Grandma in Cincinnati

Delicious Memories Recipes: Grandma in Cincinnati’s Original Ravioli, Gnoochi, Minestrone Soup, Veal Birds and Polenta.

Who is this Grandma born September 20, 1900 who lived most of her life at 1730 Courtland Ave? There are a lot of facts about her life but how well did we really know her? I called her Grandma in Cincinnati, as did my brothers and sister. Both our Grandmothers were Matteis, so we differentiate them by cities. My Cincinnati cousins all called her Nona. I called her Nona once and it felt odd because she never fit the mold of an Italian Nona to me. While short in stature, she towed over me with her presence. Forceful and determined are words that come to mind when I think of her.

Ida Liva lived the first 19 years of her life in Lestans, Italy. Oral history informs us that she rarely left this small community as a child, although she shared when she was around 10 her father took her to an international exposition. Unfortunately I don’t recall which city. The memory remained with her because she ate something that made her sick, although I can’t remember what she ate. There were very few memories she shared from her early life but the experience of war stayed with her her entire life.

THE GREAT WAR

In WWI Lestans was in the thick of it. Lestans was occupied by Austrio-German forces (CLICK HERE). Ida’s younger brother, Alfonso, was sent to Naples to avoid conscription by the enemy. Her father (Joseph Liva) had left Lestans to work in America, only to be stuck in Baltimore through the war. Ida and Alfonso lost their older brother, Innocente, and mother to influenza. In December, 1919 her and Alfonso packed one large trunk and set out to reunite with their father in Cincinnati. I can only imagine how they must have felt leaving their home. They traveled alone for thousands of miles. What must they had been thinking and feeling? They were both so young when their father left. How much did they remember him? How much had they all changed? These, unfortunately, were questions I never asked. Maybe someone in the family knows the answers and will share what they remember with us.

What I DID ask my Grandmother now seems silly and unimportant. Tasked with writing a family histort in college, I asked her, “what ship did you sail?”
“The Lafayette out of the French port of Havre,” came the quick answer.
“Where did you land?”
“Ellis Island in New York.”
I wish I’d asked, how did you feel? What did you think seeing America for the first time or meeting your father after so long? Were you afraid? I can’t imagine my Grandmother as fearful, she just always seemed to be stern and strong. Now I know this persona likely masked deep traumas in her life. A sadness did permeate her life. She rarely smiled. I never heard her laugh. Ida set it all aside to live on. Like many immigrants she put the past behind her. I did see a picture recently at my Aunt Mary Jane’s funeral of her with a smile. I’d love to have a copy of that picture from my cousin Barb’s scrapbook.

A NEW BEGINNING IN AMERICA

Ida’s new life in America started in Corryville, a Cincinnati suburb close to the University of Cincinnati. She lived with her father and Fonso (as she called him) in an apartment on 3232 Bishop St. She set right to work accumulating herself to her new life in Cincinnati which had a relatively small Italian population compared to the predominantly German settlements. Ida met her husband on a date with his first cousin, Arturo Mattei. She attended an Italian picnic with Arturo but after meeting his cousin John she told Arturo that she would prefer John escort her home. John and Ida married on February 22, 1922 at St. George Church. On her marriage license it lists Ida’s occupation as “at home.” John moved in on with the Liva family on Bishop St.

Life became typically American after Ida and John married. Four children followed: Innocente (1924), Italo Victor (1925), John (1931) and Robert (1938). In July, 1924, the week my father, Innocente, was born, the Joseph Liva family moved from Bishop St. to 1730 Courtland Ave. Courtland Avenue is where the Cincinnati Mattei family will recall many memories. I so hope you will all share your memories of Courtland Avenue, especially the DELICIOUS ones.

Email your memories to [email protected].

More to come in future BLOGS on Ida and other family members.
STAY TUNED!