Making scents of Roseland

Recently, as often happens among Roselandites from the Pullman/Kensington neighborhoods, the topic of Sherwin Williams came up. Everyone recognizes first that SW was a major employer of neighborhood residents and second that it had specific impact upon the community. One visual impact SW had was in the testing of exterior paints in the SW lot east of 115th and Cottage Grove.

There were rows and rows of slanted metal sheets on stands, all facing southeast to catch the sun’s rays at their highest point. These exposed paint samples provided data for SW and helped them determine the right chemical composure for durable exterior paints. Today, some of those paint sample boards still stand, though not as many as we were accustomed to seeing back in the day.

Another major impact SW had on the area was in the aromas that permeated the Pullman/Kensington neighborhoods. On some days, there were no smells at all in the air. On other days, when the wind was heading our way, the odors emanating from SW were a force to reckon with. The smells were so strong that they’ve become imbedded in our memories as a part of our experience growing.

Those Sherwin Williams smells were on the negative side of things. However, we’re about to take a nostalgic trip through the pleasant aroma’s that filled our noses during our youth.

Baking heads off the list since Kensington Avenue is where Gonnella-Torino-Piemonte Bakery was located. I listed all three names the bakery was known by at that location. Piemonte go the rolls baking on Kensington, with that location becaming the Chicago branch once the original baker moved to Rockford. When the Depression came and times got tough for many small businesses, the bakery was bought by Torino. Eventually though, it became a part of the Gonnella Baking Co.

It remained Gonnella for many years until the business was closed and all operations were relocated to their Near Northside headquarters on Erie Street. Many Roselandites worked at Gonnella, including Joe Marchioretto who started at the Kensington location and retired out of their Erie Street Factory; Tina (Valentina Bettina) & Joe Muratori; and Joe Galassini. Joe D. and Allen who were proud to show me the Gonnella-labeled basket their father used in the 1920s and ’30s to deliver Gonnella Bread with a horse-drawn wagon.

Beverly Angio Carli, whose husband Chuck owned Charlie’s Tavern at 115th and Cottage Grove, told me a story about summer evenings spent on their back porch visiting with friends. As they would be enjoying the warm weather, a breeze overflowing with the scent of freshly baked Gonnella Italian specialty bread wafted through the neighborhood. That magnificent aroma was a signal to Beverly and her friends that it was time to take a walk.

The group would follow the scent up the street to 115^th, take a right turn under the Illinois Central viaduct and then left turn at the Vendetti Furniture parking lot, which gave access to the alley. A right turn and the fresh scent of oven-baked bread grew stronger, leading them right to the bakery back door. A knock on the door brought one of the workers asking how many ciopettte the group needed to fulfill their “scentsible” desires. The friends each left with at least three ciopette!

I’ve researched ciopette extensively and the reason this Italian specialty was baked so late in the day was to ensure that the bread would be soft and edible throughout Sunday. Ciopette gets its unique flavor and taste because all the air was kneaded out of the dough, which was then shaped and placed in the baking oven.

The kneading process gave the ciopette its unique flavor but allowed it to remain tasty only for the next 24 hours. Come Monday, the ciopette would turn hard and it would be best eaten dunked in “café latte,” Italian for coffee and milk. That aroma has disappeared from the neighborhood and most of the United States but still can be experience in the Veneto region of Northern Italy.

There is one scent that will take us back in time and is still readily available: White Castle! It’s amazing to me that after more than half a century, the aroma coming from the White Castle at 10301 S. Michigan Ave. takes me right back to our White Castle at 111th and State right next to the YMCA.

I recall looking through the large window overlooking the griddle flooded with onions and mostly covered in the small square burger patties with the unique five holes for quicker grilling. I spent a lot of time watching the ladies speed the burgers through the grilling process. It turned out there was a reason for their speed. Until 2007, the White Castle company sponsored an annual national griddle competition for its workers. The competition’s goal was to assemble the most burgers in a set amount of time. It was looked forward to by all the hardworking ladies that worked the griddles. Watching them sharpen their skills was a unique and memorable Roseland experiences.

Many tourists to Chicago can’t wait to go shopping downtown and cross one item off their bucket list: Garrett Popcorn. What we had in Roseland was even better: Karmelkorn! They would open their window and the exhaust fan would send the fresh popcorn scent flooding Michigan Avenue. That aroma drove us shoppers to buy at least a small bag. We may not have a Karmelkorn in Roseland today, but when we pass by a Garrett Popcorn shop we’re right back in our Roseland, making scents.

“Petals from Roseland: Fond Memories of Chicago’s Roseland, Pullman and Kensing Neighborhoods” is available from me for anyone interested in sharing or revisiting their life Roseland at $20 + $5 s&h. Contact me at petalsfromroseland@gmail.com or 11403 S. St. Lawrence Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60628; 773-710-3559. My book is also available at D & D Foods, 1023 S. Halsted, Chicago Heights, at Bookie’s New and Used Books, 10324 S. Western Ave, Chicago and at Miles Books,2819 Jewett Ave., Highland, Indiana.