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About Us » History & Archives » 2007: Steel Pier » Meet the Characters of Steel Pier » Couple No. 41
Couple No. 41
Dancers' Names: Lucy Meyers & Erazmo Piedilente
About Lucy
Hello, my name is Lucy Meyers and I am from a small town in Oklahoma, where my parents settled after they arrived form Italy 55 years ago. I’m 35 years old, married with 3 children. My husband Henry, is my H.S. sweetheart and he owns a small farming machine business. But with the depression, business has been real slow and we are having a tough time getting by. It was my husband who heard about the Steel Pier Marathon on the radio, and suggested that I enter the contest in hopes that we could get enough money to buy a piece of equipment for his business. This equipment could give him a huge edge and bring in more money. You see I used to be a dancer and at one time owned a successful dance studio in town. Henry had always supported my dancing and always encouraged me. He heard about this marathon and thought that this could be our big break during such tough times. As a child I had danced for years and when I was old enough, I opened up my studio, “Stepp’in Out” where I taught many of the children in my hometown. When the depression came and no one could afford the luxury of taking their kids to my studio, I was forced to close my doors. But I was always a “star” at home, featured in all of the home town plays, fairs, and winning pretty much all the dance contests and the hearts of everyone. The town felt bad that I had “shut down”, but the reality was that dancing was just not a priority when folks couldn’t put food on the table. So for the last few years I hadn’t danced much, but I had always practiced in the church hall and at different town gatherings. I was excited with the opportunity of dancing again, but nervous about taking the trip all the way to N.J, especially alone. Henry had to stay home to run his business and take care of the kids. I couldn’t stop thinking about the possibilities of winning the grand prize and how it could change our financial situation….plus I had a good feeling that I could win! I had never been to the East Coast or seen the ocean before until I came to Atlantic City! I am awe struck and so excited to have made it all the way here by train. I was able to scrape enough money together with the help of my friends and my church back home. When I arrived at the Steel Pier I met a gentlemen who seemed very lost and confused and only spoke Italian. Being that my parents were from Italy I went right up to him and spoke the language. Little did I know that he too was entering the dance marathon. Well, we hit it off immediately and figured since we were both alone that we should pair up as partners and that’s exactly what we did!
About Erazmo
My name is Erasmo Piedilente and I come from a small town in Italy. I came to America to find a more prosperous life based on all the stories I had heard of people finding wealth in America. Knowing very little English, I took all of my savings and left my parents and siblings behind and my beloved fiance', with the promise of making money, getting established and sending back money so that my fiance' could also come to America and we would live the good life. Things did not go exactly as planned for me. I lived with my Aunt in NY city and worked as a mason. I lost my job during the depression and was having a great deal of difficulty finding another. I was desperate for finding ways of making money so that I could have my fiance' join me in America. One day as I was talking with my cousin, she suggested that we should go to New Jersey to watch a Marathon Dance competition as a means of helping taking my mind off of my troubles. She told me that the winner always takes home big prize money! I agreed to go. The whole way there I thought more and more about entering the marathon and winning the prize money for myself. Back home I used to spend many nights out dancing. I was the guy that all the girls wanted to dance with and that is how I met my beautiful Lucia and I proposed to her shortly after that. By the time we had arrived to the Steel Pier I had decided to enter the Marathon. Not knowing what I needed to do to enter the competition, I found myself at the Steel Pier completely lost and unsure and hardly being able to speak English. I approached this beautiful Italian looking women to ask her for some help. As luck would have it, she spoke Italian. She was also looking to enter the marathon, but she did not have a dance partner. We introduce ourselves and she told me that her name was Lucy. We hit it off immediately. I said that we must be destined to be partners as I told her my life story and why I was here, to find a way to bring my Lucia (Lucy) to America. She had told me how she was looking for a way to make some money to buy some equipment to help her unemployed husband to get back on his feet and start his own business. We agreed to partner up and vowed to win the prize money. With an air of confidence, I told her that there was no need to worry because we were assured to win the prize money. Lucy asked how I could be so sure and I told her my last name is Piedilente which means "foot loose."
The roles of Lucy Meyers and Erazmp Piedilente will be played by Laura Chase and Ray DiVasta.
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