Physical description: Sam Spano sits in his tractor with tracks instead of wheels. Photo taken on the Arvada farm at 52nd and Marshall in 1941 when Sam was 29 years.
This photograph is a digital scan of an original photograph lent for copying during the Italians of Colorado project. The original photograph is not owned by History Colorado. The digital scan was donated with permissions (see permissions in Registrar's file) and accessioned into the History Colorado collection.
Project description:
In 2002, the Colorado Historical Society (now known as History Colorado) founded the Colorado Italian American Preservation Association (CIAPA). A volunteer organization, CIAPA’s mission is to work collaboratively with the Society and other organizations to develop, support and coordinate projects that preserve, promote and celebrate Italian American culture and heritage. Since 2002, CIAPA has carried out its mission by meeting with people from the Colorado Italian American community, recording their stories and creating an archive of research materials that includes oral histories, photographs, moving images, sound recordings and artifacts. To date, CIAPA has helped the Society acquire over 200 oral histories, 600 artifacts and nearly 6,000 photographs. Since 2002, CIAPA has developed over 4,000 research files, all of which document the history, culture and traditions of Italian American families in Colorado.
Notes:
See MSS.02595 Ahnna Spano Klug files for additional information and images.
From the book Italy in Colorado by Alisa DiGiacomo:
Samuel “Sam” Joseph Spano
Samuel “Sam” Joseph Spano, son of Giuseppe “Joseph” and Anna (Calabrese) Spano, was born in Wheat Ridge in 1912. As the oldest son, he helped with the family farm since he was a young boy. In 1939, he married Rose Orlando, the daughter of Domenico and Agata (Battaglia) Orlando. After their marriage, the couple built a house near Sam’s parents. Together they had two children: Ahnna Rose and Joseph Orlan.
After the death of his father, Sam took over the operations of the Spano farm, still plowing the fields using a draft horse. In the 1940s, Sam started buying modern farming equipment, including tractors, to help plant and harvest a variety of vegetables he then sold at the Denargo market. In the mid-1950s, he started growing bedding plants. Pansies became his specialty. Sam’s bedding plants did so well that between 1961 and 1965, Sam built greenhouses west of his house that enabled him to grow plants during the cold weather.
When Sam went into semi-retirement around 1978, he grew a variety of garden vegetables in a field east of his house along Fifty-second Avenue. He also ventured into the sweet corn business. These were several small patches of corn seeded at intervals so that fresh corn was available throughout the summer. The first patch was planted in rocky soil that held a lot of warmth, which in turn enabled him to harvest the crop often by July fourth if it survived the frost and/or hail.
The corn and other vegetables were sold at a vegetable stand in the back yard under the trees. Most vegetables were picked early in the morning. Sam picked corn several times a day so that it would be fresh. A big wooden sign was placed on Fifty-second Avenue against the mailbox advertising “CORN.” People would drive in and buy their corn and vegetables from their cars. Sam also sold vegetables to Bernard’s Restaurant in Arvada. Many people ordered several dozen ears of corn for freezing.
In 1986, Arvada Urban Renewal purchased the Spano Farm and all of the houses on the south side of Fifty-second Avenue from Wadsworth to Marshall Street. Sam and Rose Spano moved to Sixt-eighth and Allison in Arvada. Sam Spano died in Arvada in 1995. Rose Spano still lives in Arvada.