I just love this picture. I think Marguerite Manzelli is the bride and James Coffarelli is the groom. The attendants are probably Philip Coffarelli, James' brother and Emily Manzelli, Marguerite's younger sister. They were married June 27 1923 in Long Island City.

The question is --who is the very proper child? My guess is that is is a Manzelli, perhaps Anna who would have been about 8 or Madeline when she was about 7 years old. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

The wedding attire is very typical of the time period and very beautiful, I think. And what magnificent flowers!

Farewell Summer 2008

Last official summer weekend is already upon us. And you know what that means for most of us--back to school! Those of you who are retired, perhaps this last holiday of the summer isn't as sweet as it is for those of us going back into the classrooms. This last Monday seems like such a sweet gift.

James tells me he thinks he recalls the family would host a Labor Day pool party. Nothing special at my house for Labor Day. The first sign for back-to-school was trying on all the clothes to measure for adjustments--especially to hems. The eternal struggle for the hemline! I guess I shouldn't say "eternal" as it doesn't so much seem the case now!

I don't remember that we ever went "Back-To-School" shopping the way we do now. Of course, it wasn't a media event in those days.

Have a great first day of kindergarten Sarah!! What was your kindergarten teacher's name? How was that first year for you?

Happy Birthday to the girls--the kindergartner, the college freshman, the new driver (!) and the actress.

One mystery solved--sort of!

When I received the list of interment list for the Manzelli plot at the Calvary Cemetery, I noticed a listing for Dorothy Manzelli who died at the age of 17 and was buried outside the vault. I've been very curious about Dorothy, operating under the assumption she was a Manzelli child. The mystery, for me, was: whose child?

So, I followed up the way most any curious librarian/family historian would do and sent away for her death certificate. I was surprised to learn she was the wife of Andrew Manzelli, your grandmother's brother who later married Lois and became father to RuthAnn and Peter. She died in November of 1934 after about a month in the hospital of an acute intestinal obstruction. She must have been in a great deal of pain. She was ony 3 weeks shy of her 18th birthday at the time of her death.

Andrew was about 8 years older than she was and it must have been quite tragic. Kathleen tells me she recalls being told they had been married only about a year when she died. It appears she may have been ill much of that time.

In that calendar year from about November 1933 to November 1934 was a very difficult time for your grandmother Marguerite. In December of 1933, her father died suddenly while at a welcome-home-from-the- hospital party for her husband James who suffered from leukemia. Two months or so later, in February 1934 her husband died in the hospital. The following November her sister-in-law Dorothy died after a protracted illness. This must have set Marguerite back on her heels a bit, especially given these were the Depression years. She had two young children to care for as well. They were only 9 and 5 years old when their father died.

I picture that she had the support of her extended family of siblings and spouses, just as we do today. So allow me to say thank you to you all for that and to remind us all that it is part of a family tradition, whether we were aware of it or not.

New Blog you might like!

Ryan has joined the blogging world. If you are interested in the point of view of one HS athlete, check it out at http://dalpmania.blogspot.com/ He welcomes your comments! I was also happy to see a new comment from Jake and Lindsay. Hope all is well for them. Here's their link in case you need it: http://babydalpiaz.blogspot.com/

All is well here. We are trying to make the best of the last truly free weekend for a while since FOOTBALL starts Monday. So, true to form, James is off in one direction and I in another. James is taking Amy a carload of things that she forgot when she flew out of here earlier this week. It got strikingly quiet very quickly after she left. As soon as she gives me her new mailing address, I will share it with you but if you are interested her email is adalp652@kutztown.edu

It is very hard to believe so much time has passed since your Mother's death. So many times, it feels just like she is here with us.

The Happiest Place on Earth

Take a close look here: this is Kathleen on the water slide at our Disney hotel! Something about that place makes us all forget ourselves a little bit--Nick talked me into Test Track and then there was Splash Mountain (on the "wet side" of the car!). Anyway, it was a great trip--thank you Kathleen and Nick for spending some time with us. I think that was a great way for Kathleen to begin her retirement.

We are looking forward to seeing some of the rest of the family tomorrow at Jean's!

Help needed with a little mystery

Spending a nice quiet Sunday morning doing the usual--going through family files! What else would Pat be doing when she has a few quiet minutes? I came across a little mystery I am hoping some of you will be able to help with by thinking through some of the stories you've heard.

Notes from an interview with Aunt Mary indicate that Peter Manzelli (Marguerite's brother, your mom's uncle) was first married and had a little girl then later lived with another woman ("the Nervo girl") and had no other children. My note says (and I believe I'm quopting Aunt Mary) "this makes Johnny the first official grandchild". I've never thought too much about it and I don't suppose it matters very much who was the first official grandchild (Emily Anne and I have something in common there) BUT genealogy abhors a lost family so I got looking to see if I could find Uncle Peter and this family.

I found a good candidate Peter Manzelli 30 years old in 1930 married for about 10 years to Mildred with 8 year old daughter Evelyn. Aunt Mary says she does not know what happened to the first wife but I wonder if these could be the family? Anyone have any memories of Uncle Peter Manzelli stories? Children named Evelyn? Any Mildred memories?

Neither do I know when Peter died. There's a Peter Manzelli of about the right age who's last residence was Broward County Fort Lauderdale Florida at the time of death August 1978. Any chance this might be the right Peter Manzelli?

If this is the right family, it appears that perhaps Uncle Johnny may not be the first grandchild as he was born about 2 years after Evelyn was born. If you recall any stories it might help me go a little further in this research. I already have found Mildred as a child so it would be interesting to know if I'm on the right trail!

Take care to all. Hope your summer is going well. We expect to see Kathleen and Nick next week at Disney before they come north.

Baby Smiles

I guess the upcoming baptism of Emily got me thinking about babies (mostly my own of course). I can recall very distinctly the first time Ryan grinned at me in that way moms know is just for them and not gas bubbles. Here's the card Michelle sent along when Ryan was born and it says it all about that first smile. I have kept it on my bedroom mirror all these years to more easily bring back the joy that first smile brought. You can click on the image to enlarge it for easier reading.

What little memories do you have of the babies in your life? I was old enough to remember when my mother brought sibling number 5 home. I can still see her coming through the door with the baby for the first time. Another sister wondered why we had ANOTHER and did we have to keep her. That's the advantage of being one of the older ones in the house--no one says that about you!

So think about sweet baby smells, smiles and gurgles. Here's wishing for a blessedly wonderful baptism day for Emily. God Bless.