German? Irish? Italian? All three.
Jordan Bucci
The German in Me
Sadly, I never got to ask my grandfather about his heritage because he passed away when my mother was 9. He was in the United States Army and he was involved in the Vietnam War, but he passed when he was home. While he was fixing a car, the jack gave out from the car and collapsed on him, killing him. My grandfather gave my mother (and therefore me) the German in our blood. My grandfather's name was Harold Ketler and he had parents Joe and Nina and 3 siblings; Aunt Blanche, Aunt Helen, and Aunt Sylvia. Blanche passed at birth though. I know that his family had a hard time coming to America because of the culture shock they realized they would be facing. My grandfather's family had the determination and strong will that German's have because he went into the Army. My mother has also told me that he liked his alcohol, which could be part of his heritage as a part of normalcy. It's hard to know a lot about my grandfather because he passed so long ago and my grandmother passed when I was 3.
One major aspect of my mom's home growing up was the respect and manners they had to uphold in the house. My mom tells me constantly how in her house, she was not allowed to talk to her mother in a disrespectful manner because her father would not allow it. She still upholds those polite rules to this day, so she is carrying that heritage down to my generation.
The Irish in Me.
My grandmother, Lois Cameron, had the Irish in her. She was a very good cook, so she also brought that tradition with her from her mother because she made GREAT mashed potatoes, just like my mother makes them. One Irish tradition she has is also in our family today and that is corned beef sandwiches. We would have it with mustard and I wasn't a fan at first but it has grown on me as my tastes have matured over the years. My grandmother also had three sisters; Edna, Charlene, and Treva. My mother grew up with basically just my grandmother raising her and her 5 brothers and sisters, which is a lot like many families in the U.S. culture today.
Grandma in front of her house flowerbush with my cousin, Amy
"Fussy Gussy" Grandma at our kitchen table
Beautiful Grandma in her younger years
The Italian in Me.
My grandfather on my dad's side is the one who brought the Italian part of me into existence. My great grandfather came over from Italy and brought my grandfather and his brothers and settled in Montgomery, Pennsylvania. My grandfather brought the love of wine home to America with him because he loves to make homemade alcohol, one of his specialties was Dandelion Wine. He would let us as kids go out and pick as many dandelions we could gather and he would make wine out of it, somehow. The transition to America for my grandfather was difficult at first for his father to find a job, but my grandfather had schooling and is retired now from a successful business, so he did well for himself and followed the value of education placed in their family.
Grandma and Papa younger
Early marriage for Lorraine and Lee.
Aunts and Grandparents
Aunt Regina and Aunt Barb (top)
Grandma Lorraine and Papa Lee.
Papa and Brothers
My great uncles Louie, Papa, Jim, and Tony.
Values
So many values in place now are ones that I know came from generations past that could've only come from my heritage that began in other countries. The importance of family is so prevalent in my dad's side of the family (Italian side) because we would have family reunions every major holiday, especially the Fourth of July, and have a cookout and just fellowship. One other thing the family brought was the Catholicism. My uncles and father were baptized Catholic as children and they tried to live out the Catholic life, which was carried over from my great grandfather born in Italy.