52 Ancestors Week 33: Strength

 From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 33

The theme for Week 33 is "Strength." Strength comes in many forms: physical, emotional, spiritual, just to name a few. What ancestor do you think of when you think of strength?

Hulk smash puny banner! (That works on so many levels. If you 
know, you know.)

    The last time I wrote a blog about an ancestor who had a lot of strength of character was back in 2021 when I talked about Lucie Cadran and how she basically raised a bunch of kids by herself in the wake of her husband Antoine Legault's death. She turned a tragedy into a family story that stood the test of time as she managed to keep her many children relatively close by after his passing. You can read all about it here. Now, what do I have for you this week? Well, we haven't really discussed strong Italian women have we? I'd be remissed if I didn't write at least one blog about those nonnas who were ever ready with a soft hand and a rolling pin if one of yoots stepped out of line.

Olympia "Ollie" Carrabs

    Enter: Grandma Ollie. Sure she was a sweet tiny Italian lady who would welcome anyone into her house and serve you a ton of food. She was one tough cookie and everyone knew it. That isn't to say she was bitter or anything. Far from it. Grandma Ollie just knew when to smile and when to fight back.

    Case in point, When my father was growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, she and my grandfather Marco would invite an African American man into their home on a regular basis for dinner. To say that were friends would be an understatement. I don't really remember the man's name and I'm sure my father told me. But, what stuck out to me was how much she was willing to go outside the social norms at the time and invite him into her home. Whether they knew it or not, she and Marco took part in the Civil Rights Movement.

   

     What a strong way to start this week's blog, huh? I dunno if anything can top that. Oh, wait. Many things can! Not only was my grandmother unknowningly taking part in the Civil Rights movement, she and many other ladies were employed at Western Electric at around the same time she and Marco were breaking bread with just about everyone in Haverhill.

    Looks like grandma Ollie is two for two in the strength department. Sure she was on the Philomathians in Haverhill High and everyone in school called her a "cheerful girl". But, she still fought the societal norms at the time since women were not expected to have jobs in the 1950s and 1960s. So, where did all this strength come from? To answer this, you'd have to look at her own mother.

Giuseppe and Clementina

    From what my father and his cousins have told me, Clementina Forgione was not someone you'd want to mess with. You know the expression "Don't go against the family"? That was her! My cousin Bob told me a few stories about her. 

    One time Giuseppe was thinking about going back to their native Gesualdo and nonna Clementina told him flat out:

"I am not getting on ship or a plane again, Joseph!!!"

    The context here is that she had been tired of traveling and wanted to just settled down. That's a fair point. She wanted to just relax and I can hardly blame her for that since they were raising six children at the time---ALL DAUGHTERS!

    So, now you see where Olympia got her steely resolve and determination to not go with the societal norms. I guess the moral of the story here is to know when to pick your battles. From what I understand Giuseppe was a reasonable guy. I guess he understood that traveling back and forth at that time would be a hassle. Besides, his brothers and sister were a few towns over. in Melrose and Everett. It's not like family was that far away!

I still think they're all waiting for a bus.

    Perhaps Grandma Ollie's strength of character came from the fact that she was the youngest in her family. She grew up with five siblings and trust me when I say that the lot of them were future fiesty little old Italian ladies™, too. 

   

    Watching her mother raise the girls while their father worked at the bank probably solidified her resolve. It could not have been easy. Bear in mind that was also during the Great Depression so you know times were tough. And when times were tough what did most people do? They did the best they could given the circumstances!

    I do have a feeling that her upbringing during the Depression played a pivotal role in how strong she was as a person. When people were having a tough time of things, she would always lend an ear, invite someone into her home and dispense with the sage advice. She simply didn't want people to suffer as she did being the daughter of two Italian immigrants and everything. That shows a lot of character does it not? Forget physical strength. Sometimes you just need strength of character. It works and sometimes it can be even better!

What you don't see is me facepalming off camera.

      Olympia's strength could be owed to her upbringing growing up in Haverhill during the Great Depression or being the daughter of a tough as nails Italian woman. In the end, it doesn't make a difference because my brother and I knew her as one tough nonna years before we heard anything about how strong Clementina was.

    She would never back down from any confrontation as long as the cause was just and would still be warm and caring at the same time. To my brother and I that was the definition of  "grandma". Not saying Natalie didn't have her moments, too! She totally did!

     I think grandmothers are inherently strong based on the kind of things they've had to put up with. Years of experience hardened them when they needed to get tough and let them be softer when the situation called for it. She may be nice one minute but the second you go against the family, you'd better watch out or else you will get that rolling pin across your wrist. I'm not saying that never happened to me. But, hey. Respect to all the grandmas out there! Especially the little old Italian ladies ™. 

See ya next time!