It was while looking through one of my great aunt Marie’s photo albums, that I came across one of her favorite photos from her collection. It was a small picture that had become ragged after being carried in her wallet for many years.
1938 Newark, New Jersey
The snapshot, taken in Newark, New Jersey, in 1938, shows the Roselle Beauty Salon’s sandwich girl promoting the salon’s new “Guaranteed Croquignole Permanent Ringlet Ends” for just $1.50 and “Individual Machineless Permanent” for $2.50.
If you are like me, you may not know what Croquignole means. Croquignole (pronounced : kroh-kuh-nohl) is a method of waving hair by curling it around a metal rod from the ends inward toward the scalp.
Like this:
1930s Permanent Wave. Yikes!!
Here's a photo of the Roselle Beauty Salon that was taken in 1939. The woman in the corner is my aunt, Marie Esposito.
If you look over my aunt’s shoulder, over by the window, you will see the permanent wave machine that she used to do the croquignole waving.
Just the sight of that contraption must have scared many a customer, not to mention any kids that entered the salon!
What we won't do for beauty huh?
But once again I am getting head of myself. Let’s go further back in time to learn how all this started.
According to a story my aunt Marie told me back in 1982, as a young woman she worked in the Clark Thread Company factory located in Newark, New Jersey. Her tenure at the factory was cut short when the foreman noticed that Marie was more often in the ladies room than at her workstation. Her absence was due to the fact that Marie preferred to be in the ladies room working on her co-workers’ hair rather than being at her post working on the factory floor.
Marie not only loved working on the ladies hair, she was really quite good at it. So good in fact that she was able to talk a Newark, New Jersey, beautician by the name of Joe Roselle into letting her work for him in his beauty salon.
Joe Roselle and Marie (center) in the first Roselle Beauty Salon in the 1920s
Soon Joe and Marie were partners in work and in life. Though they never married, my Dad’s siblings referred to Joe Roselle as “uncle Joe”. Marie even chose the name “Roselle” as her stage name when she was hired to sing Italian love songs on the radio.
Miss Roselle, nightingale of the Radio
After almost twenty years together, Marie and Joe split up. By this time, Marie was a career beautician. She was fortunate enough to keep the salon and the shop’s name after she and Joe separated.
But don't worry about Marie being lonely. Soon there would be a new man in her life. Can you guess who it was? Hang on and I will tell you.
One day during the later part of the 1930’s, one of Marie’s clients, Mrs. Bernarducci, asked Marie if she would be willing to teach her son how to cut hair. Marie had trained many people how to cut hair over the years so naturally she agreed.
Head over Heels
When Mrs. Bernarducci’s son Mario arrived at the salon to begin his lessons, he was immediately attracted to his teacher even though Marie was almost 12 years older than him. And he was determined to do what he could to make his teacher notice him.
As for Marie, she chose to simply ignore his advances. To her, Mario was nothing more than a young student. Besides, she was being paid to teach him how to cut hair.
The salon was everything to Marie and she took her business very seriously. She certainly didn’t have time for any of Mario’s shenanigans.
In the 1930s beauticians wore crisp white uniforms, not unlike what a nurse would have worn. Projecting a sense of hygiene and professionalism was very important.
Marie Esposito, dressed in her whites
Women wore white uniforms, white stockings and white shoes. Their fingernails were always manicured and their hair, according to my aunt, had to be perfect at all times. Men beauticians were held to the same standards. They also wore white uniforms but were permitted to wear black pants and shoes.
It was soon after she began teaching Mario how to cut hair that Marie developed a problem that baffled her. No matter how hard she worked to keep the shop and her clothes clean, it seemed she was repeatedly getting black streaks down the back of her white stockings. This frustrated her to no end.
Finally, one day she figured it out.
It was 1939, and Mario Bernarducci, seated in the Roselle Salon, was keeping a secret.
In an attempt to play a trick on Marie, Mario, the guy who fell head over heels for his teacher, applied an extra amount of black shoe polish paste to ends of his shoes each morning. As Marie rushed around the shop checking on customers, Mario would stick his long legs out just far enough so that Marie’s legs would graze the tips of Mario’s shoes. When she finally did find out what was going on, Marie was completely furious. Mario howled with laughter.
After months of ignoring Mario’s requests to go on a date, Marie finally made a bargain with him. She agreed to go out on just one double date with him if he would agree to stop pestering her.
Her plan did not work. After that first date, Marie and Mario were inseparable.
Marie and Mario Bernarducci, wed in 1942
In 1942, Marie Esposito at the age of 40 married her student Mario Bernarducci who was just 28 at the time. They remained together until Mario’s death in March of 1982.
So now you finally know the the story of how my aunt Marie got her start in the beauty business and how she came to marry my uncle Mario.
And to think this story about Marie and Mario’s adventure all came about because of finding a photo of a sandwich girl.
So what does this have to do with a food recipe? Hang tight, we are almost there.
Just in case you are wondering, no, I am not going to tell you how to make curly fries or a sandwich board. Besides, while a sandwich board would be loaded with fiber, I can’t imagine it would be very tasty.
What I do want to tell you about are two great (and tasty) sandwich recipes that were the start of another kind of great adventure. These aren't really recipes, they are assembly instructions.
My partner Jim has arranged several trips for groups of travelers to the French Open in Paris as part of his job. I have been lucky enough to be able to go along and play the part of co–host.
Even though the tours originate in Richmond, Virginia, our flights to Europe depart out of Washington - Dulles Airport in Northern Virginia, about a two hour drive away.
Jim always says, “Your vacation begins the moment you lock your front door”. With this in mind, we wanted to do something special for the travelers while on the shuttle bus to D.C. We decided that providing a French picnic lunch on the bus to the airport, complete with some great fresh made sandwiches would do the trick.
And they did. The sandwiches got rave reviews from the travelers.
Sandwiches in France are fantastic. As a thrifty traveler, I have eaten my fair share of sandwiches while traveling.
A great sandwich starts with great bread.
Part of the reason the sandwiches I ate in France were so delicious is that the bread in France is so wonderful. The flour used to make bread in Europe contains more fat than the flour we buy in United States' grocery stores. This extra fat in the flour allows the bread to develop a wonderful, flavorful crispy crust.
Know which side your bread is buttered on.
I have heard that knowing which side your bread is buttered on refers to knowing where to place your meat when assembling a sandwich. My grandmother always buttered her bread when making a sandwich.The butter not only adds flavor, it prevents the juices from the meat from making the bread soggy, or the sandwich from drying out.
Ready to try some great sandwiches?
Rare Roast Beef, White Cheddar and Red Onion Sandwich
This sandwich was inspired by the beef I have had while dining in Paris. It has been my experience that beef in Paris is served very rare. And it is delicious.
To make this sandwich, you will need:
Sliced French Baguette or some form of sliced Crusty Rustic Bread
Rare Roast Beef slices
Slices of Very Sharp Cheddar Cheese (white or yellow)
Thinly Sliced Purple Onion
Leaf Lettuce
Sliced Tomato
Condiments Options: Soft Butter, Horseradish, Mayonnaise, or Hot Mustard (we use Colmans')
Traditionally, the bread is buttered before the sandwiches are constructed, but this is optional. When making sandwiches for a picnic, I leave the condiments off and let each person apply thier own.
Assemble the sandwiches to your liking.
For those who prefer a milder sandwich, try buttering the side of the bread the meat will go on before assembling the sandwich. Once the sandwich is put together, apply mayonnaise to the inside of the top slice of bread.
I prefer a spicy sandwich so I apply a combination of horseradish, mayonnaise and some Colmans mustard to the insides of both slices of bread before making mine. Be adventurous. Give it a try.
Turkey, Bacon, Brie and Granny Smith Apples Sandwich
This sandwich option was inspired not by France, but rather from a Richmond art gallery. I ordered the sandwich in their cafe and fell in love with it. And what could be more French than sitting in a cafe and falling in love. Oui?
Ooh la lah! Dare I say it is like a menage a trois?
You will love the interplay of the smoky, salty and sweet flavors of this sandwich.
To make this sandwich, you will need:
Rustic bread Slices that have been grilled or toasted
Sliced Turkey Breast (Smoked or Oven Roasted)
Sliced Brie (do not remove the rind)
Sliced Granny Smith Apples (do not peel)
Crisp, thick cut Hickory Smoked Bacon Slices
Condiments: Soft Butter, Mayonnaise
This sandwich starts with buttered grilled bread. If you prefer to toast the bread that also works.
To grill, lightly butter both sides of the bread slices. Brown both sides of the bread. I prefer to do this on my stove top ribbed grill rather than in a frying pan.
Once the bread is grilled, or toasted, assemble the sandwich starting with the turkey slices. Next add slices of Granny Smith Apples, then the brie slices, and lastly the bacon slices. I like to add a layer of mayonnaise to the inside of the top slice of bread, but depending on how much butter was used to make the sandwich, this may not be necessary.
I hope you will give these sandwiches a try. Who knows? When you taste them, you just might find yourself falling head over heels in love with them, just like Mario and Marie did so many years ago.
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