The Buttino Family
Patsy at left, his wife Mary seated center, their children with spouses, and their grandchildren
For much of the 20th century, the family of Patsy Buttino was a strong and visible presence in the life and history of Cortland, New York.
Pasquale (Patsy) Buttino was born in 1881 in Campochiaro, a small town in the Molise province of Italy. At age eleven he traveled with his father Liberato to visit relatives in New York City's Little Italy, and he and his father then returned to Italy. The father had seen enough of America. Not teenage Pasquale.
In 1900 he returned to New York City. He took a construction job on a railroad being built through New York State which brought him through Cortland. Family lore says that he decided to stay in Cortland because the hills around Cortland reminded him of Molise, and because he judged the city's artisanal well water the best water he'd ever tasted!
Pasquale (Patsy) Buttino was born in 1881 in Campochiaro, a small town in the Molise province of Italy. At age eleven he traveled with his father Liberato to visit relatives in New York City's Little Italy, and he and his father then returned to Italy. The father had seen enough of America. Not teenage Pasquale.
In 1900 he returned to New York City. He took a construction job on a railroad being built through New York State which brought him through Cortland. Family lore says that he decided to stay in Cortland because the hills around Cortland reminded him of Molise, and because he judged the city's artisanal well water the best water he'd ever tasted!
Marriage and Citizenship
In 1906, he married Enrichetta Zaccagnini, known by most as Mary. Over the decades they had 12 children, William who died at age 8 and Thomas who died as a baby. The ten remaining children in birth order were Mary, Anna, John, Irene, Robert, Elisa, Louis, James, Beatrice, and Joseph.
On April 3rd, 1911 he became a U.S. citizen. According to his naturalization certificate he and Mary had three children -- Mary age 4, Ann age 3, and John age 1. The family lived in the Squires Building at the corner of Main and Tompkins Streets.
The Family Home
Patsy and Mary bought 40 Pomeroy Street in 1919. The house was always filled with the energy of the growing family, plus hosting out-of-town friends and relatives in need of temporary quarters. Louie Falso, who grew up next door, remembers: “I never understood where everybody stayed in that house!”
Patsy became famous as one of the leaders of the Italian community, active in organizing parades and celebrations using the fireworks he made for the church and for civic organizations. An article in the Cortland Standard in August 1912 reported that “the Cortland County Agricultural Society has arranged with Pasquale Buttino, superintendent and manager of the Cortland Fireworks Company, for a grand display of fireworks on the fairgrounds, Wednesday and Thursday nights, Aug. 21 and 22.” The display was to include set pieces and aerial bombs four, five, six, and eight-inches in diameter. “The display will be the best the local Italians can produce and all who have witnessed their displays know that they fully understand their business. Particular attention is being paid to new designs, which will, as usual, be set up facing the grandstand.”
Patsy and Mary bought 40 Pomeroy Street in 1919. The house was always filled with the energy of the growing family, plus hosting out-of-town friends and relatives in need of temporary quarters. Louie Falso, who grew up next door, remembers: “I never understood where everybody stayed in that house!”
Patsy became famous as one of the leaders of the Italian community, active in organizing parades and celebrations using the fireworks he made for the church and for civic organizations. An article in the Cortland Standard in August 1912 reported that “the Cortland County Agricultural Society has arranged with Pasquale Buttino, superintendent and manager of the Cortland Fireworks Company, for a grand display of fireworks on the fairgrounds, Wednesday and Thursday nights, Aug. 21 and 22.” The display was to include set pieces and aerial bombs four, five, six, and eight-inches in diameter. “The display will be the best the local Italians can produce and all who have witnessed their displays know that they fully understand their business. Particular attention is being paid to new designs, which will, as usual, be set up facing the grandstand.”
A Church Leader
As a prominent member of the Italian community of Cortland he worked on a committee with others to establish the first version of St. Anthony’s Church in 1917, in a building that had once been a pasta factory.
The church was also on Pomeroy Street, only a block south of his home.
Life at 40 Pomeroy Street
In the 1940s, ‘50s, and '60s visitors to the Buttino family home would make their way through the formal dining room into the room that never had a name. The kitchen was the next room where all the cooking happened. But the room between the dining room and the kitchen was the most used room in the house. In the middle of the room was a big rectangular oak table and chairs where the family ate meals, played cards, sat and talked,
So 40 Pomeroy was always a busy place, and the room-without-a-name bustled with activity. And on that big wooden table Patsy, three generations of his family, and neighbors made the paper tubes that were the basic element of Patsy’s fireworks. Marilyn DeSanta DeLorenzo grew up across Pomeroy Street and remembers often walking into the room and seeing a lot of people sitting around the table working.
In the 1940s, ‘50s, and '60s visitors to the Buttino family home would make their way through the formal dining room into the room that never had a name. The kitchen was the next room where all the cooking happened. But the room between the dining room and the kitchen was the most used room in the house. In the middle of the room was a big rectangular oak table and chairs where the family ate meals, played cards, sat and talked,
So 40 Pomeroy was always a busy place, and the room-without-a-name bustled with activity. And on that big wooden table Patsy, three generations of his family, and neighbors made the paper tubes that were the basic element of Patsy’s fireworks. Marilyn DeSanta DeLorenzo grew up across Pomeroy Street and remembers often walking into the room and seeing a lot of people sitting around the table working.
Thanks to his son Jim (nicknamed Tov in the family), Patsy's reputation as a fireworks expert spread as far away as China! Tov became a Maryknoll missionary in 1947, and his first posting was in southern China
In 1949, a fellow missionary, Fr. Russell Sprinkle, needed advice on making fireworks, especially red colored fireworks. Taking Tov's advice, he wrote to Patsy for guidance. Below is part of his letter to Patsy. (At right is Tov with a Chinese boy).
