Mia Nonna

In anticipation of my trip to Italy later this summer, I thought I'd provide you -- my faithful readers -- with some background on my ancestry, starting with my grandmother; she was christened Gemma Emilia Bricchetto near Genoa, Italy in September, 1893.

As previously noted in these pages, she came to America in 1912 at the age of 18, along with her mother, Maria, and siblings Paul (16) and Eva (13). Her father, Giovanni (John) Bricchetto, had emigrated to the United States in 1899, abandoning the family for a new life in Boston, Massachusetts with another woman.

While her mother was along for this adventure of a lifetime, everybody involved knew who was riding herd on this brood: my grandmother, of course! She went by "Emilia" but also answered to "Gemma" or much later, "Gramma" or "Tata" (aunt).

Crossing the Atlantic Ocean, Emilia and her family negotiated the entire breadth of the U.S. enroute to Portland, Oregon, of all places. Most other Italian immigrants settled in Boston, New York, Chicago or other east coast cities. But they had family in the City of Roses and that's where they landed. None ever returned to Italy, even to visit.

After her first husband had died unexpectedly, my grandmother married Carl Joseph Cargni, an immigrant from the Piedmont region, famous for the Italian Alps.

Carl and Emilia raised two children: my mother, Charlotte Nitta Cargni and my uncle, John Valentino Cargni. All in all, they had eight grandchildren, most of whom are pictured below.

My grandfather died when I was very young, so I didn't really have the opportunity to know him. My grandmother, however, lived to be 93 and was a guiding presence in many of our lives into adulthood.

As the eldest in a family of five, I spent a considerable amount of time with "Gramma" as she was known. We even lived with her for a time. All the kids loved to go to Gramma's house, and not just because of her cooking, which was eccellente.

For me, Emilia provided me with needed wisdom, insight and humor, much like "Old Lodge Skins" in Little Big Man, the Native American grandfather of Dustin Hoffman's character in the movie. To say she had a profound influence on many of our lives would be an understatement. Although she passed away in December, 1986, she will always remain mia nonna -- my beloved grandmother.

As I reflect on my grandmother today -- on Father's Day, 2010 -- I recall that her biggest regret was that she never saw her father, John Bricchetto, again. She always said she would have loved that.