Whence came Ronn Dominici?

For The Madera Tribune

Julius Dominici.

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It must have seemed like a cruel joke, and indeed it was cruel, but it was no joke. The young Italian immigrant had come to America, found work and sent for his wife and child. In 1911 the mother and son arrived in Madera and the family was together once again. Then in 1914, the father returned temporarily to Italy to put the finishing touches on some personal business, and the government suddenly snatched him up and put him into the Italian army.

It made no difference when he protested that he considered himself an American. Neither did it make any difference that his wife and son were in Madera. What was paramount was the fact that World War I had begun, and Adamo Dominici was needed in the Italian army.

After serving four years in the army, they discharged Adamo and he immediately returned to America and his wife, Romilda, and their son, Julius. From this fragile beginning, a saga was born — a story emerged — a story that is still being felt in the halls of local government today.