Your family videos make me cry. My grandparents emigrated to America from Naples, Italy and came through Ellis Island too, bringing their first two children with them. They had three more in the Brooklyn duplex they called home. Years later, that same apt would hold twelve adults and fifteen grandchildren for Sunday dinner and holidays. There was a long table for the adults and oldest grandchildren and the childrens table for the younger kids. Grandma would always have a three course dinner for us on Sunday. The holidays would have many more courses and by the end of the meal we would be so stuffed we could barely move. I carried on the tradition by marrying an Italian boy who emigrated to the States when he was nine years old. My parents accepted him even though he wasn't Napolitano . I am alone now. My husband passed away on my fiftieth birthday and my children scattered to find work in their respective fields. I have my memories of growing up in a warm and loving Italian family and, in so many ways, yours remind me of mine. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you ever so much Gina. I have a feeling our Sundays were just the same.... my parents had a mixed marriage...my mother is Scottish LOL. Anyway those memories of my family will keep me warm in my December's as i'm sure yours will too. God bless you Gina and I wish you all the best :)
I really enjoyed watching your show. I didn't have the luxury of the big family and Sunday dinners when I was growing up. I guess my folks tried as best they could but for work my dad would always be moving us around very often. I never got any real roots down anywhere except where my grandma was in ky. So I call it home. Great movie and I could feel the love through your eyes.
Hello Brenda ! Thank you for taking the time to watch. I felt the need to share it so i'm grateful you that liked it. You never know how wonderful life is until you eat a ravioli the size of a softball :) Wishing you all the happiness in the world - JB
Thank you Sophia ! I had all the memories on my mind for years. I lost my Dad 3 years ago and have only one Uncle left. I wanted someone from the first generation to see it :) Thanks again for watching - JB
Thank you for sharing your video of what America is: family and the dream of coming here and living the dream and opportunity that we are supposed to be. What a beautiful thing and story :)
A great family story, well told. The images, music and narrative combine to evoke a great sense of nostalgia. So powerfully in fact that I can feel it, not knowing any of the fine people featured in this snapshot of history and I miss them despite not having known them.
Many thanks for watching my friend. I have only one Uncle left... and regretted not doing this a few years ago while Dad was still with us. I needed to tell this story so the youngers knew about it. Till now they where just names and pictures. Thank you again :) - JB
+Johnnyboy Sorry to hear so many of them are gone. What better way to honor their memory than to pass it along to generation that didn't get to know them! What a great gift!
Hi again weaslebee !!! Thanks again for tuning in. This video was a long time coming. I only have one uncle left and after my Dad passed away I felt the need to tell the story. All the best to you :)
Your family video is so beautiful, even though my family is not of Italian decent, I can relate on so many levels. My grandparents also migrated from another country and made it so my life and the life of their children would be better. I just think it's amazing how people from other parts of the world can remind you so much of your own family. I saw so much of my family in yours. Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful family story, it literally brought tears to my eyes, I forgot how much I miss my grand parents and aunts and uncles that have gone, but will definitly not be forgotten.
Hi hope you and yours are doing well. This family Video is beautiful and heart warming. I have a large family also, I'm Puerto Rican we have alot of family gatherings. Watching this video you can see the love, the respect the togetherness it's beautiful. I know a little something about Sunday dinners my niece is married to an Italian his parents have Sunday dinners every Sunday and everything from the meatballs to the sausages, bread, spaghetti sauce all made fresh. Thank you for sharing your history & Beautiful family with us. oh did I mention men in your family are all handsome. God Bless them for they are now angels watching over yous. 😊😇
Hi Annette. This video was a long time coming. As my Dad once said... you don't know what happiness is until you can smell friend meatballs on a Sunday morning :) Thank you so much for watching :)
wow!!! that is fantastic that you have all those wonderful pics of your g.parents and family.I never knew my g.parents .well my Dads mom until my early teens years .but not my g.father or moms parents .so I have no memories or pics of them :(cherish those for ever.
Thanks again Mattie. I only have one Uncle left and I was determined to get this out there. I really wanted to tell this story to the younger generation of this family. I've always love our home movies and wanted to share them. I went down to see my Grandmother on winter break in 79'. I thought i'd get a jump on the other guys getting into shape for my high school baseball team.... came back 8 pounds heavier LOL
wow i enjoyed this greatly and was totally immersed in to it i sure would like to try some overy well done thank you for sharing these people help build our country to what it is today f that wine i bet he made some great wine hey maybe do a up to date one showing the linage i felt some how connected you did a wonderful job editing thank you for sharing
Thank you Michael ! My grandparent never thought about how to be happy... they just were. You go to work... and come home to your family. That's all they needed. I often wondered how Grandpa went to work each day lifting heavy rocks and the pressure of supporting 8 kids during the depression. But you could never read that in his face. Thank you for watching :)
and a great story it is. like many, i also had grandparents come through ellis island. they settled in a small pa town called farrell. sundays and holidays were always my favorites. the homemade pasta and my fathers wine. thanks again JB......
I wonder how some footages of unknown family brought my nostalgic tears out! I couldn`t find any similarity with my own family, but I found "love" in the footages. Priceless footages. I also wonder you've captured lot of footages that time. Using film camera was not common in 50`s and 60`s families. It was also smart to use the right music for those nostalgic footages.
I cried well watching your video. I too had a great family but now everything....well nothing to say much. I guess I will never be accepted by them. I wish I was at least your neighbour and witness such great love. Some people like me can only watch others and wish. But your video warmed us too. We felt we were your family friends. Your grandpa was such a hero so loving and full of life. The music and your innocent voice made me cry again. So aesthetic and neat. Such true love will forever be heard in the heavens.
Bless you Nikhil ! Thank you so much for watching. We had a big family and lots of cousins. The video was a long time coming and I cherish the memories of these 8mm movies. I gave copies of the documentary to my surviving family members. All the best to you my friend !!!! - JB
Beautiful family and video. Wish my family could have been this close, but my parents ripped the family asunder when we moved from Michigan to Arizona. I have not heard from my cousins in over 40 years, and most of my aunts and uncles (as well as parents) have passed on. Oh, what could have been (sigh)!!!
Thank you Janet. Sometimes parents don't realize we need warm childhood moments to keep us warm in our adult years. Wishing you you all the best now :) - JB
Hi Missy ! Thanks so much for taking the time to watch. After my Dad's passing in 2014, I felt the need to put down the story of our family. Copies were made on DVD and sent out to all. I felt it was important for them to know. All the best to you :) - JB
I gave you ten thumbs up if the younger kids children or teenagers can watch a video like this. say today they won't understand the family values. I go a lot of auctions and yard sales I see where family pictures and photos are discarded in the sales box or being thrown away I go Dudley's auction in Florida I buy family photo albums I got a set of photo albums that was Jewish family heirloom. some families pass it's like we know them like we knew our family pass. I also have a set of pictures Atlas family from Florida is related to Jackie Kennedy president's wife also have a cigarette holder sashay they call it..Jackie'initials engraved on it that the family member just threw it away.
Thanks Big Ed... i'm not sure how appreciative the youngers will be but I thought knowledge of where they came from was important and way overdue... and there is something they could lear from that generation.
