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!)

Happy Halloween 2013!

Ah.  My first Halloween in retirement.  No hopped-up-on-sugar adolescents to tame.  Nice.  Gotta love it.

We have returned from our two week stay in Gloucester Massachusetts.  It was a great visit filled with children, whales, research and birthday surprises.  Your brother James did a great job for my birthday this year.  To be in Gloucester was enough of a gift, but he also arranged for a surprise birthday dinner that night.  Well done, dear!

To be in Gloucester during the playoffs and World Series while the Red Sox were involved was an amazing experience.  They are rabid about their sports in Ireland, and the same in the Boston area!  We had to be a little bit careful.  We were at a bar watching the Patriots lose to the Jets partially due to a controversial call and James let a small "whoop" out in favor of the Jets.  Not a good idea.  I also nearly made the mistake of wearing my new embroidered (with cardinals) vest and matching red shirt to Boston one day for research.  Also a bad idea.

Our apartment was perfect for the two of us.  It overlooked one of the many coves in the Gloucester area and was convenient for walking around.  My cousin has twins that are now 2 years old and we got to spend a great deal of time with them and with their older sister.  James is like one big toy to them, and he enjoyed every minute.

I was able to get quite a bit of research done and felt very accomplished.  There was a 3 day workshop in Boston that I attended and was able to confirm Mayflower descendancy from time spent there.  I was allowed some expert help because I volunteer for this organization and this guy was amazing!  He has some kind of incredible memory whereby he sees family names and and can make instant connections and knows right where the material is for you to use.  He hand-wrote a 3 page family history for my "Yankees" (as he called them).  He kept saying "Just watch me work.  Don't look over there.  Watch me."  It's not in my nature to sit still while surrounded by all these tempting book sources but it paid off.  He's a genius but a little hard to take.  Think Sheldon on Big Bang Theory.  I went back to research on my own using his starting points and made lots of headway up another Yankee line.  It was a great feeling to be back in the stacks, searching through old books and taking appropriate notes.

Similar headway was made right in Gloucester with my dad's aunts and uncles.  We had quite a cemetery adventure searching out my Dad's favorite Aunt Bud.  As the Archdiocese of Boston told me, "we can't confirm or deny" she's buried there so we still have some work to do.  It was the first time I'd used a funeral home to get information (James kind of pushed me to do so and he was right on the mark).

We went on a whale watch which was quite extraordinary--at least according to the guide.  The boat was loaded with German high school students who spent their time inside texting and tweeting while actual whales were performing just yards away.  It was all I could do to keep my mouth shut.

Upon our return, I needed to add a new baby on the Ryan side to the family tree as well as Colleen's wedding.  It's a little unusual to have two items to add to the tree in a short time period like two weeks, but a joyful task in these cases.  Happy Halloween to all!

October memories

It's easy to get a little sentimental at this time of year.  Today we remember your Dad and mourn his passing.  I'm sure you all recall that day as well as I do.  It's hard to believe it's been 17 years.

We also have birthdays to celebrate to remind us that time passes all too quickly.  Drew will be 21 in a few days!  I hope he has a great day--this is a great turning point in a young adult life.  Enjoy. I thought it might be fun to go back to 1995 when most of you were able to celebrate James' 40th birthday here in Harpursville with us.  We also celebrated Drew's 3rd birthday that infamous weekend making it a great family memory.

From James' surprise party.  The surprise part of this was pretty easy for me as your brother doesn't pay a great deal of attention to detail unless someone else's child is holding a musical instrument (said with love, of course).

 How nice to have everyone here though it must have been a little chillier that weekend than what we have been experiencing lately.

Football, of course.......what gathering of Dalpiaz and related males would be complete without a game of football in the yard?

 Not everyone played football

We had lots of leaves that year.  These are classic.

 Some preferred to stay inside.

Drew and Mallory drawing and Ryan is watching Dalmations.  That's my boy!

Some assembly required.  I do not believe this was James' new grill, but rather Drew's gift!

Happy birthday boys.  Enjoy the marvelous autumn!

Slainte!

I did not realize I'd missed the entire month on September on this blog.  If you're still with me, thanks--I appreciate your patience.  The trip to Ireland has consumed us in many ways, not the least of which is my blogging.  Now that I've allowed myself to put Ireland "in the past" I've begun to consider planning our upcoming adventure to Gloucester for two weeks.  It's a truly wonderful gift to be able to experience all these things that have been on our bucket list for such a long time!  We feel blessed.

Ireland was wonderful.  It was a grand place to go for our first overseas journey.  None of the things I most fretted about proved themselves problems--the airports, the flights, security, customs, money, time with relatives :).  I learned a great deal seeing some things from the other side of the pond--for example, airline transportation doesn't have to be unpleasant!  Aer Lingus was great as were the security procedures and agents.  Taught me how much our own need to learn.

I took a short video from the bus ride around the Ring of Kerry (the most beautiful part of the trip, hands down).  I especially like hearing the driver's voice.  We kind of missed hearing the brogue upon return.  It would have been very, very easy to slip into that rhythm of the spoken word.

This was the kind of scenery I had expected to see and it brought my fishermen and farmer ancestors to mind.

We landed in Dublin at 8 AM though our bodies thought it was closer to 4 AM.  While we were waiting for our bus transportation to Galway, we were quickly introduced to the culture of the land by 3-4 guys at the departure counter drinking their beers.  Right in the check in gate.  Right from the bottle.  At 8 AM.  Welcome to Ireland. 

We stayed in the Salthill area of Galway and it was right on Galway Bay.  A very pretty little area which reminded me a great deal of Gloucester Massachusetts.  I do have some fishermen ancestors from Galway so I was constantly thinking of their experiences.  We stayed in a B & B (that you see in the pictures below) here as well as in Cork.  They were quite wonderful--and very plentiful.  One B & B right after the other along the way.  We stayed in Galway 3 nights then on to Cork for 3 nights.  It was from Cork that we took the Ring of Kerry tour.  It was beauty I can't believe I saw with my own eyes as I review the pictures.  When we go back again, we'll stay in the Cork area in a smaller town.  See, we're (I'm) making plans to return!

Many of you have seen pictures but here are some additional that I did not post to Facebook that tell the story a little differently:




From Cork, we took the train to Dublin for 2 nights.  Our hotel was smack in the bar scene which was a whole new world to see!  No question Dublin has got the big-city energy.  In two short days we went to see The Book of Kells at Trinity College, the old jail, Christchurch, Guinness Storehouse, Jameson Distillery and learned a great deal of history.  We had a variety of experiences and I felt very comfortable despite never being certain which way to turn my head crossing the street (in Dublin, they gave you directions painted on the street and the crosswalk).  We enjoyed a wide variety of beer and whiskey (well, I enjoyed a variety of whiskeys--not so much for James) and had no trouble finding food to enjoy.  The weather was "good for Ireland"--we got told this numerous times.  It was mild though we saw very little sun and we got damp (but not wet) most days. 

The best part of the trip was probably all the little encounters we had with people --mostly natives--along the way. Everyone was very friendly and willing to help.  People would just start conversations with you or offer assistance at the slightest sign you needed it.  It was a grand time.

Can't wait to share stories as we see you all in the upcoming weeks.  Slainte!

Let's Go to Macy's!

 

Macy's seems to hold a special place in our hearts and I thought you might enjoy the following outline of some interesting Macy's history.  This was written by Marie Wells, volunteer coordinator for the New England Historic Genealogical Society.  At the end of each month, volunteers receive an email from Marie containing interesting tidbits such as these.  I think it tells an interesting story.

"Ever wonder why the Macy’s department store logo boasts a red star?  I’d never really thought about it myself, as I assumed that some corporate bigwigs designed it years ago.

Rowland Hussey Macy was born on August 30, 1822, on Nantucket Island, the son of John Macy and Elizabeth Myrick Barnard Macy.  He was a descendent of Thomas Macy (1608-1682), who, while living in what it now Amesbury, MA, was convicted in 1659 of violating the 1655 Massachusetts Bay Colony law that stated "no Quaker be entertained by any person or persons with this government; under penalty of £5 for every such default, or be whipped".  His crime? Giving shelter to three Quakers during a rain storm.  Thomas Macy was fined and admonished by the government; two of the three men he sheltered were hung on Boston Common.  Some tellings of the Macy family history has it that he – a staunch Baptist - fled immediately for a more tolerant landscape, hauling his wife and five children off to Nantucket (part of New York until 1709).  In reality, it wasn’t until late 1659 that Thomas Macy and his family became the first European settlers on the island.

Selling dry goods was in Rowland Macy’s genes:  his father was a shopkeeper.  Macy did not start out in life helping to run the family business, however.  At the tender age of fifteen, he went to sea as part of the crew on a whaling ship, seafaring being a somewhat more romantic pursuit to a teenager than helping dad in the family store.  Four years later, however, he had given up the sea and was behind the counter at John Macy’s shop.  Still restless, however, he headed for the mainland and opened a needle-and-thread store in Boston when he was 22, but the business failed.  His second attempt, a dry goods store he opened in 1846, also came a cropper.  He threw in with his brother-in-law for a time, helping run his shop.  But adventure still called, and Macy left Boston for gold rush country in California in 1849.  Pardon the pun, but that venture didn’t pan out, either.  He came home to Massachusetts, set up shop in Haverhill in 1851, and finally started to make a go of it.  History records that Macy made $11.06 in sales on opening day, but he was not daunted.  Macy sincerely believed that advertising and promotion were essential to retail success:  in 1854, about 100 people watched the very first Macy-sponsored parade as it took place in Haverhill.  It was small, but it was a start.

Bright lights and the big city beckoned, however, and R. H. Macy relocated to New York City in 1858, where he opened a modest eponymous store in a low-rent part of town.  At long last, he began to experience the success that had eluded him for years.  Gradually moving uptown as the store prospered, Macy was the very soul of retailing innovation.  Prices were clearly marked and were not negotiable, which made it possible to place eye-catching advertisements in all the New York newspapers. Credit was not extended; all sales were in cash, unheard of for the time. He is credited with hiring the first in-store Santa Claus, helping to commercialize Christmas in the United States as never before. With that shrewd eye he had for publicity, he named Margaret Getchell as store manager in 1866, creating the first female executive in American retailing. 

The store was successful beyond his wildest dreams.  In 1875, he enlisted the help of two partners to run the burgeoning business:   Robert M. Valentine; and Abiel T. La Forge. By the time of Macy’s death two years later, the store had spread across a collection of eleven different buildings at 18^th and Broadway.  And that was still only the beginning.  The Macy family owned the store until 1895, when brothers Isador and Nathan Strauss took over operations after having run a crockery story their father founded in Macy’s basement (the forerunner of The Cellar?).  Sadly, Isador and his wife Ida perished on the Titanic.

Today, Macy’s is the world’s largest retailer, mainly through acquisitions and mergers.  By my unofficial count, the store that Rowland Hussey Macy founded has swallowed at least 29 venerable American department stores.  The list includes the iconic Boston landmark store, Jordan Marsh.  That store had its foundation a decade earlier than R.H. Macy’s Haverhill store when Eben Dyer Jordan opened a dry goods store in Boston in 1841.  But that’s a story for another time.

In answer to the question concerning the red star in the Macy’s logo, when Macy put to sea on the whaler out of Nantucket as a teenager, he had a red star tattooed on his hand, as seamen will do.  It was Macy himself who determined the star would always be a part of the store’s name."

If you've hung in here long enough to get this far in the post, it might also interest you to know that seamen chose red star tattoos for protection.  Since the stars were used as guides out at sea, the tattoo star was thought to lead the seaman home under its guidance.  It surprises me to learn that Macy's has deep New England/Massachusetts roots.  

You might remember that Macy's played a big role in my very first visit to West Islip with James.  I had taken a bus trip to NYC with some school friends.  James was at home that weekend and planned to pick me up at the end of the day at Macy's near the restaurant in the basement.  My friends didn't want to leave me alone in NYC until they saw James, but we could not find each other that day and the bus had to leave without me.  Eventually we got it figured out--even without the convenience of cell phones or GPS--imagine that.  Perhaps the red star helped guide James that day: the beginning of our own "story".