These are bare bones notes on the Frank Balistrieri of Des Moines. There is no indication he was involved in crime, knew anyone involved, or even knew his distant cousins in Milwaukee were suspicious characters. This post is a collection of notes and is not meant to imply anything negative.
Born 1870 in Sicily, in the same general vicinity of the other known Balistrieri / Balestrere families. Although I do not know his father’s name, and therefore cannot connect him with the Milwaukee or Kansas City cousins, I have no doubt he is related somehow. The spelling as “Balistrieri” further suggests to me a closer familial link to the Milwaukee family, as it is a less common variant.
At the age of 6, his father took him to a spaghetti factory in Bagheria and had him pick up spaghetti so nothing went to waste. It was a habit he maintained his whole life. Frank had very little formal schooling.
Frank married Serafina Damiano in Sicily and they had four daughters there. He later said her parents approved of the match because he was a city boy and she was a country girl. Frank came to the US in 1903, settled in Iowa immediately, and they had five more children. Serafina died around 1910, possibly in childbirth, though I’ve found nothing confirming this.
According to Balistrieri, he came to Des Moines because of a man named Joseph Sansone. Sansone visited Frank at the spaghetti factory he worked at in Termini Imerese, Sicily, and suggested he move to Des Moines. Sansone later sent him a boat ticket to make the journey. The others joined Frank a while later.
The name Societa Stemma D’Italia, Mutuo Soccorso (Mutual Assistance) was adopted, which name signifies the main purpose of its functions. The articles of incorporation signed in April 1898 were based on true brotherly spirit. Frank became a member of Stemma D’Italia.
Opened Purity Macaroni in 1912/1913.
Aided in the construction of St. Anthony’s Catholic Church and donated the money for the church bell. (The first Italian immigrants arrived in Des Moines in the 1870s, with most arriving between 1880 and 1915. They followed the streetcar lines to areas south of the Raccoon River. Davenport Bishop Henry Cosgrove appointed the Rev. Francis Leonard to found St. Anthony’s parish in 1898, but difficulties arose and the project came to an end. In 1906, Cosgrove assigned the Rev. Victor Romanelli to found the parish on Des Moines’ south side. Romanelli was a native of Naples and had served parishes in New York and New Jersey. He acquired an old fire station where he resided and where the parish’s first Mass was celebrated on August 19. Property was acquired on Columbus Avenue and a small brick church was built there.)
1915, was a macaroni manufacturer and lived at 1119 Edison Avenue
1920, same
1925, lived on Granger Avenue
news articles suggest he went to Chicago and worked as a peddler for a few years before returning to Des Moines and buying the factory outright from his landlord in 1932.
1940, was a “helper” for a food manufacturer and lived at 1904 SW First Street (above the spaghetti plant). Why “helper” when he apparently owned the company?
During World War II, son Sam worked at the local ordnance plant but assisted his father on nights and weekends. Frank proudly told the newspaper he had two grandsons fighting in the war. He spoke out against Mussolini and said that although he loved his Italian family members he did not always love his country – it did not have as much freedom as the United States.
September 1946, the Purity Macaroni building went up for sale. The newspaper ad described it as a two-story brick building with a 6-room apartment on the second floor.
1950, lived in the home of daughter Margaret and son-in-law Charles Fargo.
died April 1951