#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) 

 

Happy Birthday Nino.....Tersilla Brondolo Took a Trip Back to Italy in 1934

 

  Today, March 31, is my Nino's birthday....she was born in Vesime, Italy on March 31, 1911.  She is my paternal grandmother, but she will always be Nino to me. She came to the United States at the age of 5 and was raised and educated in San Francisco.  In the spring of 1934, at the age of 23, she made a trip back to Italy to see family that was still there and do some sightseeing.  I thought I would share her Italian passport from that trip. The above picture is one of my favorites of her as a young woman.  It was her passport picture taken in 1934.  

Passport Cover 

Inside cover.  She was not accompanied by anyone...she went by herself! 

Page two.  Her signature was beautiful.  

Professione...profession...stenografa...stenographer

figlia di..daughter of...Pietro

nat a...born  Vesime

31 Marzo 1911 

statura...stature....not sure! I think it translates to 5'2"

occhi...eyes...castagni...chestnut

capelli...hair...chestnut 

barba...beard.....none

baffi...moustache...none

colorito...complexion?....roseo...rosy

segni particoloari...particular signs...none

Her passport was issued by the Italian Consulate in San Francisco. She was still an Italian citizen, as she didn't apply for naturalization in the U.S. until 1932.  She became a U.S. Citizen on 14 September, 1936, two years after this trip. 

                                           It is still located at 2950 Webster Street, San Francisco.                                                                                                                                                                         

The fourth pages of the passport...

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

The last pages...I wish my Italian was better....

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

 Nino arrived back in New York on October 3rd, 1934 after sailing from Genoa on the S.S, Rex  (Ancestry.com New York, Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists 1820-1857 for Tersilla Palmina Brondolo).  She had $10.00 in her pocket!  

  

I've shared this picture before, but here it is again. I'm sure Nino loved every minute of being a tourist in her home country on this trip.   Here she is in Florence with the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore  in the background.  The dome was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi in 1436. 

  

   Nino remained an avid traveler the rest of her life.  She enjoyed many, many trips to all parts of the globe with family members and friends. As always, she traveled with a sense of adventure and a deep appreciation for the beauty around her.  

                                  Buon compleanno!  Tia amo! 

    Relationship Reference:  Me->Dale Boothby->Tersilla Palmina Brondolo Boothby b. 31 March 1911 Vesime Italy d. 3 September 1995 Sonoma, California.  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

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

Happy Birthday Nino (Boothby)

  Today is the birthday of Tersilla Palmina Brondolo, born in Vesime Italy on March 31, 1911. She was my paternal grandmother, but I will always remember her as "Nino".  She had a unique connection to Grass Valley which is where my Dad grew up.   Her journey began in northern Italy, then continued to San Francisco, then to Grass Valley and ended in Sonoma, California. With lots of adventures in between. 

  She was born to Caterina (Bertanosco) and Pietro Brondolo and came to the United States at the age of 5.  She was raised and educated in San Francisco.  

Tersilla on the right.

Tersilla in Florence! 

The date stamp on the back of these photos says July 16, 1935. Any guesses on location?

July 16, 1935

  Nino worked as a stenographer/bookkeeper until her marriage to  Sterl Boothby in 1937.  They moved to Grass Valley in 1947 where Sterl owned and operated Grass Valley Drug. In Grass Valley, she served as president of the Twin Cities Concert Association, Grass Valley PTA, and was a life member of the Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital Auxiliary and Nevada Union High School PTA.

Nino with Dale and Kent 1945 or 46. 

  Nino moved to Sonoma in 1968 after the death of Sterl. In Sonoma she continued hospital volunteering as a "Pink Lady" at Yountville VA Hospital.  She was lovingly known as the "Angel" of the Sonoma Valley Chorale and Sonoma City Opera, attending nearly all performances.  

Nino with Patti (me) 1962.

  She was an active member of Sons of Italy, Order of Eastern Star, Sonoma Sister Cities Association and a life member of the North Bay Italian Cultural Foundation. 
She was honored as KABL citizen of the day in 1980 for her work with the chorale league and has a tree planted in her honor by the Sonoma Sister Cities Association.  Her hobbies included dancing, caligraphy, opera, travel and all things "Pink".  (taken from her obituary in The Union).

This is how I remember Nino.  So full of life!

  Happy 109th!  We are still celebrating your birthday!