52 Ancestors Week 4: Education

 From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 4

The theme for Week 4 is "Education." There are lots of ways you could approach this theme: teachers, yearbook photos, tales of being a good (or bad) student. You could also highlight an ancestor who got their education at the "School of Hard Knocks." As always, there is no wrong way to interpret the theme!

Doesn't quite smell like teen spirit. Give it a few decades.

    Education is very important. Where would we be without a great education like the kind you'd recieve at a place like Haverhill High School? Last year, I wrote a blog about my grandma Ollie's yearbook from 1939 and talked about how things seemed oddly optimistic in Haverhill, Massachusetts during the closing days of the Great Depression. Then again, they didn't have the benefit of hindsight like we do in the 21st century even though newspapers were reporting on the turmoil in Europe and Asia at the time. What do you say we skip ahead a few years to 1945 and see how my other grandmother Natalie was fairing as the second world war was coming to very dramatic close?

    The year was 1945 and things were quite tulumptious to say the least. The Allies were closing in on the Axis Powers in Europe and Asia. Many superheroes of the age made their debut on the silver screen and like their comic book counterparts they promoted the Allies' war effort despite literal Nazis coming after the likes of comic book legends Joe Simon and Jack "King" Kirby since they created a certain sentinel of liberty and future Avenger, Captain America.That's just one example because MANY cartoon characters also took potshots at the Axis powers for Uncle Sam. To list them all would take some time. Some attempts, I dare say, were a little controversial by today's standards. Looking at you, Donald Duck.

 

     You can bet that the war was definitely on my grandmother's mind as she attended high school in the 1940s. After all, her older brothers, Austin and Norman were serving overseas while she was in school. Do you think she was distracted? Probably. Then again it's a safe bet that she was far from the only one with an older brother fighting in Europe or in the Pacific. She likely did the best she could with the help of her sisters and of course her friends.

    Natalie's yearbook photo is pretty good. I've never known her with dark hair because by the time I came around in the 1970s her hair was as white as snow and she had glasses. Unlike Ollie she opted not to dye her hair at all and that's fine. She made it work! She looked like the typical grandmother to ten grandchildren complete with a collection of creepy dolls. That's a story for another time. Those things were so creepy.

Let's zoom out a bit and see what her whole page looks like. Computer, zoom out!

This asthetic seemed to happen on every page.

    Oh, my. That batch of photos plays with my sensibilities a bit because of the angle those nine photos are set on the page. Just above it there's another cluster of nine photos and they're perfectly aligned with the page. Some editor was clearly trying to be fancy!

    I'm kind of sad that the caption under my grandmother's name doesn't have anything amazing like grandma Ollie's  did. If you recall, her caption talked about her smile and her sense of humor. Here, it just says "nurse". I think that was mentioned as a future profession she wanted to have.

    However, there is a juicy nugget of information since her street address was mentioned. You definitely don't see that in yearbooks today. I suppose this yearbook could double as a city directory as every student has an address attached to them. Great for genealogy and probably a little weird. Natalie at the time was living with her parents, Austin and Henrietta at their home on Margerie Street. Info I already knew. But, it's good to have some confirmation. The house, by the way, still stands!

    The other jobs mentioned on the page are pretty telling. Look at Vincent Paul Eule and see for yourself. Normally the last name is spelled "Iuele".  According to the book, he wanted to be in the United States Navy. I should make it a point to see if I can find out what happened to Vincent. The Iueles hailed from a little Calabrian town you might have heard me mention a few times called San Pietro a Maida.

    Just a few pages later we get a series of tributes for those students who left school because they were drafted into the service and thus never had the chance to graduate with their class. Some of these young men didn't make it home. Some did. It's hard to say who without some serious research. I'm not about to research and draw red x's on some people. Only supervillains do that.

    However, it's clear to me that the war was on everyone's mind as expected. So, it's only fair that they'd pay tribute to the men who served in Europe and the Pacific. 

    The Yearbook staffer who wrote the section made it a point to say just how proud they were of the men who left school to fight for the Allies during what was no doubt a difficult period in our planet's history. If you think that the war is going to be the theme in this yearbook, your hunch is correct. It looks like optimism got a hard dose of reality and that's frankly a shame. Unfortunately, it's part of life.

   Thankfully, it wasn't all doom and gloom for our Haverhill High students! They

I guess you guys aren't ready for that, yet.
But, your kids are gonna love it.

    Despite events happening around the world, life went on in Haverhill because you can't let global events dictate your life. This is especially true today. Students in Haverhill High still took part in activities like band, theatre,  played sports and more in the attempt to distract themselves from global events. 

    In the end, the war took its toll and there were events such as donation drives where people could buy bonds and donate precious metal such as tin for the war effort.

    I'm not sure what my grandmother was doing at the time. But, I'm sure that she was doing her part to help with the war effort. After all she was going into nursing and the armed forced definitely could have used all the help they could get.  This next part of the yearbook is especially telling of what life was like for teenagers in the 1940s.

    Oof. Right in the feels. The class can hardly remember what it was like before it was interupted by war. Many future generations will feel the same way they did and now I have Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire" in my head. 

    I digress because that's a very potent piece and it brings up a very good point. That generation had to deal with so much strife and unfortunately history has a way of repeating itself. Time may seem like a straight line and yet it can be cyclical. At least these students had a measure of hope for the future. I hope.

    I'd like to think that they did. After all student life went on despite what was happening outside those walls. They had dances, sporting events, plays and everything else you'd come to expect from a high school that didn't have students living in one of the darkest periods of human history. The students talked about turning the gymnasium into a night club. That actually made me laugh a little because Prohibition was a recent memory for their OWN parents. Can you imagine the conversation?

Student: Mom, Dad. I need a tie for the dance. We have a....theme.

Dad: Oh? What is it, son?

Student: 1930s night club. Oh! I found your old tie! BYE! *student grabs it and leaves*

Dad: Sigh...He's gonna do what I did in the '20s isn't he?

    All in all my grandmother Natalie's yearbook presents a fascination glimpse into what the world was like near the end of the second world war. The student body went about their lives partaking in their usual activities and yet war was still on everyone's mind. It echoes the sentiment had by many who has attended high school in the last twenty years or so and yet one thing remains clear. They try to keep their head up in the face of unbelievable adversity. The last words of the yearbook is especially telling. 

"We face the imediate future with a peculiar unity. The course upon which we will all embark admits of no choice---and no hesitation; now that the pardonable jubilation of V-E Day is over, we dedicate all our resources to the successful completion of this war."

 Thankfully, they didn't have to wait that long. The war ended and  the entire planet was never the same again. High school in the 1940s must have been a difficult time and yet they perservered like future generations did. History may repeat itself. But, one thing is clear, we humans try very hard to make do while facing impossible odds.

See ya next time!

52 Ancestors Week 3: Out of Place

 Week 3

The theme for Week 3 is "Out of Place." Have you ever found an ancestor in an unexpected location? What about finding a record someplace that surprised you? Or what about that one great-great-uncle who moved out West when everyone else in the family stayed put? This is a good week to write about them.

Haverhill in 1876, huh? Judging by the holes, some things
remain the same.

    Many people often talk about their ancestor or relative who went west to seek his or her fortune. That's not really the case with me. Sure, I've got ancestors who traversed the ocean from Europe and you could call that "going west" since they crossed the Atlantic to reach North America. However, I don't think they were going for the same reason some guy in the 1840s was going to California. If they had gold nuggets as big as your fist, would they really be sailing to North America in the first place?

    Instead of anyone going west, I have a strange case of someone going SOUTHEAST when everyone in her family(Aside from her parents) went to Anoka and Ramsey county, Minnesota. Ladies, gentlemen and others, I present my third great-grandmother Marie Eulalie Bibeau. I might have talked about her before. It bears repeating that she seemed to be the odd one out in her family. I know I shouldn't complain because I'm here and so are the countless other people who descend from her and her husband, Pierre Cadran. 

Off to Haverhill with you!

    Marie is a daughter of Jean-Baptiste Bibeau and Therese Laroche and she was born in Saint Francois-du-Lac, Québec on February 28th, 1830. She was one of twelve children born to that couple and even had an older half-sister who shared her name! The other Marie Eulalie lived to be eighty-eight years old and married her future brother-in-law Pierre's father, Noel. Talk about awkward. Your half-sister is also your mother-in-law! Jerry Springer would have had a field day! Then again this probably was a good enough of an incentive to get out of Dodge. Er...Saint. Francois-du-Lac.

     Out of her twelve siblings, five of them went to Minnesota while the rest either died young or ultimately decided to stay in Canada. Pierre and Marie ended up moving as far away from their family as they could and ended up in the city of Haverhill. You might ask yourself what brought two Canadians all the way to New England and so very far from anyone they knew. Well, think about it logically. Pierre likely heard about the mills up and down the Merrimack river looking for skilled workers and likely wanted a piece of that pie.

Psst. Hey, Josie. Got a pic of
your parents?

    I would say that a reason she moved to Haverhill could have been to be close to their children and grandchildren. The problem is that the logistics are all over the map. Quite literally. Their daughter Josephine was supposedly born in Massachusetts in 1861. I say "supposedly" because I can't find her birth document and various censuses say she was either born in Massachusetts OR Canada! The same thing happened with their daughter, Marie who was born in 1863. By the mid 1860s. two more children were born. This time it was back in Québec! One more child was added to the family in 1873 and she was born in Montreal.

    Their daughter, Lucie married Antoine Legault in 1874 in Québec. Pierre and Marie would later be living with them in the 1880 census in Haverhill. By that point, I suspect Pierre and Marie were quite tired of running back and forth from Massachusetts and Québec. Something had to give and so they decided to finally drop anchor in the Queen slipper city on the banks of the mighty Merrimack. Very poetic, I know. I still wouldn't recommend swimming in there. It'd take a LONG time for that river to be cleaned and even then....would you really swim in it? Be honest.

    While Marie and Pierre were running to and from Massachusetts, her brothers and sisters established very large families in Minnesota. Here's an example of how large they were. Marie's sister, Henrietta married a man named Jean Baptiste Morrissette in 1837 when my third great-grandmother was just seven years old. They moved to Minnesota and ultimately had eleven children between 1838 and 1856. Many of the other Bibeau families also had a TON of children. There's even a group on Facebook dedicated to the descendants of Jean Baptiste Bibeau and Therese Laroche. That's so helpful because my mother has over one hundred DNA matches who descend from those two!

    

Packed in one house in 1880!

    Back in Haverhill, things were going pretty well. I mean Pierre Marie also had a large family to take care of and she apparently made a name for herself. According to her obituary in 1907, she was a member of Saint Anne's Society and was well known in French circles in the city. Not bad for a French-Canadian immigrant, right? She moved to Haverhill and made a life for herself far from her family.

    So, why is she "out of place"?  She made a great life for herself in the city and raised a large family herself. Well, it just seemed odd to me that she moved to Haverhill while everyone in her family moved to Minnesota. What was the reasoning behind it?  Did she stay in contact with relatives in Minnesota?  Did they visit her? You know me. I could make up a story of why she and her husband moved to Haverhill. 

Why would you go through
Montréal to get to NH?

    I'll probably never get the answers to those questions unless I somehow get access to a ouija board or something. That's fine because it's fun to think about. I did ask my friend and fellow comic afficionado, Lewis "Linkara" Lovhaug of Atop the Fourth Wall why they would move to Minnesota since he lives in the land of a thousand lakes. He said "Why wouldn't you want to move here?! Plenty of great fishing!"

    Lewis might have a point because Minnesota is known for fishing and all kinds of interesting activities. What's really interesting is how the families didn't all stay in Minnesota. I've done some descendency research and found that some cousins went to the Dakotas, Montana, Iowa and even as far south as the Chicagoland area. Everyone just sort of spread out and as I've done research, I've collected amazing photos as hints. I can't share them here for obvious reasons. But, it got me thinking. Did they know about family in Massachusetts? Did they stay in touch with Marie? Did she stay in touch with them? I know I have a ton of questions. Can you blame me? There's a story here and I wish I could learn about it and so far I just have bits and pieces of what is no doubt an epic tale.

    Trying to explain all of this to DNA matches is interesting to say the least and I try not to be that awkward.  If my mother or I get a DNA match who clearly descends from Jean Baptiste Bibeau and Therese Laroche, I try to explain everything to the match as clearly as possible. I say that I descend from the daughter who decided Haverhill, Massachusetts was the place to be. Well, not in so many words. But, it's close. I think it's well understood that there's one daughter who moved to Haverhill because Marie is on a LOT of trees on Ancestry and they show her as living in that city. Plus having her on WikiTree makes for fantastic cousin bait!

    Marie Eulalie Bibeau and Pierre Cadran may have been the odd ones out because they moved so far from home and everyone they knew. However, I doubt they felt really bad about their situation since they clearly made a life for themselves here in the Merrimack valley.  Their children grew up likely hearing about the family in Minnesota and sadly those stories probably faded with time. Still, I can't help but wonder about their connections. Did they stay in touch? With the power of the Internet at our disposal, we can probably reconnect with those "long lost" cousins. For now all I can do is keep researching the descendants of my 4th great-grandparents and just wonder why they made that move.

See ya next time!

Images of Google Earth are property of Google Earth.

52 Ancestors Week 2: Favorite Photo

From Amy Johnson Crow: The theme for Week 2 is "Favorite Photo." I've had this theme in almost every version of 52 Ancestors because, let's face it, who can choose just one?! Plus, we should be telling the stories of those photos so they don't get lost to time.

It's once again time to play that Chad Kroeger song....

    It just wouldn't be 52 Ancestors without a blog about photographs in early January and this year is no exception! Last year, I talked about my parents' wedding photo. In 2021, I talked about the only picture I have with myself and my grandfather, Marco. I've even talked about my great-grandparents' photo from 1929 in 2020. Sufficed it to say, I have a lot of great photos and a lot of great stories to go with them. This year, we're going to look at one photo that just makes me laugh every time I see it. It's kind of like that overplayed Chad Kroeger song I keep referencing. Link is in the header if you want to hear the dulcet tones of Nickelback.

    Taken in the summer of 1926, this is a photograph of my second great-grandmother Georgianna Ross, her husband Joseph Laplante and Georgianna's sister, Clara Ross-Casey. Right away you notice the fantastic roaring '20s era swimwear. The bikini was clearly not invented yet. But, hey. Those ladies were really working those swim caps. 

    What makes me laugh the most is the guy in the middle with the stogie in his mouth and that 1920s swagger that screams "Yeah. You wish you were me. I'm the most stylish barber this side of Newburyport."

    This photo was likely taken not too far from Newburyport on Plum Island or even Salisbury beach. I'm not really sure because both beaches are very easy to get to from the city. This photo could've even been taken near Ipswich on Crane beach for all I know.

    I'm just guessing at this point because this picture could be at any of those three. It's certainly not "Muscle Beach, California". Though, I can picture Joseph here flexing. You can too. Admit it!

    The only hint about the photo's origin is from the writing at the top of the photo. I cropped off the top after I scanned it. On the top, it reads, "1926. Georgianna Ross Laplante, Joseph Laplante and Clara Ross-Casey". My grandfather liked to label pictures and I thank him for it. However, did he HAVE to write ON the photo itself?!

My mom and aunt with their dad, grandma and
great-grandparents.

    I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. It's a great photograph of Joseph and Georgianna when they were fifty-two and fifty years old respectively. They looked pretty good for their early fifties, I have to admit.

    The reason why I like that photograph so much is simply because of how animated everyone looks. Usually when you see a picture from the early 1900s, everyone looks so stiff and rigid. Here you can see their personalities shine through. Georgianna's got that great smile while Joseph's still got that swagger. I'm not sure who had the stogie swagger first. Him or Milton Berle.

    I'm not sure why Clara looks a little cautious there. Maybe something off camera caught her attention? Could her husband be talking to her? One thing's for sure. I NOW grandpa Hamel didn't take the photograph. He was like one at the time. He was a great photographer but I don't think he had the motor skulls needed to operate a 1920s era camera.

    The odd thing is that my mother has never seen that photograph before. I suppose it makes sense since it was discovered in that box of stuff my aunt Linda sent me ages ago and that was the first time I've seen it, too. I might dig through that box again, soon, and see what other photos I come up with. Why not, right?

Joseph in the '50s.

    The first picture is definitely proof that Joseph Laplante was quite the character. He clearly had a great sense of humor and a great outlook on life. I suppose if you're a barber you need to have that kind of personality. Cutting hair is a lot like bartending. You never know who you'll meet in the chair and you have to talk to your customer. Though, I doubt anyone got drunk in the barber's chair. Wow....Can you imagine? "I'll take a little off the top and...Sir, are you okay. Oh, no... Well, perhaps I'll start a trend...."

    As you can see in this week's blog, I've got quite a collection of pictures of Joseph. Some of them like this one are from his later years and I believe I have a couple from the 1890s! Not bad, right? A lot of the Hamel/Laplante cousins have been helpful in sending them my way and I thank them every day for these pictures because they are just too cool and priceless. Some pics, however, are going to have to remain internal. HAHAHA!

    The first one I showed is probably my favorite picture of him because of his attiude. You can't go wrong with pictures that show just the right amount. And it's a positive attitude, too. A little positivity can go a long way!

In 1907 they were a little more subdued.

There's no doubt about it. Photographs can tell you more about a person than simply adding random facts and figures into your favorite genealogy program. They bring the person back to life and like Amy said in the prompt, you get to see and hear an amazing story that goes with them.

    I still want to know if they were on Salisbury beach or on Crane for that picture. It was one of the two since I know for a fact Joseph lived in Newburyport.  By the way, you can find out more about that city in my  brand new one place study! Check it out here! 

What? I can't advertise my own stuff on my website? Are you new? See ya next time!

52 Ancestors Week 1: I'd Like to Meet

 From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 1

This week's theme is "I'd Like to Meet." Most of us have an ancestor who we'd like to meet (even if it's to ask, "What are your parents' names?") This week, write about that ancestor or why you'd want to meet him or her. Feel free to be creative!

Just a couple of great's I'd like to meet.

   

 When you ask a genealogist which ancestor they'd like to meet, you're asking a question that's as old as time. Who wouldn't want to use a time machine or even a ouija board to talk to an ancestor and find out if a certain story was true or not? Who wouldn't want to talk their Uncle Ben and find out how he came up with the phrase "with great power, there must also come great responsibility"? That's just as an example. I don't really have an Uncle Ben and my name isn't Peter. In the end, we'd have so many questions and it's hard to pick just one ancestor to talk to. Especially in my case. 

    Back in 2019, I wrote a 52Ancestors blog where the prompt asked us to write a letter from an ancestor. I chose my grandfather Marco because he died when I was four years old and there are a lot of strong feelings about that fact. In fact, I had to pause writing the blog more than a few times because I didn't expect the feels even though I should have. If you'd like to read it, check it out here. Get the tissues handy because you just might get the feels yourself.

La famiglia di Ferraiolo

    This time around I've decided to go one generation above my grandfather and focus on one of my great-grandparents. I put all of their names in a hat, shuffled them around and picked one at random because I honestly can't decide who I'd talk to first since they all have amazing stories! I'm a writer and I like good stories and my "great eight" have all some spun mighty good yarns.

    After my very scientific selection process, I picked my great-grandmother, Maria Tedesco. Maria was born in the Calabrian town of San Pietro a Maida in 1900 and she unfortunately had the shortest lifespan of all my great-grandparents. She passed away just four years before my father was born when she was forty-three years old. That's pretty young by today's standards! So, you can imagine my father would probably like to talk to her the most as well! He has said that Vincenzo's second wife, Fortuna , was a decent grandmother. However, I know he'd really would like to talk to Maria based on the stories he's heard over the years. 

    I've heard those same stories about her from my great-aunt Nicolina my whole life. Nicolina said she was very beautiful, kind and had a good heart. I think we'd have a great conversation and I have a pretty good idea of how it would go. Join me now as I attempt to conjure her spirit and present a conversation with her. Comic fans are probably going to be like "You're talking to her before Stan Lee?!" Priorities, true believers! This is one conversation I MUST have first! EXCELSIOR! Here's how things would have gone down.

    Using mystical powers to reach the other side of the pearly gates and being ever so cautious as to not summon any demons, goblins and eldrich abominations, I called forth Maria Tedesco of San Pietro a Maida/Haverhill, Massachusetts.  In a brilliant flash of light, a spectre emerged in front of me. At first she is transparent and soon she solidified like a flesh and blood human. Her skin changes from black and white to full color as if she stepped out of a photograph. Her short black hair was styled back and was slightly wavy like my own hair. She was wearing a typical 1940s era cardigan and a sensible dress. Maria dressed as though she was going to a party or something. She looked around cautiously, unaware that she had been summoned. I struggled to find the words as a lump forms in my throat. I couldn't believe that worked! I said the first thing that came to my mind.

Me: Bisonna?

Maria: Si? I mean....Yes?

Her Italian accent was thick and I smiled. I couldn't believe I was actually hearing her voice.

Me: It's me. Your great-grandson, Chris. I-I summoned you here.

Maria: That you did, Christopher. I...I can hardly believe it myself. She smiles warmly. So good to see you again.

Me: Again? What are you talking about?

Maria: You don't really think we ever really leave when we're gone, do you?  We live on inside of you and we're always watching from the great beyond. That's how I know your name. Your grandfather has been watching you as well and your great-grandfather Jimmy, Marco and I greeted Nicolina when she arrived last September. And that's just on your dad's side. We're all watching you, young man. Sorry if that sounds creepy.

Me: It's fine. Comforting, I guess. Wait a second. "Young man"? You're as old as I am.

Maria sighs and sits down.

 Maria: That's true, Christopher. I had a heart condition and--

Me: You don't have to explain. I recently found out what happened to you when I went to Haverhill city hall last year. I'm so sorry.

Maria shakes her head "yes".

Maria: It's fine. I've uhh....had a long time to come to terms with what happened to me and what I've missed. I understand you've been in contact with my sister Caterina's family back in San Pietro.

Me: You've heard? I mean....Of course you've heard. Why wouldn't you? Yes, I talk to them frequently over the Internet. It ummm....

Maria: Provides instant communication from one area of the world to another. It's astonishing technology. We only had telephones, letters and of course Jimmy made it a point to travel back and forth from Haverhill to Italy every chance he got. You truly live in a marvelous age.

Me: It can be, yeah. It has its good sides and bad sides. Talking to Caterina's grandchildren helps me to get to know the Tedesco side better. I know I have Tedesco cousins here in America. But, I've yet to find all of them. I've been working hard to try to find the connections and everything.

Maria: You're doing a fine job.  I've heard you've been trying to find information on my parents, Antonio and Domenica.  Have you had any luck?

Me: I've had some, yeah. But, I was wondering if you could tell me about your grandparents.

Maria: There's not much to tell. Their names were Tommaso Tedesco, Angela Gatto, Francesco Gullo and Caterina Butruce. All of them were born in San Pietro. You have family there that goes back centuries and centuries. I have faith that you will find so much information about them. They're all waiting to see what you find.

Antonio had all brothers. Their names were Tommaso, Marco, Pietro and Giovanni. I would say my son was named after Marco. But, Jimmy insisted on naming him after his father.  She grumbled a bit. That man was very opinionated. Still is.

Me: I know. I've learned so much doing research and Francesco's wife said to me that a part of me is in Italy and a part of them is in America with me.

Maria: Maria smiles.  It's true. It's all in your heart and in theirs.

Maria touched my face and for a fleeting moment I could feel a pulse. It was as ife she was a living, breathing person again! I sighed nervously.

Maria: Are you okay?

Me: I'm fine. I just....I didn't expect this thing to work.

Maria: Magic works in mysterious ways, Christopher. But, we should make do with what time we have left. What other questions do you have?

Me:  Right. Right. What was it like traveling on the Roma?

Maria: You mean without my husband? You can imagine I got some strange looks. I had two little kids to watch over after all and no husband in sight. Plus I was in my twenties.

Me: Did grandpa Marco run around?

Maria: Uh huh.... That boy wouldn't sit still for a second. I believe the term "flight risk" might apply.

Me: Oh, man. I can imagine. My nephew looks a lot like Marco and--

Maria: Runs around all over the place. Yes, I see a lot of Marco in Jeremy. He'll be fine in time.

Me: I know. Kid is a bundle of energy.

Maria looked at the clock and sighed.

Maria: Looks like it's time for me to go. Is there anything else you'd like to ask?

Me: I don't know. So many questions are coming to me. But, ummm....could you find Grandma Ollie, my mom's parents and everyone and tell them I miss them? Please?

Maria approached me and gives me a big hug.

Maria: Of course, Christopher. Just remember one thing.

Me: What's that?

Maria: We, your ancestors, not as far away as you might think. We live on inside of you and we're a part of you. Whereever you go, we're there with you every step of the way.  I love you. Thank you for the visit. Give my best to Jimmy.....your father and your brother, too!

Me: I will!  I love you, too.

     In a brilliant flash of light she vanished. I sit back and reflect on what just happened. The conversation was short and yet very surreal to be honest. I wondered if I should have brought up Vincenzo's infidelity. It probably wouldn't have been a good idea. I didn't want to sour the mood and she probably knew and didn't want to talk about it. Why anger a spirit, right? That's how horror movies start. I want to ASK her questions. Not grill her!

    So, that's basically how my meeting with Maria would go. I probably would just stick to the facts and we'd probably talk for a lot longer than what I had typed. I'm not sure what else we'd talk about other than the trip, living in Haverhill, Vincenzo aka Jimmy and more. I'd definitely would ask her a ton of questions about Marco and it'd be stuff Nicolina didn't know about. I'd talk to her about growing up in San Pietro, what Italian grandma recipes she had. Think of this as just a snippet of what the conversation would be about because I could seriously go on for ages.

    Maria would be a great ancestor to talk to and I really hope a conversation like that would happen.  I can only hope. I'd just need to be careful and not mention Vincenzo's infidelity lest the spectral wooden spoon comes out....

See ya next time!

Editor's note: In April of 2023, I found that Giovanni Coppola was not the brother of Paolo, Caterina and Concetta Coppola. He is likely a first cousin of the three. Look for details in a future blog post.