L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 www.italoamericano.org 8 T he scene is tranquil; a long plowed field stretches out beneath a cloudy spring sky. An old John Deere tractor creeps into view, pulling a New Holland two-row transplanter. Dominic "Dom" Giusto is dri- ving the tractor, his girlfriend Stephanie and his father Agostino are riding on the trans- planter, each taking turns drop- ping a slender tomato start into the hopper and then watching it slip into the soft soil below. This is Giusto Farms, located in the fertile sandy soil of East County between Portland and Gresham. Bordered by neighbor- hoods, busy streets and the rail- road, the farm is a treasure – a green space in the midst of urban sprawl. The father and son have owned the farm together since 1989. When we met for this interview, we sat together in the tiny office at their produce stand, family photos lining the walls and crates of golden persimmons ripening nearby. What is the best thing about farming? "It's rewarding," Dom answers first. "We work hard all spring planting everything. Then we open, everyone is so excited. It makes us feel good because people know we are selling good produce. They become like fami- ly, they come in to talk and share recipes with my mom." Agostino gives it more thought. "You see the stuff grow- ing. You get a good crop and you are happy, farming is a healthy job. You are your own boss." "Land is like money in the bank," he continues. "It is better than money in the bank." Agostino has been farming almost all his life. The Giusto family has a special bond to this soil; it goes back to his Uncle Gerolamo and a search for pros- perity in America. Originally from Sciarborasca, near Genova in the region of Liguria, Agostino (Augie to his friends) was the youngest of five children born to Agostino and Maria Giusto. His father worked in construction as a mason. During the war in 1945, 12- year-old Augie was taking a bag of food to his brother in the hills around Sciarborasca when a group of German soldiers stopped him on the road. "I came around the corner and saw one Jeep and then another," he remembers. "They saw me and one of the soldiers grabbed the bag and threw it over the hill into the creek." "They told him to get home," Dom adds. "And when he started walking away, the soldiers start- ed shooting the machine gun at his feet." Luckily, none of the bullets struck him. It was later in the war that a nearby explosion left Augie with a piece of shrap- nel in his leg. After the war ended, destruc- tion was everywhere. "The war was over but the poverty was there for a long time," Augie remembers. Enter his Uncle Gerolamo who had immigrated to the United States in 1911. For sever- al years, Uncle "Jim" had been farming the Parkrose soil in Portland with his partner, Nick Rossi. He wrote to Augie's father, asking the family to send the young man to America to take over the farm along with Rossi's son, Aldo. Augie sailed for America on November 17, 1953. Leaving the port of Genova on the Andrea Doria, he traveled with family friends, Joe and Rosetta Garre first to Nice, France and then on to Naples before the ship turned for America, landing in New York City on November 26. He was 20 years old and had $100 in his pocket. He had left his family and a girlfriend in Italy to come to the States. "I was happy to be in America but leaving the family hurt. I didn't see my family again for 22 years" After sampling his first Thanksgiving dinner in NYC, Augie and his companions board- ed the train to Portland, a journey that took three days. Along the way, he marveled at how much flat land there was in America. "We were on the train for so long that I wondered where in the hell we were going," Augie laughs. "Joe told me the farm was at the bottom of the world." Arriving on November 29, Augie was greeted by his Uncle Jim and just a few days later found himself carrying boxes of cabbage at the Rossi-Giusto farm. In 1955, he and Aldo Rossi became partners and farmed together for over 35 years, rais- ing their families on the farm, everyone working together. In 1989, Augie and Dominic left to farm on their own and carry on the Giusto tradition of growing high-quality produce and fruit. They farm approxi- mately 50 acres and sell their produce wholesale and retail. Family is still the cornerstone of KERRY-LYNNE DEMARINIS Carrying on Family Traditions at Giusto Farms the business. Augie is a founding member Club Paesano, a group of Italian men that originated out of the Gardeners and Ranchers Association to carry on the annual picnics held back in the 1940's and 50's. In the early days, the club met in the basement of Aldo Rossi's house or in the back room at the Jack and Jill Restaurant in unincorporated East County. They organized three dances a year, first held at the restaurant and then at Cedarville Park in Gresham. The club eventually purchased the park in 1974, sell- ing shares to finance the pur- chase. The farmers brought their bulldozers to the park and cleared the land and what had been an acreage full of wild blackberries became 11 acres of park and pro- tected watershed; Johnson Creek flows through part of the park and a variety of wildlife including deer live along the banks. Giusto Farms makes a point of offering fresh produce not found at many other area markets. They specialize in many Italian favorites – basil, eggplant, fennel, garlic, peppers, beans – in addi- tion to the usual produce includ- ing beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauli- flower, and sweet corn, cucum- bers, leeks, shallots, lettuce, onions, peppers, parsnips, a vari- ety of potatoes, pumpkins, rutaba- gas, tomatoes, turnips, a variety of winter squash and zucchini. They also offer a variety of fruit and flowers. Augie's favorite vegetables are radicchio, chicory, artichokes and eggplants. "My dad's a real good cook," Dom brags. "He gets it from his mom's side. One of his specialties is stuffed egg- plant." A longtime subscriber to L'Italo Americano, Augie reads the paper cover to cover when it arrives. "I read it all the time," he says. What would he consider his legacy? "In other words, what imprint will you leave with everybody?" Dom asks his dad, to which Augie laughs, "Oh, I am a mean guy." "I think it is everything he brought with him from Italy, being nice with people, producing good produce for the community. This guy is amazing for making stuff," Dom gestures toward his dad. "He can make anything, fix anything, whether it is wood or metal. It goes back to what he did in Italy." Augie is in fact a natural mechanic, constructing farm buildings and truck beds, and teaching himself how to build, operate and maintain cold storage units on the farms. "I want to keep it going," Augie adds. "Make everyone happy." As a special treat, Augie shared his recipe for Italian Stuffed Eggplant for this article. Italian Stuffed Eggplant • 4 medium eggplant • Olive oil • 1 medium sized onion, chopped • 2 Tbsp. chopped garlic • Salt and pepper • 2 eggs, beaten • Chopped parsley, 1/2 bunch • 1 (4oz.) can chopped mush- rooms • 3/4 cup seasoned bread- crumbs • 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese • 2 bunch of spinach or 1 bunch Swiss chard, chopped into large pieces 1. Wash eggplant, cut in half lengthwise, bring to boil and cook until tender, 10-15 minutes. Drain and allow to cool. When cool, scoop out insides, leaving about 1/4 inch from the outside. 2. In separate pot, boil spinach or chard until tender. Drain and finely chop. 3. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in large skillet, sauté garlic, onions, mushrooms and parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste. 4. Place eggplant flesh, spinach or chard, sautéed veggies into large bowl. Add bread- crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Add eggs and mix well. Fill the eggplant shells with the mixture to heaping. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top. 5. Grease 9x13 baking dish with olive oil. Place stuffed egg- plant into dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until cheese starts bubbling. Agostino "Augie" Giusto and his son Dominic have been farming Giusto Farms together since 1989 PORTLAND ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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