Fred’s father came to San Francisco from Liguria, Italy, “around the time of the Great Earthquake.” He eventually settled in Lafayette where he and his wife raised two sons. Lafayette had the perfect soil and climate for the same kind of dry farming the family had been doing for 250 years in Italy–dry farming, which required no irrigation and no fertilizer. Fred describes Lafayette in this era as a small town in which most of the other families, along with his, were also involved with farming–including the Cosso’s, Rossi’s, Ghiglioni’s, and Maggini’s. Fred was in one of the first classes in Acalanes High School, where the students observed a strict uniform code. Fred’s own sons and grandchildren also attended Acalanes. After high school Fred worked for Shell, served in the army in Europe, and then worked for Oakland Scavenger Company for 35 years.
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