The oldest of five children, Samuel “Sam” Aiello Carpanzano was born in Chicago in 1902. Around 1910, his family, including his Italian-born parents Francesco and Maria Annunziata (Guido) Carpanzano came to Colorado.[1]They settled first in Pueblo where his father worked on a railroad as a laborer. By 1920, the Carpanzano family had returned to Chicago, where Sam, age eighteen, was working as a packer in a furniture factory.[1]A few years later, Sam returned to Colorado to work in the Las Animas County coal mines. He met and married Almadora “Emma” Iannacito in 1923. Together the couple had six children: Frank, Rosella, Delphine, Edward, Thomas, and Frances.[1]
After their marriage (and Sam’s involvement in bootlegging), Sam and Emma moved to Chicago for a few years. In 1929, they returned to Colorado and settled in Louisville near Emma’s relatives. Sam returned to working in the coal mines. In a 1960s interview, Sam recalled his days in the mines:
Working conditions in the mines were terrible. The companies didn’t give the men the proper equipment and sometimes we had to shovel for 30 feet without ties, timber, spikes or rail. We mined coal for 52 cents a ton in 1930. We would load a two-ton car and get credit for only one ton. Things finally go so bad that the State Industrial Commission held a hearing in Lafayette Union Hall. I testified at the hearing along with Johnny Gross, Jack Green, Joe Symanski and O. F. Nigro.[1]
After testifying, Sam was promised he would not get fired for his actions, and he was not; however, he was re-assigned to a shoveling job in water-filled mines. Ultimately, he quit and joined the United Mine Workers union and soon found out he was blacklisted from all non-union mines. Sam eventually found work with the Rocky Mountain Fuel & Iron Company, kept his membership with the Union and worked with others to improve mining conditions in the state. During the 1930s, he also served as a Democratic committeeman in Boulder County, secretary to the Federal Labor Union No. 20114 and secretary of the Boulder County Labor Central Committee.[1]
In 1938, Sam Carpanzano was hired as an electrician with the Pullman Company. During World War II, he worked as an assistant foreman, supervising the reconditioning of the Pullman railroad cars used to transport troops. He worked for Pullman until 1957 when he was forced to retire due to a serious illness.[1]
In 1959, Sam Carpenter (he had changed his name around 1930) was appointed bailiff of the Superior Court of Colorado. From 1962 to 1966, he served a majority of his years under Judge Sherman G. Finesilver.[1]In 1967, he was appointed Sergeant of Arms of the Colorado Senate. Sam Carpenter died in Denver in 1969 in Denver. By: Alisa DiGiacomo
