Mayor Ralph A. Villani Collection

Box 1: consists of 15 reels of 16mm film (ca. 1965-1972), including footage of vacations to Las Vegas, New Orleans, Mexico, Canada, and California; LOOM Conventions; and Syracuse football games

Box 2: contains ca. 100 35mm color slides of holidays, vacations, and other family get-togethers (1950s-1960s?) One folder from Warren Grover family photos.

Box 3: contains one large envelope of black and white photographs, many of which have been cropped (1930s-1960s), including: a series of annual photographs (1937-1957) of Villani, his wife Teresa, and their daughter, Alyce; formal portraits of Villani; and a few photographs of other members of the extended Villani family

Box 4: contains 9 folders of black and white, 8" x 10" professional photographs of parades, rallies, fundraisers, swearing-in ceremonies, ground-breaking ceremonies, testimonial dinners, union rallies, LOOM affairs, and other public events. Five folders are arranged chronologically (1934-1960s); the other four folders consist of a single photograph of Villani serving at the altar in Mt. Carmel Church (1966), events and ceremonies of LOOM, Columbus Day Parades (1940s), and celebrities (1949-1967)

Box 5: contains ca. 300 photographs similar to those in Box 4. Items of interest include 2 photographs of Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin at a dinner in Newark, Villani with Joe Di Maggio, 3 photographs of the Columbus Day Parade with President Kennedy and Congressman Peter Rodino (1962), Villani and other men dressed in drag for a comic revue; and family photographs. Also included are campaign materials, communion breakfast programs, and clippings.

Box 6: contains ca. 700 photographs, similar to those above. Included are family photographs; many are of Villani with Teresa and Alyce, but there are also ca. 50 sepia-toned photographs of individual family members and wedding parties (ca. 1910-1940s). A small amount of African-American material includes, but is not limited to, photographs of an interracial crowd at a swim meet at Hayes Park Pool (1948); the laying of a wreath at the monument, in Military Park, commemorating Archie Callahan who was killed at Pearl Harbor and was one of the men for whom the American Legion, Guyton-Callahan Post #152 was named; a troop of soldiers in a parade; publicity shots for Fair Employment Practices (FEP), sponsored by the Mayor's Commission on Group Relations; and a group photograph of a marching band "Pride of Newark, Junior Elks."

Box 7 contains 1 binder titled "Election Records" and 6 folders and 7 binders of photographs, clippings, and ephemera.

"Election Records" consists of tallies by district and ward for the Newark municipal elections for City Commissioners (1941, 1945, 1949). Estimated percentages of voters by race and ethnic background are listed for each ward; categories are: Irish, Colored, Italian, Jewish, German, Slavic, Spanish, and Others

The 6 folders in Box 7 are labeled as follows:

"Civic and Fraternal Organizations": photographs of the Order of the Moose and the South Ward Boys Club (ca. 1947-1967)

"Personal": snapshots of Villani family and friends on vacations, at weddings, etc. (1927-1967); an obituary for Teresa Villani (1964); and a few newspaper clippings, largely related to a car accident that injured several Villani grandchildren (ca. 1962)

"Personal--Cruise to Hawaii": menus, itineraries and photographs (ca. 1963)

"City Council": clippings related to Villani's tenure on the City Council (1963-1964)

"Church": photographs of trade-union masses at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church and of annual retreats at Loyola House in Morristown

"Kennedy, John F.": President Kennedy speaking at the Newark Columbus Day Parade (1962)

Contents of the 7 binders in Box 7 are as follows:

Photographs related to the Loyola House Retreat and to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church (ca. 1944- 1958)

Material related to Villani's 13th Ward Auxiliary, including a resume of Villani's career, a list of the members, meeting minutes, and correspondence regarding fundraising events (Jan-Mar 1949); clippings, including articles on a proposed statue of John F. Kennedy in Military Park (1964); and family photographs (1943-1961)

Clippings regarding Villani and his family, personal photographs, group photographs of fraternal organizations, etc. (1946-1962)

Personal photographs, including Teresa Villani's induction into the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem at St. Patrick's Cathedral; cruise photos, Alyce's wedding to Frank Desiderio (at Sacred Heart Cathedral?), and Alyce's graduation from Mary Lawn School in South Orange (1951-1963)

Photographs and clippings re: Villani's induction into the Knights of Malta and church activities (ca. 1960-1968)

Clippings and photographs re: Villani's re-election to the City Council, and his stint as Grand Marshall of the Columbus Day Parade (1965-1967)

Clippings and campaign material, etc.; material related to the Columbus Day Parade, the Founders Day Parade (1966), the City Council, and the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner (1950, 1966-1967)

One box (not numbered) contains loose photographs of: parades, ribbon cuttings, swearing-in ceremonies, award ceremonies, meetings and dinners, fraternal and religious organizations, swimming pools, and World War II recruiting drives.

Volumes numbered 1 to 13 are scrapbooks of clippings on Villani's life and career, with some general articles about Newark. The scrapbook volumes, in chronological order, contain clippings mostly from the Newark Ledger, the Evening Star, and the Italian Tribune: Volume 1 (1934-1941), Volume 2 (1941), Volume 3 (May 1941-Dec 1942), Volume 4 (1943-1944), Volume 5 (1945), Volume 6 (May 1945-Dec 1948), Volume 7 (Jun 1946-Aug 1952), Volume 8 (Jan 1951-Jun 1951), Volume 9 (Jan 1952-Jul 1952), Volume 10 (Jul 1952-Oct 1952), Volume 11 (1952-1953), Volume 12 (Jan 1953-Apr 1953), and Volume 13 (Apr 1953-May 1953). Volume 14 is a photo album labeled "50th Birthday Ralph A. Villani, Mayor of the City of Newark" (1951).