Joe Galeano
I think about my grandfather a lot even though I never really knew the man. Joe Galeano from Sicily. I have this one picture of the two of us together, taken on the front stoop of the house in the Maryland suburbs he and my grandmother had just bought. The house was not only an improvement in their living space, but a symbol of upward mobility for these southern Italian immigrants.
He worked for my grandmother’s brothers who did stuccdatore – ornamental plastering – and they had contracts to work on new government buildings in downtown Washington. My grandmother was a gifted seamstress who made suits for Franklin Roosevelt and robes for the Supreme Court Justices. Her boss, Jimmy Bello, ran numbers out of the tailor shop.
My grandfather died from Rocky Mountain spotted fever he’d contracted from a tick bite. It was late July, 1948; two or three months after the photograph was made. I was his first grandson, the only one he ever knew, and I love how the photograph communicates protectiveness and pride through his gesture and pose.
I’ve read that a tick can live twenty years waiting for a warm-blooded host and that one in a thousand carry the infection. That means this particular lethal tick could have hatched when my grandfather was in his thirties - working with his in-laws, raising his children, moving out of the city to the suburbs, and sending money back to the old country.
His family had been in Sicily forever, through centuries of invasions, poverty, and lack of opportunity. It’s why he and his brother, and millions like them, left - never again seeing their families or homelands. In my grandfather’s case, just as he was experiencing success, represented by a new home and new grandson, he convulsed for four days and died. He was buried in Arlington Cemetery in a land he had only known for thirty-five short years, barely enough time to know a place.
Thursday, July 12, 2012 at 3:30 PM DC, Family, Joe Galeano, Photography, Portrait, Sicily
Reader Comments (6)
nice job robbie. it's nice to think that we still keep in touch with our relatives in sicily. I wish I had a chance to know my grandfather...
Thanks so much for sharing. I am working on a family tree... mostly for my daughter Erin but for me too. I really love hearing the family stories... I will keep them and share with Erin. Keep the stories alive and... coming!
Rob,
Really enjoyed reading what you had to say. I have very little memory of "Uncle Joe" as I was 5 years of age when he passed. I do remember spendng some time in that new house and outside of it the summer he passed and I'll never forget the tick bite being the cause of his death--I remember a few familty gatherings where he was present---such a very kind and gentle man. Although both my Grandfathers, Frank Mastomarino and Nicola Vitto were both from Bari and not Siciily, they were blessed with the same plastering skills of your Grandad. I think of them often as well. Love, You Cousin Ann P.S. I sure do miss Aunt Jenny too and she was so blessed with living her life and havng so many grandkids to love!
I am sitting in my own 95 year old parent's home, just a few doors down from your childhood home and thinking about how life can be fleeting or unbelieveably long. My uncle died when I was just a few days old. I wish I had been able to know the man; but I believe that one day I will. Perhaps the same will be for you.
Dennis -- I think that even if we live to be as old as your amazing parents, life will still feel fleeting in the end. Such an amazing mystery.
Really great blog Rob...I too am so sorry never to have known Grandpa. I always felt that, sad as it was that I only met or knew one of my grandparents, the one I knew was Gram -- such an amazing woman and enormous presence.
Talked to cousin Jennifer on the phone today and we ended up practically bawling talking about old times and family members gone.
Thanks Rob, for the beautiful family history.
Didn't Grandpa also work as a barber?? :)
Rob: Really enjoyed your blog and great pictures. Granddad had taken Dee and I to Beverly Beach a day or so before he became ill. This was a big deal for two kids in the city and it was quite a drive in those days. He got sick within a day and I always felt that was where he was bitten and felt a little quilty about it. The family prayed so hard but he passed away. I have often wondered if he would have been around much longer had he not been such a devoted GPa to two little girls who enjoyed a wonderful treat. He took us alone and we had such fun. I remember how Mom was terrified of ticks for years and we were inspected head to toe every night much to our distress. Oddly, I was bitten somehow a few years ago and developed Lymes disease. I thought of GP right away. He was so proud of his grandchildren and I have a picture of him with Dee I believe and the pose is the same. I will print your picture and thanks. I have been doing a lot of geneology of late and I will definitely add to my collection. Would like to paste to my tree so available online, but not sure how to do that as of yet. Thanks so much for the memory. Jan