by Cookie Curci

Through the years, I've discovered bits and pieces of the past that when put all together, make up my extraordinary grandmother Maria Carmela Curci-Dinapoli.

I knew that she came to this country as a young immigrant from Italy and married my grandfather Antonio Curci in 1910. A few years later, she was widowed with three children. I had heard family stories of how Grandma had struggled to find work, to pay her debts and to keep her family together during those difficult years. In all of these stories, one fact remained prominent- Grandma's deep religious devotion guided her through each problem and task. It was that same devotion that gave her strength to complete the long journey from an orphanage in Tricarico, Italy to the shores of New York harbor, through the interrogation process at Ellis Island and on to California. It was with that same devotion and unwavering belief that she raised her family and built a new life for herself in America. It's what sustained her all those years.

But it was only recently that I would discover yet another missing piece to Grandma's past that would help me know her just that much better. My memories of Grandma begin on an Almaden ranch in the heart of California's prune country during W.W.II. By then, she had married her second husband, Grandpa Tony Dinapoli , and had settled into rural ranch life, raising a family of seven boys and one girl.

World War II had recently been declared. On the surface, there appeared to be little change in Grandma's ranch. Grandpa worked the fields and orchards every day, just as he had done before and grandma tended to the chores and harvesting as usual. But in fact, there had been a big change in the old homestead. The ranch was now without the manpower of their five youngest sons, who were now on active military duty somewhere in the Pacific. Both Grandpa and Grandma would have to work twice as hard now to compensate for the absence of their five strong sons.

During World War II, a government issued flag, imprinted with five blue stars, hung in the front window of my grandparents' old farmhouse. It meant that five of their sons were off fighting in the war. If one of these flags was imprinted with a gold star, it meant the husband or son of that family had paid the full measure of devotion to his country.

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This article by Cookie Curci is featured in the book titled Chicken Soup for the Grandparent's Soul: Stories to Open the Hearts and Rekindle the Spirits of Grandparents by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Meladee McCarty and Hanoch McCarty. You can purchase a copy by clicking on the book to your right.

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