Paddy Ryan's High School Yearbook Flicker 1944-45 Gloucester MA

While in Gloucester, I visited the archives at the Cape Ann Museum.  I was looking for records pertaining to widows and orphans of lost fisherman, but what I found was our dad's high school yearbook: Flicker 1944-45. (Paul Ryan Jr.) This yearbook has been available on eBay for some time but I was not willing to pay $65 for something I was pretty sure we threw out when we emptied 42 Bruce Street.  The staff very nicely made copies for me.

This was in the "When They Were Young" section of the yearbook and I sure do wish we had this photo on hand.  I see my sister Paula in this picture.  No wonder Paula is Uncle Tim's "favorite niece". 

  Dad was a cheerleader in college as well as in high school.  He's the guy in the white pants here (you probably figured that out).  Look at the crowd behind them!

This is the Boys Glee Club.  I think these are ROTC uniforms. (Reserved Officers Training Corps) I do remember Dad was actively involved in such programs.  In the mid 1940s, it would have been very common as World War II raged overseas.

I saw this senior picture and couldn't help but think there was a time when such a character would find himself stuffed in a locker every single day.  If you read his summary, you'll see his ambition is "to go around the world in the Merchant Marine with Umbriago at the wheel."  Umbriago was apparently an imaginary sidekick to Jimmy Durante.  I don't quite get it either, but I'll bet it's clever.

A few days after I got these, my husband found another copy of the yearbook in a local bookstore.  Someone had very handily labeled all the seniors in the book and this verified that "Paddy" appeared several other times in the yearbook as well but I think these pictures are a fair reflection of Dad in high school.

RIP Dad Paul M. Ryan Jr. 1927-2003

Things that I do that remind me of Dad:  re-arrange the dishes in the dishwasher.  This used to make me nuts when I saw Dad endlessly rearranging and now I find myself doing the same with probably nearly the same level of irritation.

Get upset when I can't find the screwdriver.  I made my own set of tools and placed them near where I would be able to get to them when I needed them.  It was so convenient that now this set has been taken over and the screwdriver occasionally goes missing. 

Misspelled signs.  Don't need to say more there. Hard to believe he's been gone 12 years today, but I believe he wanted to be with Mom.

Costante Dalpiaz Siblings in Val di Non

From pictures taken by Kathleen and Nick during their trip to Italy,  I've been able to sort out some of your grandfather Costante Dalpiaz's siblings.  I thought you might like to "meet" them!  These would be aunts and uncles to your Dad.

An older sister Maria:  according to Trentini birth records, her full name is Maria Severina Carlotta Carolina Dalpiaz married a Menapace:

A younger sibling Edvige Rosa Dalpiaz married Pio Valentini

Pio, another younger sibling is in the same gravesite as his parents

How nice for us that photos seem to be standard additions to tombstones.  These guys generally lived long happy lives so you come from hardy stock.

Tullia, of course, is the ultimate proof and I'm happy to be able to share this picture NOT taken in a cemetery, although I imagine many of you have seen this already.  She recently celebrated her 100th birthday!

Another picture of Tullia I remember seeing when we visited Aunt Josie:

I definitely see Dalpiaz in this younger picture. 

Memories Shared of Paul Ryan Jr and Anne Flynn Ryan

Paul Senior and Junior 1972

I was going through some papers and found a couple of letters I thought were interesting.  Bill Gleason is our Dad's (Paul M. Ryan Jr.) cousin and he sent a letter shortly after Dad died which included the following memories:  I have been thinking of your Dad, especially, the good times we had when I stayed at Aunt Catherine and Uncle Paul's house for a week each year during my summer vacation in the late 30's and early 40's.  We went to Good Harbor Beach almost every day, boat trips at Gloucester Harbor, and the highlight - a trip to the amusement park at Salisbury beach.  Uncle Paul loaded the back of the pick up truck with kids and off we went for the evening.  We never realized how dangerous it was.   

From another letter written shortly after Dad died, his cousin Tom Foley noted:  Growing up I didn't get too acquainted with your Dad since he was about 8 years older.  I do remember going to a High School play and I recall him playing the part of "Peter Pan".  I think it was obligatory for the entire Pierce side of the family to go to the school to show our support.  In the big scene, Peter Pan was suspended about 5-6 feet off the floor of the stage and came flying across it on some sort of pulley rig.  I will never know if he got the part becasue he was very good, or if it was because he was the smallest and skinniest guy available.

On the other side of the tree, one of our mother's (Anne Flynn Ryan) best friends had this to say about her:  I have so many fond memories of her and of course your father and you kids.  I met your Mom when we were about 13.  We lived on the same street.  She was kind of diagonal to me.  We didn't go to the same school until Bona's but we we were in the same sorority in High School, so we hung around a bit then.  We really got very close in college, in fact, she's the reason I still drink my coffee black.  We used to take turns buying coffee and I would always put milk and sugar in both cups and it got expensive trying to remember ( we were only making about 50 cents an hour) so I decided not to put anything in the coffee and then I wouldn't go wrong.  

We did a bit of double dating at that time and then there was a time that Weenie was in the hospital and she stayed with us.  There were a lot of laughs and secrets shared.  My mother had your Mom write the invitations for my wedding as she didn't think that my handwriting was good enough.

These little stories meant a lot to me then and they still do today. 

Louise Coffarelli Barra 1896 - 1989

One of my recent research goals has been to find out a little bit more about the Coffarelli family. We know that your grandfather James was the youngest of 9 children. His mother, Rose, died when James was only 10, foreshadowing the fate of his own children John and Regina.

James' obituary noted he was survived by four sisters including Sister Magdalen Maria ( his sister Tessie/Theresa); Mrs. M Desabto (Margaret); Elizabeth; Mrs. M Barra (Louise/Lucy) as well as two brothers Joseph and Phillip. So I started researching the surviving siblings.

Initial research shows that Louise Coffarelli married Michael Barra in June 1919 and Lena Coffarelli married Anthony Fierro just 3 months later. I presume Louise Barra is surviving sibling Mrs. M. Barra. Lena did not survive him as she had died four years earlier in 1930.James had six sisters and 4 lived after he died in 1934.

I came across a Social Security death record for Louise Barra and from that information I obtained an obituary noting her death in Florida. I think this might be your Aunt Louise. Interestingly she "only" died in 1989--pretty recent in the realm of family history work. I am startled that there might have been a living Coffarelli aunt within the time frame of the work I've done on your family so far! I expect one of you to blurt out--"Oh yeah, I remember Aunt Louise!" in one of those lightbulb moments.

This obituary notes that Louise is survived by 2 sons Anthony and John -- in 1989 one of them practically lived in our backyard. Catskill is not that far away from here!

I feel as though the evidence just barely hangs together--not quite enough to feel certain that this is your great aunt Louise Coffarelli. Then another little miracle fell into my lap. Literally.

Every now and again I flip through the same photo albums, papers, memorabilia etc just to see what I find that's new to me. This time the news came from your mother's old metal address file. It pops open and the pages fall out of it -- full of pen and pencil marks, cross outs and changed numbers or addresses. Including Louise Barra and Anthony Barra!!! In Catskill!!! I scanned this sheet even though it's messy, it's like a sparkling diamond to me.

So I've done a little more investigating and discovered an Anthony Barra (along with several other Barras) in Catskill. I have learned this is Louise's son and he died just a few years ago in 2011.

And the address file yielded another gem. Remember Lena Fierro? Well, there are two Fierros listed in your mother's addresses. This will be my next focus. There may be new Coffarelli cousins coming out your ears before you know it. How cool is that?

Clare, Sligo, Meath and More

Our Irish ancestry runs deep.  I have nothing to prove or disprove that our ancestors came to this continent escaping famine but it seems logical that there were significant "push and pull factors" (remember that from US History?).  Irish immigrants everywhere faced severe discrimination and I have no doubt the same held true for ours.

Our Irish immigrants were largely farmers or fishermen; livelihoods that depend upon unpredictable Mother Nature and many other factors beyond control.  I imagine that Henry Nevins' father was beyond proud that he became an attorney -- the grandson / son  of an immigrant.

I think I've talked before about our Irish surnames, but haven't talked too much about their Irish homeland.  That's mostly because I don't know too much first hand (yet) but one day I hope to.

My sister recently asked me to answer "in 5 words or less" where our Irish ancestors came from.  That wasn't so easy but here are our great-grands and what I know about where they came from.  Match 'em up on the map.

Patrick Flynn's mother Ellen:  County Clare
Patrick Flynn's mother Barbara came from Munich Germany (we aren't counting her right now)
Henry Nevins' grandfather Henry born Ireland:  his mother Julia born County Meath
Caroline Brown Nevins daughter of English immigrant

William H. Ryan's father Timothy born Ireland (maybe Tipperary)
Kate Bentley Ryan's mother and father born Galway
William Pierce was born in Canada latest in a long line of Canadians (Nova Scotia)
Edith Handran Pierce's mother was born in Sligo

Patrick Flynn worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad; Henry Nevins was a well known lawyer who spawned many more in the same line of work; William H. Ryan worked in various blue collar jobs such as lunch cart keeper; William Pierce was a fisherman.

So I guess the pictures in my head of our family look more like these than those pretty green shamrocks.