

collection, the material listed below. I also authorize the University of

Baltimore to use said material for the purpose of research, according to the

educational and historical objectives of the Baltimore Neighborhood~

Heritage Project. In the event the university decides to discard the materials Idonated, the donor (or hislher family) must be notified and the material

~ returned,

at

-f raement

formant Donor -3 8 1 2 r S&C,O.TAddreea af Informant Donor

Addreas of Intervi

Description of Materials: One tape


2/26

INTERVIEWER: Rosewin Sweeney

PROJECT: Baltimore Neighborhood Heritage

GENERAL OPIC(S) OF INTERVIEW:

Highlandtown politics, politicians, political clubs, trends.

DATE@)OF 1979. 7.27INTERVIEW:

CIRCUMSTANCES F TH E INTERVIEWPLACES, O ~ R S~ S E N T AND ~ I RLATIONSHIP TO m NFO- ETC.]

The interview took place in DiPietro's City Council Office.

There were several interruptions but no one stayed for the interview.Phones can be heard ringing in the background and a t one point the Counciloruses a pencil sharpener.

PLACE@)OF officeINTERVIEW:

PARTS F PARTICULAR VALUE TOPICS DSISCUSSD W GFSATES DETAIL, AFS.4 OFPARnCULAR EXPERTISE, ETC.]

The main value of the tape is as an assessment of the Highlandtown political sceneby an insider.DePietro has been active in politic since the twenties, however, he was not prominentuntil the sixties and therefore did not give orders but took them from those who

were more powerful.

GENERAL VALUATION=LIABILITY OFINFOFNANT, INFOFNATION CONTAUiD ONTAPE, ETC.]

Basically reliable bu t not really specific information.His perception of the situation now (e.g. with community groups) is colored by hisold-time political orientation.That orientation is of great interest. Since the politics of Highlandtown arechanging the "Old Guard" interpretation i s of value.

Perhaps pursue the relation of Highlandtown etnics to ethnic groups closer todowntown (Poles in Fells Point and Italians in Little Italy).DiPietro is more interested in talking about the present than the past.


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Dominic "Mimi" DiPietro

1ADDRESS: 3812 Claremont St. 1

I

D AT E F BIRTH: 1905 1PLACE F BIRTH: Abruzzi, Italy

1 RELIGION: Roman Catholic 1

1 26th Ward Democratic Club 1

P R E V I O U S ESIDENCES:

LIST YEARS:

~ C H O O L I N G ND/OR OTHER RAINING:~

LIST

- 6th grade

OCCUPATIONS:(EMPLOYMENT, VOLUNTEER OR MILTARY SERVICE) LIST YEARS:

Bethlehem Steel Corp. 1918-1936

City of Baltimore -

liaison with contractors

book bindery superintendent

Councilor


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SIBLINGS:LIST DATES F BIRTH:

NAME:

1D AT E F W A G E : 966 1R A C E F MARRIAGE: Baltimore 1

D AT E F BIRTH:

RELIGION: Roman Catholic

HER MOTHER:

HER FATHER:

1SPOUSE'S OCCUPATION: housewife

R A C E F BIRTH: Italy

HER OCCUPATION:

R A C E F BIRTH:

R A C E F BIRTH:

1LIST DATES F BIRTH: 1

FATHER'SNAME:

D AT E F BIRTH:

RELIGION: Roman Catholic

HIS MOTHER:

HIS FATHER:

R A C E F BIRTH: Italy

HIS OCCUPATION: Baker

R A C E F BIRTH:

R A C E F BIRTH:


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Name o f Interviewee: Dominic W. n i w Dl metro*

Site: RighlandtownName of Interviewer: Rasewin SweeneyDate o f Interview: 7 /27 /79

Place of Interview: City Counci l Office .. 9

Pietro: Part of it, yes, When Baltimore C i t y took over,

I don't know what year t h a t was, I never c o u l d , , .

Sweeney: 1918.

Di Pietro:'l918, No, it was l a t e r than t h a t , wasn't it?

1918, was it? It possibly could have been, yes, 1918. Cause

we had people coming from 1,;. - to East Avenue into Highland-

town because they could d r i n k there, and they couldn't drinkon th e o t h e r side. On one s ide o f East Avenue you c o u l d

d r i n k , on th e o t h e r side, you couldn" drink. And a l l them

people mould come up t o Highlandtown t o drink, cause it was

a county then.

Sweeney: ;Pas Jack Ofconnor he boss over there a t that p o i n t ?

I know h i s b ar was l i k e a hotspot for p o l i t i c a l activity.

Di Pietro: Jack OvConnor, Jack OVonnnor, no, no, it wasn'tJack 0' Connor, .

Sweeney: Re died, l f k e in 1923, but he m a y have passed out

of t h i n g s before you really became ac t i ve .

M Pietro: Yeah, that's r i gh t , yeah, before 3 rose, 1923,

h e l l , / l d be eighteen years o l d .

Sweeney: There's a guy named, I think, Wil l lam lf lp nd than

Frank Dotterwiech. Both o f them had been a c t i v e , when it was

in t h e county.

Di Psetro: A c t i v e , ac t ive . Well no, they wasn't a c t i v e , they

were--Rank Dotterwiech, he had a place r i g h t far u p the John

Booth Recreation Center there. And he had some homes on Eaton


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S t r e e t , and t h e n he awned a11 t h e back o f it, Te had a horse-*

shed down t h e r e , them days, you know, and he aas a c o n t r a c t o r.

Yeah, I can t e l l you a story about him, yeah. He rind up being

nothing, broke, I don't k n o w what t h e h e l l ha d i d w i t h hist

money af ter he became councilman. Out o f th e b u s i n e s s , g o t a

job 1~3th h e city and th e ' St ree t Yard, it was c a l l e dthen, as a clerk, then he passed away.

wasSweeney: Now,/the r e a s o n t h a t a r ea vas Regublican because*

r e a l l y German, and then when Gore gr?sru,as cane in, it g o t more

Democratic.

Di P i e t s o : Ve l l , we extended Znto the county, see , and t h e. county was a Republican County that time, and so everythingwas a turmofl. People who took over, anyhow, they were Repub-

l i cans , and they was mong his followers..

~weeney: You 'mentioned someone named, ~ 6 h n e r , in t h e Sun * i

a r t i c l e I read a b o u t . He was a German active in the Republican

Party, klnd of a competitor.W . , ' ,

M Pietro: Oh, but he lived in there, he Mr. h e r ,

John, as yo u go t h i s f i r s t name, 1 don't have it, Mr. A m e r ,

T always called him I4r. h e r . He was impressive, ha was...

I can tell you a little s to ry.

',?e had t h e s e v o t i n g booths at the time, about as big as

my icebox there, They were that hPgh, bu t they a little desk

l i k e t h i s here, a n d you had your paper and pencil, and thenI?--. 2L.

they g o t a l i t t l e swinging door here, and I used t o h o e that -,' ..

old l a d y and old+man r e a l good, t h a t was working for. 3 was

a young kid, and well, I used t o open the swinging door: up,

and crept in there w h i l e y ~ u as in there, and IF d g e t on my


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D I PTET30;120 f:1:3

knees you know, and I ' d see you work, and thatfs hard t o get

upderneath t h a t doggone thing, because.then they could see

you. And so, what they would get ' a ticket and went in, and

I h i d there, you b o w , and then I went mound here, like t h i s here,the onee sese at, end tore the ticket up. I g o t caught, Mr.

Green, that's who caught me. My Gad, Hr, Green grabbed me ,

like this, with one hand, h'e was tough, He put me behind a stone

wall. He said, ?"f yo u do t h a t again . " That :'la& t h e end o f it,Sweeney: But they were doing it t o o ?

Dl Pietro: XQ, no. That ~ l d ady w ~ u l d n f t e t them go I n t o

t h a t house. I was young, t h a t old lady liked me. They were

German p e o p l e , t o o . :7e g o t t h e T.:?. Club there now. I never

d i d it no more. f never d i d it no more. That guy gra.bbed me .

s h o v e d me up against the wall an d said "you little 'Wop'- i f I

ever catch you doing that again. . .Sweeney: H ow old were you when t h i s happened? You must have

been pretty l i t t l e , then.

M Pietro: No, I w a s n q tittle, my eye, I w as chunky. I

was a ehlny businessman, with a great big m z n , And V ! ,

Green, he l i o e d on Mt. Pleasant Avenue. He pfcked m e up,

he picked m e up an d shoved me agaLnst that w a l l , Oh, and

he p u t h i s hand on my t h roa t , and h e wanted t o hit me. I

hol le red , t tDon f t hit me, Mr. Green, don't h i t me,, I won't do

it no more. V l l behave, ( laughs) . iTe used t o play aLX k i n d

of tricks on e~erybody.

Sweeaey: There arentt many Republicans l e f t over the re , a n p o r e .

Di. Pietro: . ;Ye don" have t o ROW. 'Je don1 t have t o now. Bedon't have. to.

Sweeney: A h , I guess thereps cornpe t i t inn amon3 t h e Democrats.


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M. Pietro: Thatfs competition m a n g the Democrats.

Sweeney: O k a y, 1 read about a lot of N f f e r e n t p o l i t i c a l clubs

fn East Baltimore, f read about Ren Preller's 26th Ward

Democratic Club, and then I read about,.,- 4 '

M Pietro: Who?

Sweeney: Hen Preller, the Ren Preller Club, and then f read

about yours*, the one t h a t you helped found.

M. Pietro: No, no, we still have one, yeah.

Sweeney: But that started out being an Stallan-American Club.

Di Pietro: 1 remember, that goes back some g e m s . It was an

Italian-American Democratic Club.* Sweeney: Oh.

M Pietro: mat's *hat 5 t was, an Italian-American Democratic

Club, an d well we had a l o t of people , t h a t was a c t i v e then,. . - - . . . . - .-. . - . - " - - . - . " " -

Galleors active, and the, ah, forget - h i s name. &,'%otter

was active then , and then, another big contractor was act ive .

It waa a11 c o n t r a c t o r s was active in clubs in them days.

Sweeney: Probably because of the connections t o th e e f t p An

f srms a f w i n n i n g co n tracts.

M Pietro: That's r i g h t . Yell, I donrt know what I t was for.

S~eeney: Ny grandfather used to be a contractor,

M metro: Well, that's r i g h t , They were a Lumber o f poli-

. t i c i a n s , yeah. But yeah, . h e I alian-American ~ e m o c atic Club

of th e city.

. Sweeney: Md yo u have t a be Italian t o get into this parti-

c u l a r club?

M P i e t r o : Italtan-American, all, Italian and American now.'

Sweeney: Oh, you d l d n r t have t o be of Italian descend?

M Pietro: No, anybody, It was an I t a l i a n o r l g f n a t e d , b u t '


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bf PIETRQ;l20 121:s

it was, r e 1st the Americans in, but what the hel1,'what did

them old men cars. They didn't care,

Swaeney: I ask because in the f f r s t ward, they had a--ah,. &

the first wwd Democratic Club--was a polish Club, and I'm

curiaue to whether, the club star ted o u t being one ethnlc

group, and then......

M P i e t r o : It was e t h n i c , Italian-American Denocratic Club,

m a t was the name o f t h e club. And then, now, l a t e r on In

years, why they--I joined that club, but w e had the Columbus

Peaocratic Club zround there. 'I e had the Robinson Street

Democratic Club, and we had t h e P a t Feebleyls Democratic Club,

and so, in th e f o r t i e s I t h i n k , I s t a r t working towards the

goa l o f c o n s o l i d a t i n g t h e m all, an d making one big club.

Then another guy cane In, t ! a r c r a t e l l i , he had a b l g club. He

just formed a clu'b all aver the s t a t e . Be c a l l e d h f s s e l f ,

the S t a t e Democratic Club, t h e Italfan State Democratic Club, I

an d that was a mushroom club, and it wind up gone and then I i

took t h a t over. So we c a n talk about it. 1

Sweeney: How about t h e Cl ippe r Club like the Hlghlandtown Club,

an d ?

IM Pietro: Well, the Clipper Club used t a be the Potomae

Club once, an d I t used to be, I forgot the name of it, and then

later on in years, when (buzzer goes off) f c a n ' t remember

names t o o w e l l ,

Sweeney: I think you were talking about thed i f f e r en t

clubs,and t h e Clipper Club was th e l a s t one. That was the role of

those clubs? They were nore important in the past t h a n they

a r e now.


10/26

Di Pietro: IJo, they. ',?ell, think they're just i i p o r t a n t.now as they ever was. Sure, because ;ve had men in there, The

Democrat clubs ba s a l l men, and these o t h e r t h i n g s t h a t they. i

have t o d a y, theyfre men an d women together. Of course we d i d

have a l a d i e s auxiliary Democratic club. Ye still g o t some o f

them yet . But, I thought t h e c lubs in them d a y s , well, they

were c l u b s of c l u b s , and they talked about c l e d n g the i r

neighborhood. They t a lked about getting t h i n g s done for t h e

neighborhood. In them days, it was very little to g e t done,

and they were m o r e political sinded than t h e s e peop le are, these

community civic z roups are, because a c i v i c group c R n start up1

over night, And one lady c a n go out and g e t f o u r , f i v e , s i x ,

t e n people , and g e t a boundary Tine, and a ~ k e h e i r boundary

line. They say they control that group. That's all well and

good. Thatts n o t h i n g wrong with t h a t . But they're there f o r a1

motive, and, that's it. %re a club, they ge t nembers a l l

over the city of Baltimore, an d they t r y t g help a11 over the

city o f Baltimore, and whatever. Llke say, a g r o u p of fel lo\vs

would come I n t o the c lub t h a t I ' m president of, th e Untted

Democratic Club of the twenty-sixth ward.

Tell, w e got people t h a t l i v e s in the firet &strict, and

the f i r s t ward, They wasn't getting enough things done fo r

them. They c o m a in as a group, five or s i x . They had an 3.n-

pu t into the club, and they c a m e in, and every first da y of

th e month, they come in with compla in t s and they w a n t thledone and they w a n t t h a t done. Naturally, I ' m th e president,

they give it to m e and I see t h a t it g e t s done. J w r i t e back

to them, or f report back t o t h e m the next meetlng, and of


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bf PLTTRO;120 I:1:7

course, we're no t f i g h t i n g anybody, an d nobody is frightened

of these improvenent assaciations, All they're worrying about

They s h o u l d g e t into t h e fuhdamental p ~ s t

o f the n e i s h b o r h o o d , t h e functions of the neighborhood, t o get

r i d of the r a t s , and the dog feeces, 2nd th e cockroaches that's

in these _ n ~ o p l e s ' ones. ;Yo, t h y d m f t do t h a t ,

saeeney: They"e k i n d g f s i n g l e issue zroups, more or Less,

Di Pietro: '.'!el?., they%rc. ; : w e o f ur5n.n renewal, people , that's

all. They "re laoktng fq r rene-::xl. The;r uant t o change t h a t

zoning . Theyfre nore zone--ah, 1 dsnrth o w

-:$hat to tell youabout it--but they th ink t o o much of zoning. They don't w a n t

no industry in t h e i r neighborhoods. They d b n t t want t h i s in

th e neighborhoods, ',;Rere Xn the hell w e we going t o ge t o u r

t a x d o l l a r s , i f vie don't 3ut i n d u s t r y someplace?

I d ~ n f t e sn snokesteck industry, b g t th e li&t i n d u s t r y

as I think every neighborhood s h o u l d have light industry in

it. Because I have a l o t of i t fn my nefghborhood, mcl

I ' m surrounded ~ t i t h eavy industry, and gee whiz, and I thin!

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Dominic 'Mimi' DiPietro - Transcript

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