Wedding Anniversary

Smaointe, ar an lá	I think of the day
Raibh sibh ar mo thaobh	That you were both at my side
Ag inse scéil	Telling stories
Ar an doigh a bhí	Of how things were
Is cuimhin liom an lá	I remember the day
Gan gha's gan ghruaim	Without want and without gloom
Bígí liomsa i gconaí	Be with me always
Lá's oích	Day and night
-- "Smaointe..." by Enya (Read by my mother at Grandpop's funeral)

Seventy-one years ago today my grandparents were married.  In their memory, my mom wrote this blog post about them (with some help from her siblings!)...

Mom and Dad, Rose Paparella and Angelo Picarello, were introduced via mutual friends and family.  Uncle Don, Mom's brother was going out with Aunt Nina and she is a cousin to Dad.  They were married 8/3/1941 at St. Joaquim's Church in Trenton and honeymooned in Atlantic City (on the way, the car broke down!).  For a while they lived with the Paparella's in Chambersburg.   MaryAnne was born the next year.  They later moved to "the country" - Lawrenceville, New Jersey - really just a few miles away.

Not long after they were married, Pearl Harbor was bombed on 12/7/1941.  Mom talked about this, saying they were on their way to the shore at the time, then heard about the Pearl Harbor bombing by radio reports and turned around to go home.  Angelo was drafted into the service in 1944 and chose to serve in the Navy.  He never left the country, but spent time in San Diego, and St. Louis, where Rose and MaryAnne joined him with the Beewig family.  He was discharged in 1946.

They bought a piece of property across the street from Grandmom and Grandpop Picarello at 41 Altamawr Avenue and Dad started to build a house in 1947, pouring the foundation on the day that Joe was born.  Dad always said that the rear foundation was a little crooked because he had to leave while they were pouring to go to the hospital.  They moved into their new Cape Cod and eventually added to their growing family.  Angela arrived in 1952, Rosalie in 1958, and Annette in 1964.

The block was really a family block as Uncle Frank (Dad's older brother) and Aunt Bert lived right next door to Grandmom and Grandpop, Aunt Helen (Dad's older sister) and Uncle Francis lived 2 houses away just up the street.  Aunt Jo (Mom's older sister) and Uncle Rudy built a house right next door to Mom and Dad.  Aunt Sue (Dad's younger sister) and Uncle Vince lived about a half mile back up the street, but eventually moved to a new house 3 doors away.

Rose was always busy with us kids.  She liked to crochet and sew and made a lot of her own clothes.  Before they were married, she worked in a dress factory and a doll factory.  Angelo liked to fish.  We spent many weekends at the Jersey shore, usually Island Beach State Park.   He would fish while Rose and the kids would all relax and play on the beach.   Angelo also liked to bowl and he was in a league that included other family members, Uncle Don, Uncle Frank, Uncle Mike and a friend Joe DiOrio.  They also occasionally got together for card games.  Angelo made his own wine, most often plum and raisin wine.  He worked at General Motors after the war until he retired at the age of 58.

Rose passed away at the age of 77 in 1998 and Angelo passed away at age 90 in 2009.