Ben Lupica: Family Recollections
Oct 6, 2021 9:26:01 GMT -5
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Post by Joe on Oct 6, 2021 9:26:01 GMT -5
Recently, I had a very enjoyable telephone conversation with Francesca Lupica, youngest daughter of Sebastian Benjamin Lupica, then a 19-year-old Princeton Preparatory School student, who on the evening of March 1, 1932, was eyewitness to the vehicle and its driver believed to have been involved in the Lindbergh Kidnapping. I was curious to know if her father had ever spoken publicly or privately about the case and if so, was there anything that he had ever revealed to her which might support or even call into question what has become the accepted historical narrative of this primary event. I thought it might also be both interesting and informative to know more about Ben Lupica from a personal level through his family’s recollections.
Cirino and Caterina Lupica emigrated from Italy to New York City in 1898 and 1907, respectively. In a country that offered so many opportunities, they soon desired to own their land on which to farm. The Lupica family eventually settled on forty acres in East Amwell Township, New Jersey. Their young son Ben was keen to help around the farm and with his father, cleared the land for raising crops. While his father would have liked for him to leave school so that he could devote his full attention to the farm, Ben had ideas of his own, and every intention of furthering his education. As a result, he moved back to New York City temporarily to stay with an uncle while attending DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. Ben always believed in paying his own way and during one part time job, washed dishes at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, where he apparently ate very well!
After having improved both his Latin and Greek with the assistance of a local priest, Ben moved back to the farm so that he could attend Princeton Preparatory School to upgrade the rest of his required subjects for university entrance. He later graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Chemical Engineering. Ben went to work for Union Carbide in Niagara Falls, New York, where he made his home before meeting his future wife Dolores and raising two daughters. Francesca has fond memories of the family driving across the Canadian border one day to St. Catharines, Ontario, where her father bought her the first dog she ever owned. Ben later accepted a company transfer to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in Tennessee. His research and development work at both Union Carbide sites, earned him a number of awards and US patents, one of which dealt with transfer techniques for radioactive medical isotopes. In later years following retirement, and with the onset of Parkinson’s disease, Ben moved from Tennessee to be close to his oldest daughter Catherine. It was here in the early 1990’s that he was interviewed by Gregory Ahlgren and Stephen Monier, as research for their case-related book “Crime of the Century: The Lindbergh Kidnapping Hoax.” Ben later entered a retirement home in Clifton Park, NY, where he passed away in October 1998, at the age of 86.
As a young girl, Francesca recalls her sister Catherine, who was 5 years her senior, first asking her father about his involvement in the Lindbergh Kidnapping Case and Trial of the Century. At the time, Ben simply acknowledged this fact but would not elaborate to any great extent. He rarely spoke about the case and seemed to have little desire or interest in doing so. Francesca feels this reticence was in part, due to the unpleasant way he felt the NJSP investigators treated him during questioning, as well as his perception that the trial was conducted in an atmosphere of general unfairness towards the accused, Bruno Richard Hauptmann. Francesca clearly recalls her father saying that the driver of the Dodge vehicle he had seen on Wertsville Road, had “a resemblance” to, but would not identify him, as Hauptmann. She also noted that investigators took Ben to the local Dodge dealer in Princeton at the time, so that he could possibly identify further details of the vehicle he had witnessed. As a result, he remained firm in his belief throughout the years that the vehicle was a 1929 Dodge model sedan. Francesca added that her father always felt the rowdy and carnival-like atmosphere which pervaded the “Trial of the Century”, given its immense international exposure, represented a dark stain on the American judicial system of that time.
Regarding the question of Hauptmann’s guilt or innocence, according to Francesca, Ben believed that Hauptmann was involved, but may not have been the person who entered the nursery and stole the child. He always felt the State of New Jersey was far too expeditious in sending the accused to the electric chair without fully discovering the rest of the story. His belief was that there had been someone “on the inside,” who was able to provide direction to the kidnapper(s).
I asked Francesca if she knew what kind of vehicle Ben had been driving on that fateful evening, in the interests of trying to determine if this might have been a factor within the oncoming Dodge driver pulling over to his own left side of the road. My research had previously led me to believe Ben was possibly driving an older convertible roadster or a touring car. Although she did not know the make and model, she believes it would have been Ben’s personal vehicle, one which he would have worked and saved every dollar towards, and that he would not have had to have been dependant on others to own and maintain. She also pointed out that her grandfather would not have wanted his young son to be driving the family car for his daily travels to and from Princeton.
In later years, each summer with his family, Ben enjoyed returning to the old farm, which remained in the family and was leased to and maintained by others. During their visits, they would stop in to see Mr. Craft, and other former neighbours, including the Hausenbauers. Over the decades, the family farm land was sold off until the last remaining parcel was donated by Francesca and her sister Catherine to the D&R Greenway Land Trust in 2010.
Francesca owns a number of books on the Lindbergh Kidnapping Case, which have remained unread. During our conversation, she expressed an interest in learning more about her father’s involvement in the case, and to acquire additional photos of him from the time of the investigation and trial. She could never understand why Charles Lindbergh had picked that isolated location for their new home until I explained that the surrounding Sourland Mountains were generally above the fog level for the airfield he had planned to build, and that it also addressed their often-expressed desire for peace and privacy.
Ben Lupica’s general reluctance to discuss the case with others over the years following the trial, means we will probably never know if he held any additional beliefs or was able to later recall any other important facts that may have had an influential bearing on the case. Having said that, we can always remain hopeful some small nugget of information, and perhaps within the above, might help us to acquire additional insight in order to further the overall case discussion.
Cirino and Caterina Lupica emigrated from Italy to New York City in 1898 and 1907, respectively. In a country that offered so many opportunities, they soon desired to own their land on which to farm. The Lupica family eventually settled on forty acres in East Amwell Township, New Jersey. Their young son Ben was keen to help around the farm and with his father, cleared the land for raising crops. While his father would have liked for him to leave school so that he could devote his full attention to the farm, Ben had ideas of his own, and every intention of furthering his education. As a result, he moved back to New York City temporarily to stay with an uncle while attending DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. Ben always believed in paying his own way and during one part time job, washed dishes at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, where he apparently ate very well!
After having improved both his Latin and Greek with the assistance of a local priest, Ben moved back to the farm so that he could attend Princeton Preparatory School to upgrade the rest of his required subjects for university entrance. He later graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Chemical Engineering. Ben went to work for Union Carbide in Niagara Falls, New York, where he made his home before meeting his future wife Dolores and raising two daughters. Francesca has fond memories of the family driving across the Canadian border one day to St. Catharines, Ontario, where her father bought her the first dog she ever owned. Ben later accepted a company transfer to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in Tennessee. His research and development work at both Union Carbide sites, earned him a number of awards and US patents, one of which dealt with transfer techniques for radioactive medical isotopes. In later years following retirement, and with the onset of Parkinson’s disease, Ben moved from Tennessee to be close to his oldest daughter Catherine. It was here in the early 1990’s that he was interviewed by Gregory Ahlgren and Stephen Monier, as research for their case-related book “Crime of the Century: The Lindbergh Kidnapping Hoax.” Ben later entered a retirement home in Clifton Park, NY, where he passed away in October 1998, at the age of 86.
As a young girl, Francesca recalls her sister Catherine, who was 5 years her senior, first asking her father about his involvement in the Lindbergh Kidnapping Case and Trial of the Century. At the time, Ben simply acknowledged this fact but would not elaborate to any great extent. He rarely spoke about the case and seemed to have little desire or interest in doing so. Francesca feels this reticence was in part, due to the unpleasant way he felt the NJSP investigators treated him during questioning, as well as his perception that the trial was conducted in an atmosphere of general unfairness towards the accused, Bruno Richard Hauptmann. Francesca clearly recalls her father saying that the driver of the Dodge vehicle he had seen on Wertsville Road, had “a resemblance” to, but would not identify him, as Hauptmann. She also noted that investigators took Ben to the local Dodge dealer in Princeton at the time, so that he could possibly identify further details of the vehicle he had witnessed. As a result, he remained firm in his belief throughout the years that the vehicle was a 1929 Dodge model sedan. Francesca added that her father always felt the rowdy and carnival-like atmosphere which pervaded the “Trial of the Century”, given its immense international exposure, represented a dark stain on the American judicial system of that time.
Regarding the question of Hauptmann’s guilt or innocence, according to Francesca, Ben believed that Hauptmann was involved, but may not have been the person who entered the nursery and stole the child. He always felt the State of New Jersey was far too expeditious in sending the accused to the electric chair without fully discovering the rest of the story. His belief was that there had been someone “on the inside,” who was able to provide direction to the kidnapper(s).
I asked Francesca if she knew what kind of vehicle Ben had been driving on that fateful evening, in the interests of trying to determine if this might have been a factor within the oncoming Dodge driver pulling over to his own left side of the road. My research had previously led me to believe Ben was possibly driving an older convertible roadster or a touring car. Although she did not know the make and model, she believes it would have been Ben’s personal vehicle, one which he would have worked and saved every dollar towards, and that he would not have had to have been dependant on others to own and maintain. She also pointed out that her grandfather would not have wanted his young son to be driving the family car for his daily travels to and from Princeton.
In later years, each summer with his family, Ben enjoyed returning to the old farm, which remained in the family and was leased to and maintained by others. During their visits, they would stop in to see Mr. Craft, and other former neighbours, including the Hausenbauers. Over the decades, the family farm land was sold off until the last remaining parcel was donated by Francesca and her sister Catherine to the D&R Greenway Land Trust in 2010.
Francesca owns a number of books on the Lindbergh Kidnapping Case, which have remained unread. During our conversation, she expressed an interest in learning more about her father’s involvement in the case, and to acquire additional photos of him from the time of the investigation and trial. She could never understand why Charles Lindbergh had picked that isolated location for their new home until I explained that the surrounding Sourland Mountains were generally above the fog level for the airfield he had planned to build, and that it also addressed their often-expressed desire for peace and privacy.
Ben Lupica’s general reluctance to discuss the case with others over the years following the trial, means we will probably never know if he held any additional beliefs or was able to later recall any other important facts that may have had an influential bearing on the case. Having said that, we can always remain hopeful some small nugget of information, and perhaps within the above, might help us to acquire additional insight in order to further the overall case discussion.