Our Yesterdays: Tricia's Grandparents

Here we are with my dad's mom. Grandma Borreggine. Her name was Barbara. Her maiden name was Quilla. She was born in Italy . Her family came from the northern part of Italy near the northern border. She came to America when she was around 18. Her brother was already in America. He was in Pennsylvania and he was a coal miner. His wife died and left him with several children. He sent for his sister, my grandmother , to take care of things. I never met her husband he died before I was born. His name was Pasquali. He died of Pneumonia in his early 40s. My dad was about 9 when his dad died. His dad lived from 1888 - 1938.

Grandma Borreggine lived in Clairton, PA. In this picture she lived my Great Aunt Mary. Later I remember that she lived alone above a bakery. It was on Miller Avenue in Clairton. I remember climbing the steep stairs up to her place. She didn't speak English and would always say, "Mungia!". That meant eat and she always gave us plenty to eat. Lots of spaghetti, one thing that I remember as a very small child was her giving us ice cream. She got out a 1/2 gallon carton of Neapolitan ice cream and sliced it in about 3 or 4 slices and gave me a huge piece! Wow, I had never been given so much ice cream before in my life. She would also give Putsagala kisses. This is where she would stretch your cheeks out wide and kiss you. My dad came from a family of 6 children. Two other children died. Mary is the oldest she is 84 now. Besides my dad she is the only sibling still alive. Then came Angeline, she was a twin but her twin brother died at birth, then came Dominic, my dad Pete, Joe and Orlando. My grandmother had another daughter after Orlando but she died as a small child.

Here are my mom's parents. Antionio and Catherine Giansante. They also lived in Clairton, PA. Clairton is a mill town. My grandfather and my dad worked in the steel mill. US Steel was the name of the mill. My brother Alan still works there. My grandfather also was trained as a cobbler, shoe maker. He came from the old country as a young man of 16. My mom's family came from the southern part of Italy. My grandma was an excellent cook. She was born in Pennsylvania. My grandfather liked to garden. I remember my grandfather singing with me on his lap. It was an Itialian song it went something like this, "Satacha, satacha, ...................................." He would bounce me on his knees then drop me a bit and hug me at the end.