#52Ancestors52Weeks....Week 26...Family Gathering....Terry Brondolo Met Her Vesime Family in 1934

 

 I believe this is the Brondolo family.  This family picture was taken sometime between May of 1934 and September of 1934 in Vesime, Italy. My paternal grandmother, Terry Brondolo (Boothby), is the first young lady standing on the left.  This looks like a fun bunch! Even the dog made it into the picture.  Is that Pietro Brondolo pretending to play the violin?

   The theme for this week is Family Gathering.  My paternal grandmother (Nino) took a trip from San Francisco in the spring of 1934 to meet her Italian family in Vesime, northern Italy. She was 23 years old at the time,  and traveled by herself. These are some of the pictures she took of  family while she was visiting.  Unfortunately, none of the photographs were labeled or identified and the only person I recognize is my grandmother. 

Original picture. This was an oversize enlargement of the original. 

      Nino arrived in Genoa on May 20, 1934.  She wrote a little note to her mother Nona back in San Francisco to let her know she was ok.  She had planned a trip to the Consul before she traveled on to Vesime.  Her handwriting style, which was very distinctive,  stayed the same for the rest of her life.  

5" X 3 1/2" 

It looks like it was written on the back of a small notebook. 

 

  The back of her little letter gives us the name of the ship she started her trip on...the California.  In my post of 3/31/22 I shared pictures of the passport she used on her trip.  She came home on the S.S.S. Rex, arriving in New York on October 3, 1934.  In her letter she let her mother know that she was going to write or telegraph her Papa (Pietro Brondolo) letting him know of her arrival.  

Nino may have taken this picture.  It looks like the same group as above, but without her.  The picture is a little fuzzy, too. 

 

 Same outing.  The man waving his hat may have been Nino's  father, Pietro Brondolo.  

   Pietro came to America with his sons Emilio and Francesco (Uncle Frank) in March of  1913. Nino's sister Celestina came over in October of 1913 by herself at the age of 16.  Nino came over with her mother Caterina and her brothers Augustino and Guilio in 1917 when she was 6 years old.  

   Pietro and his wife, Caterina Bertanosco, separated after 1917  and Pietro went back to Vesime. I believe that Nino's older brother Guilio went back to Italy as well. Nino had not seen her extended family back in Italy since 1917 so this trip must have been very special. 

   These next pictures look like they were taken at the same home in Vesime. 

Nino is standing in the middle with unknown Brondolo  relatives. 1934. 

Same location as above picture.  1934.

Enlarged.  Nino is in the middle of the girls on the stairs.  Someone looks down from the upper story.  Two men walk by the scene. 

Possibly Pietro Brondolo on the right. Guilio would have been 27 at this time.  He may also be in the picture.  A grape arbor can be seen in the background.  This looks like it was taken on the top balcony area of the above home. 1934.

Unknown Brondolo relative. 1934.

Possibly Pietro Brondolo in the middle. 1934. Location unknown. 

Brondolo or Bertanosco family? 1934.

Unknown family member. Brondolo or Bertanosco? 1934.

Unknown family member.  Brondolo or Bertanosco? 1934.

  

A family home in Vesime.  Which one? Photograph taken in 1934. 

This could be stationery from the California

     This is a list that Nino typed up sometime around her trip.  It appears to be a list of jobs in Vesime and who held that particular occupation.  I see Mayor (podesta), pharmacist (farmacisti), electric lighting/power (illuminazione elettrica...job held by Edoardo Bertonasco), baker (panettieri), grocer (pizzicagnoli...job held by Francesco Bertonasco), tailor or dressmaker (sarti....job held by Onorina Brondolo), etc.  I hope Nino figured it all out when she got there! 

"Dearest Sister"

   Nino continued to write to her family in Italy.  I have many letters she received from Guilio Brondolo and Rosina Brondolo, but they are all in Italian.  They are probably full of family clues as well as descriptions of how life in Vesime marched on after their family gathering.  I am especially interested in how WWII affected the family. And, I would love to build out our Vesime family tree!  Who speaks Italian??? 

#52Ancestors52Weeks....Week 10...Language.... Occhio Bello-Suo Fratello....and You Know the Rest

   

This is a sweet and simple child's Italian rhyming game that my Nino (my paternal grandmother) used to play with me and my sister when we were babies. I am sure she used it to teach her boys (my Dad and Uncle) when they were just learning to talk, also.  When I had my first child in 1986 I asked Nino to write down the words so I wouldn't forget.  This is a poem/game that was passed down from her mother Caterina Bertanosco Brondolo (Nonna).   It is a playful game for teaching facial body parts and family relations to a young child just learning the Italian language; I love the imagery of the church being your mouth and your nose being the church bell.   I don't remember if there was a tune that went with it, but my favorite part was always the ding-ding, ding-ding!  

A postcard of Vesime from Nino's extensive postcard collection. 

  

  Nino was born in the little northern Italian town of Vesime, Italy in 1911, and came to America through Ellis Island with her mother Caterina and two brothers in 1917 (see my earlier post from February 8, 2024 on her immigration experience). Vesime is located in the Piedmont region of northern Italy, and the unofficial but recognized regional dialect is Piedmontese (pew-mon-tase).  It is a small country town dotted with vineyards, red tiled roofed houses and many chapels with ringing bells, referenced by the poem as "chiesa grande col campaning che fa ding ding-ding ding"... (essentially the ringing bells in the church tower).  It isn't hard to imagine the sounds of church bells ringing daily in town and what a meaningful connection that would be to a small child.  Imagine your nose ringing like the church bells! 

 Nonna (Caterina Bertanosco Brondolo) holding her great granddaughter Stephanie (my sister) in 1967.  Photograph taken in Nevada City, California. 

Nino, Nonna (holding my baby sister Stephanie), Dad (Dale Boothby) and myself 1967.  Photograph taken in Nevada City, California.

   

   Like many immigrants of her era Nino wanted her children to grow up speaking English.  So, my Dad and Uncle didn't learn their mother's native language.  She did use certain phrases and words with the family on a regular basis. "Manga" was frequently used during family get togethers.  And we always used the phrase "Ti Amo" when we said our goodbyes.  There might be some choice swear words in Italian that are still used...... When I was born, Nino originally wanted me to call her "Nonnina" which meant "little Nonna" (little grandma) but when I began talking the best I could do was "Nino", which of course stuck, and she became everybody's Nino. 

  When Mom was taking voice lessons as part of her music major studies at UOP she needed help with Italian art songs.  Some of the songs were familiar to Nino so she helped Mom with the pronunciation and meaning of words.  Nino was a lifelong devoted fan of Italian operas, also.  She adored Beverly Sills. 

  But Nino also realized that the vocabulary and dialect that she and her mother Caterina and brother Frank still used with each other here came from "the old country".  She was essentially still speaking the Italian of her six- year-old self that left Italy in 1917.  Nino had been having trouble translating the letters her brother in Italy would send because she did not know the evolving and more modern vocabulary of Italy. She took a trip to Italy to visit family in 1972.  When she came back she said her Italian had not "kept up" with the times.  So, she took Italian lessons while living in Sonoma so she could understand the Italian that was used by her extended family in Italy.   I have some of the letters her brother and other family members wrote to her in the 70's.  I may need to take Italian lessons also! I would love to someday hear their voices through their writing. 

 But for now I will remember this sweet poem and the connection it represents between the "old country" and Nino's life lived in California.  It is time to teach it to my grandchildren! 

 Nino (on the right) around 1920, shortly after coming to San Francisco.  She was learning to speak English at school.  

  

Relationship Reference:  Me->Dale Boothby->Tersilla Brondolo Boothby (Nino)-> Caterina Bertanosco Brondolo (Nona) 

 

Friday's Featured Photo

   "La Leva 1907 Cortemilia"

From the Brondolo Bertanasco Capra  file.  Unknown group of young men from Cortemilia, Italy. 

Enlarged

Cortemilia is just a short 8 miles away from Vesime, Italy, home of the Brondolos and Bertanoscos.  There must be a relative in this picture somewhere! (Update:  Second row from top, second man in on left.  Possibly, or probably, Frank Brondolo, born in 1901). 

Update....my sister Stephanie did some digging into the term La Leva.  Leva is translated into conscription or draft.  In general, Italian conscription was mandatory from 1860-1923 and conscription laws varied based on location and time period during these times.   The ufficio di leva (draft office) in each town was required to send a list of males between the ages of 17 and 20 to the consiglio di leva (draft board) .  The lista di leva records can be found for all male ancestors born after 1855 and earlier in some areas of the north. These lists can be an extremely useful source of information, as they contain quite a bit of vital information.   (The Family Tree Italian Genealogy Guide: How to Trace Your Family Tree in Italy by Melanie Holtz 2017).  

  So, knowing that Cortemilia is in the province of Cuneo in the norther Italian region of Piedmont should be a wonderful starting place for more in depth Italian family research.  I haven't even begun to work on Italian genealogy!  This picture is a great starting place.  A relative may be on the lista di leva for this area and may be a part of this group.  But why are do they have flowers in their lapels?? And what does that flag say??  

  Relationship Reference:  Me->Dale Boothby->Tersilla Palmina Brondolo Boothby->Pietro Brondolo and Caterina Bertanosco 

Frank Henry Brondolo was the son of Pietro Brondolo and Caterina Bertanosco.  He was Terry (Nino)'s brother.  We called him Uncle Frank.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

53Ancestors52Weeks Week 5 Theme: In the Kitchen (Brondolo/ Boothby)

Me (Patti) on the floor of my Nino's kitchen on Mainhart Drive, Grass Valley, California.  Marked on the back in pink ink:  Xmas 1962.

  The theme for this week is "In the Kitchen".  I am taking a break from my mother's side of the family for a moment to remember my dad's maternal Italian side...the side of the family that always made food that smelled and tasted so different from my mom's more predictable Cornish/English side of the family.  Eating food prepared and cooked by my "Nino" (Tersilla Palmina Brondolo) was always a treat for the senses.  Simmered garlic and onions,  savory lamb, rosemary, oregano,  yummy cheeses, a medley of  Italian lunch meats she called "miscolanza", and of course, salami come to mind.  Oh, and the sourdough bread.  And the bread sticks wrapped in prosciutto.  

   And olive oil!  Everything had olive oil in it or was cooked in olive oil.  Way before it was popular on our current cooking shows. Nino  also made a marinade that involved chopped  Italian parsley, garlic,  and olive oil which she put over button mushrooms, anchovies and artichoke hearts. I suppose it would be very similar to a chimichurri sauce, which is an Argentinian sauce  also  made with parsley, olive oil and garlic but usually with some version of peppers thrown in.  

  My earliest memories of Nino in her kitchen were from Mainhart Drive in Grass Valley, California.  Looking at the picture taken of me when I was just a baby makes me wonder how she cooked  meals for her family in that tiny and nonfunctional-looking  space.  It was indeed her "Villa Rusticana" as she called it.   I do know that many BBQ's were held outside in the summer time in the beautiful wooded backyard. 

             

Backyard BBQ on Mainhart Drive, Grass Valley.  Friend Muriel with Terry (Nino). 

  Most of what she made became regular fair at our annual Easter dinners at her home in Sonoma, California, after she moved out of Grass Valley.  The smell of her frita (she pronounced it free tah ) is what I remember the most.  These were small cakes made with egg, swiss chard, bread crumbs, and lots of seasoning.  They were fried in, of course, olive oil.  She made copious amounts of these to serve along with the mescolanza spread  before our Easter dinner.  You could smell them even before you got in the house!  We still make these every Easter , except every year they turn out just a little different than the year before.  Our goal is to get them to taste "just like Nino's", but it is difficult, as she never liked to write down any of her recipes.  

  I am fortunate to have a typed version of her frita recipe.  It was typed out by Aunt Dena.  My Auntie  Eilene (Boothby) watched Terry prepare her recipe one afternoon and wrote everything down.  Nino made Auntie Eilene promise not to make frita until "after she was gone", as these were her specialty.    The recipe still doesn't help much...with directions like "go by smell".  We have the basic ingredients down, but the portions are a little different every time.  But, when we do make them our house still smells the same as her house did and evokes the same memories, which is what is most important in the end.  

Little Mary with Aunt Dena (Brondolo).  I am sure they were fretting over setting the table for the big Easter dinner.  Aunt Dena was always in charge of the table.  

Sonoma, California

If Easter was in March, we celebrated two birthdays!  Nino's birthday was March 31, and Mom's birthday was March 30th.  Nino always loved any kind of celebration. 

Aunt Dena (Brondolo), Dottie, and Nino with Mom blowing out her candles. 

                                               Sonoma, California (1990-something). 

  Of course, along with the food came all the memories of loved ones that made our lives so special.  Nino kept her  dear childhood friends for her whole life, and they in turn became a part of our family.  My sister and I have many fond memories of visiting in Sonoma during the summer and playing cards with Dottie and Muriel, or spending time with Little Mary and Aunt Dena.  Aunt Dena was Nino's sister-in-law, but they considered themselves sisters.  

  I have many of Nino's old wooden spoons, cooking pots and pans as well as hand crocheted potholders made by her mother, Nonna.   I also have her set of beautiful china which I try to use at least once or twice a year.  Having these things, as well as being able to recreate her famous fritas, bring back many wonderful memories.  My children's memories will be a little different from mine of course, but at least we can share this recipe for several more generations.  And the salami.  And the prosciutto.  And the mortadella.  And the marinade mushrooms.  And the lamb.  I could go on and on! 

 

Caterina "Nonna"  Bertonasco Brondolo in her garden in San Francisco.  She was born in 1876 in the small village of Vesime in Northern Italy.  She came to America aboard the SS Giuseppe Verdi in 1917.  

Relationship Reference:  Me->Dad->Nino->Nonna