Contributed by John J. Grabowski, Ph.D., Historian/Senior Vice President for Research and Publications, using resources from WRHS’s collections & archives.

Perhaps the most striking statue in Cleveland’s Cultural Gardens, our city’s monument to its diversity, is that of an anonymous immigrant mother holding two children. It can be found in the lower level of the Croatian Garden. It challenges our concept of who should be honored in the history of our multicultural city. Certainly, there are other women, all famous, depicted within the Gardens, but no other monument binds us together as well as this – it is a reminder that migration and immigration are not simply the stories of famous men, nor is the history of women simply that of those whom we choose to see as agents of change. It also means that each of us may well have a story such as the one that follows. It is not one of an activist, but of an ordinary woman, whose brief life was built around and constrained by custom and tradition.

In 1906 Antonia Bohinc and John Vuk, her new husband left their home in what is now Slovenia to come to Cleveland. There they would join Michael, her brother-in-law. She was nineteen, the daughter of a charcoal burner from the town Kropa. John, likely an orphan, was from the nearby settlement of Kamna Gorica. John left little behind while Antonia left behind her parents and two brothers.

Kropa was a smoky town of iron forges; forges that long ago created the spikes that helped build Venice. But it was nestled in a green semi-rural, hilly area of the countryside. Today it is a stunning small village, almost frozen in time. The home she lived in still stands. And while she left for America, the culture and norms of Kropa shaped her life.

Antonia’s life in Cleveland would be far different in terms of environment. The couple settled on Lakecourt, a short street of small frame homes running westward from E. 55th Street just north of the Lake Shore & Michigan railroad tracks. She may have enjoyed the view of the lake to the north, but it was compromised by the continual din of trains and the coal smoke that they and the area factories, such as the one that John worked in, emitted. It was likely a wrenching change of scenery. And there she settled into the life expected of her at that time – cooking, keeping house, and having children. Like many women from abroad, she would eat only after her husband had been served.

She had her first child, Kate, in 1907; two years later a second child, Marie was born; followed in 1911 by Antonia (known as Rose) and in 1913, a fourth daughter, Frances. It was literally one pregnancy after another, each in a new world, and strange surroundings. One of her daughters recalled a bit of family lore that indicated that each of them had been delivered in the house by the tracks.

In slightly less than nine years after arriving in Cleveland she would come down with a common affliction in crowded American industrial cities. She had tuberculosis and on May 24th, 1915 she succumbed to it in the Cleveland City Hospital. She was only 28. Her husband spent an enormous sum of $72.50 on her funeral, the equivalent to over $1,800 today. He could not fully pay the bill. Her grave in Calvary Cemetery lacked a proper stone until one of her daughters, Marie, purchased one many years later. Nor could he care for his young daughters. One was sent to live with a friend, the two youngest spent some time in a Catholic orphanage. Eventually he would remarry.

Each of the four daughters would survive far longer than their mother. All would marry, but only one would have children – ironically, two boys. Each, through the foods they prepared, would carry part of the family heritage with them, but while they knew the language of their parents, they seldom used it. One daughter, rebellious in her own way, would be tempted to become a chorus girl, and then train as a

cosmetologist, only to later be prohibited by her second husband to practice her trade as he, the son of immigrants, insisted in being the breadwinner.

This story of one young immigrant woman, who brought four daughters into the world and then died at the age of 28 is tragic, but not unique. Nor are the lives of her daughters. Similar stories can be found throughout the world, both then and, indeed, now. Yet, in and of itself, the story indicates that in our celebration of Women’s History Month, our focus need not only be on those who have achieved a solid place in the history books or pushed the boundaries of women’s rights, but on every woman. It is, perhaps, the story of “every woman” that most truly resonates with most of our own experiences and given the diversity of our nation, best allows us to see our shared humanity.

(Photo: John and Antonia with their first daughter, Kate.)

Contributed by Pamela Dorazio Dean, MA, CA, Curator for Italian American History at Western Reserve Historical Society.

Geraldine “Gerry” Ferraro (1935–2011) was the first woman and Italian American to become a vice presidential candidate when she ran on the Democratic ticket with Walter Mondale in 1984.  While the team did not win the election, Ferraro had a long, successful career in politics.  She served as a member of the US House of Representatives from 1979-1985, secretary of the House Democratic Caucus from 1981-1985, US Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights from 1993-1996, and as a member of Hilary Clinton’s campaign team in 2008.

Ferraro was born in Newburgh, New York, to Antonetta Corrieri, a seamstress, and Dominick Ferraro, a restauranteur.  Her father emigrated from Marcianise, Campania, Italy.   Her grandparents on her maternal side emigrated from Molise, Italy.  Ferraro was proud of her Italian heritage.  In the acceptance speech for her nomination as the Democratic vice-presidential candidate, Ferraro said, “The daughter of an immigrant from Italy has been chosen to run for vice president in the new land my father came to love.”

After getting her Bachelor of Fine Arts in English, Ferraro served as a public school teacher in Queens.  She said it was not her first choice of career, but one option that was acceptable for women.  Ferraro soon switched gears and studied law at Fordham University, graduating in 1960.  She was only one of two women in her graduating class.  After raising her children, Ferraro took a full-time position in the Queens County District Attorney’s Office in 1974.  This job led to her election to the U.S. House of Representatives where she was a strong advocate for women’s equality in the areas of wages and pensions.

(Photo: Geraldine Ferraro. Wally McNamee/Corbis via Getty Images)

Cleveland-born designer Denajua (which means of the moon) created this dramatic evening suit to intrigue viewers from every angle. An exhibition about armor at the Louvre inspired the silhouette, with its strong shoulders and structured bustle. The designer, who specializes in evening wear, has been creating unique statement-making clothing for almost forty years. It’s never been her goal to appeal to the mass market: in 1991 she told the Cleveland Plain Dealer, “I don’t follow trends, I don’t read fashion magazines. I make my own decisions about what the season is going to be, and I don’t care about long and short.”

In addition to the sculptural quality, this suit’s materials serve as evidence of Denajua’s affinity for handwork and unusual fabrics. Detailed embellishment in sequins and lace are accompanied by less commonly found materials, namely VHS tape. The primary textile is woven using the recycled tape, resulting in an extremely light, flexible fabric with a glimmering texture. Denajua’s work over the decades has been fun, whimsical, and sometimes surreal. She created a dress in picnic-perfect red and white gingham decorated with ants; breasts become eyes on an evening gown; guitar picks come together as shoulder straps for a dress in the form of a keyboard. Although her work is unusual, Cleveland’s clients haven’t been scared off: “They seem conservative, but once they put on one of my designs, they light up. It’s really wild.” Browsing through coverage of Cleveland’s society benefits during the 1980s and 1990s, one finds an abundance of Denajua’s work, from clothing to the entire gala decoration.

Her work is not the only place that Denajua seeks individuality. She once said, “I just want the single luxury of being allowed to be me.” In this context, Denajua was referring to her journey to become the woman she is today, figuratively and literally. She began sexual reassignment surgery in 1979 after years of counseling at the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals. Ultimately, she also wanted the rights afforded to her such as a legal marriage to a man and an accurate passport—and she succeeded. Today, Denajua splits her time between Paris and Cleveland, living and designing as her own woman.

(Evening Suit, 2017. Denájua b. 1957.)

At Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, there are plenty of opportunities to shine, from parties to the induction ceremonies. The Rock Hall’s Director of Community Relations, Ruthie Brown, gave this suit to her colleague Susan Hall, who first wore it to their annual fundraiser in 2001. With its second owner, this suit has attended events, and even traveled to New York for a Rock Hall induction ceremony (although, due to a broken shoe strap, it didn’t make it to the event).

Clevelander Russell Trusso designed the ensemble during the 1990s, when he was still working as both an anesthesiologist and a couturier. He first found fashion success making one-of-a-kind wedding dresses from antique lace, and progressed to couture suits and gowns. Today, Trusso is a full-time jewelry designer, working with gems and enamel, and developing new techniques like his method for embedding diamonds into the surfaces of pearls. His clothes still fill the closets of Cleveland women, and the WRHS costume collection includes a handful of his garments.

Susan believes that “dressing for the occasion is essential,” and although her life’s work is community engagement and documenting Black history, fashion has always been important. Following college, she worked for IZOD Kids in New York City, and when she first moved to Cleveland Susan managed production and models for catalog and editorial work at Remington. She also worked as the Director of Community Relations and a Curator at the WRHS, where she worked on exhibitions such as 1964 – When Browns Town was Title Town, Through the Lens of Allen E. Cole, and Carl & Louis Stokes: From the Projects to Politics. When not working as a historian, Susan is the President of Hall Creative Productions, where she creates public art exhibits, events, strategic marketing, and historical research focused on African American and pop culture history.

(Evening Suit, 1990s. Russell Trusso. Worn in Cleveland, Ohio by Susan Hall (b. 1962)

The fabric’s sheen, the jeweled feline design, and flowing feathers epitomize Sarah Sato’s love of whimsy and drama. The designer George Halley was known for these qualities and his glamorous eveningwear during the 1960s and 1970s—which might surprise those who knew him while growing up on a farm in Alliance, Ohio. Just a few years before he produced this dress, Halley and his wife Claudia Morgan (a model and the muse for designer Norman Norell) founded his design house. Almost immediately, they found success, even winning a prestigious Coty Award in 1968. Sarah would have worn her statement-making fashions to openings, benefits, and other philanthropic events. When wearing this dress, she explained that she often removed the detachable collar of this dress because the feathers ended up in her mouth (not a glamourous experience).

Sarah’s dramatic tastes in fashion can also be tied to her interest in powerful art and culture, most notably music. She and her husband Sam moved to Cleveland during the 1940s and supported the Cleveland Orchestra, Lyric Opera Cleveland, Northern Ohio Opera, the Cleveland Music School Settlement, and New York’s Metropolitan Opera. Sarah made an enormous impact while serving on the board at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and she and Sam established the school’s Center for Suzuki Studies. The couple did much of this work together, and their marriage was celebrated—most notably after they completed the oldest spouse-to-spouse organ transplant when Sarah gave Sam a kidney.

(Cocktail Dress by George Halley. 1969. Worn in Cleveland, Ohio by Sarah Nakagawa Sato)