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Louisville. Lena and Joe bought properties and ran businesses on the east side of the 700 block <br />of Front Street. These businesses included a shop for groceries, candy, and cigars as well as a <br />boardinghouse. <br />Lena and Joe's son, Lawrence (Lorenzo) Mossoni (1889-1983), was 12 years old when he came <br />to Colorado in 1902. He was called "Lorry" by many in Louisville. In 1913, Lawrence married <br />Marie Zarini (1893-1973). <br />Marie Zarini's family is believed to have been the very first Italian family to settle in Louisville, <br />as Boulder County property records show that Marie's father, Joseph Zarini, was in all likelihood <br />the first person of Italian heritage to own real property in Louisville, in 1890. <br />Lawrence's mother Lena, who had acquired the property at 836 Main in 1920, sold it to her <br />daughter-in-law, Marie, in 1921, and Lawrence and Marie made the house at 836 Main their <br />home and are listed as living there by 1921. Lawrence and Marie raised two children in the <br />home: Virginia "Gina" (1915-2001) and Norman (1919-2012). <br />Lawrence became a successful local businessman, overcoming any disadvantages that may <br />have resulted from his having left school partway through the sixth grade. He was a business <br />partner of Michael Colacci, and according to the Colorado Cultural Resource Survey conducted <br />in 2000, Mossoni was involved in the beginnings of the Blue Parrot Cafe in 1919. (Mossoni and <br />Colacci ran a business together at the northwest corner of Pine and Main, with Mossoni running <br />a gas station in the front and Colacci running the establishment that became the Blue Parrot in <br />the back.) Lawrence also owned and operated other businesses, such as a pool hall and bowling <br />alley at 728 Main and a hardware and appliance store at 813 Main. He was an investor in the <br />Hi -Way Mine. <br />In addition, Lawrence Mossoni owned the property at 700 Main Street, now the site of the <br />Huckleberry Restaurant, from 1923 to 1946. At the time of purchase, it was being operated as <br />the town post office for which Mossoni received rent money. Edward Affolter, the town <br />attorney, also paid rent to Mossoni for space at the rear for his law office. Mossoni eventually <br />sold the building to Affolter. <br />In the 1920s, Lawrence Mossoni served on the town council, was a fireman, and served as fire <br />chief. The following photo shows Lawrence Mossoni in 1978: <br />5 <br />