by Joseph Francis Michael Moscaritolo

When my grandfather, Guiseppe Moscaritolo came to this country from Italy, he brought his fork along with him. He insisted on eating with the same fork at every meal. His place was always set at the head of the table and my grandmother would always place this same fork next to his dish. In all of the years having meals with him and my grandmother, I never saw him eat with a different fork. The tongs of the fork are quite worn from his teeth and use. He had very strong teeth but not a complete mouth full.

I remember as a child, he would pick up a wooden kitchen chair by biting on the seat of the chair and lifting the chair into the air. He was a great man. He was very nice to me and when I was 12 years old he gave me a gold ring that his grandfather had given to him. I took the ring to a jeweler to be made a bit smaller to fit me and then had an "M" engraved into the face of it.

I love my grandfather very much. He made a lot of me while my father and mother would always talk about how excited he got when I was born. First of all to be the first grandchild, and next to be the male to carry the name. Well I did not let him down because we have 2 wonderful sons (Michael and Peter) and Michael has 3 great sons. (Michael was named after my father and grandfather) So hopefully the name of my grandfather will carry on for some time to come. I just wish that my father could have seen all of our grandchildren as they are all very special. He would be especially happy to know that Michael has 3 sons who are proud of their heritage and name.

Back to the fork – I must now tell you that I never once saw my grandfather wash a dish or help set the table. My grandmother was a bundle of energy and it was nothing for her to work all day in a candy factory, shop after work, cook dinner and then work in the garden till dark. We lived on the 2nd floor of their house and it was great having them downstairs. After supper she would surprise us by taking chocolate up to us. On many evening, she would yell up "cup of tea – cup of tea" That meant that she was getting ready for her Postum and we were invited down to join her and my grandfather. I do not ever remember not going down to be with them. They did not have great command of the English language but we always understood one another. On Thursday nights we could always smell vinegar peppers in the back hallway, because she would make pepper and egg sandwiches for Friday's lunch. At times my Uncles and Aunts would live down there with them so she would make everyone's lunches the night before. Always was great with Italian bread. The reason that she always made this particular lunch on Thursday nights was that back then, eating meat on Friday was not allowed by the Catholic Church. Well anyway, my Grandfather died 2 weeks before our wedding. The night he died, I remember my grandmother yelling up the stairs to us so we all went down. Sure enough, there he was lying on his back in bed and he had passed away. We called my Aunt Margaret, who lived about ½ mile away and she came down. If I remember correctly, it was about 2 in the morning. As soon as he died I went to the kitchen draw and took the fork. I wanted something special to remember him. I also have 1/3 of my grandmother's rolling pin in the draw. When she died my Aunt Anne took her long rolling pin which she used for pasta dough etc. and cut it in 3 pieces. I just happened to come across it in the cellar one day and my cousin Geri told me the story about it. Meanwhile, I gave Geri my Grandmother's large pasta board. I cannot forget the wonderful memories of my grandparents. I was fortunate to have all 4 of them till I was 23 years old. My grandmother Colomba did get to see our first 3 children, so I'm sure that she told my Grandfather that I had a son. And now my mother told all of them about our 2nd son and 3 Moscaritolo Grandsons. Now you know about the fork and then some.

Michael's boys are now 19, 17, and 15. Noel Michael, who is the oldest, is in college and since I wrote this quite some time ago, our Son Peter has married and has 3 boys. Now that is 6 boys who will carry my Grandfather's Moscaritolo name. Peter has a Rocco, Joseph and Frank Michael so our Moscaritolo family names will remain for many years to come. Coincidentally, my Grandmother and Grandfather had 2 sons named Rocco and Joe who died at a young age. Peter was not aware of this when his children were named. Well Grandpa, I did not let you down and I still have the fork, and Noni, I use the rolling pin quite often. My Grandchildren have also used your rolling pin as I teach them how to make pasta and pizza. And of course I tell them stories about both of you during our lessons.