Schooling for mom and her siblings

While visiting Micki she told me of my grandmother’s tenacity in getting a good education for her children. My grandmother spoke very broken English. She worked as a janitor in a mission in South Philadelphia in order to support her children. She had to do this because her husband (Grandfather Sbaraglia) died shortly after Uncle Joe was born, which was about 10 years after they arrived in America. Before Uncle Joe was born, our grandfather worked at odd jobs to support the family.

I’m trying not to get confused with this writing because Micki told me so many things. And her father (Uncle Maurice -- pronounced Morris) worked for Wanamakers as the person in charge of heating the entire building. He was the “engineer” – that was his title – in charge of the boiler at Wanamakers. And, he, Micki’s father – uncle Maurice – made very good money doing that. He (Uncle Maurice) was also a member of the Black Hands – one of the Italian mafia groups in Philadelphia in the early 1900s.

Back to my mom’s parents – Orazio and Santa Sbaraglia. Orazio died when my mom was 6 or 7. He had red hair. No one in the family inherited his red hair. All his children had black hair and all had either brown or black eyes. Mom's eyes were so dark they were what, I imagine, would be considered black.

My grandfather Sbaraglia helped to build the Panama Canal. But that was prior to their coming to America. Because he contracted yellow fever, and because he worked for an American company that was building the canal, his "benefit" for the suffering was a free pass to American for him and his family. Of course, the free pass wasn't really free, but the transportation to American for him and his family was.

In a few days, Alan and I are cruising to the Canal, and the closer the time comes to the day of that cruise, the more excited I am getting. I’m thinking, I could be walking at the same place my grandfather dug dirt, and then contracted yellow fever, which set in motion the red-tape that allowed him and his family to come to America.

Santa worked very hard, as I wrote above, to make certain her children had good schooling. My mother (Rose) and her sister (Anne) because they were fatherless, were able to go to boarding school in Massachusetts to a place called Northfield. My mom didn't talk about this, but Micki told me that she did, in fact, go there. I always assume my mother went to Philadelphia Public. I knew Aunt Anne went to Northfield because she and mom talked often about Aunt Anne's days at Northfield. The connection didn't connect with my brain, though. I recall Aunt Anne talking about how hard it was for her at Northfield without my mother being there -- I guess that implies that my mother was at some point at Northfield at the same time Aunt Anne was there.

Anyway, they both graduated from Northfield.

My uncle Joe, because he was fatherless, was able to attend Gerard College – it's not a college, but a school for fatherless boys and it went from first grade through the end of high school. Gerard College is located in Philadelphia. While it is a boarding school, I'm not sure my Uncle Joe boarded there, since a short subway ride would get him there.

I have a picture of Aunt Anne in her cap and gown on the the day she graduated from Northfield, but I have no pictures of my mother during that time period. And I have Uncle Joe’s graduation picture (it’s marked on the back – Joe’s graduation from Gerard College).

Micki has nothing but wonderful memories of our grandmother. She was, of course, was quite young when grandmother died. But she does remember those “touches” I mentioned in another BLOG writing.