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It all started in the small town of Asiago, Italy.
Asiago has two definitions- The Trentino Highlands or Altopiano, and The Sette Communi or Seven Communities. Asiago being the largest of the seven communities. The Alto piano is a natural citadel on a rugged highland plateau between the snowy Alps (to the north, east, and west) and the rich Venetian plain (to the south). It can be considered a plateau only when compared to the towering Alps, for the alto piano itself has mountains covered with dense coniferous forests and alpine meadows. Surrounded by an enormous escarpment, often cliffs a few thousand meters in height, the Alto piano rises from the lowland plains in only a few kilometers. [Map link]Serene beauty did not eliminate the poor economic climate of the late eighteenth century (1890-1900). Work was scarce for many young, able-bodied citizens. Education was a luxury; therefore many teenagers and young adults migrated to Switzerland and Germany for the somewhat steady, dirty work in the coalmines of the region.
Along with the mining of coal, Germany and Switzerland was in the process of expanding infrastructure. All available manpower was needed to build tunnels through the Swiss Alps. Many Asiago residents found jobs in the area. The work was difficult, hazardous, and downright dangerous. Young members of both families found employment and gained the much-needed experience to support them.
Hours were long for the laborers. Twelve-hour days, Seven days a week were the norm, often for little pay. The young men worked tirelessly to ensure that they were able to feed themselves day to day. Monies that were left over were sent back to the families still in Asiago.
Although this work put food in the stomachs of all that participated, the work was not secure. Men and some women would wait for injured workers to fall or become maimed that would allow them the opportunity to become employed. Working in some of the most deplorable conditions the workers endured pain, sickness, and disease to ensure that they would eat that day. Anything less than 100% got the workers replaced by and individual who would willingly do the job for lower pay. This continued until the building contractor received another project. As the jobs moved, so did the workers. Several members of both families bounced around Europe in search of any and all opportunities for employment. Members of both families bounced from mine to mine, job to job, in order to ensure steady employment.
The conversation between workers on the jobsites in Germany, Switzerland, and France portrayed the United States as the oasis of job security. Rumors, and some truths spread around until some workers mustard up enough courage to seek out the .plentiful. jobs in the US.
The early stages of the industrial age produced a high demand for coal. Investors in the United States were going to ensure success by opening numerous coalmines here at home. From Virginia to New York to Missouri, coalmines were popping up throughout the eastern half of the US.
Family records show that Christiano Dalle-Ave .Big Chris. along with his three brothers_______,_________ and _________ , made the first trip in 1902. Christianos. experience as a demolition and explosive expert (from tunnel building in the Alps), made himself and the three brothers extremely valuable to the coalmine operators here in the United States.
Upon their arrival at Ellis Island in 1902, the brothers agreed to .drop. the Dalle from their name for simplicity reasons. With very little money in their pockets the brothers had to seek out the jobs that were all but promised to them in Italy. [The verbal and written record is vague at this point, but an attempt was made to preserve the story as many family members have remembered it]. The brothers traveled from New York to Pennsylvania to Virginia, and finally ended up in Southern Indiana. Italians that made the trip prior the brothers had settled in Clinton, Indiana and this soon became a home base for many Italian immigrants. The brothers soon found work in the strip mines of Southern Indian and quickly took up residence in Clinton.
The brothers worked 7 days a week for 12 hours each day, and sometimes stayed longer to load coal into mining cars. Christiano was remembered by many to stay late and catch a few hours sleep in the shower room, only to start bright and early the next day.
This continued until early 1904 when Christiano had made enough money to return to Asiago for his soon to be wife Antonia Dal Sasso. The Department of Immigration and Naturalization has record [Ellis Island.org link] that Christiano Dalle Ave, Antonia Dal Sasso, Gio Balta Dal Sasso, and Gaspere Dal Sasso left La Havre, France on January 28, 1905 and arrived in New York February 4, 1905. They arrived on the transanatlantique ship .La Lorraine. in New York Harbor with a total of $56.00 between the four of them.
The first recorded address in the States for the group was P.O. Box 404; Clinton, Indiana.
Christiano and Antonia were married in the middle of 1904 and both families have been connected ever since.
According to Gene Anthony Ave the first Ave- Dal Sasso picnic was held on the day before Labor Day in 1935.