YESTERYEAR

When Sam and Lena (Caporella) Natale were dating in 1934, they went out in Sam’s family’s coupe, a two-door car with only a front bench seat. Instead it sometimes had a seat in the back on the outside. Even though Sam was a streetcar repairman, he didn’t drive, so his younger half brother Mike Saponara became the driver for their dates. There was room in the coupe for the driver and two passengers inside, which would have worked well, except that Lena’s aunt, Rosina (Santangelo) Caruso, insisted on going with them as a chaperone. When Lena came from Italy in 1930, she lived with her mother’s youngest sister, Rosina. After several dates riding in the rumble seat in the dead of winter, Sam told Lena, “That’s enough! Let’s get married!” And, so they did. The photo was submitted by their son, S. Fred Natale of Monessen.