Louis Cappo Oral History Interview Transcript

Reverend Louis Cappo discusses his life growing up in Baltic, MI, his parents’ migration from Italy, his studies at the Saint Lawrence Seminary and the Saint Francis Seminary, his career as a priest, his work to promote industry and development in the Upper Peninsula, working for American Motors, natural gas in the Upper Peninsula, the tax system of the mining industry, the creation of Indian Head Ski Resort in Wakefield, unions and mining companies, his father’s activity in the mines and local politics, the Depression, the closing of the Sunny Lake Mine, UPCAP (Upper Peninsula Commission for Area Progress), the Lake Superior Jobs Coalition, his family’s Piedmontese origins, their traditional Italian foods, the making of saltisa (a Piedmontese sausage), traveling to Italy, and meeting the Pope. Interviewed by Russell M. Magnaghi.