Jim Misitano
Jim continued to receive medical treatment for his shrapnel wound in the Newton D. Baker Hospital
in Martinsburg, WV, and was discharged from the Army on January 26, 1945.
He was married on December 8, 1949, to Lois Morrison in Altoona. He soon had a family of his own
including five boys.
Jim and Lois Wedding Photo
At some point, not sure exactly what year, he applied for and received a job at the United States
Postal Service in Altoona as a Letter Carrier, a job he would hold until his retirement in 1995.
He took up his father's activity of buying homes in need of repair, fixing them up to be liveable,
modifying and updating them to contain multiple apartments per house, and then renting them for the
continuing income. This work was done after hours during weekdays and on weekends. I spent untold hours
in these carpentry and plumbing efforts during my teen years, and learned much from him about how things
work.
In 1956, he bought land immediately adjacent to our home and had constructed a single-story building
suitable for a neighborhood convenience store, and then opened "Misitano's Dairy Store." My mother would
run the store during the days, and my brothers and I would assist when we were old enough. Besides the
normal groceries such a store would have, there were often special goodies available home-made in the
kitchen, such as "Real Italian Style Hoagies" any time, Italian Pizza on Saturday nights, and cinnamon
buns on Sunday Mornings.
Misitano's Dairy Store
Eventually Jim decided to try a different retail business, and in about 1965 opened "Misti Tavern."
The Shift from Misitano to Misti in the business name followed his liking the nickname of "Misti" that
many of his coworkers at the post office had for him. This establishment also had great italian home-made
food, and there was always a huge simmering pot of sauce with sausages and meatballs ready to be placed
in submarine rolls for hungry patrons.
Ads in Altoona Mirror for Hoagies at Misitano's Dairy Store and Hot Sandwiches at Misti Tavern:
