Interview with Michael T. Romano, April 17, 1985

Partial Transcript: My name is Michael Thomas Romano. I was born on April nineteenth, 1924 and I guess that makes me something like 61 years old this Friday.

Segment Synopsis: Romano gives background information about himself. He talks about the immigration of his parents from Italy and discusses the effect WWII had on his father, specifically the Battle of Monte Cassino.

Keywords: Allies; Battle of Monte Cassino; Italy; Philadelphia; Pro-American; United States Army; Venafro; World War II

Subjects: Emigration and immigration.; Italian Americans; World War, 1939-1945.

Partial Transcript: My mother came here two years before my father. She came from Sicily.

Segment Synopsis: Romano discusses where his mother was born. He talks about his maternal grandfather, Vincenzo, who was the most influential person in Romano's life. Romano describes his grandfather as having a way with words. He talks about Vincenzo's love for children.

Keywords: Children; Sicily, Italy

Subjects: Families.

Partial Transcript: Excuse me, uh, did you speak Italian in your home?

Segment Synopsis: Romano discusses how close his family was while growing up. He talks about seeing his grandfather every Sunday. He recounts stories of people waiting to see his grandfather at his house.

Keywords: Don; Italian; Little Italy; Mafia; Sicilian; Sicily

Subjects: Childhood; Families.; Philadelphia (Pa.)

Partial Transcript: Now let me kind of digress for a moment. Can you appreciate how I felt when in 1972, I went to see the picture The Godfather...

Segment Synopsis: Romano discusses his grandfather’s interactions with people and compares them to the movie “The Godfather”. He talks about the rise of the Italian Mafia and the need for it in Sicily due to lack of government. He talks about how once his grandfather moved to America, there was no need for the mob and instead he opened up a jewelry store.

Keywords: Anarchy; Don; Jewelry makers; Philadelphia; Sicily; The Godfather (film)

Subjects: Mafia.

Partial Transcript: My grandfather one Saturday morning came to my house and said, "Come with me".

Segment Synopsis: Romano describes his grandfather's appearance. He tells the story of an outing he had with his grandfather in which his grandfather threatened a landlord who would not give a friend an extension on his rent.

Keywords: Eviction; Extension; Grandfathers; Imposing; Threatening

Partial Transcript: The influence he had on me was profound from many points of view. Not only in how he dealt with people.

Segment Synopsis: Romano talks about how his grandfather saw the potential of the Victrola and used it to design and invent a speaking grandfather's clock. Fox Movietone came and recorded his creation. Many years later, Romano saw his grandfather's speaking clock in a movie.

Keywords: Electronics; Fox Movietone; Gizmo (film); Grandfather clocks; Individualists; Inventors; Jewelers; Kentucky Theatre; Linguist; Speaking clocks; Victrola; Watchmakers

Subjects: Clock and watch makers.

Partial Transcript: My father's father was a shoemaker. He had a little neighborhood shoe store in his own home.

Segment Synopsis: Romano talks about how on the trip over from Italy, his father cut hair on the ship in order to afford better food and continued to do this once he arrived in America. A few years later, his father was offered a job selling life insurance. He says his father could not read or write english, so Romano and his brother had to transcribe the insurance papers for him every night.

Keywords: Barbers; English; Italy; Life insurance; Metropolitan Life Insurance Company; Philadelphia; Shoe stores; Shoemakers

Subjects: Insurance companies

Partial Transcript: My father and mother met here in America, were married in 1920 and worked hard at creating a home environment...

Segment Synopsis: Romano talks about the importance of love that his parents instilled into him at a young age, for people and for your country. He talks about his father buying a summer home which his whole family worked to remodel, creating a family experience. Romano also talks about how his father owned a car dealership and how it has influenced his views and opinions on automobiles.

Keywords: America; Automobiles; Bungalows; Cadillacs; Love; Philadelphia; Work ethic

Subjects: Families.

Partial Transcript: Let me bring this all back now. That's, I think enough background to give you a feel for my beginnings.

Segment Synopsis: Romano discusses how he was inspired to become a dentist after his father sold a life insurance policy to a dentist. He talks about how after becoming a dentist he did not enjoy working in a laboratory all of the time so he began to volunteer as a teacher at the University of Pennsylvania. Romano talks about being offered a full time teaching job there and becoming a full-time teacher and part-time dentist, even though he is making a lot less money.

Keywords: Dental schools; Dentists; Life insurance policies; Teaching; University of Kentucky; University of Pennsylvania

Subjects: Dental schools; Dentists

Partial Transcript: Well you could appreciate, again having a feel for my background and the importance of my family...

Segment Synopsis: Romano discusses how in 1961, the University of Kentucky offered him the Chair of Restorative Dentistry. He talks about visiting Lexington and meeting many Italians and how he was disturbed that they hid their Italian heritage.

Keywords: Chairmanships; Dental educators; Dental schools; Fred Fuggazi; Italian Catholics; Restorative dentistry; Sociologists; University of Pennsylvania

Subjects: Italian Americans--Kentucky--Lexington.; University of Kentucky. College of Dentistry

Partial Transcript: But when one considers the broad, big picture of what had happened in America, you don't have to be a....

Segment Synopsis: Romano talks about how early in the 20th century immigrants from the same country lived together in communities. He discusses how as time progressed they began to Americanize and hide their ethnicity but then during the 1970s people began to revisit their ethnic background and stopped hiding it.

Keywords: America; Bicentennial; Ethnic communities; Italian; South Philadelphia; Temple University

Subjects: Ethnicity

Partial Transcript: And it was around that time when a number of us here in Lexington thought that maybe we ought to have...

Segment Synopsis: Romano talks about the Lexington Italian community’s desire for an organization that emphasized their heritage. He discusses the main people who helped push for the formation of the Italian Heritage Society.

Keywords: "Melting Pot"; Italian Heritage Society; Newman Center; Priests; Sicilian; Western civilization

Subjects: Italian Americans--Ethnic identity.; Italian Americans--Kentucky--Lexington.

Partial Transcript: I'll get back to the Italian Heritage Society but perhaps I ought to fill in the gap...

Segment Synopsis: Romano talks about how he feels as if his greatest achievement is raising his three children and the fact that they have retained so much of their Italian heritage and values.

Keywords: Accomplishments; Fatherhood; Hard work; People skills; Rose Romano; Values; Work ethic

Subjects: Families.

Partial Transcript: Uh, I left you at the point where I accepted the position here at the University Kent--of Kentucky...

Segment Synopsis: Romano was one of five people who created the College of Dentistry at the University of Kentucky in 1961. He discusses how these five men redefined the role of a dentist to include not only being technically capable but biologically oriented and socially sensitive as well.

Keywords: Alvin L. Morris; Curriculum; Founders; Harry Bohannan; Healing arts; Innovations; Roy Durocher; Steve Dachi

Subjects: Dental schools; Dentists; University of Kentucky. College of Dentistry--History

Partial Transcript: We started from ground zero to design a facility, to design--we even designed new equipment.

Segment Synopsis: Romano was in charge of equipping the new building for the College of Dentistry. He attributes his ability to be innovative to his Italian heritage and the influence of his grandfather, Vincenzo Pinto.

Keywords: Bracket trays; Clinics; Closed-circuit televisions; Cutting teeth; Demonstrations; Dental assistants; Dental chairs; Dental education; Equipment; Evolution; Innovation; Mannequins; Procedures; Standards; Status quo; Teaching; Technology; Transitions; University of Pennsylvania; Vincenzo Pinto

Subjects: Dental schools; Dentists; University of Kentucky. College of Dentistry--History

Partial Transcript: University of Kentucky College of Dentistry has a tradition of excellence that's, uh, uh, worth talking about for a moment.

Segment Synopsis: Romano discusses the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry's reputation of excellence. He says that the college has more faculty selected for deanship positions and positions beyond dental education than any other school.

Keywords: Avant garde; Deans; University of Kentucky Medical Center

Subjects: Dental schools; Dentists; University of Kentucky. College of Dentistry

Partial Transcript: I left Lexington in 1967, even though we liked lect--Lexington so much...

Segment Synopsis: Romano discusses his experience leaving the University of Kentucky to be one of two men to found the College of Dentistry at Louisiana State University. He discusses how as associate dean he was in charge of writing a federal grant which involved creating the curriculum and designing a new building.

Keywords: Applications; Associate deans; Building designs; Curriculum; Federal facility grants

Subjects: Dental schools; Dentists; Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge, La.)

Partial Transcript: I was a consultant to a company in New York City that was involved in producing audiotapes for health professionals for continuing education.

Segment Synopsis: Romano discusses his work as a consultant to an audiotape company, Health Information System Incorporated, in New York City that happened to be financially backed by Frank Sinatra. He talks about how Frank Sinatra himself recruited Romano into becoming the president of this company so he uprooted his family to Stanford, Connecticut. He discusses why he decided to leave the job and return to academic life after his contract was up.

Keywords: Audiotapes; Bodyguards; Bottom line; Consultants; Education; Electronic teaching media; Health Information System Incorporated; Health professionals; Health science; Jilly Rizzo; Learjets; Learning media; Madison Avenue; New York City; Peter and Jody Bosomworth; Presidents; Stanford, Connecticut; Television; Values

Subjects: Sinatra, Frank, 1915-1998

Partial Transcript: But somebody up there likes me. After two weeks of anguishing with my family, no job...

Segment Synopsis: Romano talks about returning to the University of Kentucky as the special assistant to the vice president of the Medical Center. He discusses his main responsibilities including new program development and new facility development. He talks about his role in the development of the skywalk across Rose Street in Lexington that was built for patients to avoid traffic while traveling throughout the medical center.

Keywords: Car accidents; Contributions; Hospitals; New facility development; New program development; Patients; Pedestrian systems; Peter Bosomworth; Police reports; Rose Street; Skywalks; Special assistant to the vice president; Vice presidents

Subjects: Lexington (Ky.)--Buildings, structures, etc.; University of Kentucky. Medical Center--History

Partial Transcript: So essentially that's been my, my career here.

Segment Synopsis: Romano briefly discusses his work in Latin America with the World Health Organization. He talks about his return to teaching at the University of Kentucky's dental school and why he decided to leave again. The interview is concluded.

Keywords: Administration; Articles; Learning media; Lectures; Professors; Teaching; Textbooks; World Health Organization

Subjects: Dental schools; Education; University of Kentucky. College of Dentistry