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News
By Quinn Illi
CRYSTAL FALLS - Tony Albarello was drafted into the U.S. Army Airforce as a medic in 1943. He wasn’t in for very long due to his bad back from an accident he suffered beforehand, and has spent a lifetime helping his community.
In his time before the military he worked as a truck driver, hauling away dirt for a strip mining operation, and as a bartender — both jobs he acquired through family connections. He got his first job, the driver position, after dropping out of school at 16 to work there.
Once he was drafted into WWII in January of 1943, despite his bad back, he went through basic training. Albarello went to school to be a medic where he was taught how to bandage a wound, inject medicine, and pull pilots from downed planes, among other things — all in the span of five months. During this time, throughout the training, his back problems worsened from all the exercise and heavy lifting. He spent three months in an army hospital recuperating before getting a medical discharge, all before he had left the states.
After his discharge, he had received a job at Bacco’s Automotive as a mechanic where he was trained on the job. In his 32 years working there, he received local renown and was one of the very best mechanics around.
It was during this time that he was a member of both the American Legion and Lions Club (although he reports that he was never very active in the Legion).
“I didn’t go to war, and I don’t want to go to meetings and all that,” said Albarello, on why he wasn’t very active in the Legion. “I didn’t feel like I was entitled to [it]. The company that I was in, they went overseas, when they went overseas, I came home.”
While he reports that he only ever went to a few Legion meetings, Albarello was much more active in the Lions Club of Crystal Falls, first joining in the mid-1960s. Within the Lions, he was active in numerous things such as cutting Christmas trees, cooking chicken for the Bass Festival, picking up trash, and building the Paint River Boardwalk in town.
While Albarello may not be active in the Lions Club anymore, he continues to help others like his daughter Tina, who he’s currently living with. With his family having been a large part of his life in the past, he continues to be close to his daughters today.
“He’s always been a good guy,” said Tina, “Always willing to help people… …And always for nothing, he always helped people for nothing. Even if he fixed something for someone they’d say ‘How much do I owe you?’ and he’ll say ‘Oh nothing.’”
“His life is about work,” said his other daughter, Mary-Jean. “He’s about doing things for others. Even if he wasn’t in the service, he did serve a lot of people, and a lot of things.”