Dearborn

[Meddle]

Orville was a force to be reckoned with in his day. He kept Dearborn clean and thriving, making it one of the jewels of the area. Dearborn was THE place to live prior to the coming of age of West Bloomfield and Birmingham.

The separation of the east and west ends was remarkable though. It was always like they were two different cities in two different times. The east end was kind of the forgotten cousin from the wrong side of the tracks.

Did Dearborn have an Italian enclave at one time? Seems there used to be some Italian markets and a few Italian restaurants some years back.

I don't know what the concentration of Italians was, but there was a great bakery called Roma Bakery at Schaefer & Paul.

[reddog289]

I too had always heard and more lately about the East Dearborn Itailians.I miss the old Paisanos on the northeast corner of Ford/Schaefer.Watching the pizza spin around.

[Gannon]

There were a few local Italian restaurants, too. Liberati's and Amato's.

Amato's was run by a St. Al's family, but they were further from the school...so most of our dates in early high school were to Liberati's.

Roma was an amazing bakery, every day after football practise in grade school we would stop there for a couple of pepperoni rolls, a slice or two of pizza, and a 64-oz bottle of soda! Had to keep the caloric intake up!

I got my first taste of Italian generosity through one of my 'alternate moms', Mrs. Bagozzi [[RIP)...whose son went on to NASA.


The Italian community was quite strong in East Dearborn. They got the city to install bocci courts at Hemlock park...the nearest large park with a pool.


[[I laughed when I learned that Socrates was killed by hemlock...one of the earliest recognized incongruencies of my young life...let the kids play in a park named after a poison...)


Cheers

[Leo B]

Roma Bakery !!
Absolutely the best pepperoni rolls on the planet....
Sad to see it sold off.
However, Capri bakery on Greenfield are the heirs to the recipes and do a respectable job of honoring the Roma menu.
Roma used to hand out coupons with each pepperoni roll sold. Collect ten for a free roll. We used to play cards for them.
Alcamos Italian grocery is also is still operating in Dearborn on Schaefer. A long standing Dearborn Italian institution.

[Tractor75]

I remember Roma Bakery. 25 cent peperoni rolls and 35 cents for a piece of pizza that was as big as the paper plate it came on. Roma had a heaver Italian bread for their peperoni rolls. Capri's are good, I still stop by there for lunch every now and then. Does anyone remember the old men playing bocci on Chase Road next to the Dearborn Pizzeria? I worked for the Parks and Recreation Department of Dearborn while I was in high school. Coaching and umpiring baseball. Great job for a kid. Orville used to send me a birthday card every year.

[reddog289]

Capri Bakery had some good pepperoni rolls. My Mom used to pick them up for me. There are a few pizza places that I have yet to explore in Dearborn. Such as Liberaltis among others.But I myself do belive that Dearborn has the best looking High School with Fordson at least from what I have seen.Alot of good looking schools in Detroit But Fordson sticks out in my mind.

[reddog289]

It amazes me how stuff pops into my head. I think I saw people playing Bocci Ball for the first time at Hemlock Park. As my Archie Bunker father would put it " A bunch of old Dagos playing with their balls." didn't get it till later. Dearborn to me had the best parks as a kid better playground equiptment, ETC.