The Brothers
Papa
Vittorio Travero
| Starting
at the beginning is usually best.
Vittorio
(Giacomo) Traverso was born in
Pentama, Genova, Italy March 15, 1866.
 Pentama
is a very small village
perched upon a mountainside
located near the Swiss border with
the sea coast on one side and mountains
on the other.
Vittorio
immigrated by himself from Italy to
the United States. He settled in Seattle,
Washington with some friends, then
later migrated south to San Francisco.
 Luisa
Bacigalupi, born on July 26, 1875,
immigrated by herself from Carasco,
Genova, Italy to live with a sister
on Greenwich Street in San Francisco.
Vittorio met Louisa and one year later,
April 1, 1894, they were married.
Vittorio was 6'3" tall and Louisa
was 5' tall. A year later they had
Bill. Vittorio at the time was working
in a hotel on the corner of Greenwich
and Grand Ave. which was owned by
some German. Louisa was a seamstress.
Traverso
Archives
|
Vittorio
found he could make better money
as a miner in Lake County ($1
a day) so he moved his family
there. Their second son, Victor,
was born there (1898). Besides
working in the mine, they grew
vegetables and sold them to
the resorts up there. They saved
their money and around the turn
of the century (1900) they returned
to San Francisco. On February
9, 1901, Vittorio purchased
the "Telegraph Hill Hotel"
at 491 Greenwich at Dupont for
the sum of ten dollars in gold
coin. They charged $30 per month
for room and board and had one
of the first telephones in San
Francisco at the time.
Jack,
their third son, was born February
5, 1902. On April 15 of that
year, Vittorio became a naturalized
United States citizen.
1906
was the year of the earthquake.
The hotel was completely destroyed.
So Vittorio took his wife and
three boys and moved them to
a ranch in Pleasanton, which
he had just leased to grow grapes
to make wine for the hotel.
|
After the family was settled, he returned
to San Francisco to rebuild his hotel.
He financed the reconstruction by
borrowing money from friends, without
signed notes, and paid every single
one back! When the hotel was rebuilt,
he moved his family back into two
rooms of the hotel. Vittorio was the
bartender, goodwill and PR man; Louisa
was cook for 22 boarders and sometimes
fed as many as 250 at one seating.
The three boys worked as waiters,
busboys, and bartenders.
Jack
recalled polishing all the mirrors,
brass cuspidors, and brass foot rests
every Saturday for 50 cents!
| Prohibition
in 1918 forced Vittorio out
of the hotel business. He retired
and lived next door at 1654
Grand Avenue which he purchased
November 17, 1909. The saloon
on the corner was converted
into a grocery store by Victor,
Jr. He was assisted by his younger
brother, Jack, who helped on
the weekends and after school.
In early 1933, the hotel was
remodeled into apartments and
were owned by the Traverso's
until sold in 1977.
Vittorio
became ill with pleurisy in
1925. He smoked 20 to 30 cigars
a day. He died December 7, 1933.
Luisa died December 20, 1937.
Both were buried at Cypress
Lawn Cemetery.
Bill
graduated from Lowell High School
in San Francisco and then went
to St. Iganatius College. He
worked for Randolf V. Whiting
Reports law firm and attended
Hastings Law School at night.
He passed the bar exam on the
first try. He was Chief Yeoman
in the navy in 1915 and then
went into the reserves. He became
a judge advocate for the Navy
in Vallejo. When he got out
of the service he opened his
own office at 21 Columbus Ave.
in San Francisco. He was very
successful. He later moved his
office to 550 Montgomery Street. |
Traverso
Archives
|
In
1943 he was appointed by Governor Warren
to the municipal court of San Francisco.
He was the first Italian appointed to
the municipal court. In 1945 he was
elevated to superior court and he retired
in 1965.
| Victor
went into the retail grocery business.
Jack helped out with the bookkeeping
while he was still in high school.
Jack encouraged Victor to go into
the wholesale grocery business.
Jack gave up college to help out.
In December 1922, they were doing
$3, 000 per month at 506 Washington
Street. They were there for two
years then moved to 443 Washington
Street. Later, they moved again
to bigger quarters and were there
for 10 years. In 1944 they were
forced out of their warehouse
due to the war and under Victor's
encouragement, the three brothers
bought the building at 1050 Battery
Street (February 29, 1944). The
brothers paid $47,500 for this
property between Union and Commerce
Streets. It included railroad
spur track facilities and privileges. |
Traverso
Archives
|
After Victor's death, Jack took over
complete operation in 1958. In 1964,
based on advice from his doctor, Jack
retired from the wholesale grocery business.
At that time the business was doing
$5 million a year. The business was
liquidated. The building was converted
into office space at $1.8 million; 36,000
square feet. The building is still owned
by a firm known as "Traverso Brothers."
Started
in the '30's, the three brothers would
meet for weekly conferences to discuss
family affairs. When Vittorio died
in 1933, Bill managed the property
for a time then assigned the management
to Jack in about 1950. They established
a pact among themselves that if anything
should happen to any of the brothers,
the others would make sure the remaining
widows did not suffer. |
William
"Bill" Frank Traverso ::
•Born
29 Mar 1895 in San Francisco, California
•Died
22 Jan 1975 in San Francisco, California
•Married
Ruth Jardine, born in 1890; died in
1961
•Daughter,
Nancy Traverso
Bill
graduated from Lowell High School
in San Francisco and then went to
St. Iganatius College. He worked for
Randolf V. Whiting Reports law firm
and attended Hastings Law School at
night. He passed the bar exam on the
first try in 1920. He was Chief Yeoman
in the navy in 1915 and then went
into the reserves. He became a judge
advocate for the Navy in Vallejo.
When he got out of the service he
opened his own office at 21 Columbus
Ave. in San Francisco. He was very
successful. He later moved his office
to 550 Montgomery Street. (USF
School of Law)
Bill
was an assistant reporter of the decisions
of the Supreme Court and District
Court of Appeals for more than twenty
years; appointed by Governor Warren
as Judge of the Municipal Court in
1943 as the first Italian appointed
to the municipal court and Governor
Warren's very first appointment. In
1945 he was elevated to Superior Court
and appointed Presiding Judge of the
Superior Court in 1950. He retired
in 1965. On March 29, 1965, Bill was
presented with a resolution commending
his service to the City and County
of San Francisco by then President
of the Board of Supervisors, Joseph
E. Tinney. The resolution was also
signed by Mayor John. F. Shelley.
Bill,
a Past Master, and his brothers were
members of Masonic Lodge, Roosevelt
#500 in San Francisco. The following
pages are a digest of the comprehensive
histories of the Masonic Lodges, Golden
Gate Lodge #30, Speranza Lodge #219,
Roosevelt Lodge #500, Mount Moriah
Lodge #44 and Far West Lodge #673,
that have consolidated to form Golden
Gate Speranza Lodge #30. These histories
are far from complete for all lodge
records of Golden Gate, Speranza,
Italiana and Mount Mariah, prior to
1906, were destroyed by the earthquake
and fire. We have researched what
material is available, to gain a picture
of formations and early days of these
lodges, much of which was fast fading
into oblivion. Go
to page 18 to read about the Traversos.
Bill's
car was struck by another in an intersection
in San Francisco. He died of his injuries
on January 22, 1975. |
Victor
"Vic" Peter Traverso, Jr.
::
•Born
15 Jan 1898 in Lake County, California
•Died
01 Jun 1958 in Alameda, California
•Married
Grace Viola Mehrtens, born 13 Nov
1901; died Jul 1987 in Danville, California
•Son,
Victor William Traverso
•Twin
Daughters, Georgia and Gloria Traverso
Daughter,
Georgia is the current manager of
Traverso Brothers. |
John
"Jack" Andrew Traverso ::
•Born
05 Feb 1902 in San Francisco, California
•Died
17 Feb 1989 in San Mateo, California
•Married
Evelyn Louise Parker on 05 Nov 1925
in San Francisco, California; born
09 Aug 1904 in Portland Oregon; died
07 Feb 1984 in San Mateo, California
•Daughter,
Jaclyn Louise Traverso
Jack
moved his family to San Mateo in June
1942. At that time, this was a rural
community which was on the brink of
expansion. He paid $8,600 cash for
his house in the Aragon Estates.
Jack
received a certificate of appreciation
from the President of the United States,
Harry S. Truman, for his service contributed
to the Nation as a Selective Service
System Registrar during the period
of registration, August 30, 1948 through
September 18, 1948. |
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