Coming to America as a 15-year old girl from Naples, Francesca built an empire from scratch or at least a dream. She married my grandfather Giuseppe who came over on the Madonna fresh from Genoa and married the redhead creating a family of three children, Anthony, Angelina, and Joseph. Before his last child was born, he enlisted in the US Army along with his best friend and fought in World War I. He was proud of being an American citizen and needed to prove it to the World and himself.
Like the rest of the World, the war was not good to him as he was released from the army and immediately caught Spanish influenza confining him to the hospital in Brooklyn. A raging snowstorm hit the Metropolitan area and Grandpa Joe was missing his children. His last child he never met as he was sent off to fight in the war. Since he was so close to his family he decided to go out the window and walk home to his family. Traveling through the snow with blizzard conditions, he made it home only to die a few days later. Grandma was a widow with three small children ages: 3, 2, and 1!
For the little time he had spent in his adopted country he began a fruit and vegetable store with Grandma’s help, making a decent living until the war and his death. His best friend Ralph married my grandmother and her three children and became a real grandfather in a strange way. He was a good man and was the backbone of the fledgling family.
But Grandma was the brains and mental brawn of the family. Later I will write of what incredible achievements she made as a mother and businesswoman, without much English.
But to my original thought about Grandma, I think with all the grandchildren she had, her great-grandchildren and now her great, great, grandchildren she would be very happy and proud of them all. Her sacrifice and hard work helped extend her bloodline and cemented her rightful place in their hearts and in America.
Tomorrow: Hard work, tears, and courage.
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