Sources
What the post stands on
The article itself, the pages it reproduces, the records it names, and the people it thanks.
The article
Angelina "Angie" Colacurcio (Calicura) Amato Alexander: A Life of Hospitality, Enterprise and Reinvention
By Michael Dykhorst, for Sheridan Wyoming History
This article has been edited and formatted for presentation in this museum. The original version, as published and unedited, is at Sheridan Wyoming History.
In the plates
The Sheridan Press
- Plate 10The Sheridan Press, Sheridan, Wyoming, August 6, 1953, Page 7
- Plate 15The Sheridan Press, Sheridan, Wyoming, March 25, 1955, Page 6
- Plate 18The Sheridan Press, Sheridan, Wyoming, March 9, 1957, Page 7
- Plate 19The Sheridan Press, Sheridan, Wyoming, March 27, 1957, Page 2
- Plate 20The Sheridan Press, Sheridan, Wyoming, April 1, 1957, Page 2
- Plate 21The Sheridan Press, Sheridan, Wyoming, April 2, 1957, Page 1
- Plate 22The Sheridan Press, Sheridan, Wyoming, April 8, 1957, Page 1
- Plate 23The Sheridan Press, Sheridan, Wyoming, April 9, 1957, Page 1
- Plate 24The Sheridan Press, Sheridan, Wyoming, March 11, 1958, Page 1
- Plate 30The Sheridan Press, Sheridan, Wyoming, June 21, 1965, page 5.
Casper Star-Tribune
Martinez Daily Standard
Martinez News-Gazette
Daily News, Los Angeles
The Billings Gazette
Records, photographs and ephemera
- Plate 1Angie's mother, Angiolina "Angelina" Rodia Calicura — from her great grandson Andrew Calicura.
- Plate 2Angie's father, Saverio "Sam" Calicura — from his great grandson Andrew Calicura.
- Plate 3Sam Rodia. "Rodia used New World artifacts of Los Angeles to bring his Old World images of southern Italy to life in his Watts Towers. Rodia left Los Angeles in 1954 to settle in Martinez, near Berkley, with his family. His niece (pictured at left), Virginia Sullivan, cared for him in his last years. (Virginia Sullivan and Angelina Calicura were sisters; Virginia was 8 years younger than Angelina, and she was the second to last sibling to pass away in 2023 at age 98, Mary Lou Calicura Byer, the last sibling, passed away on July 1, 2024, at age 97.)" Photo from the Los Angeles Herald Examiner Photo Collection.
- Plate 7Undated photo of Angie, probably taken in California.
- Plate 9Champion Funeral Home record for Baby Amato.
- Plate 111954 Sheridan City Directory
- Plate 121940s photo of Angelina "Angie" Calicura. Courtesy of nephew Andrew Calicura.
- Plate 13Photos of the building housing the Ideal Hotel at 171 North Main Street, Sheridan, Wyoming. Various sources.
- Plate 14City Council Meeting Minutes, March 21, 1955. From City of Sheridan.
- Plate 251021 Princeton Ave, Billings Montana. Photo from Google Maps.
- Plate 26Postcard of the General Custer Hotel in Billings, Montana. "This is where Angie was a beauty operator."
- Plate 27Billings Senior High Yearbook 1949 showing Jack Alexander. Ancestry.com
- Plate 28Billings Senior High Yearbook 1950 showing John (Jack) Alexander the year he graduated. Ancestry.com
- Plate 31Photo from Historic Images. "It is unknown what newspaper this was published in. It says 'Returned to Chronicle Files.' The caption according to the back of the photo shows, 'Angelina and Jack Alexander enjoy dinner in their new restaurant, South Lake Tahoe, June 5, 1972.'"
- Plate 32Matchbook cover for Joe Tarantino's, found by Gavin on Flickr.
- Plate 331980 Harvey's bombing image from Getty Images.
- Plate 34"Thanks to a Swedish tourist's blog, a photo of the Lake Tahoe inn survives. It is possible this is what it looked like when Angie ran it."
- Plate 35Advertisement from the South Lake Tahoe newspaper showing the Timber Cove Lodge and the Lake Tahoe Inn from the time Angie ran them.
- Plate 36Angelina Calicura Alexander at the front desk of one of the hotels she managed in South Lake Tahoe, "probably shortly before her death in 1986."
- Plate 38Photo of the thanks credits of "I Build The Tower" documentary. Angie's name appears third on the left.
- Plate 39Another 1940s photo of Angie from her nephew Andrew Calicura.
Named in the text
1920 U.S. Census
Not held: cited by the author; the museum has no copy
“One of the first records Angie appears in is the 1920 US Census”
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
Not held: cited by the author; the museum has no copy
“The Honolulu Star-Bulletin arrivals column (September 20, 1937) lists "Miss Angie Calicura"”
NamesHonolulu, Hawaii
1939 and 1940 Los Angeles City Directories
Not held: cited by the author; the museum has no copy
“The 1939 Los Angeles City Directory also lists Angie at this location.”
1940 U.S. Census
Not held: cited by the author; the museum has no copy
“The 1940 U.S. Census which was taken on April 30, 1940 shows her residence at 596 South Normandie Avenue”
Whore Houses of Wyoming
Not held: cited by the author; the museum has no copy
“According to the book, "Whore Houses of Wyoming"”
George Gilgorea
Not held: cited by the author; the museum has no copy
“Historian George Gilgorea wrote:”
NamesGeorge Gilgorea
FBI reports, cited by County Attorney Edward J. Redle
Not held: cited by the author; the museum has no copy
“The County Attorney, Edward J. Redle, cited FBI reports”
NamesEdward J. RedleFBI
Billings City Directory, 1958
Not held: cited by the author; the museum has no copy
“That same year, she appears in the 1958 Billings City Directory listed as:”
Carbon County News
Not held: cited by the author; the museum has no copy
“A Carbon County News legal notice dated November 28, 1963”
Billings Times
Not held: cited by the author; the museum has no copy
“the Billings Times recorded a default judgment of $971.34 entered against her”
Martinez News-Gazette and Tahoe Daily Tribune obituaries
Cited by the author, and shown in the post; the museum holds 2 copies: Tahoe Daily Tribune, Martinez News-Gazette
“Angelina's two obituaries.”
El Dorado County Library
Not held: cited by the author; the museum has no copy
“In September 2020, I reached out to the El Dorado County Library in Placerville, California”
I Build the Tower (2006)
Not held: cited by the author; the museum has no copy
“The 2006 documentary I Build the Tower highlights Rodia's vision”
Corrections
None. The text reads as the post published it; any change will be listed here, with its reason and date.
Thanks to
- Judy Armstrong
- the Wyoming Room
- The El Dorado County Library
- The South Lake Tahoe Library
- Edward Landler and Brad Byer
- Andrew Calicura
- The Cefalu Family
- Donna Dryer
- and many other sources.