Then and Now -A Family Newsletter

July 2014

Then…

An Unfinished Life

Giuseppe (Joe) Danisi was born in Palo del Colle, Bari, Italy in 1898. At the age of 8, he and his family left the household of his Aunt Angelina Sangirardi, and accompanied his mother (Domenica Sangirardi) and his siblings (Angelina, Vito, Rosamaria) on a voyage to New York. They traveled under inhuman conditions on the SS Regina D’Italia, among 2020 passengers and were among 1900 immigrants who traveled in third class steerage. They were on their way to live with his father (Francesco Danisi) who had been working and paving the way for the family in New York. The ship manifest indicates that Giuseppe was “in hospital” at Ellis Island, but the reason is unknown. They arrived in New York on October 23, 1908 after two weeks of travel across the Atlantic Ocean. They were greeted by Francesco who was living at 820 14th Street in NYC at the time. This was to be his first home in America.

By 1915, at the age of 16, he was living with his parents and siblings (Vito, Angelina, Rosamaria, Elena) at 1277 First Avenue in NYC, and was now employed as a carpenter. By 1918, at the age of 20, WWI had broken out and he was required to obtain a draft card (9/12/18). He had been working as a machinist. By 1920, at the age of 21, he was living with his parents and siblings (Vito, Rosamaria, Elena) at 1748 First Avenue, and was still employed as a machinist. By 1925, he was living with his parents and siblings (Eugenia, Rosamaria, Elena) at the same address. By 1930, the family had moved “uptown” to 2115 Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, NY. He was now married to Irene Caruso, had a ½ year old daughter Francesca, and they lived with his parents and his sister Elena. By this time, the entire family had become naturalized.

According to his youngest sister, Elena, she recalled – He learned English right away, always helped others, was a joker, was very religious and went to mass before work, was adored by his mother, and was a sensitive person. He called me his “kid sister” and took me to parties. He worked as a machinist at a macaroni factory designing the pasta. When we lived on First Avenue, Irene Caruso used to pass our house every day. Eventually, he and Irene fell in love and decided to marry. As was the custom of the time, his parents went to Mr. Caruso to ask for their son to marry Irene. He clearly said “no” and that he should marry his oldest daughter first, as was a custom also. Mr. Caruso was a widow raising two daughters, and he had a bad temper. Nevertheless, the families would go to the movies together and have Sunday dinners together. Eventually, Joe and Irene married, and moved into the two-family house owned by his brother Vito and his wife Amalia. They often did not get along. As was yet another custom, when Francesca (Francie) was born, she was named after his father Francesco; Domenica (Mae) was born and was named after his mother Domenica. In 1933, Joe died very suddenly of either a stroke or a heart attack. Thus, Irene was left widowed to raise two very little girls alone. Eventually, she moved out and settled on Fordham Road in the Bronx and worked for IBM for many years. The girls were raised without a father.

Giuseppe is the son of Francesco Danisi and Domenica Sangirardi; grandson of Vito Danisi and Eugenia Grumo; great grandson of Michele Danisi and Giacoma Suoranno.

Submitted by Liz Crimi Olsson

 

Now…

 

A Family Eclectic

I live with my wife Francine on the river in Kingston, New York. The kids are out of the house pretty much, although my youngest sometimes stays with us for the summer. Living in this beautiful spot, overlooking a marsh on the river, got me writing poetry in a more serious way. This writing grew into a book, and then into reading live, and now into a production called the Poetry Brothel that has a nice following and runs about twice a year in our area. (Next one in June in Rhinebeck, NY). Poetry Brothels run all over the world.

I recently made up a set of business cards that kind of ruefully looks at the wide range of involvements I have in my life. It says: Gary Siegel – Poet, Musician, Juggler, and Neuroscientist. And in some ways that kind of sums it up. I do love science and in my private practice, psychotherapy, I draw on many diverse threads. Neuroscience is one and, besides research into the origin of emotion and how it functions in the brain, I am also very interested in humor and play and how they are a very basic part of our emotional system, and how they can be used therapeutically. That’s the range – fill in everything in between.

I grew up in the Bronx, NY at Grandma Danisi’s Sunday dinner table, and now I am rarely satisfied with a meatball because they all pale in comparison to hers. I don’t often eat cannoli’s anymore because of the calories, but they remain the gold standard for desert. The Bronx seems far away now. I rarely make it to the city and, when I do, it’s generally Manhattan or Brooklyn.

Finding myself with a career as a therapist is almost as much of a surprise as it is a well-planned goal. I think, overall, life has been much more of an improvisation than it has a planned out path. But I’ve found that this works pretty well for me and that I’m a good improviser. And so, I find myself in a pretty nice situation and interested to see what happens next.

Being

The fuzz of the moss on the log

smiles as it takes in the sun,

shivers as it is in the breeze,

holds water to the wood,

holds sunlight to the land,

grows slowly, ever slowly,

binding a vibration to the world with its being.

Submitted by Gary Siegel

Gary is the son of Francine (Francie) Danisi and Danny Siegal, grandson of Giuseppe Danisi (above page) and Irene Caruso, great grandson of Francesco Danisi and Domenica Sangirardi.

 

CORRESPONDENCE AND SUBMISSIONS TO:

Liz Crimi Olsson

80G Independence Court

Yorktown Heights, NY 10598

Phone: 914-245-4904

Email: elizabeth@danisi.org