The Old Days In The Burg Chat

The Old Days In The Burg Chat
(From Mercerspace)

There are some people in this world who will be together as
friends at their seventh and eighth birthday parties, and
there are some people who will be there to watch each other
attempt to blow out the too-many candles at their 70th and
80th milestone celebrations. And, there are the lucky few
– including a spirited group of mostly Mercer County men –
will be there for much of the journey from beginning to
end as their years and candles have crowded together.
This particular group is made up of Italian men who grew
up in the Chambersburg section of Trenton. Most of them
live in the suburbs now, with many calling Hamilton home.
It is here that they gather for occasional get-togethers
to break “good Italian bread” and to recall their memories
of their “good Italian upbringings.” At first, you could
count on two hands the number of people who used to live
on streets with names such as Charles, Conrad, Kent,
Washington and Franklin who attended the luncheons
organized by Anthony Pennacchi. However, more than 25
attended the most recent one at Tattoni’s, a restaurant
which like the men who gathered there has migrated from
Chambersburg to Hamilton Township. While recuperating from
recent surgery, Pennacchi started to reminisce.
“I had both my knees done,” said Pennacchi, 78. “I’m in
the hospital, and I started thinking of my youth.”
His idea to catch up with the guys from the old
neighborhood was warmly received. The memories of their
hardscrabble but happy youth burns as brightly as the
candles did on the cake at Pete Rago’s recent 80th birthday
party. “They were great years,” said Pennacchi, referring
to time spent with neighbors named Landolfi, Valli, Iorio,
Carderelli, D’Andrea, Pizza, Maurio and more.“The houses
were small,” Pennacchi said. “Our mothers made homemade
bread and our fathers were in charge of the backyards and
making wine. All families spoke Italian at home.” “Our
mothers were magicians,” said Rago, referring to the
cooking and sewing abilities as the women managed to
consistently make something wonderful to eat or wear out
of very little. Rago, who retired 17 years ago after 37
years working for the Trenton School Board, remembers the
respect John A. Roebling’s Sons Co. had in his neighborhood.
“The Italians thought John A. Roebling was the president,
that’s how important he was to us,” Rago said of the famous
wire rope manufacturer who provided employment opportunities
for so many. Chances were good, the men said, that if your
mother worked outside of the home it was in a doll or cigar
factory and that many men worked for “American Bridge” or
the rubber factory. “We were the best masons, bricklayers,
plasterers,” added Pennacchi, whose specialty is brick and
stone pointing and waterproofing through his Anthony
Pennacchi and Sons family business that has been providing
service in Mercer County for three generations.They remember
buying things “on credit” at the stores and what it was like
to live “by the rationing” during WWII.“We would go around
with stamps for food, gas, sugar, butter,” Pennacchi said.
“We were lucky if we had one car on the whole street,” he said.
“Everything was done with pushcarts, bicycles or wagons.”
As it was for many of their peers, their lives were strongly
influenced by their neighbors as well as in sports competitions
and living through war years. Chances were good that if they
weren’t at home, school, church or on a ballfield, they would
be at the Park Theatre. “A lot of our life centered around
that theater,” Rago said. They can’t help grinning when they
think about the many life lessons they learned in nearby
pool rooms. “The guys at the corner (helped teach) us right
from wrong,” Pennacchi said. “We did a couple good things
and a couple bad things.” Athletics was an area that many
of the kids had opportunities to do some good things,
particularly in the sports of soccer and baseball.
They worked as hard as they played. “We were raised hardly
with anything,” Pennacchi said. “But we worked hard like
our parents.“When the Korean War broke out it was our time
to serve,” he said. “It seemed like they went right to
Chambersburg, and they got the best of us.” They still
talk about an edition of The Stars and Stripes that
included an item about five soldiers from Chambersburg
who met up in Seoul, Korea.Seven of the group’s war
veterans, including Pennacchi and Rago, enjoyed the
all-Italian meal and get-together at Tattoni’s. Pennacchi
and Rago are contemplating the plans for the next reunion.
A lifetime of preserving buildings wasn’t enough for
Pennacchi whose efforts with the group that he fondly dubbed
“The Dead End Kids” has proved that he has the power to
cement friendships that last a lifetime.

Former Burg folks in the picture:

Tony Cowell, Nick Durasdandi, Sabatino Risoldi III, Carmine
Mitore, Paul Pennacchi, Anthony Risoldi, John Camera, Bob
Gervasoni, John Pecci and Mercer County Freeholder Anthony
Carabelli.