We are thrilled to announce the launch of our podcast Concettina Died and Other Stories of the East Side. Episodes 1 through 4 will launch on July 20, 2021, with weekly updates after that…

My father was what was known as a “huckster.” He supported our family by selling whatever product happened to be available at any particular moment…

A few days ago I had a phone call from my brother Nick. After we caught up on the latest news, we started to reminisce about our younger days on the East Side of Youngstown…

I recently finished reading Under the Tuscan Sun and I had such warm feelings thinking about the wonderful way Frances Mayes…

When I was growing up, we East Side boys were known for our loyalty to one another, and we were also known as ‘tough guys’…

Our home in Wilmington, North Carolina has a very small, fenced-in back yard, where we have planted two fig trees in the hope of enjoying the sweet fruit in the future…

Summertime in my childhood meant big family-and-friends picnics, and the favored spot was under an enormous old oak tree at Yankee Lake Park…

Temperatures this week in North Carolina have been hovering between 90 and 98 degrees Fahrenheit, and we are constantly seeking the cool comfort of air conditioning and a cold drink….

One summer morning when I was only 6 or 7 years old, it seemed as though every one of my mother’s lady friends came calling on her…

In July of 1949, I was just eleven years old. Palma, who was 18, invited a young man to our house, so that he could ask my father’s permission to marry her….

After my high school graduation, my parents were busting their buttons because I was the first in the family to go to college….

In 1958, after leaving Ohio University—actually I was asked to leave due to poor grades—I enlisted in the Army for a three year hitch, which was a better alternative than living with this disappointment and the wrath of my father….

In 1960 I was in the army, stationed in Ansbach, Germany, and I decided to take some leave time and go to Molfetta, Italy, the birthplace of both my parents…

In July of 1949, I was just eleven years old. Palma, who was 18, invited a young man to our house, so that he could ask my father’s permission to marry her….

When my mother was 28 years old, she came to America from Italy, with her 3-year-old daughter, in steerage class, on a ship named the Vulcania. She had ocean sickness for the entire trip….

To friends and aquaintences, my father was a wonderful storyteller, who could make you laugh with his impersonations of those he found fault with. They also found him to be very cordial, generous and kind…

Imagine starting on a journey to a new land, with a three-year-old daughter in hand—and waiting for you at the end of your journey, a husband you haven’t seen for four years….

My wife Marie’s mother, Mary DeGennaro LoBasso, came to the United States in 1930 at the age of 16, along with her two older siblings, Sergio and Antoinette….

When he came over, Judy was with him, and he seemed excited to tell me something. He and Judy had also become engaged, and he wanted me to be in his wedding. I said of course, I would be honored, and extended my invitation for him to be in our wedding….

It was our yearly Christmas call. I was tease him about the cold weather they must be having in New York while Marie and I were walking on the beach, but Tony changed the subject, asking me if I was sitting down—because he had some news….

Now twenty-six and engaged to be married, Gaetano decided to leave Italy again, promising his wife-to-be that he would return in three years. And after traveling to France, he departed from Cherbourg on the ship Gothland on October 9, 1920….

After being here for almost two years, Papa decided to obtain citizenship, and inquired from an influential Italian-American how to go about it—but without having to go to classes to study American Civics and History….

A passport had already been paid for, a little money set aside for the voyage, and so it was decided that someone was going to use this opportunity to go to America and start earning money to support the family back in Molfetta, Italy!…

The year was 1938. My father owned a large truck which he used for whatever job could earn him some money. It seems that a family was moving to Baltimore, Maryland, and they offered Papa $50.00 to move their household belongings….

Marco sings an offensive slur for Italians, David shrieks a line from Singing In The Rain, Marie's kitchen apparently explodes. These are bloopers and outtakes from the wildly popular Italian-American podcast that everyone wants to be a part of. Except Stanley Tucci, for some reason….

Mama and Papa are gone, as are sisters Martha and Palma, and many other loved members of our families. But the traditions of these holidays are still with us, and every year as we celebrate the actual holidays, we also celebrate the wonderful memories associated with these traditions.