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TRIP TO ITALY Read about my trip to Italy, Fall 2003. click here "The Lion" Photo Courtesy of Mike Callas "Known on stage as 'The Lion'", states an ad for the Italian-American Commericial Club's 1931 charity show. This photo was given to Mike's grandmother, Anita Pantalone Callas. Written in ink on the lower right corner, "To my nephew and nieces, March 2, 1944". Below there is older writing with a date that looks to be 1925. It was possibly a copy of a publicity photo. It appeared in the February 26, 1939 issue of the Joliet Herald News, in an article titled: This Man Pantalone Is Great: He Can Lift or Break Almost Anything. In Search of the World's Strongest Man Some may call it an obsession. I like to call it a passion for family and history. Anyone who has begun to research their genealogy knows the excitement of discovery; of putting the family puzzle together. That's just what I did and that's how I found him. Once this happened, I couldn't let go. It was all too close to my heart to put aside. The roots of this passion began when I was a young girl paging through my father's high school yearbooks. I would look at his history, wanting to experience it with him. It continued with the box of photos in my mother's closet. There were hundreds of old family pictures, some of people I never met. As the youngest of five children and a surprise to mom, 41 and dad, 43, it was inevitable that I would not know my grandparents and most of their siblings. I'd stare at these photos, wondering things such as: What was he like? Do I look like her? I would study their faces and try to figure out who had similar features. But there were some photos that no one recognized, one especially of a woman and two boys. Even though it had writing on the back, no one could read it. It was written in Italian. Solving the mystery two decades later In 2001 I became pregnant with my first child. Family was becoming the center of my world again. I would remember things I had forgotten, memories of aunts and uncles passed. I wanted to be able to share the stories with my children. I wanted them to know their ancestry. So, I decided to work on a family tree. On the internet I would pass my time, delving into a new hobby, genealogy. Within a year I found my grandmother's manifest papers, the names of her parents and siblings. I met family I didn't know I had. We shared stories and photos through e-mail. And then the mystery of the photo was solved. Thanks to my new-found cousin Madelene. In the picture was my grandmother's sister and her sons who lived in Argentina, where many Italians settled. I became intrigued with my grandmother's family and wanted to know more. I left messages on genealogy forums and connected with many people. Memories of a Strongman Loretta's name was on the "Pantalone" message board many times. I never knew we had a connection until she contacted me. When she mentioned the strongman, I knew who she was talking about. He was my grandmother's cousin and my grandfather's good friend. Excited about our new discoveries, Loretta and I kept in contact as months passed. And then one day she introduced me to another cousin, Mike, the strongman's great-great nephew. He sent photos and stories that pushed me to research further. Because of Loretta and Mike, I rediscovered a great man, a man I had heard stories of in my childhood but never realized how great he really was. And now that I know, I want to share his legacy with you. I hope you enjoy the story of Frank Pantalone, the world's strongest man. Brief Biography HOME