Port Norris Legends

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Joseph Dagastine
Recognized as a Legend in History of Port Norris on April 22, 2023

 

Joseph Dagastine

Presented by Mary Linda Locotte

Joseph John Dagastine was born on June 24, 1913, to Italian immigrant parents, Pasquale and Maria Dagastine, and raised on Strawberry Avenue in the section of Port Norris known as Little Italy. Although there were sixteen children in the family, only ten survived, his four sisters, Elizabeth, Helen (Phil), Francis and Lena, and his five older brothers, Tony, Lou, Les, Sam, John(Froggie).

Joe married his sweetheart bride, Emma Rinno (Ricci) and together they were blessed with three children: Joseph Dagastine, Brenda Robbins, both of Georgia, and James Dagastine of Marlton, NJ., nine grandchildren and many great-grandchildren. Joe and Emma resided in the center of town, behind Dagastine’s Friendly Service station. For those of you who did not know his wife, Emma was as petite as Joe was tall, broad, and strong. And they were lovebirds until the end, I can still picture Aunt Emma sitting in the car very close to Uncle Joe.

During this presentation, I will refer to Joseph, informally as Joe and sometimes as my Uncle Joe. The town of Port Norris is synonymous with nicknames for many of its residents, both living and past. Joe was no exception … he kept with the tradition, not breaking any of the rules. He was known to many in the Ricci family as “Big Dag” (Big for his stature and Dag for Dagastine), including his own children. When visiting with his son last week, Jim referred to him as “Big Dag”. Commercial Township has a resident scarecrow known as “Big Dag” who often revisits the town of Port Norris during the Halloween season. Be sure to look for him….can’t miss his bib overalls and his large straw hat.

This, however, was not his only nickname. Family and friends would call him, Joe, of course, but our family had an unusual name for him, it was the name “Bibe”. Where the name came from and why the name “Bibe” is anyone’s guess. In fact, there is a very close family friend among us here today who relates this story time and again. Her Aunt Emma married my Uncle Joe and we lived “around the globe” as the area people would say, referring to Strawberry Avenue, James Moore Road and back around to Dragston Road. One day she said to me, Mary Linda, I know all of your uncle and aunts. Who are you talking about? Who is Uncle Bibe? I simply replied Uncle Joe. Not wanting to add to anyone’s confusion, his brothers and a few male relatives on my side of the family called him “Buick”. Your guess is as good as mine, but it probably has something to do with Buick automobile.

For the most part, people who knew Joe knew him as a farmer who wore a white shirt, sometimes bib overalls, and a large straw hat. Now this straw hat would help him when he was in a discussion and trying to get his point across. He would take the hat off and put it back on his head repeatedly, using his Dagastine voice simultaneously. Joe farmed with his brother-in-law, Gus Nicoli, for a number of years. Putting on his lumberjack hat, he and Gus would also cut oyster stakes for the local oystermen. They would work out in the woods cutting down the trees and in the morning sharpen the stakes out behind his house. As time went on, Joe partnered with his other two brothers-in-law, Sam and Anthony Ricci, farming acreage on land in Downe Township. Later, he became a self-employed farmer.

As most of us know, Joe had a love for his faithful companions, his dogs and they would travel with him as he drove to and from the farms. When his son Joe moved to another state and could not take his dog, Orzo, with him, Uncle Joe adopted the dog. Now Orzo would not ride to the farm like most dogs do. He would ride on top of the roof of Uncle Joe’s pick-up. Being afraid he would fall off, Joe glued a piece of an old rug onto the top of the roof to provide some extra footing for the dog. As Joe would ride early in the morning up to the farm, Orzo would begin to bark, and before long Orzo would have a trail of dogs barking at him, waking the town folks.
Now this was not the only hat Joe wore.

To some, Joe was their employer whether working on the farm or in the Commercial Township School system. Joe served for 18 years on the local school board, holding various positions throughout his terms. If you were an employee of Commercial Township Municipal district, Joe was regularly seen around the community, for he served as a township committeeman for 12 years, six of them as Mayor. He continued to be involved with the township as a member of the local Welfare Board and the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Dick Smith shared with us today a bumper sticker when Joe was running for Mayor one year.

We could say that he was a jack of all trades. For a period of time, Joe wore the hat of a house mover, using large house jacks on a flat trailer relocating houses from one part of the town to other places in the township.

There is a little known fact about Uncle Joe which I would like to share with you today. In his younger years, Joe wore the hat of a tailor. Once married, the front room of his home on Market Street, which would be a typical living room, became his tailor shop. He would hem clothing, makes repairs, sew on buttons, etc. This job was one that he continued to perform throughout his life, especially for family members. His son, Jim, has his Singer sewing machine, with wooden cabinet as a remembrance of his endeavors.

Joe was a life-long member of St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, volunteering whenever needed. He assisted other men of the church community in the building of St. Anthony’s Hall.

As hard as he worked, he loved to have fun and share in good times. While serving on the township committee, he would volunteer to sit on the dunk tank pole. There is a photo at the table today, with committeemen Ed Cox and Stanley Storms, clerk Eugene Eichelberger, and Dave Brown, tax assessor, all dressed up for the occasion.

Some of you may remember, being part of a sled train gliding through town in the evening on snow covered streets, being pulled by Uncle Joe on his farm tractor. His son Jim told us he would have two long hay ropes and would use a piece of wood to hold each sled that was connected to the ropes. Inevitably someone’s sled would hit a patch of thawed snow and the part of the sled train and Joe would have to repair the problem. Rumor has it, once the town kids would go home for the evening, Joe would pull the adults on their sleds. The streets and roads back then were not salted, so the packed roads made for nice sled riding.

During a party at the church hall, Uncle Joe and Aunt Emma were dancing the polka. He would lift Aunt Emma up off her feet, then put her down and stomp his foot down so hard, it seemed as if the floor would shake.

Uncle Joe had a humorous side, also. I would like to share a story that has circulated through our family for so many years. One that is as funny the last time told as the first time we heard it. As the story goes, Joe had a dog named Sonny Boy who was always by his side. One evening, Joe was up at Sal Di’Grazio’s store across from the Catholic Church. Several men would gather there in the evenings to discuss the day’s adventures. A local resident stopped to make a purchase, and when he walked by Joe’s pickup, he claimed the dog nipped him. The man went into the store and approached Joe, saying “your dog, he bit me”. Uncle Joe with seriousness on his face, said, “My dog? No, he wouldn’t bite you.” When the man insisted, Joe said let’s go out to the truck. Once they were at the truck, Uncle Joe called Sonny Boy to come over to him, and pointing and shaking his finger said, “Sonny Boy, this man said you bit him.” The dog began to whine. Joe turned to the man and said, Sonny Boy said he didn’t bite you. The man replied, “Well he’s a blankety-blank liar.” And to this day we still laugh at this story.
Joe would frequently visit the “guys” at the gas station or Sal’s Store. Anyone living near the premises could hear the friendly discussions (aka arguments) and the Dagastine’s voices of who had the fastest cars. Our Uncle Les told us the arguing began when the boys were young and working in the fields. Hours of hoeing and picking were boring tasks. So, to pass the time, they would engage in friendly arguments. And most often they were all saying the same thing.

Uncle Joe did find time to rest from all his hours of hard labor. In fact, weekdays at 1:00pm, Joe could be found in his recliner watching his favorite soap opera, All My Children, with Aunt Emma. Farm or no farm, he took that needed break.

For those who knew Uncle Joe, I hope this has brought back some good memories. For those who have not had the opportunity to meet Joe, this is a small window of who he was. A man whose smile could light up a room and know that he cared. A dependable man who was devoted to his family, friends, and church. A man dedicated to his community. As the song goes, “ just a plain and simple Joe”, but with a big Dagastine voice.” When his life on earth ended in June 1996, he became a Legend that will live on forever.