WAS PROVIDED BY, THE LACKAWANNA HERITAGE VALLEY, A PARTNERSHIP OF GOVERNMENT, BUSINESS, CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS, DEDICATED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF HISTORICAL, CULTURAL, NATURAL, AND ECONOMIC RESOURCES THROUGH PRESERVATION, EDUCATION, AND PROMOTION OF THE LACKAWANNA VALLEY'S HERITAGE.

THE SCRANTON UNICO FOUNDATION AND THE NATIONAL INICO FOUNDATION, CONTRIBUTING TO THE WELL-BEING OF OUR COMMUNITIES BY MAKING SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO CHARITIES.

WE STRIVE TO HONOR, PERPETUATE THE CULTURE BY SUPPORTING HIGHER EDUCATION, LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND OUR NATION.

ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR FAES SCENE WAS PROVIDED BY LA FEST TA ITALIANA LACKAWANNA.

DID WE SAY FOOD IN ONE OF THE COUNTRY'S LARGEST ITALIAN FESTIVALS HELD EVERY LABOR DAY WEEKEND IN HISTORICAL DOWNTOWN SCRANTON.

CHECK US OUT ON THE WEB.

AND THE CHRIS AND ANN DEMATEO FAMILY.

CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY CAPTION ASSOCIATES, LLC www.captionassociates.com >> I WAS BORN IN ITALY.

MY MOTHER WAS BORN THERE.

>> I WAS BORN IN A SMALL TOWN IN NORTH ITALY.

>> WELL, THEY LIVE IN THE PROVINCE OF PERUVIA, THAT'S WHERE THEY CAME FROM.

>> MY MOTHER'S PEOPLE, THEY WERE BORN RIGHT OUTSIDE OF ROME.

>> MY FATHER CAME FROM A LITTLE TOWN OUTSIDE OF NAPLES CALLED NUSCO.

>> MY FATHER WAS BORN IN SICILY.

>> MY PARENTS WERE BORN IN ITALY.

>> MY GRANDFATHER DIED ABOUT 15 YEARS BEFORE I WAS BORN.

MY GRANDMOTHER ABOUT 20 YEARS.

I'VE ALWAYS BEEN CURIOUS ABOUT MY PAST.

>> EVERY DAY, EACH OF US, KNOWINGLY OR WITHOUT AWARENESS, JOURNEYS ONE DAY CLOSER TO OUR FUTURE AND ONE DAY FURTHER FROM OUR PAST.

OUR BEARING IS INTUITIVELY SET FROM OUR MEMORY, FOR THE DESTINATION OF DISCOVERY.

OF WHO WE ARE, OF WHY WE'RE US.

AND WHILE DEPARTURE AND ARRIVAL ARE EACH INEVITABLY NAVIGATED IN THE FAIR RIL US WILL CONCOURSE -- FAIR RIL US WILL CONCOURSE -- PERILOUS CONCOURSE OF CHANGE, THE PASSAGE IN BETWEEN CAN FIND STEADFASTNESS ON THE BED ROCK.

NO ONE HAS MORE AWARE OF THIS CONFLICT OF TRADITION AND CHANGE THAN THE IMMIGRANTS WHO LEAVE EVERYTHING THEY HAVE EVER KNOWN AND EVERYONE THEY EVER LOVED TO FIND A NEW LIFE IN A NEW COUNTRY.

ALMOST 5 MILLION OF THESE IMMIGRANTS CAME TO THE UNITED STATES FROM ITALY.

THE FADING MEMORY OF THEIR TIME HELPS THE UNITED STATES CHART ITS COURSE TO BECOMING THE WORLD'S PRE-EMINENT SUPERPOWER AND STILL SHARPLY DEFINES THE LINES OF MANY AMERICANS TODAY.

FROM MANYA MF MANJA, TO THE TARA TELL LA AND PATRON SAINTS TO PAESANI, ITALIAN ETHNIC HERITAGE IN NORTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA HAS SPANNED OCEANS AND TIME TO CREATE A FINER LIFE FOR US ALL.

FOR MORE THAN A MILLENNIUM, ITALY'S 20 REGIONS WERE MAPPED BY CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC DISUNION.

DURING MOST OF THAT TIME, A TRAGICALLY IMPOVERISHED FARMING CULTURE IN THE SOUTH SERVED TO SUSTAIN THE NORTH'S WEALTH AND OPPORTUNITY, BUT BEGINNING IN 1880, THIS BOOT BEGAN TO WALK.

>> AND MY MOTHER SAID ALL OF US KNEW THAT WHEN WE REACHED A CERTAIN AGE, WE WOULD LEAVE HOME AND GO TO AMERICA.

>> THE PEOPLE FROM THE SOUTH, THEY ARE JUST LEAVING IN THE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS.

IT BECAME ALMOST A CRISIS SITUATION.

THE ITALIAN GOVERNMENT WAS VERY ANXIOUS ABOUT THE FLOW OF THEIR PEASANT STOCK OUT OF THE COUNTRY.

YOU WERE LOSING THE FIELD WORKERS.

THE POPE GOT CONCERNED ABOUT IT.

THE ITALIAN GOVERNMENT HAD TO TAKE ACTION.

IT PASSED AN IMMIGRATION LAW AND REQUIRED PEOPLE TO NOW HAVE A PASSPORT BEFORE THEY COULD LEAVE ITALY.

>> MORE IMMIGRANTS CAME TO THE UNITED STATES FROM ITALY THAN FROM ANY OTHER EUROPEAN COUNTRY.

BETWEEN 1901 AND 1915, THE SOUTHERN REGION OF KAMPANA ALONE LOST A MILLION PEOPLE.

MORE THAN A MILLION LEFT SICILY.

>> IT WAS A FEVER THAT OVERTOOK THE ITALIAN PEOPLE.

THEY HEARD SO MANY STORIES ABOUT GOLD IN AMERICA, ABOUT JOBS THAT WERE GREAT, AND THEY WOULD SAY, YES, YOU WORK LIKE A DEVIL, BUT YOU MAKE FOUR TIMES AS MUCH AS YOU COULD EVER MAKE IN OLD ITALY, IN BEAUTIFUL ITALY.

SO THEN IT WAS LA BELLA IT TANNAN, BUT NO MONEY.

>> THE ITALIAN IMMIGRANT LITERALLY FOLLOWED THE FOOTSTEPS OF THEIR PAESANI WHO HAD ALREADY LEFT, A PRACTICE KNOWN AS CHAIN MIGRATION.

>> AND THAT'S WHY YOU HAVE WHOLE VILLAGES SETTLING IN A NEIGHBORHOOD IN NEW YORK CITY, FOR INSTANCE, OR IN CHICAGO.

>> MY FATHER CAME HERE FIRST.

HE CAME TO THE UNITED STATES IN 1920.

THEN HE WROTE TO US THAT HE WANTED US TO COME TO AMERICA.

>> HE HAD A FRIEND WORKING IN THE MINES WITH HIM AND SAID THERE WAS WORK AVAILABLE HERE.

>> OFTEN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THESE IMMIGRANTS LET BACK TO ITALIA.

PRESIDENT WOODROW WILSON CONSIDERED THE RELATIONSHIP A WIN-WIN PROPOSITION.

THEY TOOK OUR DOLLARS, HE SAID, BUT THEY LEFT THE SUBWAYS.

>> THE GREAT NATIONS, THE NATIONS THAT SENT THE MOST IMMIGRANTS, ITALIANS HAVE THE HIGHEST RATE OF RETURN MIGRATION, ABOUT 45%.

>> THEY LOVED THEIR HOMES IN ITALY.

THEY WERE VERY MUCH ATTACHED TO THEIR FAMILIES.

AND ITALIAN FAMILY WAS PART OF THE STRENGTH OF THE CULTURE.

>> THE ITALIAN IMMIGRANT WAS FACED WITH THIS DILEMMA.

LEAVE THE PLACE THEY LOVED, BUT THAT OFFERED THEM NO LIFE, OR GO TO A PLACE THEY BELIEVED WOULD GIVE THEM LIFE BUT NOT PERHAPS LOVE.

>> I WAS LEAVING MY NATIVE LAND AND MY FRIENDS, ALL THE FAMILIAR SURROUNDINGS, AND I WAS COMING TO A STRANGE LAND.

>> I COULDN'T IMAGINE HOW ANYBODY WOULD FEEL, COMING TO A STRANGE TOWN, DIDN'T KNOW HOW FAR AWAY THEY WERE GOING, AND HOW MANY DAYS IT TOOK THEM TO GET HERE.

>> HE SOLD HIS DONKEY AND HIS HORSE AND JUST GOT ON A SHIP TO AMERICA.

>> MY FATHER CAME HERE IN 1914 WITH HIS PARENTS.

MY MOTHER CAME HERE A LITTLE LATER.

>> MY FATHER CAME VERY EARLY.

HE CAME IN 1900.

>> WE CAME TO THE UNITED STATES IN OCTOBER 1933.

>> I LEFT ITALY WHEN I WAS 14.

>> MY DAD WAS 19 YEARS OLD WHEN HE CAME HERE.

>> MY MOTHER WAS 14 AND MY FATHER WAS 25.

THEY CAME OVER SEPARATELY, AROUND 1900.

MY MOTHER CAME WITH HER FATHER AND HER MOTHER AND A SISTER AND A BROTHER.

>> WHEN I LEFT ITALY, I WAS 13 YEARS OLD.

>> MY GRANDFATHER LEFT WHEN HE WAS 11 YEARS OLD WITH HIS PARENTS IN 1907.

>> MY FATHER CAME BY HIMSELF.

>> MY FATHER CAME HERE AT THE AGE OF 16, CAME ALONE.

>> WHETHER MAN OR WOMAN, BOY OR GIRL, 6, 16, OR 60, EVERY ITALIAN LEAVING ITALY HAD TO GET TO A PORT CITY SUCH AS GENOA IN THE NORTH OR NAPLES IN THE SOUTH.

>> IT WAS QUITE A DISTANCE FROM THE SEASIDE.

>> I WONDERED HOW HE WAS ABLE TO GET FROM THAT MOUNTAIN TOWN DOWN INTO NAPLES TO GET ON THE BOAT.

>> THE PEASANTS HAD NEVER BEEN OUT OF THEIR HOMETOWNS.

THEY HAD NEVER SEEN THE SEA, SOME PEOPLE.

>> AND IN THOSE DAYS, THEY DIDN'T HAVE A SUITCASE OR WHAT THEY CALLED A VALISE.

EVERYTHING WAS PUT INTO A COTTON BAG AND SEWED.

SOME OF THE IMPORTANT THINGS WERE THE PRAYER BOOK, A ROSARY.

>> WE LEFT WITH OUR OXEN CART, A HANDMADE CART.

WE GOT THE TRAIN TO GO TO NAPLES.

>> WE LEFT BY TRAIN AND WE WENT TO VENICE.

AND THEN WE WENT TO GENOA.

>> THE ITALIANS CONSIDERED GENOA TO BE THEIR GREAT PORT, NOT NAPLES.

SO THE BEST SHIPS IN THE ITALIAN LINE WERE SAILING OUT OF GENOA.

THE STEAMSHIP LINES BEGAN TO SEND THEIR OLD WORN-OUT SHIPS TO SERVE NAPLES.

A PORT LIKE NAPLES WAS DANGEROUS.

YOU HAVE PEASANTS ARRIVING IN A BIG CITY.

THERE WERE CROOKS, ITALIAN CROOKS WHO WANTED TO FLEECE THEM.

>> OF ALL THE PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL ADVERSITY, THE ITALIAN IMMIGRANT WOULD ENCOUNTER, THEIR ODYSSEY WOULD BEGIN WITH PERHAPS THE HARDEST ADVERSITY OF ALL.

SAYING GOODBYE.

>> THE HARDEST PART WAS LEAVING GRANDMA.

IT WAS HARD.

GRANDMA WAS ALWAYS THERE TO TAKE CARE OF US.

I PROMISED THAT EVERY WEEK, I'LL WRITE TO HER.

SO THAT MADE HER HAPPY, YOU KNOW.

MY GRANDMA DIED BEFORE WE WENT BACK.

>> MY FATHER WAS ONLY ABOUT 8 YEARS OLD WHEN HE CAME.

AND MY FATHER NEVER SAW HIS MOTHER AGAIN.

>> I FIND IT CHALLENGING AT BEST TO THINK ABOUT PICKING UP STAKES, LEAVING EVERYTHING BEHIND.

>> STEAMSHIPS REPLACED SAILING VESSELS BY THE 1880s.

A TICKET COST MORE, BUT IF THERE WERE NO STOPS AT OTHER PORTS, THE TRIP ACROSS THE ATLANTIC OCEAN WAS SHORTER.

>> WE GOT ON THE BOAT IN NAPLES AND THE NAME OF THE BOAT WAS VOLTALIA.

IT TOOK US ABOUT 12, 13 DAYS TO GET TO AMERICA.

>> THE SHIP WAS THE PATRIA FROM NAPLES TO NEW YORK CITY.

IT WAS 30 DAYS AT SEA.

>> IT WAS CALLED THE HOMELAND.

IT WAS AN OLD SHIP.

IT WOBBLED.

IT WASN'T VERY STEADY.

15 DAYS NOW ON THE WATER.

>> MOITHSS PAID THE LEAST -- IMMIGRANTS PAID THE LEAST EXPENSIVE FARE AND WERE ASSIGNED TO THE AREA OF THE SHIP CLOSEST TO THE RUDDER, KNOWN AS STEERAGE.

>> AND HE SAID YOU CAN'T IMAGINE HOW BIG THE ATLANTIC OCEAN IS UNTIL YOU'RE IN STEERAGE.

>> THERE WAS NOTHING NICE ABOUT THIS.

THERE'S TONS OF PEOPLE ALL TOGETHER.

>> IF YOU WERE NEAPOLITAN OR SICILIAN, YOU WANTED TO STAY WITH OTHERS WHO ARE SICILIAN OR NEAPOLITAN.

YOU HAD ONE GROUP OF ALL MALES, THE GROUP OF THE WIVES OR BETROTHED WOMEN COMING TO THEIR FIANCE.

THEN YOU HAD FAMILIES, SO YOU HAD QUITE A MIXED GROUP SOMETIMES COMING ACROSS THE SEA.

WITH DIFFERENT THINGS TO THINK ABOUT IN THEIR MINDS AS THEY SLEPT AT NIGHT OR TRIED TO.

>> IT WAS A VERY CROWDED SHIP AND IF ANYBODY GOT SICK, THE GERMS TRAVELED AROUND THE SHIP.

>> VOMIT OFTEN FROM THE SEASICKNESS.

>> FATHER GOT SMALLPOX.

>> HE HAD A TERRIBLE TRIP ON THE BOAT.

HE SAID IT WAS VERY, VERY DIRTY.

AND HE PICKED UP SOME KIND OF A RASH, IT DISFIGURED HIS FACE TERRIBLE.

>> I WAS SICK ABOUT MAYBE TEN DAYS OUT OF THE 15 DAYS, SEASICK.

>> IT WAS SO COLD.

AND WE WERE REALLY SICK.

COULDN'T EAT NOTHING.

>> PEOPLE WERE OFTEN NOT THAT WELL NOURISHED ANYWAY, SO THEY REALLY WEREN'T IN THE BEST PHYSICAL CONDITION WHEN THEY WERE TRAVELING.

SOMETIMES IN STEERAGE NEARBY, AN AREA NOT TOO FAR AWAY FROM YOU, THERE WERE HORSES AND OTHER ANIMALS.

>> THE CONDITIONS WERE TERRIBLE.

FOOD WAS SPARSE.

IT WAS ALMOST PUT INTO A HOLD IN THE SHIP BECAUSE WE TOOK A LITTLE TOO MUCH WATER.

>> PEOPLE CLIMBED TO THE STEERAGE DECK.

IMAGINE HOW STUNNED THEY WERE TO SEE THE BLUE WATER.

>> THERE'S A LOT OF WATER, A LOT OF WATER.

>> HE HAD TO HOLD HIS SISTER SO SHE WOULDN'T GET -- GO OVERBOARD BECAUSE THE SEA WAS SO ROUGH.

>> YOU ALWAYS THINK AS YOU'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN AND ALL YOU SEE IS SKY AND WATER AND THEN YOU FEEL LIKE AS THOUGH THERE'S GOING TO BE A DROUGHT.

THERE'S NOTHING THERE, BUT JUST THIS BOAT AND THE WATER.

>> WELL, WHEN WE START SEEING THE STATUE OF LIBERTY, I TELL YOU, YOU JUST TOUCHING A LITTLE BIT OF THE TORCH, AND THEY SAY, AHH, WE FINALLY ARRIVED.

SHE SAID AS LONG AS THERE'S MUSIC ON THE SHIP.

IT WAS SO EXCITING.

>> WE WERE SO HAPPY.

>> IN 1892, ELLIS ISLAND OPENED ADJACENT TO THE STATUE OF LIBERTY IN LOWER NEW YORK HARBOR.

IN THE NEXT 30 YEARS, THE FACILITY PROCESSED ABOUT 12 MILLION IMMIGRANTS.

BETWEEN 1901 WHEN CONSTRUCTION OF THE EXISTING COMPLEX OF BUILDINGS WAS COMPLETED AND 1910, AN AVERAGE OF 50,000 IMMIGRANTS A MONTH WOULD PASS THROUGH THE STATION.

ELLIS ISLAND WAS CREATED BY THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT TO MORE EFFECTIVELY RESPOND TO THE GROWING NUMBER OF EUROPEANS COMING TO THE UNITED STATES.

>> AND WHAT THEY RESPONDED TO VERY EARLY WAS THE ITALIANS.

AND IT WAS A NEGATIVE RESPONSE.

>> THEY DIDN'T KNOW HOW MANY THEY WOULD TAKE AND THEY MIGHT TAKE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF PEOPLE AND THEN SEND THE REST BACK.

>> DR. JOSEPH HENRY FENNER WAS APPOINTED TO BE COMMISSIONER HERE.

HE WAS DELIGHTED WITH THE GERMANS COMING, THE ENGLISH, THE FRENCH, THE SWEDES, THE DUTCH, AND THE NORTHERN ITALIAN.

BUT THEN HE SAW THE SOUTHERN ITALIANS AND HE SET UP CAGES WHERE HUGE GROUPS, PARTICULARLY OF ITALIANS, WERE LOCKED BECAUSE HE SAW THEM AS DIRTY.

IF YOU COULDN'T SHOW YOU HAD ENOUGH MONEY ON THE SPOT, LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU ONLY HAD TWO DOLLARS, YOU SHOULD HAVE TEN OR MORE, HE WOULD IMMEDIATELY SLATE YOU FOR EXCLUSION OR DEPORTATION.

>> BEFORE DISCHARGE, YOU HAD TO MEET THESE CUSTOMS INSPECTIONS.

ALL THE BAGS WERE OPENED, YOU HAD TO STAND THERE WAITING AN HOUR OR TWO WHILE ALL THIS WENT ON.

>> HE WAS 8 YEARS OLD WHEN HE CAME OVER WITH HIS SISTER.

THEY CAME THROUGH ELLIS ISLAND.

>> AND THEY BOTH CAME ACROSS BY THEMSELVES WITH NOBODY WITH THEM.

SHE WAS GOING TO FIND OUT WHERE SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE AND WHERE TO GO, SO SHE TOLD HIM, YOU STAY HERE WITH THE SUITCASES.

AND HE GOT SCARED, I GUESS, AND HE RAN AFTER HER.

WHEN THEY WENT BACK, EVERYTHING WAS GONE.

THEY DIDN'T HAVE NOTHING BUT THE CLOTHES THEY HAD ON THEIR BACKS.

>> AND ALL THIS WAS DONE, IMMIGRATION OFFICERS SAID GOODBYE TO THE CUSTOMS MEN AND THE IMMIGRATION OFFICE IS NOW IN FULL CONTROL.

>> HE LOOKED AT YOUR SKIN, YOUR FACE, YOUR HAIR, HE LOOK AT YOUR FINGERS.

AND ANY SIGN OF TUBERCULOSIS ANYWHERE, THE WAY YOU WALKED, BREATHING, INTELLIGENCE, AWARENESS OF WHAT'S HAPPENING TO YOU.

IF YOU HAD A SHOCKED LOOK OR LOST LOOK, HE MIGHT WONDER AND ASK YOU A FEW QUESTIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE ALL THERE MENTALLY.

DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING?

HOW OLD ARE YOU?

CAN YOU COUNT?

DO YOU KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A PIG AND A COW?

HOW LONG WAS YOUR JOURNEY BY SEA?

CAN YOU DRAW ME A HORSE?

IF THERE WERE ANY SERIOUS SIGNS OF ANY ILLNESS, THE DOCTOR HAD A PIECE OF CHALK AND HE WOULD WRITE ON YOUR COAT OR ON YOUR JACKET A CODE LETTER.

A "X" MEANT THEY THOUGHT YOU MIGHT HAVE MENTAL PROBLEMS.

"H" WAS FOR HEART.

"L" LAMENESS, "G" GOITER.

"V" FOR VISION, "F" WAS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE FACE.

>> BEFORE LEAVING ELLIS ISLAND, IMMIGRANTS HAD TO DEMONSTRATE THERE WAS SOMEBODY ALREADY LIVING IN THE UNITED STATES WHO WOULD HELP THEM GET ESTABLISHED.

>> THEY HAD TO HAVE A SPONSOR.

IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE A RESPONSE, SO YOU COULDN'T COME TO THIS COUNTRY.

>> MY FATHER WAS A SPONSOR FOR US TO COME TO THIS COUNTRY.

>> ITALIAN IMMIGRANTS WITHOUT FAMILIES OR FRIENDS ALREADY IN AMERICA WOULD HIRE A SPONSOR, KNOWN AS A PADRONE.

>> SOME REALLY DID MORE GOOD AND SOME DIDN'T DO GOOD AT ALL.

HE WAS YOUR GUIDE.

THEY PROVIDED YOU WITH EVERYTHING YOU NEEDED TO GET INTO THE COUNTRY.

HE WOULD CALM YOUR NERVES, DID ALL THE TRANSLATION, HAVE DIRECTIONS TO THE LODGING HOUSE OR BOARDING HOUSE THAT HE HAD SET UP FOR YOU, THE ITALIAN ONE.

BUT IN THE END, YOU HAD TO PAY FOR IT.

IN THE END, HE MADE YOU PAY AND PAY BIG.

YOU HAD TO PAY PART OF YOUR SALARY TO HIM, HOWEVER LONG IT LOOK TOO RE-FAY.

>> THE MAJORITY OF ITALIAN MOITHSS ROOTED IN THREE STATES, NEW YORK, NEW JERSEY, AND PENNSYLVANIA.

BY 1930, ALMOST 10% OF NORTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA'S POPULATION WAS ITALIAN.

>> THOSE TRAINS WERE OUTBOUND AND WERE ALSO BRINGING BACK PEOPLE.

>> TOOK A TRAIN TO STROUS BERG.

>> WEIGHED TO COME TO HAZLETON BECAUSE HE HAD FRIENDS UP HERE FROM HIS HOMETOWN.

>> THEY PUT HIM ON A TRAIN AND HIS FRIEND MET HIM AT THE TRAIN STATION JUST ABOUT MAYBE A HALF A MILE FROM WHERE HE'S BURIED NOW.

>> ITALIAN IMMIGRANTS FACED SOBERING CHALLENGES TO ESTABLISHING A NEW LIFE IN AMERICA.

AMONG THEM WAS INTEGRATING WITH THE EXISTING POPULATION, MANY WHO WERE ONCE IMMIGRANTS THEMSELVES.

>> I LOOK AT THEM AS NOR OR LESS SUPERIOR TO -- MORE OR LESS SUPERIOR TO US BECAUSE THEY KNEW THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

>> THERE WHERE WE LIVED, SOMEONE HAD BURNED A CROSS.

>> THE ITALIAN IMMIGRATION, PARTICULARLY THOSE BY THE SOUTHERN ITALIAN, WAS A REAL SURPRISE FOR AMERICANS.

THEY DIDN'T MIND THE FEW ITALIANS.

IT LENT A CERTAIN EXOTIC FEELING, BUT WHEN YOU HAVE 250,000 COMING A YEAR, THAT'S A PROBLEM.

>> WHEN THEY THOUGHT OF SOUTHERN ITALIANS, THE DARKER PEOPLE, THERE WAS SOME SENSE OF PUZZLEMENT AND QUESTION.

ARE THEY A DIFFERENT RACE, WAS THE QUESTION.

THESE DON'T LOOK LIKE ITALIANS.

THEY WERE USED TO THE NORTHERN ITALIANS.

THERE WAS AN ARGUMENT, THERE ARE TWO ITALIAN RACES.

THIS WAS A BIG ISSUE BECAUSE AMERICA FELT ITSELF TO BE A WHITE ANGLO-SAXON PROTESTANT NATION, WHICH IT WAS, WHICH IT WAS.

>> I KNOW A COUPLE PEOPLE THAT REALLY DIDN'T CARE FOR ME BECAUSE I WAS ITALIAN.

AND YOU FELT THAT AND YOU KNEW THAT.

>> FEW, IF ANY, IMMIGRANTS EVER ARRIVED ANYWHERE WITHOUT HAVING TO ENDURE RACIAL AND ETHNIC SLURS.

ITALIANS WERE TAUNTED WITH WOP.

>> THE ITALIANS THOUGHT THAT WAS THE ENGLISH WORD FOR ITALIAN.

ANOTHER WORD THAT WAS POPULAR WAS DAGO.

IT WAS ORIGINALLY FROM DIAGO WHICH IS THE SPANISH FOR JAMES AND THAT ACTUALLY COMES FROM ENGLAND TO MEAN ALL THE MEDITERRANEAN PEOPLE.

>> AND THE AMERICANS EMBRACED THIS EXPRESSION.

>> AT THE START OF THE 20th CENTURY, NORTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA'S INDUSTRIAL DIDN'T ECHOED AROUND -- DIN ECHOED AROUND THE WORLD AND ITALIANS HEARD IT AND WERE DRAWN TO IT'S LURE OF A BETTER LIFE.

>> THERE WERE SIGHTS AND SMELLS AND DUST AND IT WAS A VERY ALIVE, VERY VIBRANT AREA, PARTICULARLY SCRANTON AS THE ANTHRACITE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD.

>> SCRANTON HAD ONE OF THE LARGEST TROLLEY SYSTEMS IN AMERICA.

BY 1913, THE SCRANTON TROLLEY SYSTEM WAS CARRYING 3 MILLION PASSENGERS A YEAR.

>> OF COURSE, LACKAWANNA AVENUE WAS THE COMMERCIAL CENTER.

IT WAS A BUSTLING PLACE.

YOU HAD TO SHOP DAILY TO GET YOUR PRODUCE, YOUR MEAT AND YOUR FISH, OR VEGETABLES.

THERE WAS NO REFRIGERATION, BUT IT WAS NOT -- THERE WAS REFRIGERATION, BUT IT WAS NOT WIDESPREAD AND SO STHRFS A LOT OF FOOT TRAFFIC.

THERE WAS A LOT OF WAGON TRAFFIC.

>> ALL THOSE VARIOUS LANGUAGES THAT WERE BEING SPOKEN.

THE ATTEMPT AT COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PEOPLE MUST HAVE BEEN AMAZING.

THE 1870 CENSUS, SCRANTON WAS ONE OF THE MOST MULTI CULTURAL PLACES IN AMERICA.

IT WAS EXCEEDED ONLY BY CHICAGO, SAN FRANCISCO, AND MILWAUKEE.

50% OF SCRANTON'S POPULATION IN 1870 CLAIM FOREIGN BIRTH, SO IT WAS PHENOMENALLY MULTICULTURAL.

>> THE TOWNS OF ROSS SET TO, JET SUP, OLDS FORGE, PITTSTON, DUNNMORE AND TAYLOR WERE THE MOST INTENSIVE ITALIAN COMMUNITIES IN THE REGION.

>> THE NEIGHBORHOOD WAS STRICTLY ITALIAN.

EVERY HOME SEVERAL BLOCKS AROUND.

>> IN OLD FORGE, WE HAD DIFFERENT KINDS OF ITALIANS.

WE HAD THE PEOPLE FROM FILIPPO NEAR SALERNO, AND THEN THERE WAS A CALABRIA SECTION AND THE PEOPLE FROM NAPE PES, THEY WERE IN ANOTHER SECTION.

>> WHOLE STREETS ARE WHOLE BUILDINGS MIGHT BE SICILIAN OR MAYBE IF THEY'RE NORTHERN ITALIANS.

>> A LOT OF NEIGHBORHOODS THAT ARE ITALIAN, YOU HAVE ME NEAPOLITAN, SICILIAN, BUT HERE IN BUNKER HILL, BASICALLY ALL THE PEOPLE CAME FROM THAT SAME MOUNTAIN VILLAGE OUTSIDE OF NAPLES.

THEY WERE NEIGHBORS AND FRIENDS OVER THERE, THEY MOVED OVER HERE AND SAME THING.

LIKE THEY TRANSPORTED PART OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD OVER HERE.

>> ROSETTO WAS 100% ITALIAN.

THAT'S HOW IT ORIGINATED ITS NAME, FROM THE NAME IN ITALY.

>> YOU CAME AND WENT WITH PEOPLE YOU KNEW, EITHER YOUR FAMILY OR YOUR FRIENDS.

IN MY DAD'S CASE, IT WAS FRIEND, SO HE HAD A LOT OF PAESANI.

SO PAESANO IS SOMEONE WHO COMES FROM YOUR HOMETOWN.

IT'S A VERY ENDURING WORD.

MAYBE EVERYBODY ON OUR STREET CAME FROM THE SAME PLACE.

>> THIS YOUNG ABOUT YOU'RE A PAESANO, SOMEONE FROM YOUR PART OF ITALY.

>> THE AMERICANS LOOKED AT THEM AND SAID, ITALIANS?

YOU'RE ITALIAN, AREN'T YOU?

WHERE ARE YOU FROM?

ITALY, YOU'RE ITALIAN.

ITALIANS HAD TO GET USED TO A NEW IDENTITY, AND ACTUALLY, THEY RESISTED.

THE FIRST GENERATION GENERALLY DIDN'T THINK THAT MUCH OF IT.

TO THEM, YEAH, THE AMERICANS CALLED US ITALIAN, BUT WE'RE REALLY FROM SOMEWHERE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S MORE THAN IMPORTANT THAN ITALY AS A WHOLE.

IT'S THE REAL COUNTRY.

>> THEY ASSOCIATED WITH EACH OTHER, THE ITALIAN PEOPLE, BECAUSE NOT ALL THE PEOPLE ASSOCIATED WITH THE NATIVES, THE AMERICANS.

>> THEY HAD THEIR OWN GROCERS AND BASH -- BAR PERCENT, THE CHURCH, THE FUNERAL FAR LORS.

IT WAS A SELF SUFFICIENT ITALIAN NEIGHBORHOOD.

>> THEY OPENED SHOPS SELLING OUTLINE THE FOODS OF THE OLD COUNTRY, OLIVE OIL, SALAMI, SWEET SHOPS, CHEESE MAKERS.

>> THERE ARE ALL SORTS OF BUSINESSES WHO UNDERSTOOD THE NEEDS AND PLIGHTS AND TROUBLES OF THE ITALIANS.

IT WAS A UNIQUE SITUATION.

>> MANY OTHER COMMUNITIES, HOWEVER, WERE MORE ETHNICALLY DIVERSE.

AND ENRICHED.

>> WHERE WE LIVED, THE AREA WAS CALLED THE PATCH.

WE'RE GOING UP TO THE PATCH.

THEY WERE ALL ITALIANS WITH THE EXCEPTION OF ONE RUSSIAN AND ONE POLISH FAMILY.

>> I'LL TELL YOU ABOUT THOSE POLISH AND RUSSIAN.

THEY WERE BORN AND RAISED IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD, ALL ITALIANS.

THEY COULD SPEAK THE ITALIAN LANGUAGE BETTER THAN SOME OF US.

>> WE HAD ITALIANS, POLISH, RUSSIAN, AND THEN WE HAD SOME ENGLISH AND IRISH.

>> THE LOWER SECTION WAS ALWAYS THE IRISH AND UP HERE WAS ALWAYS THE ITALIANS.

>> THE WHOLE TOWN WAS FRIENDLY.

YOU COULD LEAVE YOUR DOORS OPEN AT NIGHT AND GO TO BED, NOTHING WAS LOCKED.

>> IT WAS A WONDERFUL PLACE TO LIVE.

>> IT WAS LIKE A FAMILY TOWN.

IF ONE GOT SICK, THE NEIGHBORS WOULD WASH THEIR CLOTHES AND BRING FOOD FOR THEM.

IF ONE CRIED, EVERYBODY CRIED.

IF SOMEBODY SNEEZED, EVERYONE GOT A HAND KERCHIEF OUT.

>> AND EVERYBODY WAS OUR PARENTS.

YOU DON'T SOMETHING WRONG IN THE STREET, GET HOME, YOU.

YOU HAD TO GO HOME.

THEY SAY MOM, SO AND SO HOLLERED AT ME.

WHAT DID YOU GO OVER THERE FOR?

GET IN THE HOUSE.

>> WE HAD TRUCKS THAT WERE PEDDLE THROUGH THE STREETS.

TOOT THE HORN AND THEY KNEW HE WAS THERE.

>> OLD FORGE AND THE PORTS ACROSS THE STREET, ONE CAR COULD ONLY GO THROUGH.

>> WE WERE ALWAYS OUT THERE, THE WHOLE GANG, BOYS, GIRLS.

WE'D JUST TALK.

>> MY NOER WAS BORN AND RAISE -- NOER WAS BORN AND RAISED IN THE HOME HE SAID AND MY MOTHER ME -- HOMESTEAD AND MY MOTHER NEVER LIVED ANYWHERE BUT THERE.

>> THAT'S ALL YOU KNEW.

>> THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED IN NORTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA KNEW ANOTHER FACT OF LIFE.

FAR BENEATH THEIR HOMES WERE THE LARGEST DEPOSITS OF ANTHRACITE COAL IN THE WORLD.

>> MY MOTHER'S BROTHER WAS LIVING IN SCRANTON AND HE SAYS COME OUT HERE, THERE'S A LOT OF WORK HERE.

HE CAME HERE AND WOUND UP IN THE MINES.

AND HE BECAME A MINER AND FOR YEARS, HE WORKED IN THE MINES.

>> THE VAST PREPONDERANCE OF THOSE JOBS WERE IN AN INDUSTRY THAT CAME TO BE REFERRED TO AS THE BLACK HELL.

>> THIS WAS AN ALIEN ENVIRONMENT.

IT WAS BACK-BREAKING.

WHAT LITTLE LIGHT YOU HAD WAS PROVIDED BY A HEADLAMP OR CARBIDE LAMP ATTACHED TO YOUR CANVAS CAP.

YOU ARE LOADING COAL CARS EIGHT, TEN, 12 HOURS A DAY, TON AFTON.

-- TON AFTER TON.

>> THAT WAS ABOUT THE ONLY EMPLOYMENT AT THE TIME.

HE WORKED IN THE MINES ALL HIS LIFE.

IT WAS A ROUGH LIFE.

>> ALL THE GOOD JOBS WERE GIVEN OUT TO THE PEOPLE THAT KNEW THE LANGUAGE.

ALL THE ITALIANS OR THE FOREIGNERS, POLISH, RUSSIAN, COULDN'T GET THE JOBS THEY GOT BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T SPEAK THE LANGUAGE.

>> HE HAD NO TRADE.

THAT'S WHY THEY CAME TO THIS COUNTRY.

THEY WENT INTO THE MINES.

NOTHING ELSE THEY COULD HAVE DONE.

>> THE FIRST IMMIGRANT GROUPS HAD RISEN TO BECOME A MINE FOREMAN, MINE BOSSES, AND IN SOME CASES THE OWNERS OF THE MINES AND THE FACTORIES.

AND SO AS THOSE NEW IMMIGRANTS SHOWED UP, THEY WERE GIVEN SOME OF THE MOST DANGEROUS JOBS TO DO, SOME OF THE MOST DIFFICULT AND DIRTY JOBS.

YOU WERE THE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK, YOU WEREN'T GOING TO GET THE BEST LOCATION.

YOU WERE GOING TO GET THE WORST LOCATION.

>> OH, YEAH, THEY WERE LOOKED DOWN ON.

>> YOU WERE KIND OF SHOEHORNED INTO SOME OF THE TIGHTEST, MOST DIFFICULT PLACES UNDERGROUND.

>> I REALLY DIDN'T KNOW THE HAZARDS OF THE JOB.

>> NOBODY REALLY IMAGINED WHAT IT IS LIKE WORKING IN THE NINES.

>> MY GRANDFATHER WAS INJURED IN THE COAL MINES IN AN ACCIDENT WHERE HE WAS CAUGHT BETWEEN TWO COAL CARS.

HE WAS, YOU KNOW, NEVER REALLY THE SAME AFTER THAT.

HE SUFFERED FROM BLACK LUNG.

>> IN THE TOWN WE LIVED IN, THERE WAS A COAL MINE AND WHENEVER THE MINE WOULD SOUND OUT THE SIREN, YOU COULD HEAR IT THROUGH THE WHOLE TOWN.

YOU KNEW THERE WAS SOMETHING HAPPENED IN THE MINE.

WHEN THE WOMEN, THEY HEAR THIS SOUND, THEY WOULD RUN OVER TO THE AREA TO SEE WHO GOT HURT, WHO GOT KILLED.

>> MOST BOYS IN THE REGION HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO WORK IN THE ANTHRACITE INDUSTRY.

SOME, HOWEVER, SAW LIFE DIFFERENTLY.

>> IT'S A CUSTOM IN ITALY THAT WHEN A BOY REACHES ABOUT THE AGE OF 13, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT HE LEARN A TRADE.

AT THE AGE OF 13, MY FATHER SAID I CAN'T AFFORD TO EDUCATE YOU.

YOU HAVE TO LEARN A TRADE.

MY BROTHER-IN-LAW, WHO WAS FROM ITALY AND A SHOE MAKER, DROVE ME DOWNTOWN TO A TAILOR AND HE SAID TO THE TAI LO, THIS IS GOING TO BE -- TAILOR, THIS IS GOING TO BE THE APPRENTICE.

I CRIED WITH MY MOTHER FOR TWO WEEKS.

AND SHE SAID TO ME, MAURICE, THERE'S NOTHING I CAN DO.

THIS IS THE WISH OF YOUR FATHER.

EVENTUALLY, I BEGAN TO PICK IT UP VERY FAST.

MY MOTHER BOUGHT HER FIRST WASHING MACHINE WHEN I WAS BORN IN 1925 AND I BOUGHT HER HER SECOND WASHING MACHINE.

>> MY FATHER, HE DIDN'T WANT ME TO BE ON THE STREETS, SO HE MADE ARRANGEMENTS WITH A SHOE MAKER FOR ME TO GO THERE AND SPEND TIME OR LEARN THE TRADE, AND I GAVE MY MONEY TO MY MOTHER.

>> DOGMATIC TRADITION AND THE PRACTICALITY OF COMMONLY HAVING SO MANY CHILDREN PREVENTED MANY ITALIAN WOMEN FROM HOLDING JOBS OUTSIDE THE HOME.

BUT SOME DID.

>> MY MOTHER DID HOUSE WORK FOR PEOPLE THAT WERE NOT ITALIAN, AND SHE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THE LANGUAGE.

>> MY MOTHER WAS A SEAM STRESS.

SHE MADE ALL OF THE BOYS CLOTHES WITHOUT PATTERN.

SHE ALSO WORKED IN A DRESS FACTORY.

>> IN ITALIAN CULTURE, FAMILY IS AN ETHOS, A GUIDING BELIEF, SHEER BED ROCK.

>> THE ITALIAN FAENL IS THE MAJOR PART OF THE -- FAMILY IS THE MAJOR PART OF THE STORY OF IMMIGRATION.

THE ITALIAN FAMILY IS VERY STRONG AND VERY IMPORTANT.

THE INDIVIDUAL BELONGS TO THE FAMILY.

HIS HONOR WAS NOT IMPORTANT INDIVIDUALLY, BUT THE FAMILY HONOR WAS EVERYTHING.

>> WE WERE ALWAYS BROUGHT UP TO RESPECT OUR ELDERS.

THE FAMILY WAS THE FOCAL POINT OF OUR LIFE.

>> RESPECT, TO ME, DESCRIBES THE PARENTS.

THEY DEMANDED THAT, YOU KNOW, AND WHEN THEY SAID SOMETHING, YOU RESPECTED THAT.

NOT LIKE TODAY.

YOU KNOW, WE DIDN'T SAY -- WHEN THEY SAID NO, WE DIDN'T ASK WHY.

IT WAS NO.

>> THEY WERE STRICT, REAL STRICT.

YOU HAVE TO WEAR SHORTS IN THE SUMMERTIME, AND WHEN IT'S 4:00, YOU HAVE TO GET UPSTAIRS AND GET YOUR CLOTHES ON BECAUSE POP DOESN'T WANT TO SEE YOU WITH SHORTS ON.

YOU HAVE TO PUT A DRESS ON.

>> HE WAS VERY STRICT WITH US, KEPT A CLOSE WATCH ON US AND MADE SURE WE WALK THE RIGHT LINE.

YOU WENT OFF THE LINE, THEN YOU HEARD IT QUICK.

>> MY FATHER WAS A HAPPY-GO-LUCKY GUY.

NEVER, NEVER SCOLDED US OR GIVE US A SLAP.

HIS HOUSE WAS EVERYBODY'S HOUSE.

>> MY DAD'S FIRST NAME WAS PRIMO AND HE WAS THE FIRST-BORN.

HE FELT THAT RESPONSIBILITY AND MY DAD WORKED IN THE MINES AND HE SUPPORTED HIS FAMILY IN ITALY.

>> THE ITALIAN FAMILY WAS SUCH AS IT IS PARTLY BECAUSE OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC TEACHING.

THE CHURCH TEACHES THE FATHER IS THE HEAD JUST AS CHRIST IS THE HEAD.

VERY STRONG, THIS IS TAUGHT AND INCULCATED OVER GENERATIONS.

THEY WANT TO ADHERE TO WHAT THE CHURCH TEACHES, THEY WANT TO ADHERE TO WHAT THE PRIEST SAYS.

BUT NONETHELESS, THE MOTHER IS KIND OF SACRED TOO.

YOU SEE THE MOTHER OF GOD AND THE SYMBOL OF PERFECTION IN WOMEN.

SO THIS LIFTS THE MOTHER UP TO A CERTAIN GLORY.

>> MY MOTHER COULDN'T READ OR WRITE ENGLISH, BUT SHE KNEW EVERYTHING.

>> MY MOTHER WAS OVER 200 POUNDS, BUT SHE WASN'T FAT.

MY MOTHER WAS STOCKY.

>> THE MOTHER ALSO RUNS THE HOUSE.

SHE GETS THE PAYCHECK, EVEN THE MONEY.

>> THE ITALIAN MEN RULED THE HOUSE, BUT THE WOMEN RULED THE POCKETS.

>> SHE GIVES ALLOWANCE TO HER HUSBAND.

SHE MAINTAINS THE HOUSE.

HE MAKES THE MONEY AND MAMA, THAT WAS THE CULTURE.

>> MEN WENT TO WORK, THAT WAS THE JOB AND THEY WERE FINISHED.

THE WOMEN DID EVERYTHING IN THE HOME.

THEY WERE NEVER DONE.

>> HER JOB WAS WASHING CLOTHES.

WE DIDN'T HAVE A WASHER, HAD TO WASH THEM BY HAND.

>> BUT MY MOTHER WAS A WORKHORSE ARE THE HOUSE.

SHE WAS A FABULOUS COOK.

THERE WASN'T ONE DAY THAT I WENT TO SCHOOL THAT MY MOTHER DIDN'T GIVE ME A WHITE SHIRT AND STARCHED COLLARS, CRISP.

EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK, SHE DID THAT.

>> MY MOM NEVER EVEN KNEW HOW TO GROCERY SHOP.

MY FATHER DID THE GROCERY SHOPPING.

>> NOW, OF COURSE, YOU HAD SOME BOSSIER HUSBANDS, MOST HUSBANDS ARE LETTING THEIR WIVES DEFINE MOST OF WHAT WENT ON IN THE HOUSEHOLD.

>> SHE WAS VERY CARING TO US.

SHE WAS STRICT, BUT I KNOW A LOT OF TIMES SHE DID THINGS FOR US THAT MY FATHER DIDN'T KNOW.

>> AS SOON AS HE RAISED HIS VOICE, THEY ALL TRIED TO PLACATE HIM, SAY OKAY, OKAY, MAKE HIM FEEL GOOD.

>> MY FATHER REALLY NEVER SAID VERY MUCH AND MY MOTHER WAS THE CULTURAL ONE.

>> MY FATHER RULED WITH AN IRON HAND AND I MEAN WITH AN IRON HAND.

HE WAS STRICT WITH MY MOTHER TOO.

>> HE WOULDN'T USE AN ELECTRIC RAZOR.

I BOUGHT HIM THE GILLETTE AND HE SAID NO.

HE SHARPENED THE GILLETTE BLADES BECAUSE THE BLADES AIN'T SHARP ENOUGH.

>> MY FATHER, HE WAS A STRICT ITALIAN AND WE WERE AFRAID OF HIM.

SO HE LIVED DOWNSTAIRS.

THERE WAS NO PHONE AND WE LIVED UPSTAIRS.

AND HOW HE WOULD GET IN TOUCH WITH US WAS TO BANG ON THE PIPES.

I ALWAYS HAD TO GO FOR HIS BREAD.

WE HAD TO GO TO THE ITALIAN BREAD STORE AND THERE WAS NO, LIKE, OH, CAN I GO IN TEN MINUTES.

YOU HAD TO GO THEN.

>> IN A LANGUAGE ADMIRED FOR IT'S LYRICAL RESONANCE, ONE WORD RESONATES BEYOND ALL OTHERS: NONO.

>> MY GRANDMOTHER, SHE USED TO GO UP IN THE MOUNTAINS HERE AND PICK BLUEBERRIES, AND SHE USED TO COME TO TOWN AND SELL THEM.

SHE WOULD RAISE CHICKENS AND EGGS AND SHE'D SELL THE EGGS.

>> OH, GRANDMA USED TO MAKE SO MANY THINGS.

SHE USED TO LOVE TO MAKE BEAN SOUP.

BEFORE SCHOOL, SHE USED TO BRAID OUR HAIR.

WE DIDN'T MESS WITH GRANDMA.

>> I WENT TO HER AND SAID IN ITALIAN, I SAID GRANDMA, I WANT TO SMOKE.

SEVERAL OF MY AUNTS WERE SITTING AT THE TABLE AND EVERYONE WENT OH, OH, OH.

MY AUNTS WERE, LIKE, HAVING HEART ATTACKS BECAUSE YOU DON'T SMOKE IN FRONT OF GRANDMA.

AND SHE LOOKED AT ALL THEM AND TOLD ME I COULD SMOKE.

AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU, YOU ALL SMOKE IN THE BATHROOM.

SHE CAN SMOKE IN FRONT OF ME.

I WAS ALLOWED TO SMOKE IN FRONT OF GRANDMA BECAUSE I REQUESTED PERMISSION.

WAS PROVIDED BY THE LACKAWANNA HERITAGE VALLEY, A PARTNERSHIP OF GOVERNMENT, BUSINESS, CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS DEDICATED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF HISTORICAL, CULTURAL, NATURAL, AND ECONOMIC RESOURCES THROUGH PRESERVATION, EDUCATION, AND PROMOTION OF THE LACKAWANNA VALLEY'S HERITAGE.

THE SCRANTON UNICO FOUNDATION AND THE UNICO NATIONAL FOUNDATION, CONTRIBUTING TO THE WELL-BEING OF OUR COMMUNITIES BY MAKING SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO CHARITIES.

THEY STRIVE TO HONOR, PERPETUATE AND DISSEMINATE THE CULTURAL AND ETHNIC CULTURE BY SUPPORTING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND NATION.

ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR FAES SCENE WAS PROVIDED BY LA FESTA ITALIA LACKAWANNA.

COME ENJOY THE MUSIC AND FOOD, THE CULTURE.

DID WE SAY FOOD?

ONE OF THE COUNTRY'S LARGEST ITALIAN FESTIVALS EVERY LABOR DAY WEEKEND IN DOWNTOWN SCRANTON.

AND THE CHRIS AND ANN DEMATEO FAMILY.

>>> POVERTY DIDN'T ENTIRELY ELUDE ITALIANS WHO CAME TO AMERICA, BUT IN WAYS BEYOND THE MATERIAL, THEY WERE FAR FROM BEREFT.

>> THEY WERE VERY POOR, BUT THEY WERE PROUD.

>> WE WEREN'T RICH.

WE WERE POOR.

>> THERE WERE MANY A MONTH WHEN WE COULDN'T PAY THE RENT AND IT WAS ONLY $25 A MONTH.

>> JUST ENOUGH MONEY TO PAY FOR THE FOOD THAT WE ATE.

THAT'S ALL THERE WAS TO IT.

>> THERE WAS NO TV.

WE LISTENED TO THE RADIO.

>> THIS IS NBC [ NBC TONES ] ♪ [ SINGING ] ♪ >> WHEN TWO PEOPLE GOT MARRIED, THEY MOVED CLOSE TO THEIR PARENTS.

>> MY SISTER GOT MARRIED AND SHE LIVED NEXT-DOOR.

THEN THE OTHER SISTER GOT MARRIED AND SHE LIVED ACROSS THE STREET.

MY ONE SISTER WAS UPSTAIRS.

MY MOTHER WAS TAP ON THE PIPE, THE STEAM PIPE FOR MY SISTER TO COME DOWN AND GET WHATEVER SHE MADE.

>> THEN NEXT-DOOR TO MY SISTER, MY UNCLE LIVED.

MY COUSINS, THEY CAME TO MY MOTHER'S HOUSE ALL THE TIME.

>> WITH ITALIAN FAMILIES, A TENTH COUSIN IS LIKE A BROTHER OR SISTER, AND THEN YOU HAVE CLOSE FRIENDS WHO BECAME COUSINS JUST BECAUSE THEY WERE HERE SO MUCH AND THEY ACTUALLY BECAME A PART OF YOUR FAMILY .

>> THEY WERE ALWAYS AT EACH OTHER'S HOUSE.

AND MY UNCLE ENJOYED WALKING IN OUR HOUSE, AND IF WE WEREN'T BEHAVING OR SOMETHING, HE COME IN AND GIVE YOU A COUPLE SLAPS AND THEN WALK OUT, DIDN'T SAY A WORD.

>> MY MOM'S MOTHER LIVED TWO BLOCKS UP THE ROAD.

I WOULD NEVER GO BY THAT HOUSE WITHOUT STOPPING IN.

YOU HAVE TO DO IT.

>> BOTH SETS OF GRANDPARENTS LIVED A BLOCK AWAY.

>> THERE MAY BE NO MORE MANIFEST MEASURE OF THE PASSAGE OF TIME IN NORTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA THAN THAT OF A LARGE FAMILY AND ITALIAN FAMILIES COULD BE BIG.

>> OUR KITCHEN TABLE, DON'T FORGET, THERE'S NINE PEOPLE GOING TO SIT AT THAT TABLE.

THAT'S IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE COMPANY.

>> EVERY HOUSEHOLD HAD A MINIMUM OF ABOUT FIVE CHILDREN.

OURS UP TO EIGHT, NINE, TEN IN A FAMILY.

>> FIVE.

FIVE BOYS AND FIVE GIRLS AND ONE BATHROOM UPSTAIRS.

ONE BATHROOM.

AT FIRST WE DIDN'T HAVE A BATHROOM.

WE HAD TO GO TO THE OUTSIDE TOILET.

>> FOUR GIRLS AND THREE BOYS.

>> I HAVE TWO SISTERS BORN IN ITALY, AND THEN MY FATHER HAD FIVE MORE KIDS HERE.

HE HAD A BOY, THEN HE HAD A GIRL, THEN HE HAD THREE BOYS.

AND WE'RE NOT COUNTING THE ONES THAT PASSED AWAY DURING -- AT BIRTH.

>> I HAD SEVEN SISTERS AND ONE BROTHER, AND WE WERE REFERRED TO AS TWO THORNS AMONG SEVEN ROSES.

>> NO DISPOSABLE DIAPERS, NO PEDIATRICIANS TO PICK UP THE PHONE.

I JUST -- I'M AMAZED AT HOW THEY DID IT.

I HAVE NO IDEA.

>> ONE BEDROOM HAD TWO SINGLE BEDS.

MY SISTERS AND I LAID DOWN ON ONE SINGLE BED AND MY OTHER TWO SISTERS IN THE OTHER ONE.

ONCE A WEEK, WE TAKE A BATH.

ONCE A WEEK, THAT'S ALL.

SHE HAD TO BOIL WATER ON THE STOVE ALL THE TIME.

I WONDER HOW WE DID IT.

>> MY GRANDFATHER WAS KILLED, MY FATHER'S FAMILY, THEY HAD TO QUIT SCHOOL BECAUSE THEY HAD TO HELP RUN THESE HOMES OF TEN CHILDREN.

HOW DID THEY MANAGE THAT THEN?

THERE WERE TEN, 12 KIDS BACK IN THOSE DAYS WITH ONE MAN WORKING.

BUT THEY DID IT, AND THEY DID IT WITH LOVE.

>> MY GRANDFATHER, WHO HAD EIGHT CHILDREN AND VERY HARD TO FEED IN THOSE DAYS, WOULD NEVER CONSIDER GOING ON WELFARE.

THEY THOUGHT THAT THAT WAS TAKING AWAY FROM THE GOVERNMENT, SO THEY HAD TO MAKE IT ON THEIR OWN.

>> WE WERE ALWAYS THERE FOR EACH OTHER.

>> THE ITALIAN FAMILY BECOMES FORMED BY A ROBUST RANGE OF TRADITIONS AND CUSTOMS THAT SPAN THE CULTURE'S COLLECTIVE MEMORY AND DIVERSE DIALECTS.

>> ITALIAN TRADITION PLAYED A BIG PART IN MY LIFE.

I TRIED TO STICK TO THE HIGH MORAL STANDARDS, FOR ONE THING.

>> WE WERE BROUGHT UP IN ITALY, IT WAS ALWAYS WORK.

HOME, CHURCH.

GRANDMA USED TO SAY, IN THE MORNING YOU GO FOR YOURSELF AND THE ONE LATER, YOU GO FOR FOR YOUR FATHER BECAUSE HE LIVED IN AMERICA AND IN CASE HE DIDN'T GO TODAY, YOU FAY FOR YOUR FATHER.

>> I GOT MY ITALIANNESS FROM IN THE HOUSE.

>> BECAUSE I MARRIED AN ITALIAN GIRL, WE DID NOT SWAY TOO FAR AWAY FROM OUR TRADITIONS.

>> THEY ALWAYS HAD THE WHITE SHIRT AND THEY ALWAYS HAD A TIE ON.

AND I CAN ALWAYS REMEMBER THEM WALKING DOWN THE STREET AND TIPPING THEIR HAT TO THE LADIES.

>> BEING ITALIAN, I THINK I WAS PRONE TO APPRECIATE BEAUTY.

>> THE MUSIC, SPEAKING THE LANGUAGE, THE COOKING AS ITALIANS USED TO SAY.

MA, HOW DO YOU MAKE THIS?

MY MOTHER IS THE WAY YOU DO THIS AND THIS IS WHAT YOU DO THAT.

>> MY MOTHER WAS A TERRIFIC COOK.

WE HAD THE MOST DELICIOUS MEALS WHEN WE WERE GROWING UP.

THEY NEVER HAD A LOT OF MONEY, BUT THERE WAS ALWAYS A BIG MEAL ON THE TABLE.

>> WE HAD A STOCKADE IN THE BACK, THE ITALIANS CALLED IT AN STOCKATO AND WE HAD GOATS, CHICKENS, RABBITS.

>> MY FATHER USED TO RAISE PIGGIES TO MAKE THE LARD, MAKE CRACKLINGS, PORK CHOPS AND SAUSAGE.

>> OF COURSE, MY GRANDFATHER MADE HIS OWN PROSCUITTO, HIS OWN SALAMI.

HE WAS LIVING ALL NOTICES LIKE HE WAS A FARMER BACK -- ALL NOTICES LIKE HE WAS A FARMER BACK HOME.

>> MY FATHER GARDENED A LOT, MY MOTHER GARDENED A LOT.

MY FATHER USED TO PLAY THE METROPOLITAN OPERA BROADCASTS.

>> EVERYBODY HAD A GARDEN.

EVERYBODY.

AND THEY LIVED REALLY OFF THEIR GARDEN.

>> WE HAD TO DO THE DIGGING BEFORE WE WENT TO SCHOOL.

WE HAD TO DIG OUR SHARE.

>> WE WOULD GROW SAVOY CABBAGE.

IN THE FALL WE WOULD BURY THAT AND IN THE WINTER, WHEN YOU COULDN'T BUY IT ANYWHERE ELSE, WE'D GO DOWN AND DIG ONE OUT AND COOK IT.

>> MY MOTHER, SHE MADE BREAD EVERY OTHER DAY FOR TEN KIDS.

SHE WOULD GET UP AT 3:00 IN THE MORNING, KNEAD THE BREAD.

>> FOOD IN ITALIAN FAMILIES IS A BIG PART OF OUR LIFE.

EVERY SUNDAY, 2:00, WE HAVE DINNER HERE.

>> WHICH IS TYPICAL TO ITALY WHERE THEY HAVE THEIR PARANZO LATE AND IT'S THEIR MAIN MEAL ON A SUNDAY.

>> WE WOULD ALWAYS HAVE A SUNDAY MEAL AT OUR HOUSE.

CHICKEN AND MACARONI WERE THERE EVERY SUNDAY EVENING FOR SUPPER.

>> SALAD WAS AFTER THE MEAL.

I WAS CORRECTED ABOUT THAT WHEN I WENT TO ITALY.

>> THEY HAVE THEIR PASTA FIRST, THEN THEY HAVE THEIR MEAT.

>> WE NEVER BROUGHT BUTTER TO A TABLE BECAUSE EVERYTHING TASTED SO GOOD, WE DIDN'T NEED THE BUTTER.

>> AS WE WERE EATING, MY FATHER WOULD USE IT AS AN OCCASION TO QUIZ US ABOUT WHAT STATE THAT WE HAD JUST EATEN LOOKED LIKE AND WHAT WAS THE CAPITAL OF THAT STATE.

>> WE DID NOT TOUCH A MORSEL OF FOOD UNTIL MY FATHER SAT AT THE TABLE.

>> WE ATE SPAGHETTI EVERY DAY.

MY FATHER AND SISTER, WE HAD TO HAVE PASTA EVERY SINGLE DAY.

TWO DAYS WITH TOMATO SAUCE AND THE OTHER DAYS, WE WERE EATING OLD VEGETABLES.

THE PASTA WITH STRING BEANS, PASTA WITH GREEN BEANS.

>> MY MOTHER, EVERY TIME I BROUGHT THE MODERN PASTA MACHINE, SHE WOULD ALWAYS SAY, OH, GRANDMA WOULD KILL US IF SHE EVER SAW US USING A MACHINE.

BACK IN THOSE DAYS, EVERYTHING WAS DONE BY HAND.

>> PASTA WAS, WAS A MUST SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK, BUT SUNDAY, IT WAS ALWAYS THERE.

AND THE SAUCE IN THOSE DAYS, THEY STARTED EARLY IN THE MORNING.

>> IF WE DON'T HAVE SAUCE, MY SON GOES THROUGH WITHDRAWAL.

MY MOTHER WOULD START HER SAUCE WITH FATBACK.

>> I ALWAYS LIKED SAUCE, LIKE MY MOTHER USED TO MAKE IT, THAT'S HOW YOU GET GOOD SAUCE.

>> CERTAIN KINDS OF ITALIANS MAKE A DIFFERENT SAUCE FOR THE TABLE.

MY MOTHER IS ITALIAN AND SOME PEOPLE WOULD FEEL DIFFERENTLY ABOUT THE SAUCE THAT THEY MADE.

>> I MAKE ALL KINDS OF SAUCE, MEAT SAUCE, VODKA SAUCE.

>> A LOT OF GARLIC.

GARLIC IS THE KEY.

GARLIC AND OLIVE OIL AND THEN YOU'RE SET.

THERE'S ALWAYS OLIVE OIL IN MY COOKING.

THERE'S NOTHING LIKE THE FLAVOR OF OLIVE OIL AND WHEN MY MOTHER MADE PASTA, MY FATHER WOULD HAVE THE OLIVE OIL ON THE TABLE AND HE LIKED TO DRIZZLE A LITTLE OLIVE OIL AFTER IT WAS ALL DONE ON THAT.

>> THE ONLY THING WE DON'T USE THE GARLIC ON IS ICE CREAM.

>> THERE'S A LOT OF GREAT THINGS THAT GO WITH THAT LITTLE PIECE OF GARLIC.

IT'S MY MIDDLE NAME.

>> THE ONLY TIME YOU HAVE DESSERT IS ON THE WEEKEND.

DESSERTS IS A BIG THING ON SUNDAY AND HOLIDAYS.

>> WE GOT THE COOKIE THAT THEY DUNK IN THE WINE, SOFTEN THEM UP.

IN THE WINE IS MUCH BETTER THAN EXPRESSO.

THAT WAS THE FAVORITE.

WE STILL DO THAT.

>> MY MOTHER USED TO MAKE A LOT OF COOKIES.

>> THIS HOUSE WAS NEVER, NEVER WITHOUT BISCOTTI.

>> MARGIE, MY NIECE, SHE LOVES BISCOTTI.

HER HUSBAND LOVED BISCOTTIS.

AND CANOLI.

>> AND I ONLY FILL THEM WHEN I NEED THEM BECAUSE YOU FILL A CANNOLI UP AND YOU LEAVE IT THERE, THE SHELL GETS SOFT AND SOGGY AND WHO WANTS TO EAT THAT.

YOU WANT SOMETHING CRUNCHY.

>> THERE'S NOTHING LIKE COOKING FOR FAMILY AND FRIENDS.

>> IT WAS A FULL GENUINE ITALIAN DAY.

>> ITALIAN IMMIGRANTS GAVE UP SOME CUSTOMS EASIER THAN OTHERS.

ONE VALUE THENNED TO HOLD ON TO -- THEY WANTED TO HOLD ON TO WAS THE LIFE BLOOD OF THEIR CULTURE, THEIR LANGUAGE [ SPEAKING ITALIAN ] WHAT HAPPENED I SAID WAS I SPEAK ITALIAN BECAUSE I AM ITALIAN.

[ SINGING IN ITALIAN ] >> BACK WHEN I WAS IN GRADE SCHOOL, I SPOKE BROKEN ENGLISH, BUT I HAD TO GO TO THE MEN'S ROOM AND I TOLD THE TEACHER I HAD TO GO TO THE (ITALIAN WORD).

>> ITALIAN ALL THE TIME, IN THE HOUSE, WHEREVER WE WENT, AND WE SPOKE ITALIAN A LOT.

OH, YEAH.

WE HAD TO SPEAK ITALIAN.

>> MY GRANDPARENTS, MY GREAT GRANDPARENTS DID NOT SPEAK, YOU KNOW, QUOTE-UNQUOTE, THE ITALIAN LANGUAGE.

THEY SPOKE A CALABRAIS DIALECT.

>> WHEN I WENT TO SCHOOL, I COULDN'T TALK ENGLISH.

I COULD ONLY TALK ITALIAN.

>> I WAS WITH A YOUNGER GROUP ALL THE TIME AND I WAS THE OLD ONE.

>> THE KIDS START SNICKERING.

YOU SAY SOMETHING AND IT DOESN'T COME OUT RIGHT.

>> I NEVER KNEW IT UNTIL LATER, LATER YEARS, BUT I DIDN'T PASS THE FIRST GRADE.

I IMAGINE IT WAS BECAUSE I COULDN'T SPEAK ENGLISH.

>> QUITE A FEW PEOPLE THAT CAME FROM OUR TOWN, THE CASTANELLIS, THEY ALL SPOKE ITALIAN.

IT WAS EASIER TO SPEAK ITALIAN TO THEM THAN ENGLISH.

LITTLE BY LITTLE, THEY PICKED UP THE LANGUAGE.

>> IN AN ERA ABSENCE OF CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY'S SURPLUS OF DIVERSIONS, ITALIANS ENTERTAINED THEMSELVES WITH EACH OTHER.

>> IT WAS LIKE A NORMAL THING TO US TO BE VISITING AUNSS AND UNCLES -- AUNTS AND UNCLES BACK IN THOSE DAYS.

WE VISITED TWO, THREE TIMES A WEEK.

WHETHER I WAS BORED OUT OF MY MIND SITTING ON THAT COUCH WAITING FOR US TO LEAVE, WE WENT.

WE DON'T DO THAT TODAY.

I MISS THAT.

>> EVERY SUNDAY, WE HAD TO GO TO THE AUNTS AND UNCLES' HOUSE.

WE JUMP IN THIS TRUCK, THE TRUCK ONLY HAD ONE SEAT IN IT.

MY MOTHER HAD TO SIT ON A WOODEN BOX.

>> THEY USED TO GATHER ON A SUNDAY, YOUR AUNTS AND UNCLES WOULD COME OVER.

AS SOON AS THEY CAME IN THE HOUSE, YOU OFFERED THEM EITHER A GLASS OF WINE FIRST AND SOMETHING TO EAT.

>> BEFORE WE EVEN GOT IN THE HOUSE, WE HAD TO MAKE SURE THAT WE KISSED EVERYBODY AT THAT TABLE.

>> MY AUNT'S SISTER WAS MY GODMOTHER AND WHEN SHE CAME OVER, YOU PRACTICALLY HAD TO ADORE HIM.

THEY USED TO CALL HER THE COUNTESS.

>> THERE WAS ALSO EITHER COOKIES OR THE BISCOTTI OR THERE WAS ALWAYS DESSERT OR CHEESE OR FRUIT OR THE COFFEE CAME OUT.

>> SHE ALWAYS HAD A POT OF COFFEE ON THE STOVE, ALL THE TIME.

I COULDN'T MAKE MY OWN COFFEE.

MY MOTHER WOULD PUT THE COFFEE THERE AND SHE WOULD PUT THE MILK IN IT AND THE SUGAR IN.

I SAID, MA, I DON'T WANT NO MILK IN MY COFFEE.

YOU GOT TO HAVE MILK, YOU'RE ITALIAN.

YOU HAVE TO HAVE MILK AND SUGAR IN THE COULD HAVE ME.

>> IF ITALIAN MOTHERS COULD BE PARTICULAR ABOUT HOW THEIR SONS TOOK THEIR COFFEE, ITALIAN FATHERS FOCUSED THEIR ATTENTION ON THEIR DAUGHTERS.

>> WHEN SOMEBODY WOULD BRING HOME SOMEBODY THAT WAS NOT ITALIAN, THEY DIDN'T LIKE THE AT ALL.

>> THE BIG QUESTION IN MY FAMILY WAS, OH, IS HE ITALIAN?

SO THAT WAS REALLY THE QUESTION.

>> WE HAD A TIME LIMIT THAT WE HAD TO GET HOME.

>> MANY A TIME I HAD TO SNEAK IN WITHOUT WAKING MY FATHER.

SOMETIMES I GOT BY.

>> WE HAD TO HAVE THEM MEET THE FATHER.

YOU DIDN'T HAVE THEM MEET YOUR PARENTS WHEN THEY WERE READY TO HAVE A BOYFRIEND.

YOU HAD TO HAVE THEM MEET THE PARENTS TO GO ON A FIRST DATE.

AND THE ONLY REASON WHY I WAS ALLOWED TO HAVE A DATE IN MY FRESHMAN YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL WAS BECAUSE HE KNEW THE FAMILY.

SEE, IF THEY KNEW THE FAMILY:.

>> FIRST GENERATION, THEY ONLY WANTED TO MARRY ITALIAN.

USUALLY FROM THE SAME PART OF ITALY THEY CAME FROM.

>> MY GRANDFATHER, HE SAID GINA IS A WONDERFUL GIRL, TOO BAD SHE'S CALABRESE.

>> THE FAMILY WANTED US TO MARRY AROUND.

>> MARRY ITALIANS, THEY PREACHED THAT.

>> ST. LUCY'S CHURCH WAS ALL ITALIAN.

EVERYBODY THAT GOT MARRIED, THEY MARRIED AN ITALIAN.

>> MY WIFE WAS BYZANTINE AND WHEN I WAS GOING WITH HER, A FRIEND OF THEIRS SAID TO MY MOTHER-IN-LAW, YOU MEAN TO TELL ME YOU'RE GOING TO LET YOUR DAUGHTER MARRY AN ITALIAN?

>> IN SOME ITALIAN FAMILIES THE YOUNG LOVERS WERE ALLOWED ONLY THREE VISITS BETWEEN THE ENGAGEMENT ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE WEDDING, ALL CHAPERONED WITH NO TOUCHING.

THAT MAY NOT HAVE BEEN SUCH A BAD DEAL WHEN THEY CONSIDERED THE ALTERNATIVE.

>> ARRANGED MARRIAGES WERE ALWAYS DONE.

THE FATHER WOULD NEAT A NICE YOUNG FELLOW.

-- MEET A NICE YOUNG FELLOW.

YOU WANT TO MARRY MY DAUGHTER?

I'LL GIVE YOU MY DAUGHTER, SHE'S A NICE GIRL.

SHE'S 15, 17, 18 YEARS OLD, TIME FOR HER TO GET MARRIED.

SO HE WOULD WRITE A LETTER TO THE MA MA.

I HAVE A PERFECT YOUNG MAN AND HE'S GOING TO PAY THE FARE AND SHE'S GOING TO GET MARRIED.

>> MY MOTHER CAME OVER HERE TO GET MARRIED.

MY SISTER ANNA ASKED HER THE QUESTION, SHE SAID HOW COULD YOU COME HERE AND MARRY SOMEBODY YOU NEVER KNEWS?

SHE SAID YOU LEARN TO LOVE THEM AS YOU GO ALONG.

>> WHEN SHE FOUND A HUSBAND, I THINK SHE WAS ABOUT 15 AND NOT ONLY HER, ALMOST ALL THE GIRLS IN THAT TOWN.

>> IT WAS SECOND GENERATION, MANY OF THEM WANTED TO MARRY OUTSIDE OF THE ITALIAN ETHNICITY, FELT THEY WANTED TO BE AMERICAN, THEY WANTED TO BE ACCEPTED.

>> BUT MY PARENTS WERE VERY LIBERAL.

THEY NEVER TOLD US WHO WE SHOULD PICK.

BUT I MARRIED AN ITALIAN GIRL.

>> ITALIAN WEDDINGS REFLECTED BOTH THE IMMIGRANTS' SPARE MEANS AND BOUNTIFUL PRIDE.

>> THE WHOLE NEIGHBORHOOD GOT INVITED.

THE BRIDAL PARTY USUALLY CONSISTS OF YOUR RELATIVES.

>> WE USED TO MAKE OUR OWN SANDWICHES AND BRING THEM TO THE HALL, AND HAVE SANDWICHES AND DRINKS.

>> I REMEMBER LOTS OF SANDWICHES.

LOTS OF LIQUOR AND LOTS OF SINGING.

>> THE BRIDESMAID WOULD PASS THE COOKIES AROUND.

>> THE FATHER OF THE BRIDE WANTED TO GIVE HIS DAUGHTER THE BEST WEDDING POSSIBLE.

>> AND THEY WOULD HELP US COOK.

IT WAS JUST IN MY MOM'S KITCHEN.

>> THE ITALIAN KITCHEN WAS THE EPICENTER OF THE ITALIAN FAMILY.

FOR AN OBVIOUS REASON.

>> THERE WAS ALWAYS A POT OF SAUCE ON AND THERE WAS ALWAYS SOMETHING BEING COOKED.

WHEN YOU WALKED INTO THE HOUSE, YOU COULD SMELL THAT RICH COOKING AND IT JUST WAS VERY INVITING FOR YOU TO HEAD RIGHT TO THE KITCHEN BEFORE YOU WENT ANYWHERE ELSE.

>> ANYONE THAT CAME TO VISIT, YOU ENDED UP AT THE KITCHEN AROUND THE TABLE.

ALL ITALIANS HAVE BIG TABLES.

>> AND THAT'S WHERE I HEARD SO MANY OF THESE GREAT STORIES AND THAT'S MY FONDEST RECOLLECTIONS,US BEING AROUND THE TABLE.

>> EVERYONE IS THERE TOGETHER AND THIS IS WHEN EVERYONE CAN CONVERSE, SAY WHAT'S ON THEIR MIND, WHATEVER, BUT THE WHOLE FAMILY IS THERE.

>> WE HAD A PARLOR.

I NEVER SAT IN THE PARLOR.

WE NEVER SAT IN THE PARLOR.

>> THERE WAS ONE CORNER OF THE TABLE I ALWAYS SIT IN.

I GO TO MY MOTHER'S HOUSE AND GO IN THERE AND SIT DOWN.

>> IT WAS A LOVING GATHERING.

>> A LESS LOVING LEGACY OF ITALIAN CULTURE DATES BACK 2,000 YEARS BEFORE THERE WAS AN ITALY.

>> WE WOULD GET HEAD ACHES IF WE DIDN'T FEEL WELL.

>> GRANDMOTHER WOULD DO A CEREMONY OR SOMETHING ON OUR HEAD.

>> AND IF THEY YAUND, THEY WOULD SAY THEY WERE TALKING AWAY, SOMEBODY WAS JEALOUS OF YOU.

>> MY MOTHER SAYS SOMEBODY GAVE YOU THE EVIL EYE.

>> WHEN PEOPLE CAME TO YOUR HOUSE AND MEANT YOU HARM, THEY THREW SALT.

AND THEY ALSO HAD EXPRESSIONS WITH THEIR HANDS, LIKE DO THAT EVIL EYE.

>> AMONG ITALIAN CULTURE'S MOST REVERENCE PRACTICES IS SAYING GOODBYE TO THEIR LOVED ONES.

>> A LOT OF TIMES GROWING UP, IT WAS HARD TO WATCH.

ITALIANS ARE VERY EMOTIONAL PEOPLE AND WHEN THEY LOVE, THEY LOVE HARD.

>> HAVE DRAMATIC AND VERY EMOTIONAL.

THEY DRESSED IN BLACK.

>> SOME PEOPLE WORE BLACK UNTIL THEY DIED.

THEY WORN IT ALL THEIR LIFE.

>> THAT'S TRUE.

IT MEANT THAT THEY HAD A LOT OF PAIN FOR WHO THEY LOST.

>> WHEN MY GRANDFATHER PASSED AWAY, WE WEREN'T ALLOWED TO TURN THAT TV ON FOR SIX MONTHS.

WE WANTED TO SEE IT AS CHILDREN AND WE WERE TAUGHT THIS WAS MOTHER'S FATHER WHO DIED AND YOU HAVE TO RESPECT THE DEAD.

>> EVERY DAY, THEY WOULD GO TO CHURCH AND PRAY FOR THAT PERSON AND THEY GET ON THEIR KNEES AND PRAY THAT THE PERSON IS HAPPY.

BECAUSE IT WAS JUST IN THEM.

IT WAS IN THEIR HEARTS.

THEIR LOVE FOR THE PERSON THAT PASSED A WAY.

>> THEY WERE SO RICHLY CATHOLIC, IT WAS INESCAPABLE.

>> MAKING THE SIGN OF THE CROSS WAS AN AUTOMATIC THING.

YOU HAD TO GO TO MASS, YOU HAD TO FAST, EAT FISH ON FRIDAY, NO NAET.

YOU HAD TO ADHERE.

>> CHURCH WAS A VERY, VERY STRONG PART OF THE FAMILY.

THE TRADITION OF GOING TO CHURCH ON SUNDAY AND THEN WE WENT BACK TO CHURCH FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL, AND THEN IN THE EVENING, WE WENT BACK FOR THE BENEDICTION.

>> MY GRANDMOTHER HAD HER ROSARY, NO MATTER WHERE SHE WENT.

>> WE HAD TO GO TO CHURCH, THE KIDS.

WE HAD TO GO TO RELIGION.

IT DIDN'T MATTER.

WE WALKED IN ANY KIND OF SNOW, IN ANY KIND OF WEATHER, WE HAD TO WALK TO CHURCH.

CHURCH WAS ALWAYS.

>> MY GRANDMA SAID TO US, COME ON, LET'S GO WALKING.

THE FIRST THING SHE ASKED, DO YOU GO TO CHURCH?

HE SAID YES.

>> MY FATHER WAS VERY MUCH A CHURCH-GOER.

MY MOTHER WAS VERY CATHOLIC.

SHE WOULD GET UP EVERY MORNING TO GO TO CHURCH, EVERY MORNING.

>> MASS WASN'T THE ONLY PATH FOR THE ITALIAN IMMIGRANTS' PURSUIT OF DIVINE ATTENTION.

>> PROBABLY MORE IMPORTANT THAN CHURCH WERE SAINTS.

>> I DO PRAY TO ST. JUDE, MY FAVORITE SAINT.

>> WE HAD TO GO TO ST. LUCY EVERY WEEK.

>> AND ST. ANN.

>> MY MOTHER STARTED PRAYING TO ST. ANN.

>> AND ST. MARY.

>> SOMETIMES I PRAY TO DIFFERENT SAINTS.

>> PRAYING TO ST. ANTONIO.

>> THEY HAVE A ROSARY EVERY WEEK TO ST. ROCCO.

>> AND ST. JOSEPHINE AND ON THAT DAY, MY DAD WOULD COME HOME WITH PASS TRI IN HONOR OF THE SAINTS.

>> THE HOLIDAY, THE PAST BECOMES THE PRESENT AND FOR A TIME, TIME SYMPTOMS.

>> BUT THE HOLIDAYS WERE THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE YEAR.

IN ITALIAN TRADITION, EVERYBODY GOT TO COME BACK HOME.

WE ALWAYS HAD THE FAMILY TOGETHER.

NO MATTER WHAT, RAIN, SNOW, WHATEVER SHINE, THAT'S WHAT MAKES IT SO NICE.

>> CHRISTMAS, FIRST OF ALL, ST. PATRICK.

>> IT WAS A JOY.

WHEN WE GOT UP IN THE MORNING, WE KISSED MY FATHER'S -- THE BACK OF MY FATHER'S HAND AND THE BACK OF MY MOTHER'S HAND.

>> CHRISTMAS.

THAT'S THE NICEST PART OF THE YEAR.

>> THE COOKING BRINGS THE FAMILY TOGETHER FOR THE HOLIDAYS.

>> CHRISTMAS EVE, THE WAY IT ALWAYS STARTED, 5:00, WE STARTED EATING.

THE FISH SOUP.

AND THE BIG ANTIPASTO COMES OUT AND THEN ALL THE FISH.

>> CAL AMARI, SMELT, EEL.

>> AND I RECALL RECALL THESE EELS JUMPING IN THE FRYING PAN.

THEY WERE ALIVE.

>> ONE OF THEM THAT WAS A STAPLE WAS THE BACALA.

THAT WAS SALTED CARP.

>> AFTER THE DINNER THERE WAS THE CANNOLIS.

>> WE USED TO WAIT FOR CHRISTMAS BECAUSE WE GOT TOGETHER AND ALL THE KIDS ALL IN THE SAME HOUSE.

>> EVERYONE ALWAYS HAD A LITTLE GIFT, NO MATTER HOW BAD THINGS WERE, EVERYBODY HAD A GIFT TO OPEN.

>> MY MOTHER, SHE'D HANG THE STOCKINGS AND SHE'D PUT NUTS IN THERE, AN ORANGE, AND AT THE BOTTOM, THERE WOULD BE MONEY.

>> EASTER ALSO WAS A VERY BIG HOLIDAY AND WE HAD THESE EASTER PIES, SAUSAGE PIES AND GRAIN PIES.

>> RAVIOLI WERE OUR ITALIAN DISH FOR EASTER.

>> THE FAMILY WOULD CONTRIBUTE TO IT.

ONE SISTER WOULD BRING ONE PART OF THE MEAL AND ANOTHER ONE ANOTHER PART OF THE MEAL.

>> THE PRIEST USED TO COME AND BLESS OUR HOUSE.

>> THE HOLIDAYS WERE BEAUTIFUL.

NO MATTER HOW POOR YOU WERE.

>> THE ERA OF THE FIRST ITALIAN IMMIGRANTS IS NOW THREE GENERATIONS IN THE PAST.

BUT THE VALUES THEY BROUGHT WITH THEM TO NORTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA REMAIN RESOUNDING.

>> WHEN WE WERE KIDS, OUR PICNIC WAS A BIGGEST THING THERE.

THE ONLY TIME WE WERE ALLOWED TO STAY OUT LATE WAS ON SUNDAY NIGHT WHEN THEY HAVE THE FIREWORKS.

>> THEY WOULD INVITE A TEAM FROM JESSUP, A TEAM FROM PITTSTON, AND THERE WAS OPERA WITH NO MUSIC AND THEY WOULD COMPETE WITH EACH OTHER, BUT THEY WOULD ONLY COMPETE TO DRINK AND EAT.

>> ON SUNDAYS, THE NEIGHBORHOODS WOULD GET TOGETHER AND MY FATHER PLAYED A GUITAR AND THEY WOULD COME WITH THE ACCORDION AND SING, AND IT WAS STRICTLY, STRICTLY ITALIAN.

>> MY DAD USED TO SING A LOT OF SONGS ABOUT LOVE.

WHEN I WAS OLDER, I SAID ALL THIS MUSIC, IT'S ALL THAT LOVE.

HE SAID WHAT IS THERE IN LIFE BUT GOOD FOOD, GOOD MUSIC, AND LOVE.

>> MY GRANDFATHER WAS A CORNETT PLAYER.

HE WOULD GET TWO OR THREE MUSICIANS AND THEY WOULD GO SERENADING AND THE NEXT THING YOU KNOW, THE DRINKS START COMING AROUND.

THERE WAS A SPAGHETTI GOING AND THEY USED TO DO THAT ALMOST EVERY SUNDAY.

>> EACH NEIGHBORHOOD NORMALLY HAD THEIR OWN CLUB.

IT WAS A PLACE THEY COULD SOCIALIZE, GET TOGETHER, BE WITH THEIR OWN KIND.

AND THEY ALSO CARRIED OUT THEIR TRADITIONS THERE.

>> THE ONLY WAY YOU COULD BE A MEMBER IS YOU HAVE TO BE EITHER AN ITALIAN OR MARRIED TO AN ITALIAN.

>> THEY WOULDN'T TAKE ANY OTHER NATIONALITY.

>> MY NOER USED TO LIKE TO -- MOTHER USED TO LIKE TO PLAY CARDS.

AFTER THE DINNER AND EVERYTHING, SHE WAS CLEARING THE TABLE AND SHE WOULD GET THE CARDS.

>> MY FATHER USED TO PLAY THE GAMES.

>> THEN MY FATHER WOULD SIT DOWN AND PUT THE WINE AWAY.

DRINK THE WINE UNTIL THEY GOT HAPPY.

>> WINE-MAKING TO ME IS MUCH MORE THAN JUST MAKING THE WINE.

IT'S A DIRECT LINK TO MY OWN PAST AND TO MY HERITAGE.

WINE-MAKING IN OUR FAMILY WAS BROUGHT HERE BY MY GREAT GRANDFATHER.

VITO.

>> THERE IS NOTHING BETTER, EVEN FOR MEDICINAL PURPOSES, THAN HOMEMADE WINE.

>> WE WERE GREAT WINE MAKERS.

STILL MAKE WINE.

>> MY FATHER MADE A LOT OF WINE.

HE WAS A WINEMAKER.

>> WE ALL DRANK IT.

IT WAS GOOD FOR YOU.

THEY ALL DID.

THE WHOLE TOWN ALL MADE THEIR OWN WINE.

>> AND THEN WHAT THEY CALLED THE PRESSED THIN STEMS WERE PUT INTO A STILL AND IT CAME OUT AS GRAPPA.

>> IT'S NOT ABOUT THE ALCOHOLIC EFFECT.

IT JUST BECOMES PART OF LIFE AND PART OF THE EXPERIENCE AT THE TABLE.

>> ACULTURATION IS A WORD NO ITALIAN IMMIGRANT LIKELY EVER HEARD OF, BUT ITS IMPACT ON THEIR LIVES DEFINED A TRAIL ON WHICH THEY EXPERIENCED THEIR EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY.

>> ACULTURATION TO AMERICAN WAYS WAS PAINFUL TO MANY ITALIANS.

THEY REALLY DID STRUGGLE WITH IT.

>> THEIR LAUGHTER MARKED WITH THEIR WAYS AND MANNERS, WOMEN WERE KNOWN FOR THEIR RESISTANCE.

>> MY MOTHER COULDN'T SPEAK ENGLISH, YOU KNOW, SO SHE DIDN'T ASSOCIATE TOO MUCH WITH THE NEIGHBORS.

>> DAD EMBRACED ITALY.

HE MADE ME FEEL IMPORTANT TO BE ITALIAN.

HE TOLD ME OF THE BEAUTY OF ITALY.

>> THE CHILDREN WERE ON THE STREETS PLAYING WITH ALL THESE OTHER CHILDREN AND THEY WOULD THEN GO TO SCHOOL AND THEY WOULD COME HOME WITH ALL THESE STORIES, TEACHER SAID.

TEACHER SAID MY NAME IS CLARA, YOU KNOW.

IT'S JOSEPHINE.

>> SHE ASKED ME WHAT MY FIRST NAME WAS AND I TOLD HER SANTINA AND SHE DIDN'T LIKE IT, SO SHE SAID WE'LL CALL YOU TINA.

>> MY UNCLE HAD A NICKNAME BECAUSE HE CAME FROM ROME.

SOME THEY CALL DOMINIQUE FORGIA, HE CAME FROM FORGIA.

>> SOME GOT THROUGH EASIER BECAUSE THENNED TO BE AMERICANS.

>> -- THEY WANTED TOSH AMERICANS.

>> DAD TOLD IT LIKE IT IS.

IF YOU COME TO AMERICA YOU HAVE TO WORK IN ORDER TO HAVE A GOOD LIFE.

IT'S NOT JUST COMING AND FINDING SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, THAT EVERYBODY IS GOING TO GIVE YOU.

>> MY FATHER AND HIS SIBLINGS, THAT GENERATION WANTED TO PUT A LITTLE BIT OF DISTANCE MAYBE BETWEEN ITALIAN AND BECOME AMERICAN QUICKER.

>> IN ITALY, I WAS LIKE A FEATHER IN THE WIND.

YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S GOING TO DO.

BUT SOMEHOW, THE ATMOSPHERE IN THIS COUNTRY WAS A LITTLE DIFFERENT.

ONCE I GOT HERE AND I WENT TO SCHOOL, MY WHOLE ATTITUDE CHANGED.

>> THEY FELT THAT THEY LEFT THEIR COUNTRY TO MAKE A BETTER LIFE FOR THEMSELVES AND THEY WANTED TO MAKE THIS THEIR HOME.

>> WE NEVER USED THE WORD ITALIAN-AMERICAN.

MY PARENTS ALWAYS FELT THEY WERE AMERICANS.

>> MY DAD WAS, EVEN THOUGH HE WAS AN AMERICAN ITALIAN, HE THOUGHT JUST LIKE HIS, YOU KNOW, THE OLD ITALIANS.

>> MY MOM WAS BORN HERE.

HER PARENTS CAME -- I THINK EARLY ON, SO THEY WERE MORE THE AMERICAN ITALIANS AND I ALWAYS FELT MY FATHER WAS AN ITALIAN AMERICAN.

IT JUST SEEMED LIKE A DIFFERENCE.

>> ITALIANS THAT REALLY CAME FROM ITALY, LIKE MY GRANDFATHER, WERE MUCH MORE STRICTER THAN THE AMERICAN ITALIANS.

THE ITALIAN-AMERICANS, I THINK THEIR VALUES AND WHAT THEY KNEW AND WHAT THEY BELIEVED IN, YOU CAN NEVER BREAK THROUGH IT.

LIKE THAT WAS IT.

>> ITALIAN IMMIGRATIONS POSED NUMEROUS PROBLEMS FOR AMERICAN IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES.

STARTING WITH THEIR NAMES.

>> THEY COULDN'T HANDLE A NAME LIKE THAT.

SO HIS NAME BECAME LOUIS BROWN.

>> MY MOTHER CAME THROUGH ELLIS ISLAND, SHE HAD A BROTHER HERE AND A SISTER AND WERE SUPPOSED TO MEET THEM IN NEW YORK.

WHEN THEY GOT THERE, THEY COULDN'T LOCATE HER, SO THEY TOLD THEM THAT SHE WASN'T ON THAT BOAT.

THERE WAS A MISTAKE IN THE NAME.

>> AND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE BROGNIA AND THE BROGNA WAS THE SPELLING.

>> MY FATHER'S NAME WAS FRANK AND MY MOTHER'S NAME WAS FRANCIS.

>> WE TOOK THE "I" OUT AND MADE IT N-A.

>> MY GRANDFATHER LUGIO MASS TRO, THEY SHORTENED IT.

>> THERE YOU GO.

IT'S EITHER LARRY BROWN, LAWRENCE BROGNA, OR IT IS IN ON MY BAPTISM PAPERS, LORENZO BROGNIA.

>> TRADITION AND MEMORIES ARE THE BRICK AND MORTAR OF LIFE.

THEY BIND, PROVIDING SHELTER AND GIVING GENTLE DIMENSION.

AND WHILE TIME POSES OUR PAST'S GREATEST THREAT, IT ALSO SERVES AS A BEARING TOWARD OUR FUTURE.

SO WE CAN ALL ALWAYS FIND OUR WAY HOME.

>> WE TALKED VERY LITTLE ABOUT THAT.

I COULD KICK MYSELF LATER ON WHEN I GREW UP MORE AND I THOUGHT ABOUT IT, I THOUGHT WHY DIDN'T I ASK THEM MORE ABOUT WHAT IS WAS LIKE.

>> I THINK THERE'S ALWAYS A PART OF US THAT WANTS TO REMEMBER, THAT FINDS SOLACE AND PEACE IN THOSE TRADITIONS THAT YOUR FAMILY OBSERVED WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG.

>> WE KNOW SOME PEOPLE HAVE NO USE FOR IT.

THEY DON'T WANT TO REMEMBER THAT.

>> AND MANY LOST IT.

>> I THINK THERE IS A PLACE FOR HONORING YOUR ETHNIC PAST.

>> I CAN'T FULLY EXPLAIN WHY I BELIEVE WHAT I BELIEVE IN.

I KNOW IT IS THE PAST, BUT THERE'S STILL IMPORTANCE THERE.

>> I THINK IT'S A TERRIBLE LOSS.

>> PEOPLE WHO DON'T FOLLOW TRADITIONS, WHO HAVE NO TRADITIONS, IN ITALIAN, WE HAVE A SAYING FOR THEM.

IT MEANS WHAT A SHAME.

>> THOSE ARE THE MEMORIES THAT SUSTAIN YOU, AND IT MAKES YOU WHAT YOU ARE TODAY.

WHETHER IT'S IRISH, POLISH.

>> THERE SHOULD BE AN UNDYING ASPECT OF THE GOOD THINGS THAT YOUR ANCESTORS HAVE LEFT YOU.

>> I WAS AFRAID IF I DIDN'T PRACTICE THEM AND TRY TO PASS THEM ON TO MY CHILDREN, MY GENERATION MIGHT BE THE ONE THAT, IF WE DROP THE BALL, THIS WAS IT.

>> 50 YEARS FROM NOW, WILL THERE BE ANY VESTIGE OF IT?

>> ALL THE TRADITIONS THAT PEOPLE DID FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS, WE STILL DO IT HERE.

BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN IT.

IT'S OUR PASSION.

[ SPEAKING ITALIAN ] THERE'S NO CHANGING A GOOD THING.

>> I NEVER COME OUT OF THE PAST, IF YOU WANT TO -- REALLY.

I'M SURROUNDED WITH ITALIANS.

EVERYTHING WE DO IS ITALIAN.

>> WE WERE ITALIAN TO THE CORE.

>> I LOVED IT.

I LOVED IT.

IT'S STILL IN ME.

>> SOMETIMES I THINK BACK, YOU KNOW, WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED TO ME IF I STAYED OVER THERE.

AND I THINK, THANK GOD THAT I DID COME OVER HERE.

>> IT'S ALWAYS THE SAME, BUT ALWAYS, LIFE.

FOR ALWAYS.