This is what a no hitter looks like!! Ryan pitched a full game no hitter this afternoon (one walk short of a perfect game) for a 7-0 win. It was a great game--he had 9 strikeouts and one walk (the lead off walk got picked off stealing second with a throw from Ryan on the mound). Yes, I am bragging. I am still wiping the tears away.

Happy Easter!

Here's what we are seeing this morning here in Massachusetts! The Easter bunny found us here last night and we are having a grand visit. I am blogging right on the beasch with my new Mini Dell which also has a webcam. Lots of fun for me!

I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend.

Hippity Hoppity

Happy Easter! We are now officially on vacation and whew, did it come at a good time!! We will be traveling to Gloucester for the weekend. Ryan has 4 games next week so we can't stay longer--though we would if we could!!

Easter time brings great memories especially of trips to your parents house for the holiday. We made that trip many times while the kids were young and we have many fond memories of those days. I'm not really sure Ryan will forgive me for dressing him in outfits like this but since I'm pretty sure he won't, I might as well post the evidence on the blog! This is 1993.

Amy will be spending the weekend in Kutztown working but the Easter bunny sent her a package. She got an internship at our local zoo over the summer and we are very happy she will be home with us instead of in Baltimore (her preference over Binghamton for some reason).

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend. Easter dinner circa 1985.

Spring Birthdays and Celebrations

Spring is a big time for Dalpiaz birthdays! Happy birthday Lindsay, Nick, Thomas this week. We've had quite a bit of rain and wind this week in typical spring-like patterns. Rain makes me think of ducks so here's my tribute to spring --thanks Linda for the opportunity. Honestly I wanted to get this picture up on the blog but I wasn't sure just how to introduce it. It's definitely a classic.

The baseball season is now underway (speaking of rain). It looks like Ryan will be playing infield and pitching. He is just as happy he got relieved of catching duty, but that's my favorite to watch.

James is watching the race "with" Kathleen and Nick today. The wonders of today's technology!

Remember when microwave ovens were a new technology? Lots of people were hesitant at first. I think my mom was one of those --expense being no small consideration. But today can you even imagine being without? And your children don't know any other way to make popcorn!

We would make popcorn on the stove with oil and kernels--it was some trick to make sure it didn't burn. When air poppers came out, that opened up another whole new world. Jiffy Pop was only a special treat once in a great while.

Like birthdays--we'd get special treats on our birthdays such as our favorite meal for dinner and whatever kind of cake we wanted. One special treat today for Amy and Ryan is a simple little dish my mother would make by slicing bananas, adding mandarin oranges and sprinkling with confectioner's sugar. I always liked it best chilled a bit with just the right amount of liquid for the sugar to mix with. One special treat that has gone down from generation to generation. What were special treats from your childhood? How did you celebrate birthdays?

Paying it Forward

There are very kind people in this world and this is a tribute to one of them. His name is Ron Maldonado and he is somehow affiliated with the Ellis Island website to track passenger lists. He went above and beyond to help me find your great grandmother Caterina Contenta's arrival to the United States.

I'd been looking for her arrival records for some time with no luck. One of the tenets of online research such as this is to keep trying the same sites even if you think you've exhausted them because new stuff goes online regularly. Although I'd been able to find her sister Anna's arrival (Aunt Lessie as she was referred to) in 1905, I'd consistently been unable to locate Caterina's.

Until a couple of weeks ago! A hit finally at the Ellis Island site but the link to the original ship manifest is most definitely not Caterina's ship. So I very gingerly and nicely emailed the Ellis Island site reporting the problem (I wouldn't have blamed them very much for simply ignoring such a petty request with all the work they have already done for people like me).

A day or two later I got a personal email back from my new friend Ron noting that he thought he'd found Caterina for me. He gave me step by step directions to find her record through another site and BINGO there she is, bless her soul (and Ron's). I am just tickled. I can't upload a .pdf file here for you but will email the file to you if you let me know.

Caterina Contenta (later Kate Messa) arrived in New York June 11 1907 about 2 years after her sister Antonia. She sailed from Naples, almost 185 miles from her home in Castellana Bari Italy, and the voyage took almost 3 weeks. As we know, she didn't really want to make this journey but did so at her sister's behest. The passenger arrival records list her age as 30 upon arrival which is a little different than the information I have so far, but age discrepancies are very common. She says she can read and write (Italian I'm sure) and intends to join her brother-in-law Luigi Lessi in Flushing.

So welcome to America although her life here would be difficult. Having Ron's help with this reconfirmed my faith in the average everyday human being out there! I hope you have a similar experience or do the same for someone else (even if you don't realize it!).

Belated March birthday shout out: Pat, Jean, Danielle and Robert!!

Aunt Caroline

I have just received copies of Aunt Caroline's naturalization papers which provided lots of insight to her life. I'm sure Aunt Rose can fill in many more details also and I look forward to hearing some of those from her.



Carolina was born Sept 10 1903 about two and a half years after Costante, her next oldest sibling. She was 5th of 11 siblings. She married Rene Valentini (Uncle Frenchy) October 11 1928 in Italy when she was 25 years old. Rene must have had some persuasion skills as the story goes that Carolina intended to stay in the valley with her mother and didn't want to marry him. But marry him she did.



When times got hard, Rene went to Paris and joined his brother and other relatives and worked reupholstering cards. He put his persuasion skills to another test and eventually Carolina joined him there. Apparently even though Carolina never wanted to leave her homeland, Paris was "still Europe" but she would go "no further". I'm telling you, this guy must have been pretty convincing!



Since Carolina didn't know French, everyday tasks were much more difficult. They couldn't find suitable housing so they stayed in a hotel and cooked from a hot plate. She was forced to learn enough French to at least grocery shop.



The naturalization papers stated that Carolina left France aboard the SS Majestic and arrived in the US August 20 1929, just on the verge of the stock market crash. The following May, daughter Tullia was born. I wonder if Carolina knew she was pregnant when she left France. She must have been about one minute pregnant when she got on that ship!



By the time Tullia was about 8 months old, her father arrived Jan 2 1931. I wonder if they wondered if they'd made a big mistake coming to the United States in such desparate economic times. The news must have been as bad for them as we are getting today!



Just a few months after his arrival, Uncle Frenchy was naturalized. Ten years later in October of 1941, Carolina applied for naturalization. The papers indicate an objection was filed, apparently because the United States was at war with Italy and it was normal procedure to file such an objection. The witnesses for her were her brother Costante and her husband. July 1943, almost two years later, she was officially naturalized.



You remember Aunt Caroline and Aunt Rose took care of her for quite a while so I'm sure there are many details between the 1943 naturalization and her passing in 2003. This is a picture of Tullia Valentini, their daughter. I assume she was named after her own Aunt Tullia (the nun).

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Indulge me, please, since it's St. Patrick's Day. I have no idea if this is actually "my" Ryan coat of arms, but here you go. St. Patrick's Day brings some privilege to your Irish in-law!

To get an idea of what it is like on the other side of the ancestral tree: A while back, I bought some pins in an Irish store that are coats of arms for my various Irish surnames. I've been wearing them each day since March 1 leading up to the big day. The pin package contained interesting information on the back. I have no idea how valid any of this is but here you go: Ryan (O Riain) is descended from the Irish sept of O Maoilriain located in Co. Limerick and Tipperary in the baronies of Owenybeg, Oweny and Arra. Established in the 14th Century to the point now where Ryan is in the top ten most numerous names in Ireland. The greatest numbers of the name are in Counties Limerick and Tipperary. Name Meaning "River God".

I especially like the mental picture "River God" creates.

I actually don't know very much yet about my ancestors' homeland. I wasn't lucky enough to have recent immigrants to pass down the story so I'm destined for long and intensive research. One half of my Irish ancestors were fishermen in Gloucester Massachusetts. The Perfect Storm meant a great deal to me thinking about those ancestors lost at sea. That's on my dad's side. My mom's side is a little more varied but at least 2 Irish branches came to the United States from Canada first.

It amazes me how many people don't know that March 17 is St. Patrick's Day and how many kids do not know their heritage. You did! I did! They should.