important announcement about decorative rooster

[from my dad]

An important announcement!!!

We have a new addition to our house.
It is Dionigio (Di-on-ig-io).

Dionigio is a large metal rooster that Doug bought for Mom while they were in Connecticut. Our new Dionigio is in honor of my grandfather Dionigio (on my mother’s side).

Grandfather Dionigio was an intelligent, hard working, self-made, successful person. He came to the US from Trentino-Alto Adige (North east Italy) when my mother was three years old. A coal company paid their fare which he worked off by working in the mines.

They saved money and bought a piece of woodland in Vineland. They cleared the land by hand and used the wood to build a house.

He and other farmers build, by themselves, the church that I attended when I lived in Vineland. A story I remember hearing is that one day there was a dispute about the direction of some wood boards over the alter. Dionigio wanted them at an angle and the other farmers wanted them square. Dionigio had an artistic flair. Since the farmers could not resolve the dispute, they decided to break and go home for lunch. Dionigio returned after the others left and put up the boards at an angle. I remember looking at those boards when in that church and thinking about Dionigio.

When my mother and father married, Dionigio lent them the money to buy the farm on Italia Avenue, where I spend my childhood. The money was repaid without one missed payment. I was told that there was a big party, the day the mortgage was finally paid off.

I can tell more stories about Grandfather Dionigio. Maybe you will ask when you see our new Dionigio in our kitchen.