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# 68 • SEPTEMBER 21 , 2015
My grandfather was never a man of many words,
but when he spoke we listened. Though his words
were few they were filled
with wisdom. He would
often say to us: “Pray for
the things you want, but
work for the things you
need”. If grandpa said that
phrase once, he said it a
thousand times. Like many
of his generation , who
came to America during
the great migration, grandpa was a man of deep
faith, but he also realized
that hard work would pro-
vide him and his family York’s port of entry.
with the material things in
I can feel my ancestor’s
life.
joy and their sense of fear
His work in the fields, in and expectations as they
the factories and in the made their arrival past the
orchards of the valley was gates of Ellis Island, and
honest and fulfilling be- how they worried for their
cause it came forma a pla- siblings that were forced
ce of pure and clear devo- to return to Italy because
tion. Looking back now to they were rejected by the
a century ago I can visua- health inspectors for halize in my mind’s eye the ving a small limp or deforfinale of my grandparent’s mity.
long journey to America
and how they sailed abo- Grandma would often tell
ard ships that took them me of these days, of her
months to reach New sadness and separations
WE THE ITALIANS | 49
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