BIMBI Louis John

Notes:

Lou's Story
By Alice Elizabeth Ames Bimbi

Luigi, fourth son of Giovanni and Ghiozie Bimbi, was born on April 3, 1912. His mother's maiden name
was Verdiana, and she was twenty- five years old at the time of his birth. His father was forty-one.
He was christened Louis on April 18, 1912, at St. John the Evangelist, a Roman Catholic Church in
New York City. On his Baptismal certificate, his mother's name is spelled Ghioziti Gini. He was raised in
the Catholic religion, and took the name John as his confirmation name. His older brothers were Peter,
Francis (Frank) and Michael, about whom he never knew until later on when his sister-in-law told him
after we were married. Michael came between Frank, and Louis.
Giovanni Bimbi came from Florence, Italy to make his way in the new world. At age thirty-five, he sent
back to Italy for his bride, as was the custom in those days. She was sixteen years younger than he,
and there is no information as to from what part of Italy she came. Lou was only two years old when his
mother died, and he had no remembrance of her. A housekeeper came in during the day to take care
of the children. Their father worked as a terrazzo (tile) setter, and it was a hard, intricate trade. Lou
used to tell me how his father would come home with cut, bleeding fingers. Many of the New York City
hotels and banks have terrazzo floors that he helped to install. During World War I, he was working in a
large hotel, and was able to bring extra food home from the kitchen. The war years were hard ones.
The boys were brought up to cook, clean, and mend; and, when older, they would take turns starting
dinner before their father returned from work. When Lou was fourteen and had finished the eighth
grade, he quit school and went to work at various jobs. The boys insisted their father retire because of
his difficult work. The only other schooling Lou had was a business course at Pace Institute at night.
The family lived in a mixed neighborhood, and had many friends of all ethnic groups. Lou's best friends
were Arthur Taylor and Fred Manning, who also lived nearby. They met playing "stickball" in the streets.
The game was played using a broom or mop handle for a bat, and the fire hydrants and sewer covers
for bases. To this day, a New York City street is closed for a day and the old-timers come back for a
game. I believe the best semblance of a complete family life for Lou was with the Taylors. He always
spoke fondly of the mince tarts Mrs. Taylor made during the holidays, and of being served tea in large
bone china cups that were almost the size of soup bowls. Also, many fun evenings of playing cards
were shared.
At an early age, Lou went to work for the Elizabeth Arden cosmetic firm. The factory was only a half
block from his home. He also obtained a chauffeur's license and besides making deliveries to special
customers, he was assistant chauffeur. Lou spoke of the many trips to Belmont Park, where Miss Arden
kept her horses, and Sarasota for the races. Other trips were to the Maine Chance Farm-- a health spa.
He often made deliveries to a Fifth avenue apartment, and the ship picture which hung in our home was
painted by Miss Arden's butler.
Stories Lou Told Me:
As a young boy, Lou spoke of skinny-dipping in the East River; walking across the 57th Street Bridge to
play sandlot baseball on the then open fields of Long Island; jumping on the back of the horse drawn ice
wagons for a piece of ice; coal in their stockings at Christmas (I'm not sure if he was kidding); his father
making wine in the cellar of their apartment -no, he didn't stomp the grapes with his feet- he had a wine
press! Against his father's wishes, Lou bought a bicycle, and when his father found it, he sawed it in
half. He thought the New York streets were too dangerous for the boys to ride. Lou always wanted a
white sweater, and when he bought one, his father made him return it, saying it was impractical. The
boys always got one new suit each Easter, and a new white shirt which they washed and ironed every
day to wear to school. They had to keep their shoes shined, and you must all remember Dad polishing
his! Their father was a strict disciplinarian, but was respected and loved by his sons. Lou spoke with
fondness of the Prescott House, named after Prescott Van Wyck, a socialite, who also had a summer
home in Butler, New Jersey, where the Boy Scouts, to which Lou belonged, had a camp across the lake
from the main house. The young teenagers enjoyed the facilities of the neighborhood house, playing
pool and ping-pong, and putting on fund raising shows. Lou often had the singing lead. Arthur and Lou
played on a Protestant Church basketball league, and Arthur told me that even though he was the
tallest, at six feet seven inches, Lou was the better player because he was very fast in covering the
court. I wish I could recall all the fun stories Lou, Arthur, and Fred shared. They seemed to have had
many good times growing up together. As young men, they spent part of their summer vacation at
Sackett's Harbor on Lake Ontario. The home was owned by friends of the Taylors, and they enjoyed
getting out of the city and being in the clean country air. Lou used to mention the cows there, and how
good the fresh cream tasted. After we were married, and John was eight months old, Lou took me on a
vacation to Henderson Harbor, also on Lake Ontario, near the place of which he had such fond
memories.
-1999.

Louis married AMES Alice Elizabeth on 11 Jun 1938 in Nutley, NJ. Alice (daughter of AMES Frank Harvey and MCTEIGUE Doris Belle) was born on 25 May 1917 in Providence, Providence Co., RI; died on 21 Oct 2011 in Nutley, NJ. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]