“I’ve got to keep myself pretty well occupied,” said Bacino, 82. “There are too many memories in this house.”
People ask him if he’s patriotic, Bacino said, but for him it all comes back to Mary Lou. He was drafted into the Army in 1955 during the Korean War but never went overseas. He met his wife at an Army hospital while stationed in El Paso, Texas.
“The Army blessed me with my wife,” he said. He still wears his simple wedding band. He hasn’t taken it off since the day he married.
A retired contractor, Bacino used a variety of construction materials and odds and ends he had saved throughout the years to build his displays — such as PVC pipes and old pieces of metal siding. A teddy bear soldier wears the Army uniform Bacino wore so many years ago.
He fondly remembers his days working as a set builder in the 1950s, a job that introduced him to many celebrities, some who became friends. On his first day of work at the studios, he met Frank Sinatra, a memory he still treasures.
“Every Sicilian’s got a picture of the Pope and Frank Sinatra,” he joked.
He’s proud of his Sicilian heritage as well as his Chicago upbringing.
But Glendale’s been home for more than 50 years. He built the Adams Hill house he has lived in for the past 48 years. He also built many of the houses in the neighborhood, including his neighbor Simpson’s. He raised two sons here, Danny, 50 who lives in Kauai, and Perry, 52, who lives in La Crescenta. He has three granddaughters.
“They can’t believe I’ve done all this in two years,” he said, pointing to the various displays.
Simpson described Bacino as a friendly presence.
“He knows everybody in the neighborhood, and everybody knows him,” he said.
The displays have brought a few complaints from neighbors, but most people don’t mind, Bacino said. With his yard almost full, he isn’t quite sure what his next project will be. But no matter what, he plans to keep busy.
“If I don’t,” he said, “I’ll go bananas.”
