The Helmet Story

During our 2011 trip in Italy I found this WWI helmet on the ground.

I have a feeling that the Helmet Story is different in the folklore of each of our individual families. This is the story as I knew it.

First the facts.

Cherubino was drafted into the US Army in August of 1918. He traveled to Camp Lee Virginia where he became a US Citizen and joined The US Army Bandmasters. On October 28, 1918 he shipped out on the S.S. Antigone for France. On April 11, 1919 he was discharged in France. He then traveled to Preci to be reunited with his wife and daughter.

The three headed to Rome in July 1919 to obtain a US Passport for Augusta and passage to the USA. They sailed from Napoli on September 18, 1919 on the S.S. Dante Alighieri and arrived in New York on October 2^nd. Soon thereafter they took up permanent residence in Clymer.

Now the story as I was told.

When Cherubino, still in uniform, arrived in Preci at his parent’s home he took off his helmet and placed it on a fence post and said: “I am finished. I will not wear that again”. (In Italian of course and probably with deleted expletives).

Uncle Maris Sgriccia traveled to Italy in 1938 after the death of his grandfather (Ascanio Sgriccia). Uncle Mar told me much later that when he visited the family home he saw the helmet – still on the fence post.

Years later, Uncle Henry and Uncle Vince traveled to Italy to visit family. Sometime after that trip, Uncle Vince told me that the helmet was still on the fence post. Why did no one bring it home?

Fast forward to 1999 when Brother Philip and I made our road trip to Preci (click here), we had hoped to find the helmet. Truth be told – we had no idea where to look. We did not know which house the family had lived in. I guess we just assumed a helmet on a fence post would just magically appear. Duh…

Jump to our 2011 trip when Uncle Piero showed us the house. As I walked around it and took these pictures. The rest is history. The helmet is proudly displayed in our family home in northern Michigan.

house 1

The front of Sgriccia’s Preci house above, the rear of the house below.

And now you know “the rest of the story”. That’s how I heard it; that’s how I remember it and that is how I lived it. That’s my story and I’m sticken’ to it.

Boce, Bacio, Baci, Bocce, Boccia, Bocci, Boccie

BOCE is a fish. BACIO is a kiss. BACI is a lot of kisses. BOCCE is the Italian name of the game. BOCCIA is one ball in the game of BOCCE. BOCCI and BOCCIE are anglicized versions of BOCCE (according to Google).

No matter how you spell we all love it. It’s in our blood. I am not sure about all the cousins, but the Detroit cousins have gone crazy for the game. I guess it just brings back memories of our trips to Clymer and The Farm.

We have always called it Cherubino’s court, but I am not sure who built it.

1950s maybe 2

Above early 1950s. Below 1970s.

clymer 1979 a clymer june 1979 c

david abt 1997 a

The proof of the Detroit cousins’ love of the game is shown by the number of courts they have built. Brother Phil started with a primitive court in the woods in northern Michigan. Just two back boards, no side boards, no special surface – just the uneven ground with the natural leaves and twigs. (Could not find a picture, though I am sure one exists).

David built a court in 1997 and tried to duplicate the Clymer court.

david abt 1997

Philip built a fully functional court in California.

philip 2012 a

Sister Evelyn built a court on the shores of Lake Michigan near Manistique in the U.P. An incredibly beautiful place to play the game. Unfortunately, we have not been able to locate a picture. Cousin Bill has had games in an undefined area next to his northern Michigan home on Grand Traverse Bay. He has promised to build a court, but we have yet to see any progress.

Also in California, nephew Mark used a court at a municipal park to host a number of Bocce Tournaments.

The newest court to debut this summer is at the home of Cousin Mia in northern Michigan.

money a

Not yet installed are the angled “corner boards. Something rarely seen anywhere else. Throughout our travels we have never seen the corner boards in a domestic or Italian court.

The “bowl-a-drome” (above) is across the street from the Ferrari plant in Maranelllo, Italy.

The club court above is in Sarteano, Italy.

And this club in Bibbiano, Italy.

DSC04397 (1)

These ancient balls and measuring device found at an antique market in Italy. Too heavy to carry home!

MEMORIAL DAY – Remembering Those Lost in War

In 1999 we made our second trip to Italy. Coincidentally, my brother Philip and his family were also visiting Italy. We crossed paths in Siena and spent a lovely dinner and evening together. The next day our commitments were minor. So, Phil & I decided to leave family and friends behind to venture off on a road-trip to Preci.

all

I have no idea what it is that draws me to Preci. Yes, my grandfather and grandmother are from there. My father is not…neither is my mother. But, even to this day I am drawn back to visit.

(Of course, there is the WWI helmet story. But, we shall save that for a later blog.)

This adventure in 1999 was before GPS, cell phones and the Internet. We had nothing but a map. It was calculated as a 2-1/2 hour drive there and 2-1/2 hours back. The plan was to meet our travel companions on the outskirts of a tiny village south of Siena at 5:00 pm. Remarkably, we were only five minutes late.

What Philip and I were unaware of was the devastation caused by the earthquake of 1997. There were lost bridges; impassable roads, and villages that did not exist as shown on our map. One road led up to a dead-end on a hilltop. A friendly old timer emerged. Our Italian was limited to Buon Giorno, Ciao and Grazie. He knew even less in English. We finally convinced him we were headed to Preci and he pointed to another hilltop on the horizon. We thanked “Uncle Rocco Franco” and headed off to the distant hilltop.

rocco d p

We finally made it. Mid-afternoon. Siesta time. Nothing to do. Nobody to see. The earthquake damage from a year earlier was everywhere. Support scaffolding…cables holding walls from collapsing.

cables eq 1

We took a few photos; proud we found the place. Not sure what we had hoped to find (other than the WWI helmet). Disappointed that no one recognized us as “Sgriccia brothers”.

Walking around the hilltop village, I saw a memorial on the side of the Church. I could not read it, but intuitively I knew it was a WWI memorial. WWI memorials are all over Western Europe and the USA – you probably have one in your town. Do you know where it is? (Sidebar: There are more than a dozen college football stadiums built or named as Memorial to WWI’s fallen soldiers? Plus the LA Memorial Coliseum and Chicago’s Soldier’s Field. Probably a bunch more.)

I scanned the names quickly hoping not to find the Sgriccia name. Snapped a quick photo and we were off to meet up with our travel partners about a 3 hour drive away.

wwi monument

Fast forward to about 2015…Cousin Rosemary sent me a package of family “stuff” that she was trying to disperse to family members. I have already shared a few of those artifacts with you. This past weekend I finally pulled out this one…

request

mailing label

…and using Google Translate I learned that it was mailed 6 Aug 1920 from Preci, Italia to one or more of the Sgriccia Brothers in Clymer.

“Committee for Those Fallen in War

A Committee was set up in Preci to pay honor, and to engrave in marble, the glorious names of our children, who in the terrible world war, bravely fought and have sacrificed their lives and bold youth to our country.

All Precians must help with this dutiful act of veneration for the brave fellow citizens who died on the field of the war.

We are confident that all of you will want to make a large contribution because the honors of the tribute are worthy of the magnitude of the sacrifice they made.” (Kind of a robo-call via the mail).

Half of the address label is missing. We do not know which Sgriccia Brother it was addressed to. We will never know if they made a contribution.

Enlarging the photo of the memorial, I can now pay closer attention:

wwi names

There are 32 names listed under: “Dead or Missing in Combat” and 25 names of those who “Died from Illness”. No Sgriccia names, but now I recognize a Luigi Cordella, Vincenzo Piccioni and Augusto Viola – all cousins to us.

The lower portion of the marble monument reads: “Those Fallen and Missing in World War II”.

wwii names

Here we find Bruno Cordella, Alessandro Messi and Mario Viola – three more cousins.

Italy observes National Unity and Armed Forces Day on November 4, the date Austria-Hungary surrendered to the Italians in 1918. The day is accompanied by ceremonies commemorating members of the armed forces killed in action.