Dalpiaz Christmas Celebration

I've been a little bit behind in my blogging recently but for good reason.  Another wonderful Christmas celebration at Robert and Bobbie's although I'm told the "Twelve Days of Christmas" rendition was a little shaky this year.  I wouldn't know.  Sounded fine to my tin ears.  We missed Monet, Jake Lindsay and Emily, Jesse and Jean!  We seem to get lots of the girl cousin pictures, here's one of the guys for something a little different.

I was very fortunate this year to receive unexpected Christmas surprises as gifts or kind words.  I have tried to learn over the years to accept such gifts graciously and to pay them forward throughout the year.  Last year, Robert shared a boxful of family pictures with me and I've tried all year long to share them with you all after doing some research.  There are so many wonderful pictures in that box that I should be able to share them throughout this coming year as well, so I hope to share some unexpected gems with you all in this upcoming year.  These have pushed me out the door to visit aunts and cemeteries (unrelated thoughts) and have some great new experiences and I can't tell you how much I appreciate this gift!

As we start the new decade (does that seem right to you?), we are also starting this blog's third year.  This week is the "blogaversary" for the Dalpiaz News and Notes.  Here's to another year and another decade.  New babies are on the way to join the tree and I can't hink of a better way to start the decade.  Cheers.

Our hearts go out to Scott and his mother today.  We are sorry for your loss.  You may feel lonely but please know you are not alone.  I haven't forgotten Linda, Brad and Drew.  Such grief can cause confusion ache but if you hold on to each other as you let go, I think you will find strength and comfort.

Say It Ain't So

Christmas season--so what else should come to mind but disillusionment? One day last week I was off campus for a day long meeting and we were on our own for lunch. I decided to treat myself to one of my favorite fast foods: Long John Silver's fish. Yes, that's my secret. Love the fish.



Well, let's just say the fish did not live up to my recollection. I stuck my fork in it and immediately thought "What was I thinking? This is horrible stuff!" Reality slapped me right in the taste buds. Such a disappointment. There goes another perception bubble popped by reality.



Tiger Woods is another example. Say it ain't so, Tiger. This is not the image I had of this man. I'm sure it's not fair to place my expectations of a good honest man with great talent on a mere human like the rest of us, but I did. That bubble burst this week also.



Long John and Tiger right out the window. I think Disney has done people like me a great favor by working so very hard to maintain the illusion (I think they might call it MAGIC). Don't we all need to maintain some magic in our lives even in the face of logic and 24/7 news?



I know Kathleen and Nick are visiting this weekend and I hope their sense of the magic of the season will be enforced by this time with little ones! Enjoy the wild ride!!!

Happy Birthday Jake! I thought you all might enjoy these pictures. I borrowed one from Jake and Lindsay's Shutterfly site. Jake is about 10 months old in his picture and Emily must be about the same in hers.

I did not realize that you couldn't double click my last post about the Love Story Double Wedding to read it. I will have to figure that out, but here's the text. I think you will enjoy.

The Albertini family and the Dalpiaz family had more in common that roots in Europe. Louis explains.

It was 1946 and I had just been discharged from the U.S. Army when my family decided to move from Hazelton PA to Long Island City to take over the operation of a local restaurant and bar. We called it Albertini's Cafe and Restaurant. To acquaint ourselves with the neighbors, we had a grand opening. It was here that the Dalpiaz family met the Albertinis.

The patriarchs of the families discovered they had something in common..they both came from the Val di Non in Tyrol, Austria (now in northern Italy). My father asked Mr. Dalpiaz if his daughters would show the Albertini sons around the neighborhood and introduce them to their friends. Rose and I hit it off right from the start. It took Thomas and Josephine a few months longer to start dating.

At a birthday party for my mon, on Jan 8 1947, Tom and I surprised the girls with engagement rings. A wedding dates was set for April 26, 1947, on my birthday. It was the first double wedding of two brothers marrying two sisters at St. Rita's R.C. Church in Ravenswood, Queens. The entire neighborhood came to witness the ceremony.

This comes from the Aug 31 1997 issue of Newsday. It was apparently submitted by Uncle Louie. I think it's a wonderful insight to the times and their love stories.

Love Story Indeed!

As you may already know, sometimes I often mindlessly wander the internet wasting time that could otherwise be used cleaning sinks or emptying garbage. I often find some very cool stuff this way. I search Dalpiaz and the most interesting stuff pops up! I'm sure many of you have seen this before, but it tells a great little story that's worth repeating.

From Newsday Aug 31 1997:

Mindless wandering is what got me the lead on this article, but it was thanks to good ole New York State that I was able to access the full article. New York State provides electronic access to a pretty good range of online databases and all you need is your drivers license number. Check it out here.

Old newspapers are nearly my favorite kind of internet resource and access to them gets better almost every day. It's a great world we live in today! I'm so glad to be one of them thar "digital immigrants" even if it felt as foreign to me at first as did American customs to our ancestors.

A couple of days late, but Happy Birthday Brad! I love this picture and thought you all might like it too. Fifteen years ago.

Oh, By the Way....

Thanksgiving Eve 2009. I hope you are all looking forward to a great day with family and friends tomorrow, as we are. Amy has just arrived home so it's wonderful for us all to be together.

We were talking about this blog and Amy said "Oh by the way" regarding the little bell with the "D" leather attachment: she remembers that she found it at your house on the bar sometime after your father died. She liked it because "it was small and so was I" so she asked someone (maybe Kathleen or Pat) if she could keep it. And that's how it came to be at our house. Jean took a look at it and didn't remember anything in particular about it either so perhaps we will never know its story.

I gave the Happy Birthday shout out for our November birthdays, but I thought you might be interested in another November celebration from the past. This is a copy of the front and back of the marriage certificate for your great grandparents Joseph and Jenny Manzelli who were married November 19 1896 in (at?) Long Island City. One of the reasons I love these is for the signatures. You can see your great grandparents actual handwriting on the back side of this. Oh, by the way you also see great Uncle Giacomo's signature as well (the one who looks so much like James in his passport photo).

Worth noting is that they were married by Long Island City Mayor Patrick Gleason. Oh, by the way, Paddy Gleason apparently had a reputation for underhandedness. Definitely sounds like the "good ole boy" network was alive and well then as now. Makes you wonder a little bit about why they chose to be married by him. We can't tell the location of the ceremony from this document, but I'd be guessing City Hall.

Brian Monet and Ryan

I stumbled onto this engagement announcement for Brian and Monet last night and thought if you all hadn't seen it yet you might like to check it out here. I love this picture of them!

And then there's this picture. Ryan wearing his birthday gift from the Hartman clan. It does look pretty cool even if it's hard to tell from this.

We were in Gloucester over the weekend and had a great visit with the Ryan side of the family. We got soaking wet but at least it was warm. Now we are back to reality and Harpursville.

I hope you have a great week.

November News and "Someday"

Just catching up a little bit here. Happy birthday wishes to Brian, Thomas, Michelle, Steve and Brad! November's a big month for the Dalpiaz clan too. We had a visit from Jean, Bob and Hailey last weekend. Mallory was visiting in Oneonta and we got to have some time with the rest of the crew. It's been a while since we have seen them, so it was a very nice weekend break.

Basketball season has now begun. True to form, Ryan has already twisted his ankle a bit but it will be fine. That's just business as usual for basketball it seems. He took the SATs again and we are getting college applications together to finish sending out this week. Senior year is so busy...I'm sure Jean and Linda will agree.

And here's just a little something from Amy many years ago that I think is kind of cool to look at now as she is getting ready to graduate:

From her "Someday" book

Taking a Leap

This is Ryan receiving a pass last weekend in the last football game of the season. He will probably never put on a football uniform again. The day couldn't come soon enough for me. It has taken me 4 years of high school football and 2 years of modified football to get comfortable with quarterbacking terms and responsibilities. And in the last game of his career, the coach plays him in another position--I think they called it running back. That was a cruel cruel trick to play on the mother of the quarterback. I suppose there was a good reason for it and Ryan seemed OK with it so I guess sometimes you just have to take the leap that the coach knows what he is doing. Running back indeed. I thought they were supposed to run forward!

I've been taking some of these leaps with Ryan most of his life. I bought a "Ryan" name sign for his room before he was born. I just knew he was a boy. Our parents must have done the same kinds of things for us. Right? It's just kind of hard to think of them being anything other than practical. I have no idea what sorts of leaps of faith or love my parents took for me or any of my siblings but I wish I did. I probably wouldn't have appreciated it at the time, but I certainly do now.

I'm going to take some extra time this week and think about my parents and how hard parenting is and bless them for giving me the tools to be a parent today. I'll be thinking about your parents too for James is a great dad. And marrying him might have been my biggest leap!

Homecoming 2009

Last Homecoming for Ryan and for James. How weird that seems. Last night at the dance, another chaperone asked if I would care as much about school activities after this year. My response was that I cared about school activities before children and even before James, but I don't really know. It's hard to imagine not caring but I suppose that day will come.

Amy was home for the weekend, feeling much better after two emergency room visits (kidney stone and muscular pain). I heard from my sister Kathy in Florida and my sister Paula came over for a visit. Ryan won his game and the weather broke just as the game got under way. It was senior recognition so between the raindrops and the tears, everyone and everything was wet if not muddy. But it was a very nice weekend for the Harpursville Dalpiaz family. I hope the same for you.

News update

We had a threat of bad weather this weekend but it didn't turn out to be too bad. We had to travel over an hour east to Ryan's game this week so we were fearful of what we would be facing but it turned out to be not bad at all. And they won! Ryan had a great game and scored 3 touchdowns. That's a personal high for him. Thanks for noticing Kathleen and Nick! Next week is Homecoming and we are hoping for a good day then also. He's the guy with the ball here--number 4.

I am trying to document the stories behind some of the things we have collected around here (and you know your brother--we have collected quite a few things). I want their stories known so that someday when Ryan or Amy is deciding whether to sell it in a garage sale or throw it away, they do so knowingly. This is a picture of an item I am certain came from your father's house. I thought I remembered it being down in the basement near the bar but that could be wrong. Any ideas? Neither Kathleen nor James knows anything about it. It's a small bell that's maybe 3 inches tall. The top button with the D appears to be leather about 1 inch across. There seems to be some kind of fastener on the top. I would love to hear about it if you know anything.

Happy Birthday Drew!

Go play in some leaves today Drew. Happy Birthday.

Fall Splendor

Yesterday my sister Paula and I took a little ride to Ithaca to leaf peep and shop. We did more peeping than shopping but we had a great time. We revisited Taughannock Falls and I was able to get a picture from nearly the same spot as I did during Kathleen and Nick's visit. I thought you might find the differences interesting especially in the water flow. It's as beautiful in the fall as it was in the summer (and we found a great new restaurant to try next time, Kathleen and Nick!).

My recent genealogical luck led to an interview with one of my favorite podcasters Lisa Louise Cooke. The podcast is Genealogy Gems and my interview is at the end of episode 73. It's all about my recent revelations concerning your grandfathers James and Costante. I've been very very lucky recently and it was fun to share the story with someone who could really appreciate the significance of them with me.

Guess Thomas isn't the only media darling recently (no video for me, thank you very much but you looked and sounded great Thomas!). Thanks Jean for the heads-up since Bloomberg isn't on my hit parade.

On the Front Edge of History

Here you see Costante Dalpiaz's application for a Social Security number. This document is interesting for a couple of different reasons. One of the most important to me is that it contains his signature. I like to "collect" ancestral signatures and this is a dandy example.

He indicates he was born in Austria. I recall Uncle Lou telling us stories about how these immigrants would identify themselves as Austrian or Italian and the two sides did not see eye to eye. Costante was Austrian. We can see his employer and his home address as well as his parents' names very clearly indicated.

Most interesting to me is that this application was filled out in November 1936 meaning it was among the very first! From the Social Security Administration: Since the Social Security Board did not have a network of field offices in late 1936, it contracted with the U.S. Postal Service to distribute and assign the first batch of Social Security numbers through its 45,000 local post offices around the country. Of these 45,000 post offices, 1,074 were also designated as "typing centers" where the cards themselves were prepared. The procedure for issuing the first SSNs were that the SS-4 application forms were to be distributed by the post offices to employers beginning Monday, November 16, 1936. These forms asked the employers to indicate how many employees they had at their place of business. Using the data from the SS-4 forms, the post offices then supplied an SS-5 form for each employee and these forms (on which the assignment of an SSN was based) were to be distributed by the post offices beginning Tuesday, November 24, 1936. This one is dated Nov 28 1936. Who knew Costante was on the forefront of such history?

A little breakthrough to share

I was trying to decide what to share on this blog next and noticed these two documents in my collection. I find them very interesting for a couple of different reasons. They both concern your grandfather James Coffarelli, for whom I have already had to solve a fair number of mysteries!

The Certificate of Baptism from St. Mary's Long Island City is for a child named Jacob Simeon Coffarelli sone of John and Rosa Coffarelli. Definitely your family and the birth date of July 25 1898 matches all records I have for your grandfather James. It has been a huge mystery to me why the name is Jacob Simeon. It is dated June 6 1923 so we can presume he requested it as a requirement of his upcoming Catholic wedding just a few weeks later.

The Certificate of Marriage from St. Rita's certifies that James Coffarelli and Marguerite Manzelli were married June 27 1923. The documents are strikingly similar -- indeed they are produced by the same company so I imagine area churches all used the same.

They reside back to back inside a sheet protector in my notebook and I just thought you might like to see them again and take notice of a few things. Other than the child's name, his baptismal sponsors were Frank Scaretta and Margherita Nigra. I don't know if these are relatives but since James was the last of 9 children, it seems likely they may have given this honor to family friends.

Off I went to bed thinking I knew just how I was going to write the blog today. Relaxing your mind allows little brainstorms in and I had such an experience last night just as I was drfiting off. That darn Jacob Simeon was really bugging me and I was thinking about how I was going to note that the baptism certificate was produced 25 years after the event to prepare for the wedding. That means someone had to copy over and transcribe the information in the original church records.

And that's when the light when on! I am guessing that your grandfather James may have been listed in the original church records with his Italian name Giacomo--which can also be translated as Jacob! Ta-da! A perfectly reasonable hypothesis for the name on the baptismal certificate. Perhaps Simon/Simeon really was his middle name. I don't think I have anything else to help me figure that out for sure, but I am very pleased with myself that there may be an answer to that little mystery.

I slept very well after that. Now all I have to do is come up with some reason for him to have been listed as Samuel in the census records........

Update from the Ville

Yeah, I hate it but some of the coaches and athletes are referring to Harpursville as "the Ville". The Harpur part is what makes us unique is what I say but you can imagine how much weight such a statement from a gray haired lady carries.

Ryan calls this picture "Smooshed"--that's him in the middle between those colliding gor-ma-trons. The team is now 1-2 but we can live with that. No miracles were expected under a new coaching staff and for now it looks like things might be on the right track for "the boys of the Ville". He's looking forward to playing some defense this week (I'm not) in a game they are expected to lose --so no pressure.

I remember when Ryan was probably about 8 and Linda and Scott were able to see one of his youth league games. Ryan came off the field bleeding from his mouth and I always thought Linda probably swore off football for her boys forever that day. This season, I feel a little bit like that.

We got the "Save the Date" card in the mail this week! Yeah--and congratulations Brian and Monet. I'll be adding all sorts of new stuff to the Dalpiaz family tree in 2010. It's kind of nice to be adding names at the bottom rather than at the top or out to the sides of the family tree....do you think I might have that backwards?

Pat, Steve and the kids looked great on Good Morning America. Looking forward to hearing some dog stories. Welcome Sade.

I hope you all had a good first day of fall and enjoy what the season has to offer.

I was upset with myself Friday morning when I realized that I had forgotten it was September 11. A few days earlier, I was very aware that Friday was September 11 in part because the 8th grade history teacher across the hall was preparing her now-annual first lesson "What September 11 Means to Me". And I found myself wondering where was the tipping point on this event for our students...these current 8th graders were probably in kindergarten on September 11 2001. Did they have a memory of that day and would they be able to effectively express what it means to them? I'm guessing not. I'm sure the teacher makes it meaningful to them, but the bottom line is that this event probably doesn't carry personal meaning to them or any students coming up behind them.

This fading of event trauma is normal and likely healthy. One of the blogs that I like to read recently did a very nice post along these lines. The Occasional CEO wrote "9/11 and the National Memory". I strongly encourage you to read it. He puts historical events in our lifetimes in perspective in an enlightening way: such tidbits as when a mouse used to indicate a 4 legged critter rather than an electronic extension of our fingers.

He likens this shift to a snake shedding its skin. Out with the old and in with the new. Regrowth. Renewal. I was reminded of Amy's experience at the zoo this summer. Apparently boa constrictors need some extra help shedding all their skin--especially around their eyes. So she found herself helping the staff remove old skin from around this constrictor's eyes. Huge "Blecch" factor aside, it's not unlike how such memories get lost. There is some natural fading and shifting but we (society) assist that fading and shifting in many ways. We are picking the skin away so new skin can grow when we forget or fail to pause and remember. A survival technique, yes but it seems criminal to let that day go by without some remembrance.

I was 7 when President Kennedy was shot. Most definitely the defining event of its time. I vaguely remember seeing the funeral on television but have no other specific memories of that day in school or the days that followed. Eight years later I certainly could not have written a meaningful essay on "What President Kennedy's Assassination Means to Me". Present tense. Still meaningful. But I feel certain my teachers could have. And my parents. So perhaps today's 8th graders see September 11 not as video-like memories running through their minds but more as how it is commemorized today. And I'm afraid they did not see much evidence that we remember. Neither did I on the following anniversaries of the President's assassination.

A number of articles in the paper the next day talked about how some places held remembrance events and others did not. Specifically it mentioned that no recognition was given at Ryan's football game in Bainbridge. I was grateful the game wasn't in Harpursville or I'm pretty sure we would have been in the same boat. I guess this puts me in the same camp as those campaigning to have September 11 be marked as a Day of Remembrance. Because it affected me. Because it's still vivid in my memory. But I forgot Friday was September 11 until well into the day. I guess I also helped peel away the dead skin of that day.

#4 starts his last football season with a win!

Where does the summer go? When I was a kid, it seemed like summer went along nice and slow. We went to swimming lessons and that was about the extent of the scheduled activities. We rode our bikes and played outside. That was just about it.

This summer began with a visit from Kathleen and Nick, as well as a visit from our summer long companion (or so it seemed): rain. It ended with Ryan's first football game (and victory!) of the season. In between we had baseball, basketball, wisdom teeth, summer school, contacts, cousins, Coffarellis, and an actual running Mustang. Actually now that I put it in writing it seems like quite enough to fill up the last 10 weeks or so.

Back to school wasn't quite the shopping event then that it has become. We did have to sort, repair and re-hem clothes and find lunch pails. The right lunch pail was kind of a big deal as we almost never bought "hot lunch" and you did have to carry the right accessories into the cafeteria. I am very certain my mother was very happy to see that school bus arrive on a regular basis again.

In a way, I'm grateful for what the whole "back to school" season has become. It is like starting fresh again --I will be thinking of you all on my 31st first day back to school (well, I guess it's technically my 44th first day back to school if you count those 13 other years!).

Birth Days and Places

Happy birthday to our girls of summer--Marisa, Mallory, Sarah and Hailey! What a fun way to end the summer each year. I hope everyone has a great day. Looks to me as if Mallory is asking "What's with the cone on my head?" You can see here she is destined for greatness.

Birth days and places have been on my mind. We FINALLY got ourselves together and took ourselves down to get passports. Of course, James is the only one of us without a birth certificate that has a raised seal. The directions said we could bring other documents to support proof of birth if the birth certificate didn't have the raised seal. So we did but the lady behind the counter was having none of it. That's a whole other story, but I ended up ordering a new birth certificate for James, which was surprisingly easier than I expected it was going to be.

The piece of paper I consider to be James' original birth certificate says he was born in Bay Shore--information that makes sense and information we have used every time that information was required. The new "official" birth certificate arrived and says he was born in Islip.

I feel certain I will get nowhere arguing the point with the authorities but to me this is a pretty big problem. Where you are born is an integral part of your history. It shapes you and is carried down through the generations. I am still trying to figure out how to handle this but I want future generations to know their ancestor was born in Bay Shore New York. How can New York State change your place of birth? I am nearly speechless thinking about the implications.

Power of 16

There's a thread running through recent genealogy blogs and discussions about the "great grands"-- your 16 great grandparents. Specifically, can we name our 16 great grandparents? Must be this is where people get stalled.

Now, in case this challenge is presented to you and for those of you who aren't sure allow me to assist: Fortunato and Carolina Parteli Dalpiaz; Francisco and Teresa Odorizzi; Luigi and Mary Cella Messa; Peter and Mary Chesternino Contenta; Giuseppe (and unknown) Coffarelli; Giovanni and Leonarda Dalami Pedano; Pietro and Margherita De Carlo Manzelli; Graziano and Antonia Isoldi. Well, there's 15 of them anyhow--not too bad!

One of the interesting things about this group I noticed when I put these names together is that only Giuseppe Coffarelli came to live in the United States (he was about 90 when he arrived to live with his son). All the others were in Italy. It was the next generation that were the primary immigrants and therefore how your family came to be Americans.

Unfortunately these are pretty much just names in a list. I don't (yet) have any stories or background information to fill out their stories in ways that make them real people. For most of them I don't even yet know hometowns or regions. Maybe I never will but it's the hunt that keeps me going.

Just for fun

Summer 1996 and 2009

We have just returned from our visit to Long Island. As usual, Hotel Hartman was wonderfully comfortable for all of us, even if the "no Vacancy" sign should have been posted out front. Poor Tracy and Prince did not know what to do with all those strange people in their house. Thanks to Linda and Scott for being such great hosts.

Seeing the kids enjoying their time together is a real treat. They truly seem to enjoy their cousin time and they are very lucky to have that special relationship. It's a tribute to the efforts of their parents and family members who make that kind of time a priority. Perhaps it doesn't seem like any big deal to you all but not everyone is this fortunate and it's definitely a blessing. It seemed to be important to your parents and now for you. Since the next generation is beginning to develop (congratulations Brian, Monet, Danielle and Ron!) I feel certain those cousins will be similarly blessed. I sincerely hope so.

We are thinking of Mallory today as her wisdom is removed (according to her Dad if I'm not mistaken). Ryan is out there melting on his first day of football practice. Now it really feels like his senior year has begun!

Pat hosted the Extreme Pool Olympics over the weekend reminiscent of past Dalpiaz Family Olympic events. Enjoy the memories.

1995

2001
2009

We are looking forward to our Long Island journey this upcoming weekend! It's not much of a vacation, but it's what we've got this year.

While we can't always get away physically, thanks to today's technology you can get away virtually. Here's one example you might enjoy: A Walk through Astoria and other places in Queens: photos from the early 1940s. I think it's neat because you see what your grandparents saw every day.

Thanks to Jean for the great Coffarelli reunion. I snagged pictures from Shutterfly--not sure whose they are for certain so I can't give you proper credit but I'm guessing Pat. We spoke to Aunt Rose this week and she's hoping we can all manage to get together sometime soon. Maybe we can talk over some options this weekend. See you soon!

I recently found this letter from Amy and thought you could empathize. I don't recall how old she was when this was written but I do remember offering to help her pack and asking if she needed a sandwich for the road. It was one of those classic family moments.

Although it very rarely happens anymore, I love getting letters in the mail. Emails, Facebook, texting or IM doesn't quite replace getting a letter from someone. A real letter is very rare these days and getting even more so. I treasure the letters I got from Marilyn and re-read them often. It is amazing that I learn something new from them each time I open them even though they are just about as old as Ryan is! Given how many times I have re-read them in the last 17 years, that's alot of new stuff to get out of old letters!

Even though tweeting doesn't quite fulfill that same satisfaction as a letter in the mailbox with your name on it, I recognize this is the way of the world today. I have saved emails from my mother detailing some of her everyday events and I treasure those as much as Marilyn's handwritten letters. But there is something about handwriting that connects you to the writer's personality -- even a signature can give provide that connection sometimes.

I can't quite accept that someday an electronic file will generate the same kind of wistful memories as a letter just like this one.

A little clarification for the records. When we were on Long Island for Jake's wedding, we were looking through Pat's albums and she has this picture also. It was interesting for me to note that her picture is just a little bit different from this one--just shifted a little bit to show the people a little differently. It taught me to look at things very carefully for just such differences which can lead to great discoveries.

OK this discovery isn't a "great" one and I guess it's not even technically a discovery nevertheless....in her album Pat has a copy of a letter from Anna describing the people in the picture which corrects, clarifies and verifies identities.

Uncle James would be Giacomo Manzelli a barber who lived on Hamilton St with his brother's family (Joseph and Jennie Manzelli). Grandma and Grandpa would be Giuseppe (Joe) and Giovanna (Jennie or Anna).

"Your Mom and Dad" are James and Marguerite Coffarelli.

I think she means Aunt Dolly Emily Manzelli.

Housekeeper from New Rochelle (not a second wife as I earlier suspected).

Uncle Joe must be Joseph Manzelli her brother who was about 5 years older than her.

She is in the picture as well.

So that helps clear some of that up!

Little surprises in unexpected places

About a month ago, I was picking up my newspapers at the store and decided to bring home 4 yummy ice cream pops. When I got home I could only find 3 of them and just assumed I'd left one behind on the counter. Well, today I found that lost ice cream pop in the side pocket of my book bag. A little surprise in an unexpected place. A big surprise would have been if the ice cream pop had leaked all around the inside of my bag.



It occurred to me that I've been enjoying lots of these little surprises lately. On our way home by way of the back roads the other night, we saw a bear in a driveway. I tried to get a picture but it was dusk and he wasn't in the mood to pose. I think the last time I saw a bear around here was when Robert and Bobbie were visiting. We were riding up the highway and there he was in the median. This one was definitely bigger but probably still a "little" surprise.



Another surprise James asked me to share with you but (somehow) it slipped my mind--after three years, the Mustang is up and running and road ready! Nick was a big help but it is definitely a surprise to actually see that thing on the road and out from under a tarp. Yahoo (I guess).



And here's another little surprise I found during one of my occasional random Dalpiaz Google exercises--I think this might have been taken in Utah. Look carefully.

Bates Motel anyone???

35-62 9th

It was really great to see everyone last Sunday at Jean's for the "once-a-decade-or-so" Coffarelli reunion picnic. I was disappointed in the pictures I took so I hope the rest of you will be sharing yours soon. Pat and Nick. I'm sorry we had to leave so early but I felt like I came away with a great deal even if my time was short.

There were a couple of things I was eager to share with Uncle Johnny and I was really hoping to jog his memory to release some stories--and it worked! I feel like I have some great background now to be able to put together some of the pieces of the puzzle of the Coffarelli family story.

Your grandparents married in June of 1923 at St. Rita's (the scene of many family events infamous and joyful as well). Marguerite was the oldest of 9 children and James was the youngest. That pairing must have made for an interesting relationship. Just about nine months later, Uncle Johnny was born in Freeport. And four years later Regina was born.

This is a picture of Marguerite in front of the house on Sagamore Street. Uncle Johnny vividly remembers the large front sun porch which you can see a bit of behind Marguerite in this picture. Looks like a pretty good size house to me! Sometime between James' death in 1934 and Marguerite's in 1938 the family left Freeport apparently to live at 35-62 9th Street Long Island City. .

13 Sagamore Street was quite a ways from New York Hospital (now NY Presbyterian Hospital) in Manhatten where James was being treated for his leukemia. Uncle Johnny says he could see the hospital across the river--must have been from 9th Street

He recalls that the mortgage for this house was held by a furniture dealer who called the loan forcing them to move. Circumstances suggest that James' death probably forced this. I do not know the situation but at first I wanted to "boo-hiss" the furniture dealer but it is likely that Marguerite struggled financially after her husband's death at the height of the Great Depression. Yet another example of how history repeats itself and today's economic difficulties in many ways echo that time.

Uncle Johnny also recalled playing stickball in the neighborhood. He had no idea what kinds of things your mother was doing for entertainment while he was hitting a tennis ball with a mop handle. When I asked what were some of his favorite foods, he said he ate whatever was put in front of him. Days of the week dictated the menu--Sundays were chicken. I have noticed that the women in the family usually recall more specific details about such things but Uncle Johnny did not lack in detail describing stickball or other ball-bouncing games.

One interesting tidbit I'd like to follow up on was that he identified Aunt Betty (perhaps Elizabeth Coffarelli) in a picture as someone who lived with them and carried him out of a house fire! I imagine this had to be while they were living in Freeport but I hope to hear more of that story!

I've learned time and time again that these stories weave themselves in and out of time and it brings great comfort. As I was looking at my papers to get ready to put this post together, I re-read Marilyn Sheerin's letters and noticed that Aunt Claire and Aunt Marie's address was 35-62 9th Street Long Island City. More than 50 years later and the same address for the Manzellis. Probably someone told me that a long time ago, but it jumped right out at me today.

As Uncle Johnny was describing his sun porch on Sagamore Street, I was remembering Kathleen telling us that she has always wanted a house with a porch. Echoes of the past such as this add such richness to the story of your lives that it's difficult to let it go.

Summer 2009 except it doesn't really feel like summer just yet. We had a great visit with Kathleen and Nick. This sign about sums up the visit. Things didn't quite go together the way we were planning, but it was a great match up regardless.

My mother was an only child but my dad had two brothers. He was 13 years older than his next sibling, my Uncle Peter. We didn't get to see much of our uncles so whenever they visited it was a big deal for us kids. Even when we were older, it was a special event if Uncle Tim and Aunt Emmy visited.

So even though Ryan was with his new best friends the Marines for Boys State and Amy spent much of the week wrestling otters, it was a special week for us also. We toured wine country between Cayuga and Seneca Lakes (not rainy but not warm either); James cooked hot dogs on the grill (nearly in the rain); Kathleen took Amy and Ryan for ice cream (probably in the rain) in downtown Harpursville. We explored a covered bridge; saw some baseball--Ryan's team played better than the Binghamton Mets; and enjoyed the rainbows the rain brought (nearly every day).

We are pleased to have been one of the stops on the Great Northern Tour of 2009. That's a huge undertaking for Kathleen and Nick--thanks for taking the trip and we will see you soon at Jean's!

"The Finest Place to Live"

When James and I were talking about your dad's birthday this year, we agreed that it was hard to think of him as the 81 year old man he would have been. But that changed for me upon noticing an article in the New York Times last Friday June 26 2009: He's Never Left Astoria Behind. Even for me, many recognizable names were mentioned in the article.

Of course, I couldn't leave it at that so I jumped up to investigate a little bit. I remember your dad talking about growing up in the same neighborhood as Tony Bennett. Then Anthony Benedetto, he is only a year younger than your dad so I feel like his experience was in many ways your family's as well. This article mentions Tony Bennett's dad was a grocer but in the 1930 census he and his wife were dressmakers. The article mentions Steinway Street, which is what the census lists as the Dalpiaz/Messa family homestead at that time.

Tony Bennett says Astoria was "The finest place to live". What a wonderful way to remember childhood! Apparently he stared at the Manhattan skyline across the East River and I imagine your dad, his sisters and perhaps the rest of the family doing the same. In 1930 Tony lived on 21st Avenue but the article mentions a two story house on 32nd Street during the Great Depression. Indeed all in the same neighborhood--906 34th Avenue is the Messa/Dalpiaz address in the early 1930s. He raised pigeons on the roof and played in the Astoria Pool (which I do not recall hearing about). The rooftop activities of course bring to mind the pictures from the Astoria rooftops!! The article mentions Steinway Junior High School class of 1942 with his class picture. Is this the same Junior High School your parents attended?

Anyhow, the fondness Mr. Bennett holds for his childhood homes and memories brings great warmth to my heart thinking about your dad especially. It feels just like thie article is talking about your dad--despite the fact he wasn't a world renowned celebrity!!

We are awaiting Kathleen and Nick's arrival tomorrow!

Father's Day and Summer Solstice

As a special treat for Father's Day this year, you have the longest day of the year to celebrate! I hope you are all having a great day with your fathers or with your children. James is spending the afternoon at the Binghamton Mets game with Amy and Ryan. Perfect. I know he misses his dad to this day and especially today so I'm glad he is spending it with his kids at his favorite pasttime. I hope the same for all of you.

In my family history research, I learn many things that surprise me. This hasn't specifically happened recently, but it occured to me that even in today's world we can learn things that might surprise us about our family members. We think we know what others think of us, but those perceptions are often inaccurate. And we don't even realize it! I have very often had my eyes opened by a revelation shared by someone's perception of me or my preferences, motives whatever. We simply do not have the same views of ourselves that others do and such a reality check can be very refreshing.

So, in that spirit, I thought I would share with you all some of my favorite online activties. I am sharing things I think might surprise you as well as give you new insight to my interests. One such website is one that I'll bet Thomas would enjoy very much: The Occasional CEO blog blends history with current events in such an interesting way I look forward to all new posts! Most recently I particularly enjoyed the post: Twitter, Pain, and the Livery Stable Blues: Culture Trumps Technology . Great food for thought. I get regular Grammar Girl updates to keep me current with grammatical trivia.

Podcasts I enjoy on my iPod include Quick and Dirty Tips Get It Done Guy as well as This American Life from NPR; Circuits by David Pogue and Good Morning Gloucester. I've just started listening to Arming the Donkeys explaining recent scientific research and how it affects our lives.

And, yes, I have finally joined the social network world on Facebook. We'll see how it goes. I look forward to all it can offer. Jake mentioned the wide Dalpiaz network so I am very intrigued.

Good thing it's the longest day in the year with all this stuff to keep up with! My family is welcoming a new twig on the family tree today: my sister Paula's son Bill welcomes his second daughter Emma into the world today!

Who knew?

The USA Today paper today described a potential "new" kind of cloud. I never considered there might ever be a new kind of cloud. Did you? Anyone out there more scientifically based than I am that knows something about clouds? This is a cloud I admired one day.

It might be an odd coincidence, but I had just been admiring the cloud formations today as I was finally released from our last day of school (this probably added to their beauty). And sometimes I take comfort in the thought that the sun, the moon, the stars and the clouds today are the "same" sun, moon, stars and clouds that our ancesters admired. I can still rely on the sun, right?

Happy Birthday Dad

Birthday bubbles. Your dad never struck me as being very fanciful so I like this picture because he was having fun with his grandchild. And I especially like the big bear in the background. But this picture also makes me sad because it was taken when we were there for your mother's funeral and I know how sad he was. I'm pretty sure his heart was not in entertaining Amy that moment but he did it anyhow and that speaks to his character. We miss him.

Another universal experience, I suppose.

Paper or Plastic?

James accompanied me this morning on my weekly trip to the grocery store. I carefully plan this trip to avoid the church crowd as well as optimize my weekend time. Unlike a lot of others, I don't mind doing the grocery shopping. I get a little tired of putting the stuff IN the cart, taking it OUT to pay for it, loading the car, unloading the car then unpacking the bags. So it's nice to have company once in a while but Sunday mornings are NOT compatible with the rest of the family normally. But today James came along and we got talking about shopping and errands with our parents.

Oddly enough, no one in my house is any too interested in grocery shopping with me. Go figure. But since your Mom didn't drive, someone had to go along. I suppose that sometimes that felt a little burdensome to you as teenagers especially but I imagine your Mom enjoyed the time with you very much, as I do if I'm ever lucky enough to have Ryan or Amy along. Perhaps sometimes you went along on the errands in order to have your own time with your mother.

James reported that your Mom liked to make sure she got everyone their favorite treats. There is something very fulfilling about putting stuff in the cart (then out, then load and unload and unpack) that you know will make the kids happy. It's a way to show a little bit of love.

Grocery shopping is a universal experience and we all follow certain patterns and habits in this task. Those patterns and habits probably mirror our personalities. That pattern can be disturbed such as when James came along today to demonstrate that I apparently do not know how to arrange items in the cart properly. But I'd still rather have that little time together than not. And these are the memories that sustain us and give our kids stories to tell sometime in the future.

Preparing for the Great Northern Tour

Well, it's officially summer! Doesn't really feel like it yet but here comes another season whether we are ready or not. We recently got notice that Ryan's senior picture appointment is June 6 and I am NOT ready for that! Yikes.

But we are getting ready for our first big summer event--Kathleen and Nick's visit. They don't get to visit here very often so we are looking forward to seeing them. I don't know how often your grandfather Costante got to see his brother Rudolfo but here's a picture from one of these visits.

I'm told this picture was taken at Rose's house and it makes me think of our upcoming visit from Kathleen and Nick. This looks like something a little silly might have been going on. Nick and James, anybody? I see several item I expect might play a role in this upcoming visit: a pot, some beer and a goofy inanimate object (the black pig?). I see a number of items I do NOT expect--a gun, a helmet (although who knows) and a pipe.

I hope everyone is enjoying the summer 09 kickoff. Here's a picture from a visit 16 years ago: maybe we can recreate it in a few weeks.

Big stuff going on in Harpursville this week. Despite some rain and a limo without a tailpipe, Ryan's prom went very well. He worked very hard on the music for the night and on a slideshow for dinnertime entertainment. His efforts paid off as both the music and the pictures were hits with the kids. He was named to the court, which was a nice surprise. Here you see Ryan with his date Abby in the blue dress, his friends Stephanie and Zach outside on the sidewalk as we tried to keep the kids dry for pictures.

Amy is now home and already working her internship hours at the local zoo. There's a new story every night! A penguin that needs suncsreen on her bald head is my favorite story so far. A bear with a bad toooth. Lugging 12 pounds of meat per tiger per day at feeding time. And then there's the poop. Well, you can imagine. She is also subbing at school--an adventure all by itself! More stories. I'd like to say there are more stories at the dinner table but that doesn't happen together nearly often enough.

One of our colleagues died at his desk today in school. We are badly shaken. Such a beautiful spring day belies the reality of life's fragility. So we take even greater pleasure in prom tuxedos and otter poop.

Brandon's big week

It's all about Brandon this week! Happy birthday guy! I hope you are hving a great day. First Communion next weekend too....big events at both ends of the week. Enjoy. We are proud of you.

I am enjoying Pat and Jean's Shutterfly sites. It's great to see the pictures. Mallory and her friends looked great. I hope they had a good time. Amy says Mallory's dress is "all Mallory". I have to say I am feeling for Bob. It's not as much fun as you might think seeing your baby all dolled up for her prom. Thanks for sharing Jean and Pat.

Amy is home now from Kutztown and will be starting her internship at the local zoo tomorrow. Ryan's prom is next weekend and he's been helping organize things for his group so things are hopping around here even more than usual. James escorted a school group on a school trip to NYC and he just returned today. He's helping out the tour company he uses for his band trips.

So it's typical spring stuff. I am waiting to hear back again from your "new" cousin. I haven't done too much work in that area yet. We are switching over to a new computer and I'm being very slow and deliberate in transferring files and getting used to the new.

So to amuse you in the meantime, I hope you are able to run this video clip of Ryan learning the Charleston during our annual "Flapper Day". Yes, he's in a dress for the occasion. See if you can guess which of the girls is his date for the prom. Yes, Brandon (or any of the rest of you) this could be you someday soon!

News from another "long lost" cousin!

After speaking with Aunt Rose, I decided to try and touch base with John Miglietta son of Tullia and grandson of Aunt Caroline Valentini and Uncle Frenchie. He is your 2nd cousin.

I heard back from him today and this is what he has to say:

My parents are Tullia and Mario (Jimmy is what people called him) Miglietta. My mother's maiden name was Valentini. My maternal grandparents were Rene and Caroline Valentini. My grandmothers maiden name was Dalpiaz and she was born in Tassullo Italy in 1903. She died in 2003 here in Nashville Tennessee. I had moved her down here to be closer to me in 2000. Although she is buried back in New York. So if I have this right your husband's grandfather and my grandmother were brother and sister.

I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to correspond with you further and share our family history. How is Sister Tullia doing? I believe she is the only surviving sibling from my grandmother. Please convey my regards to everyone.

I replied that I would convey his regards and I invited him to view the blog and become an author. We have the right 2nd cousin! Aunt Rose was eaxctly right. I did not realize John's father was Mario however and I've been looking for James. No wonder I had trouble finding them in the records! I certainly do learn something new every day. Researching the siblings as well as the direct ancestors has added a very rich layer to the family story. Remember someday someone will be looking for you perhaps as a direct ancestor or perhaps to enrich their stories. Hah! That will make you think twice, won't it?

Welcome to the group John!

Brian and Gram 1989

Amy and Gram 1990

I thought maybe it would be nice to take some time to show a little bit about what made your mother happy--her grandchildren seemed to make her very happy. I don't have that frame of reference yet but every grandmother I know just loves the grandchildren. It was obvious that your mother loved hers. Talk about spoiled!

I regret that the younger children never got to know their grandmother Dalpiaz at all, but I hope we can all continue her legacy by taking great joy in our families far and wide. Celebrate your mother's birthday and spoil someone. Go ahead.