arr
The Torch
35
Two long-time friends, an
Italian and a Jew, have
teamed up behind a local
effort to raise funds for the
Statue of Liberty.
BY BETTY ELSTER
Special to The Jewish News
b .
G.
we me your tired, your poor,
your huddled masses
yearning to breathe free, the
wretched refuse of your
teeming shore. Send these, the
homeless, the tempest-tost to me. I lift
my lamp beside the golden door!
— Emma Lazarus
Harvey Glassman and Amperio Carli work on their theme for the Statue of Liberty.
The poem stirred compassion
and patriotism in the hearts of man,
in 1909. The Statue of Liberty, a
symbol of friendship and freedom
from France • to the. United States,
was a joyous symbol to oppressed
mankind everywhere.
Today, the symbol is ravaged by
time, as are some of the- sentiments
surrounding its restoration. Cyni-
cism and commercialism have re
placed some of the earlier ideals.
Much has been in the media the
Past few *eeks concerning this mat-
ter. Lee Iacocca, chairman of the
federal Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island
Foundation, Inc., was fired from his
parallel position as chairman of the
National Advisory Cdmmission (in
charge of the appropriation of resto-
ration fiinds). A 'potential conflict of
interest" existed, said U.S. Secretary
r Donald P. ;I:i9pkiv
•
Meanwhile, the restoration proj-
ects continue, and people rally
'round the cause to restore our na-
tional symbol of peace and freedom.
Two Detroiters, friends for 30
years, have become invovled in this
effort. They are Harvey Glassman,
70, and Amperio Carli, 66.
Their effort is being handled
through two Italian organizations,
sanctioned by the Statue of
Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc.;
the Italian American Chamber of
Commerce of Michigan and the
Americans of Italian Origin Society
(A10). Several other Italian groups
•have also joined in the project.
Carli came up with a restoration
theme after hearing some of –
Glassman's patriotic songs. His , idea
is "Sons and Daughters of Italian
Immigrants Salute Lady Liberty."
He asked Glassman if he 'would be
interested in using his songs in the
fundraising effort.
The men met as business associ-
ates, and both have similar back-
grounds. Both were born in Pennsyl-
vania — Carli 'in . Pittsburgh, and
Glassman in Philadelphia; and both
I served in e United States Army.
P. NOP
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