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Community Corner

Elmhurst Senior Discovers New Use for Pizza Boxes

Mike Pistorio has a new hobby—pizza box art.

Mike Pistorio was bored. He makes models and dollhouses, and plays “old people’s games” with other residents in Elmhurst’s Liberty Village, but it wasn’t enough.

“I've got nothing to do. I’m bored,” the 88-year-old Pistorio said.

An empty pizza box proved to be his inspiration.

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He started spending countless hours cutting, taping, trimming old pizza boxes and fashioning them into unique cardboard creations.

First Pistorio made a pizza delivery truck. But he doesn’t use just any pizza box—oh, no. These boxes are from Mimmo’s Pizza and Ristorante in Elmhurst, as are the glossy menus that he cuts apart to use as decals and clipart for his creations.

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Pistorio is a longtime patron of Mimmo’s, and he continuously sings their praises as “the best pizza in Elmhurst.” He’s been ordering pizza every Saturday for nearly 20 years, and over time he’s gotten to know owner Carlo Calderone.

About four months ago, Pistorio showed Calderone the pizza box delivery truck he created. Calderone placed the piece of art on display atop a counter in his restaurant.

And the cardboard collection keeps increasing. There’s a school bus (that’s Carlo’s favorite) and a naval ship complete with on-deck planes and helicopters. There’s a little dining set—a table and four chairs, complete with a pizza sprinkled with real Parmesan cheese—and several other items.

Pistorio, a retired carpenter and a World War II veteran, makes one wisecrack after another about his life and his unusual hobby: “I went through two bottles of wine trying to get that done,” he said, referring to the table and chairs set.

But most noteworthy may be the painstaking detail. The bus has windshield wipers made from pieces of paper clips, and a little six-cylinder engine. There’s a steering wheel and a gear shifter, too. The bus’s stop sign moves in and out.

The blades on the helicopter spin. The rudder on the ship moves, and one of the vehicles has an exhaust pipe.

Pistorio is using more cardboard than he is eating pizza. Calderone says he calls Mimmo’s just to ask for boxes.

When Pistorio first brought the delivery truck in, Calderone’s reaction was “Oh, that’s cool.” But as Pistorio kept bringing in new creations, he became more and more impressed. He wanted Pistorio to get a little more attention for his work.

“The details, you know, that’s why I said we have to do something,” Calderone said.

The other customers like the art too, Calderone said. The cardboard models are taking up a good portion of his counter now and can’t be overlooked. Customers have told Calderone that he must have a lot of time on his hands. No, Calderone tells them, it’s one of his customers.

At the rate Pistorio is going, Calderone may soon need to find more countertop to display the collection. Who knows what Pistorio will present to Calderone next.

“It’s a challenge. I love a challenge,” Pistorio said.

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