Aurelio "Joe" Florio

Class of 1934

Aurelio "Joe" Florio was born on June 27, 1910, the son of Italian immigrants from west Chicago. While a student at Austin High School, one of his teachers suggested that Joe attend Chicago Teachers College. After some thought and tutoring lessons, Joe instead inquired about the University of Illinois. Upon completing some needed classes at a Chicago YMCA, he enrolled at the University in 1930. "There were three of us from Austin High that came down and we lived in a private home on Oak Street in Champaign," he remembers. "There weren't any men's dormitories... most people lived in private rooming houses or fraternities or sororities."

Joe majored in physical education and played varsity soccer for the UI team.  “We were low on the totem pole for any support, soccer.  They considered it a minor sport.  But we had a good team, and we played quite a few games, but nobody gave the soccer team a banquet, like they do for basketball, football, and track.  So Mr. Huff  [George Huff, athletic director] invited us to his home for a banquet dinner with our soccer coach, who [was] also the gymnastic coach.  We were invited to Mr. Huff’s home, which is a big home on University Avenue.  I sat near Mr. Huff and [he] said, 'Boy wish I could eat like you guys.'  He was not well at that time, because he died in '36, right after that.” 

“…We used to have a 16 team High School tournament, state tournament.  And one time, one of the teams started booing one of the referees, because they went off the court.  At half time, Mr. Huff went out in the middle of the court with a microphone, and says, 'If there is another ‘boo’ in this gymnasium, they’ll never be another 16 team tournament here.'  He developed the Illini Code of Sportsmanship, which was good.”

 

“Thursday was I Men’s Day.  So you wore your I Men’s sweater every Thursday.  So you’d see the I Men … That used to be the I Men’s Association, now it’s changed, it’s the Varsity I Association, cause we got women in it now....  There was a good intramural program.  They had water polo in Huff Gym.  The water in Huff Gym is all seven foot deep, all built primarily for water polo." 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Depression

Like most students, Joe worked for meals and spending money.  “I worked [at a Catholic fraternity] for a year.  Then I went back to the DU house my Junior and Senior year, which was kind of tough, because I was on the Varsity Soccer team.  And so during the season, I was a waiter, but I couldn’t wait tables, so I worked in the kitchen, washing dishes.  And then on Saturdays I’d go over, almost every morning, I’d go over and peel a bucket of potatoes for that day.  So, that’s how I got my meals.” 

Part of FDR’s New Deal program also benefited students.  Joe was lucky enough to receive much needed aid.  “I think it was my Junior and Senior year, the Federal government came out with a program of support for college students, they could make $19 a month.  So I worked for one of my professors, Dr.  [Seward] Staley…who later became our Dean.” 

Entertainment

During the Depression, most dates were inexpensive.  The U of I provided many forms of cheap entertainment for the students on campus.  “We went to dances, there were dances at Huff Gym with all the Big Bands ... and sometimes I didn’t have money for a date... you [could] pay a quarter and sit up on the balcony and listen to [the music] all evening…which my wife and I did after we were married.  And we’d go to dances.  They had the Freshman Frolic, Sophomore Cotillion, Junior Prom, and the Senior Ball.  Those were the big dances, all in Huff Gym.” 

Student Activities

“Freshman wore green little hats, Engineers wore corduroy pants, the Law students…carried a cane.  And then in the Spring they had a cap burning, and the firemen would build a small fire west of Huff Gym and we’d circle around and circle around, and throw our caps in the fire.  Well, it got out of hand, and they started tearing each other’s clothes off, and there was a big line formed and they went through the stores on John Street and Green Street, and stole stuff.  As a result, the University took away the Sophomore Cotillion funds, so we didn’t have a Sophomore Cotillion the following year.” 

Current Events

Students had limited exposure to national and international news, especially if they didn't have a radio.  U of I was not completely cut off from events, however.  “Students had to work hard in those days, many of them were working.  I don’t remember, the only reason I remember about politics, one of the Presidents came through on the train, and a lot of students went down just to see the President.  I can’t remember which one it was, he was defeated I think.  He came down through downtown Champaign–Urbana, on the back of the train and everybody wanted to see the candidate.” 

"From the people I was connected with, there wasn't too much interest in politics I don't think.  You know... a lot  of students had real jobs, so they were busy doing that.  Some had to work jobs on the side too.  One of my room mates my sophomore year was a janitor in Lincoln Hall.  That's how he got his money to pay for his room and board." 

Rules

“You could not walk across the campus, nobody was allowed on the campus, on the grass.  They had two policemen on the force then.  Old Pete with a big cane, roamed around the campus, and if he saw anyone roaming on the grass he had a big brimmed club, like a cane, and then he had a whistle.  He’d blow that whistle and say, “Get off the campus, get off the campus!”…Oh, you were not allowed to climb on the Alma Mater, which was in the south end of the…Auditorium... One of the policeman found an unconscious gymnast one morning.  He was up on top of the Alma Mater.  Sun just came out, [he was] doing handstands and he fell off.” 

Drinking wasn't a problem because "all they had was three percent “Near Beer” they called, it was three percent alcohol."  However, "some of the students who had access to chemistry [lab] would get little vials of alcohol and spike the three percent beer with it." 

After University of Illinois

Joe Florio received a bachelors degree in physical education from the University of Illinois in 1934 and a masters in sociology in 1937.  He taught on the UI faculty for forty years, receiving awards from the state and nation for his work in teaching driver's education to high school teachers.  Retired in 1975, Mr. Florio continued to swim, work out, and socialize with UI faculty emeriti at Huff gymnasium.  He died on June 13, 2001.

The tapes and complete transcript of this interview, conducted January 17, 2001,
are available for research use in the Student Life and Culture Archives.

 

 

Return to The Great Depression Main Page

 

Return to Oral History Main Page