Monday, March 8, 2010

Life Before Squirrel Run


Although many of our ancestors came here as children, there were still others who were already adults, or, were on their way into adulthood at the time that they came to America. One such example was my great grandfather, Giuseppe Ghione.

He and his wife Teresa (Reggio) Ghione came to America in March of 1912, and arrived to Squirrel Run shortly thereafter. However, in Italy at that time, all young men were required to serve in the Country’s military for a term upon reaching the age of 18. My great-grandfather turned 18 in 1904. For his military service, he was what was known as a “bersaglieri”, or sharpshooter. The above photo shows Giuseppe wearing his official bersaglieri uniform.

The bottom of the photo indicates that it was taken at the E. DINA photography studio in Milan, Italy.

This photo is a great contribution by my cousin, Rich Ghione. As one can imagine, it is a very special piece of our family history. And thanks to Rich and his family who kept it in tact for all of these years, we are able to display the image here for our readers to appreciate as well.

No comments:

Post a Comment