I have read that the most formative years of life are the first five years. I believe this to be true as it pertains to me personally.

I was born in Castelsilano, a small mountain town in southern Italy. During the years spent there I learned a lot of the customs that prevailed in the town.

My parents were very close with the maternal side of the family and so much time was spent with them. What I recall most are the gardens, vineyard and nut and fruit tree orchards that belonged to my grandfather. We all camped out in a dirt floor cabin when it was time to harvest produce. Everyone worked including children picking bushels of acorns off the ground that were used as fodder for pigs during winter months. We picked up walnuts and almonds when my uncles shook them off the trees and even helped to pick grapes off the lower vines although I think more went into mouths than containers. I loved gathering chick peas, peeling off the outer shell to discover the tender pea inside and also chestnuts that were encased in an outer coat as well. Small holes would be cut in the chestnuts and then roasted over the open fire.

While listening to sausages sizzling in the frying pan for supper I was mesmerized by thousands of lights floating by in clusters, moving up and down on the horizon sometimes coming very close. Tiny, sparkling, white lights moving effortlessly across the air zooming around and around, they were really fireflies flying about in the darkness but to my small eyes they resembled magical fairy lights.

My maternal grandfather was a carpenter that produced cabinetry and furniture and also coffins. His shop was in the lower section of the house that was level to the narrow cobbled street. I recall the smell of the wood as I stomped around in the wood shavings; my grandpa who was very patient didn’t seem to mind as long as I stayed away from being too close to what he was working on.

Upstairs my grandmother, a tiny four foot ten woman would be cooking on the open fireplace. In 1951 stoves were yet to be common place in the town. My mother also cooked meals on tripods over an open flame in the fireplace that also served to heat the room. Water was collected down the road from the town pump in a long oval cistern each day. Bread was baked in a communal oven and clothes washed in the cold water of a stream a couple of kilometers away.

Everyone had property so they could grow their own food and raise a few animals like a goat for milk, a pig or two, chickens and a rooster.

When it was time to butcher the pig the entire family got together and it was a party. The men cut the meat to numerous sizes but without refrigeration most of it was cured in the form of sausages of various types and styles. Nothing was wasted, the head, the tail and everything in between was used including the blood. We kids would watch from the sidelines as small chunks of meat were turned into food that would sustain the family during the winter. Prepared sausage meat would be fried and served on crusty bread for lunch, yummy with delicious hot drippings on top.

Making wine was a family deal as well. My uncles and grandfather and dad would pick the grapes and crush them in a machine that had to be turned by hand. We would watch as the grapes fermented, bubbling to the top, the process of turning the grapes into wine was fairly long but everyone enjoyed working together.

Christmas was a fun time. For days before the Eve everyone would contribute pieces of wood for the grand bonfire. Kids would go around picking up stray pieces of twigs and paper to contribute. Christmas Eve was the big celebration. A special meal of fish including “baccala” , dried salt cod, soaked and cooked several different ways, cabbages cooked in tons of oil and garlic, salads, pasta in red sauce, potatoes, nuts, fruits, and pastries dripping in honey. The food was left out after dinner in case someone came to wish the family Merry Christmas and most often a few would come in singing and partake of the food and a glass of wine. Then when it was time everyone would bundle up to go to midnight mass but before that we would all huddle around the huge bonfire that was built and lit in the Piazza in front of the church. It was so impressive to see everyone happy kissing and hugging and wishing each other “Buon Natale”.

When my family moved to Fernie in the fifties I loved Fernie on sight. Perhaps it was the mountains, or the yellow fields of dandelions, so similar to what we had left behind, or the river that floated by.

Everything here was grander, fresher, larger than what was in Castelsilano. But the similarities made it home immediately. We kept our traditions of Christmas Eve with the big meal and going to midnight mass. We still had friends that came over to enjoy a drink and sing some of the old songs but there was no bonfire, no butchering of the pig, no picking of nuts and grapes and no family except my parents and siblings. Still, my father made sure to sponsor family from both sides to this new country and although none chose to make Fernie home there are many of us scattered around enjoying life in Canada because my father had a vision to bring his family to a wealthier way of life.

The practices I enjoyed because of the customs back then have provided a wealth of experience that has translated into who I am today. And although I would never leave Fernie to return permanently to Castelsilano I have memories forged in mind and heart that will always remain.

But life in Fernie is wonderful. We have everything life can offer and more than most people in this world enjoy today. We do have people who need help and for that I see a community that always comes together to assist whenever called upon and even when not, people help those in need.

I am so proud to live in this amazing town with so many incredible, giving people. There isn’t anyone that doesn’t give in some capacity either by volunteering, by donating to causes or just by doing quietly and without fanfare. To all of you a huge Thank you for making this town the great place it is. Let’s appreciate and give Thanks for the Peace and Freedom we enjoy, pray for those in the world that are suffering and keep extending the hand of friendship as much as we can to all.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Best Wishes for a most Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year to everyone.