Happy Franksgiving?

I am contemplating Thanksgiving and thankfulness, along with most of the rest of the nation this week.  I love Thanksgiving because -- for me -- it's one of the "easy" holidays.  All you really need to worry about is the meal.  No gifts, decorations, cards to write and so forth.  For the most part, it's pretty relaxing as traditional family events go.  This gives a person more time to reflect on what there is to be thankful for. 

Reflecting on thankfulness is a valuable exercise.  It takes us outside ourselves to think about influences beyond the confines of our personal space.  And when you join families through marriage or relationships, these influences can spread to the following generation.  Such is the nature of my gratitude for your family's efforts to keep cousins connected.

My mother was an only child so I had no aunts, uncles or cousins from her side of the family.  My father was the oldest of 3 boys and he was 13 years older than his next youngest brother.  My dad settled and started his family several hundred miles from his own hometown of Gloucester Massachusetts.  His brothers stayed in Gloucester, married and started families.  We saw very little of our Gloucester aunts, uncles or cousins.  It was an unusual event indeed to see them.

But your family has always seemed to be able to maintain pretty close ties with their associated families.  Even as youngsters, your parents seemed to spend a great deal of time with their extended family--this, of course, was partly due to the close geography and culture of the day.  But as you grew to adulthood, you all have made amazing efforts to allow our children to spend time with their cousins.  As I've come to know my own cousin a little better in recent years, I've learned to understand the value of this family bond.  So, thank you for making it so! 

As we await the impending storm, I thought it might be fun to review some of the fun times had by cousins, aunts and uncles as we gathered to celebrate in the summer of 2010:




Originally I had planned to research what Thanksgiving was like for Italian immigrants in Astoria in the 1940s. Oddly, I didn't find the kind of information I was seeking but I did find an interesting little factoid that perhaps you will find interesting.  Apparently in 1939, the fourth Thursday in November (the traditional date to celebrate Thanksgiving) was late in the month, as it is this year.  At the time, it wasn't considered  proper to begin Christmas prior to Thanksgiving (imagine such a world!) and retailers were worried about the bottom line in a shortened shopping season especially as the Depression effects lingered.  President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving back a week in order to allow the extra shopping week.  Did you know this?  Derisively, it was known as Franksgiving and resulted in certain and rapid response from our US Congress.  It's an interesting story.  Check it out here.   I plan to ask Aunt Rose and Uncle Lou what they remember about this. 

Regardless of when you celebrate or with whom, please enjoy every minute of your time together.

Way Back When

We have just returned from a great weekend with Robert and Bobbie in Brooklyn.  They showed us the sites and were great hosts.  We went down to the Sept 11 memorial, walked the High Line and even got to see Chicago on Broadway!  "He had it coming.....He had it coming..."  It was nice to spend some one-on-one time with them and get caught up.

Cheers from the Blind Tiger (the oldest people in the place)

We reminisced a bit and one of the things I asked Robert was if he'd kept any kind of journal or track of the performances he's done over the years.  James had recently told me that one of his "band-mates" for a musical had done so and it seemed to have been a very wise choice on her part way back when.

 

So, here's a start for you Robert.  I found that you were a guest conductor in December 1972 for the Band of the Royal Blue performance in Homer NY.  Yes, Homer NY.  Can't be wrong if it's in the paper, right?

 

There's a little stroll down memory lane for you.  And I have more for you to consider.  It's become kind of important to me that I am able to "close the story" for some of the ancestors by adding death dates to their records.  Sometimes it's not so easy to do so but I have some leads to follow up on and I am asking you all to take your own stroll down memory lane and see if anything pops up that might be helpful. 

Do you remember anything about the deaths of either Thomas Albertini (this would be Lou and Tommy's father) which may have occurred in Jan 1964?  That's kind of a stretch I realize since you would have been pretty young but perhaps if you think about how old you were that year and consider things that happened when you were about that old, perhaps something will come to you.  Same with his wife Marcela who may have died April 1987.  That's a little easier perhaps for you to place.  Seems as though I should be able to place it, but I guess I was out of the loop on that family news of the time.  And their son Peter who may have died just recently April 2011.  Seems I might almost remember that but somehow did not take "official" note of it.  I've already written to Uncle Tommy and will plan to talk with Rose and Lou as well. 

Sometimes if you start thinking about the time frame, interesting things will pop up and if they do--please share!  How about Victor Dalpiaz (I think that's your Dad's cousin that emigrated with him, correct?)?  He may have died April 1981 perhaps in Gardiner NY.  I know some of you have memories and stories about him! 

I've shared this picture before but here you go again to put things in context:

This is the Russo clan celebrating Eugene and Amelia's 40th wedding anniversary so this was taken in 1946.  Amelia was an Isoldi and a sister to Giovanna Manzelli (your mother's grandmother and guardian).  Do you recall anything about the Russo family?  They had three children Cecelia, Margaret and Anthony but I'm mostly trying to confirm anything about Amelia and Eugene.  Amelia and Giovanna had another brother Ralph (he married Sarah) and I'd like to "close the book" on him as well. 

This is what I got about this picture: Attached shed to Eugene- Amelia's house on 43rd St in Astoria L-R: Antoinette Russo (Marino) Louie Dino (family or friend of), Francis Isoldi's wife Alice Isoldi?, 2 women and baby boy - unknown, Celia Russo (tall woman in back), Eugene Russo, Amelia Russo (Isoldi), Anthony Russo, Giovanna Manzelli (Isoldi), Unknown (Manzelli?) Ralph Isoldi, Sarah Isoldi, wife or Ralphie Isoldi, and Ralphie Isoldi, Couple sitting on floor unknown

Put your thinking caps on, reminisce and report!

 

Welcome to the world Robinson

November is a big month for the Dalpiaz clan, but we all got a big bonus when Robinson was born. Happy 15th birthday to Thomas--you have a new one-time removed cousin!

We are very happy for Brian, Monet and Dylan.  They have had quite a year!  Congratulations to Brian for being inducted into the Sayville Hall of Fame recently.  It was a really nice surprise to come across that news and I thought it might be fun to take a look into the "way-back machine" for Brian.

Here's one of the first pictures I have of Brian from Easter 1984 when he was just a few months old:

He looks a little frightened here.  Maybe it was that big Dalpiaz holiday crowd!

Christmas 1990 looking more relaxed

Mother and son at Pat's wedding 1997

2001 probably my very favorite picture of the siblings taken during the Southampton vacation.  This was just before the appendicitis emergency.

Doing the Fun Daddy/Uncle routine at Jean's this past summer

It's been grand watching all the kids grow into adults over the years and I wish the same for them as they watch their children, nieces and nephews grow as well!  

Happy birthday Michelle, Brian, Thomas, Steve, Lindsay Walker Dalpiaz, and Brad (Whew!)