Ettore de Grazia - Childhood

Childhood

Born to Italian immigrants, Ted's family migrated from San Pietro, Amantea, Calabria (Southern Italy). His parents, Dominic and Lucia DeGrazia, were strong people who worked very hard for their family of seven children. His father and uncles were copper miners in Morenci, Arizona Territory, when Ted was born in 1909, before Arizona became a state in 1912.

DeGrazia's graduation from Morenci High School was delayed to the age of 23 by a five-year family move to Italy beginning in 1920. This move was a result of the Morenci mines closing that same year. The family was devastated. They were sent away by the mining officials. Ted's father took his family to the only home they had- Italy. While there, Ted became fascinated with cathedral art and with the surrounding monasteries. He also, as usual, got himself into trouble: "One time in the cathedral, I was pumping the organ it was high mass and, somehow or other, in the middle of the mass I quit pumping. There was no music. There were all those quivering, out-of-tune, voices. Two monks came, picked me up by the ears (and) led me down some spiral stairs- and out I went."

Another time, before the family moved to Italy, DeGrazia had sculpted 'The Head of Christ', out of clay. He had no kiln to fire his sculpture in. All he had was his mother's oven, and she just happened to be baking their bread for the day. When her back was turned he threw it in, and eventually, she caught and scolded him for throwing dirt into her oven. Today, in DeGrazia's Gallery of the Sun, this work of art continues to be on display.

The family moved back to America in 1925 when the Morenci mines reopened. This is when Ted paints his very first painting: 'Indian Faces.' It was a crude, cracked canvas piece, which DeGrazia admitted was not very good. In primary school, his teachers had trouble pronouncing his name, Ettore, so they re-named him Ted. He has been called that ever since. Because of the move to Italy, DeGrazia had forgotten how to speak English and as a result, he was put in first grade at the age of sixteen. He had to work his way through elementary school, Junior high, and high school- this only took Ted seven years to accomplish. After graduation in 1932, Ted worked the mines with his family. It was then he realized he did not want to live a life as a miner. He said that he couldn't live without the sun light- and in the early mining days of Morenci there was no open pit mine. The miners went underground before the sun rose, and came out when the sun went down.

"I had a full beard and was twenty-three when I graduated from high school, into a world hit by the depression, I knew I would be underground all of my life if I didn't succeed at something else."