Well, that's Uncle Frenchie! Of course it is, I thought to myself. This picture was taken in Paris according to the photographer's mark on the front and what little of the Italian I could read on the back. Also on the back were the names Carolina and Rene. So of course I should have figured out this was your great aunt Carolina Dalpiaz and her husband Rene Valentini (Uncle Frenchie), as verified by Aunt Josie recently.
Carolina and Rene met in the same valley in Italy. It appears that even though Uncle Frenchie's native tongue was Italian he was born in France and they lived there for a while as well. By 1930, they had recently married and were living in the neighborhood along with Victor and Elizabeth Dalpiaz; your grandparents (with your great grandmother Kate Messa); Frank and Beatrice Abatangelo; the Lessies; the Pintos; and the Recchia family (related on the Messa side).
On Saturday nights the families would gather at your grandparents' house because the kitchen was the largest. The men would play cards and the women would knit or crochet. Aunt Bea would deep fry vegetables like asparagus, broccoli and mushrooms. Your grandmother Mary made red sauce and calzones with dough from the bakery. Leezia (Elizabeth Dalpiaz) made desserts and brought candy from the factory. Costante and Uncle Frenchie would put on puppet shows for the kids.
Aunt Josie reports that Carolina was a real "pepper pot", a phrase I had never heard before that visit but since then have seen it in print. Carolina apparently wasn't too worldly and sewed up all the unfortunate slits in her husband's underwear. Richard reports remembering Uncle Frenchie hollering out from the bathroom when he discovered Carolina's repairs. I don't think "pepper pot" means naive, though! You have to wonder what she was thinking when she saw all these openings in the front part of the underwear. Well, maybe it's not such a good idea to think it through too far.
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