L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 2015 www.italoamericano.org 13 L'Italo-Americano Finding an Italian Family in a Handwritten Note Vancouver Sons of Italy Raises funds for Veterans with Spaghetti Dinner "When I got in touch with her," remembers Alison, "she said, 'oh my gosh, yes, we've known about you. Joe always talked to us about having a dau- ghter.' " Months went by, filled with other conversations until one Christmas Lisa called Alison a n d t o l d h e r t h a t h e r g r a n d - mother wanted to see her. "I couldn't believe it," lau- ghed Alison. "Here I was 48 years old and I had a grand- mother." Grandma Maria Wright Di Gioia was 98 when Alison drove to Bend, Oregon for their first meeting. As the door opened, the two women found themsel- ves looking at mirror images of each other – same dark eyes and dark curly hair, same profile and complexion. "I asked if I could call her g r a n d m a , " A l i s o n r e c a l l e d . "And she said, 'oh honey, I've been waiting 48 years for this' and then she hugged me and cried." T h e r e w a s a n i m m e d i a t e bond between Alison and Maria. Maria showed her family photos and taught her how to make her mom's sauce with meatballs and homemade pizza dough. Long c o n v e r s a t i o n s f i l l e d i n t h e blanks about Alison's father, his siblings, and extended family. Maria was born in July 1912 in Leonforte, Sicily and immi- grated with her family when she was only 10 months old. After arriving through Ellis Island, the family first settled in New York b e f o r e m o v i n g t o s o u t h e r n California. Since her mother didn't speak any English, Maria e v e n t u a l l y d r o p p e d o u t o f s c h o o l t o h e l p s u p p o r t t h e f a m i l y . S h e d i d s e w i n g a n d fabrication, particularly during WWII, and developed a lifelong love of needlework and crochet. S h e w a s a b l e t o g o b a c k t o school when finances were sta- ble. M a r i a h a d e i g h t s i b l i n g s ; S a n t o ( S a l ) , S a n t a , R o s e , Josephine, Carmela, Joseph, Sarafina (Faye), and Madeline. The first time Uncle Sal met A l i s o n , h e m a r v e l e d a t t h e resemblance to his sister Rose. Armed with family history, Alison traveled to Sicily. The priest in Leonforte located many of the family documents, and the guide she was traveling with took her to the cemetery where they found several relatives, including Maria's grandmother, Rosa La Porta Varvuzza. From there, they found the house of Maria's 80-year-old first cousin, R o s a V a r v u z z a a n d m o r e family, more photographs and more memories. Alison brought the family documents and con- nections back to her new family. "It was an incredible expe- rience," Alison remembered. "On a prior trip to Sicily, I had called Maria and she wanted me describe everything to her; she had no memory of Sicily." It wasn't long after her initial contact with the family that cou- sins started calling from all over the United States. The family welcomed her with open arms. Maria spent the last several years of her life getting to know the granddaughter she finally met after 48 years. She passed away shortly after her 100th birthday. With grandma gone, Alison has developed close rela- tionships with several of her cousins and they keep in touch on a regular basis. "We were so close," says Alison of her relationship with Maria. "I am so grateful. I have been treated like family." On Sunday, May 17, over 200 people enjoyed an authentic spa- ghetti dinner at the 40 et 8 Chateau in Vancouver, Washington. Coordinated by Dawn Forlini and Frank Palandrani, chefs from the local Order Sons of Italy in America Vancouver USA Lodge #2690 provided homemade spaghetti with their signature sauce. The kitchen was alive with friendly banter as preparations got underway. Italian volunteers served spa- ghetti and meatballs, salad, bread and spumoni to dinner guests. As in years past, the Lewis and Clark Young Marines 1st Washington Battalion, 6th NW Young Marine Division pitched in and helped with all the details. The Lodge is proud to work with the amazing young men and women of the Young Marines who do everything from setting tables and cleaning to washing dishes. Sons of Italy Lodge #2690 was chartered in 1995, and will celebrate their 20-year anniver- sary at the Heathman Lodge in November this year. The Lodge has a long history of fundraising. They have been serving their annual spaghetti dinner almost every year since they began to raise funds for national charities supporting research for Alzheimer's, Cooley's Anemia, and Autism, as well as local cha- rities such as Port of Vancouver Seafarer's Center, Special Olympics, and SHARE House. This year, the spaghetti dinner raised funds for the Clark County Veterans Assistance Center. The spaghetti dinner is an annual event for guests too. Many people have returned year after year, bringing their friends and families for an afternoon of Italian camaraderie. The highli- ght of the afternoon is the raffle, which raises money for the Lodge's Leanord Simeone Scholarship Fund, a scholarship that help local high school seniors with college tuition. Proceeds totaled nearly $1,000 this year. Lodge member Quinto Forlini takes the event very seriously. "It's what we do for our lodge, to keep the tradition. Besides we make the best pasta!" Alison Greene is four-foot- something with a gregarious personality, dark eyes, curly hair and a quick smile. You like her as soon as you meet her. I first met Alison at a meeting for an Italian memorial in Portland, where she intrigued me with the admission that she had discove- red she was Italian only 8 years ago. Her comment brought to mind a book I had read several years ago, "Were you always an I t a l i a n ? " b y a u t h o r M a r i a Laurino. Family trees usually have an empty branch or two. Alison knew she was adopted from the t i m e s h e w a s o l d e n o u g h t o u n d e r s t a n d w h a t i t m e a n t . G r o w i n g u p i n s o u t h e r n California, her adopted dad was an entertainer, working with Frank Sinatra among others. Alison graduated college and eventually moved to Vancouver where she has practiced law since 1989. Always in the back of her mind was the question, "Who am I?" " I a l w a y s w o n d e r e d a m I M e x i c a n ? G r e e k ? T u r k i s h ? Italian?" Alison laughed, refer- ring to her dark features. The answer came in a box of forgot- ten documents in 2007. " A f t e r m y m o t h e r p a s s e d away, I found a document. It was actually hand-written by my birth mother and signed four days after I was born. It showed my father was Italian and my m o t h e r w a s C z e c h - F r e n c h Canadian." The handwritten paper also gave her father and mother's names. The empty branch on the family tree was beginning to leaf out. " M y f a t h e r w a s J o s e p h Samuel Di Gioia," explained Alison. "The Italian side of the family intrigued me so I hired a company to search for him. I finally got a call saying they had found him." Unfortunately, her father had already passed away, but she learned that she had a brother and it wasn't long before she m a d e c o n t a c t w i t h h i s w i f e , Lisa, through social media. KERRY-LYNNE DEMARINIS BROWN Alison found Maria's birth record in the church at Leonforte, Sicily. (Photo by Alison Greene) DAWN FORLINI After 48 years, Alison Greene and her grandmother Maria Di Gioia finally met for the first time in 2010. (Photo by Alison Greene) Quinto Forlini is a longtime member of the Vancouver Sons of Italy and is very active in the annual spaghetti dinner. (Photo by Dawn Forlini)

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