Arthur Stivaletta, (June 9, 1934 - April 18, 2002) also known as Mr. Wake Up America, was an American political activist and building contractor from Dedham, Massachusetts.

Personal life

Stivaletta was born on June 9, 1934, to Joseph J. and Antoinette (née Paldero) Stivaletta. He had brothers Albert, Joseph, Paul, Michael, Edward, and Robert. He had four children, Deborah, Cheryl, Arthur, and Jay. He was friends with Massachusetts Auditor Joseph DeNucci. Stivaletta died April 18, 2002, at the Glover Hospital in Needham, Massachusetts and was buried at Brookdale Cemetery.

Political activism

Stivaletta considered himself to be an "average American," but others called him a "superpatriot" and a "modern

Paul Revere Paul Revere (; December 21, 1734 O.S. (January 1, 1735 N.S.)May 10, 1818) was an American silversmith, engraver, early industrialist, Sons of Liberty member, and Patriot and Founding Father. He is best known for his midnight ride to a ...

. His rallies frequently featured conservative figures such as

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

and Al Capp. He received national attention for his efforts.

Vietnam War

Several days before

Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam The Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam was a massive demonstration and teach-in across the United States against the United States involvement in the Vietnam War. It took place on October 15, 1969, followed a month later, on November 15, 196 ...

, Stivaletta had a dream in which he saw

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...

, President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

, and

. The dream ended with a white dove being chased by a raven carrying an olive branch in its beak. He interpreted the dream as a call to wake America up and to warn them of false peacemakers. During an October 1969 rally attended by 100,000 protesters on

Boston Common The Boston Common (also known as the Common) is a public park in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest city park in the United States. Boston Common consists of of land bounded by Tremont Street (139 Tremont St.), Park Street, Beac ...

to end the war, he dropped thousands of leaflets on the crowd in support of the troops from an airplane overhead. In the spring of 1970, he sponsored a "Wake Up America" rally on the Common to support "the Constitution, God and Country." The rally, which was hosted by Hope, attracted a crowd of 65,000 people. In the 1970s, Stivaletta campaigned for more pride in the United States and condemned acts he saw as unpatriotic, such as "burning the American flag, waving the Vietcong Flag, and what the SDS and the Weathermen do." Bumper stickers and billboard messages he produced were commonly seen during that decade. He also sponsored a bracelet campaign to show support for prisoners of war.

Plaque

In 1976 Stivaletta persuaded the Massachusetts House of Representatives to erect a plaque in the Massachusetts State House honoring him. It read in part, "Presented in grateful recognition to Arthur Stivaletta ... His dream of sharing his love of country with his fellow Americans will live forever

Terrorism

Following the hijacking of

TWA Flight 847 Trans World Airlines Flight 847 was a flight from Cairo to San Diego with en route stops in Athens, Rome, Boston, and Los Angeles. On the morning of June 14, 1985, Flight 847 was hijacked shortly after take off from Athens. The hijackers demand ...

and the taking of 40 American hostages in Beirut, Stivaletta hired a plane to tow a banner along the Massachusetts coast from Scituate to

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

that read: "Mr. Wake Up America says, 'Let's kick ass with terrorists.'"

Flag burnings

During the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

, he burned the flag of the Viet Cong on the Boston Common. In 1981, he burned a

Soviet flag The State Flag of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (), commonly known as the Soviet flag (), was the official state flag of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from 1922 to 1991. The flag's design and symbolism are derived from ...

to protest the suppression of human rights in Poland. After the

Iran hostage crisis On November 4, 1979, 52 United States diplomats and citizens were held hostage after a group of militarized Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over ...

, he burned Iranian flags.

Flag Day Parade

After Stivaletta claimed to be a co-sponsor of the Flag Day Parade in Dedham in 1971, organizers publicly clarified that he participated but was not a sponsor.

Philanthropy

He was chairman of the Friends of the Christopher Columbus Committee that erected a statue of Columbus at the

Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park The Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park is a public park in the Boston's North End. History According to a self-published work by the Massachusetts State Council of the Knights of Columbus, in 1967, their organization voted to establish a no ...

in the North End of Boston.

Baby Cemetery

In the late 1940s, Joseph Stivaletta purchased land that once housed Hannah B. Chickering's Temporary Asylum for Discharged Female Prisoners. He discovered Baby Cemetery on the property and, rather than disturb the graves, set the land aside and did not build a home on it. When

Massachusetts Route 128 Route 128, known as the Yankee Division Highway, is a state highway in the U.S. state of Massachusetts maintained by the Highway Division of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). Spanning , it is one of two beltways (the oth ...

was being constructed, Joseph convinced then-Transportation Secretary

John Volpe John Anthony Volpe (; December 8, 1908November 11, 1994) was an American businessman, diplomat, and politician from Massachusetts. A son of Italian immigrants, he founded and owned a large construction firm. Politically, he was a Republican in ...

to move the road rather than disturb the graves. Volpe's family came from the same small town in Italy as Joseph. In 1998, Stivaletta and the other heirs to his father's estate gifted the land to the Town of Dedham.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stivaletta, Arthur Activists from Massachusetts Businesspeople from Dedham, Massachusetts American people of Italian descent 1934 births 2002 deaths Burials at Brookdale Cemetery 20th-century American businesspeople