RHODYLIFE

Many Sick At 1946 Portuguese Festival

Posted 12/28/21

CRANSTON – A day of fun in the sun was planned for the Holy Ghost Brotherhood of St. Matthew’s Church on July 28, 1946. The members of the Portuguese religious society had gathered there …

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RHODYLIFE

Many Sick At 1946 Portuguese Festival

Posted

CRANSTON – A day of fun in the sun was planned for the Holy Ghost Brotherhood of St. Matthew’s Church on July 28, 1946. The members of the Portuguese religious society had gathered there on Second Street to enjoy a parade along with traditional music and food. Once the parade had concluded that morning, twelve of the musicians were the first to partake of the food, which included sopa de tomate, a type of tomato soup. By 4:15, every single one of them had become violently ill.

Attempts to summon area doctors were unsuccessful and no one knew what else to do besides contact the police. By the time law enforcement officers arrived, more people had fallen ill and one of the officers ordered that no more food be partaken of. Samples of all the food being served were collected and transported to a laboratory at the state health department. Among those samples was the tomato soup, which had stood in the sun, in a large copper pot, from 8:00 that morning until just after noon. Numerous people, retching in pain, were taken into cars and driven to area hospitals. One of those men was 58-year-old lumberyard employee William Sicard, a widowed father of six from Pawtucket.

Forty-nineyear-old Anthony Mello, also of Pawtucket, was taken for medical care as well. Two other Pawtucket residents; John Medeiros, aged 46, and his 16-year-old son Anthony were transported to the hospital as was 26-year-old Vincent Ricci of North Providence. In all, 24 people who had attended the event were treated for food poisoning. Fifty-two-year-old Eskel George Josephson, a carpenter, complained of feeling nauseous but didn’t seek medical help. Instead, he left to return to his home in Warwick. Later that evening, his body was found lying on the sidewalk not far from his house, the mysterious malady having proven fatal. An investigation showed that a green film had developed along the rim of the copper kettle. A reactive metal such as copper should never have been used to contain acidic foods such as tomato soup. As the acid corrodes the metal, the toxic copper leaches into the food. Additionally, any type of food left out for longer than one hour in temperatures over 90 degrees has the potential to produce a toxic bacteria known as staphylococcus. Salmonella, e coli and other serious illness could result. Josephson was buried in Bethany Lutheran Cemetery in Cranston, near his mother.Minnie believed that this was the second attempt that someone had made at poisoning her.

Two months earlier, a jar of milk was left on her doorstep. The milk man had not yet made his rounds and the jar was not her usual order so she threw it away.
George knew more than he was willing to tell the police or the public, and maybe even his wife. He stated that he would give all the details only after an arrest was made.

No records have been found concerning an arrest or an ex-planation by George. However, he and Minnie divorced. George was living at the Warwick Poor Farm when he became ill from heart disease in 1933 and died on Oct. 19 of that year at the State Infirmary. He was buried in the poor farm’s cemetery.

Kelly Sullivan is a Rhode Island columnist, lecturer and author.

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