Josephine Dos Santos was born to Antoinette & George Selvaggio in the City of Palermo, Sicily on January 1, 1901. Her father immigrated to America in 1904 and landed in New Orleans, LA. He worked there as a cook and then moved to New York City where he worked in shoe repair. In 1905, George was able to bring his wife and daughter, Josephine to America through Ellis Island. The family lived in New York City until 1910 when they were able to connect with friends in Hastings-on-Hudson. They lived in an apartment on Main Street, and George opened his own shoe repair shop in the store front of their apartment which he operated from 1910 to 1928 when he passed away.
Josephine attended public school in Hastings and took the commercial course in high school to prepare herself for secretarial work. When she was 17, she decided to leave school and work to help her parents and five younger siblings. She worked as a secretary for a couple of large companies in Manhattan. She met Jack Dos Santos, a native of Portugal, in Hastings and married him in 1926 in St. Stanislaus Church on Main Street. They first lived on Warburton Avenue; later in a duplex on Main Street and finally into their own home at 7 Edmarth Place. Jack worked in the Anaconda Wire & Cable Company in Hastings and Josephine became a homemaker and raised four children.
Always interested in office work, Josephine operated her own Hastings Letter Service from 1951 to 1987 in her home. She typed documents on her typewriter, cut stencils of letters and memos on a varityper and printed leaflets, church bulletins and many other requested orders for her customers on a band-cranked mimeograph machine. She also volunteered her services for several years in the Hastings' schools through the RSVP (Retired Seniors Volunteer Program) from which she was awarded many certificates of merit and recognition.
In the early 1970's, being an early-day activist, Josephine began writing letters to local newspapers and politicians concerning her views on issues that were not only important to her, but to the
·benefit of all citizens as well. Her Letters to the Editor brought attention to many people, and progress on several issues was made as a result of those letters. She also wrote an on-going column in the local newspaper entitled "Reminiscing Hastings," which consisted of excerpts from her 8 page-leaflet on the same.
Josephine was a strong-willed, feisty, sincere, compassionate and intelligent lady. She is remembered by her interesting and forceful newspaper articles and letters that reached so many people and ultimately brought results for the good of the public. She passed away on June 11, 1992 at the age of 91.