SIGRIST:

Good afternoon. This is Paul Sigrist for the National Park Service. Today is Wednesday, September 10, 1997. I'm at the Woodcrest Center in New Milford, New Jersey, and I'm here with Domenica Cioffi. Mrs. Cioffi came from Italy. What year did you come?

CIOFFI:

1931.

SIGRIST:

Just a minute, we'll pause for . . . ( break in tape ) Okay, now we're resuming. Mrs. Cioffi, you came in 1931.

CIOFFI:

Yes.

SIGRIST:

Do you remember how old you were when you came?

CIOFFI:

Twenty-seven.

SIGRIST:

You were twenty-seven. Great. Present also in the room are Mrs. Cioffi's two daughters, Anne Clemensa[ph] and Rose Buttazone[ph]. And, also, I should say, Mrs. Cioffi's roommate is also here. Anyway, can we begin by you giving me your birth date.

CIOFFI:

My birth date?

SIGRIST:

Yes.

CIOFFI:

Uh, March 26, 1904.

SIGRIST:

And what was your name when you were born?

CIOFFI:

Domenica.

SIGRIST:

Domenica.

CIOFFI:

Iemma.

SIGRIST:

Can you spell that?

CIOFFI:

I can't spell.

SIGRIST:

Rose, or Anne? Spell out loud, please. Anne.

ANNE:

Anne. I-E-M . . .

SIGRIST:

N, or M?

ANNE:

M as in Mary.

SIGRIST:

M. I-E-M-M-A. Iemma.

ANNE:

Yes.

SIGRIST:

What town in Italy were you born?

CIOFFI:

Well, Gallo[ph].

SIGRIST:

Gallo[ph].

CIOFFI:

Gallo[ph].

SIGRIST:

What part of Italy is that?

CIOFFI:

Gallo, provincia de Caserta[ph], Caserta[ph].

SIGRIST:

Caserta[ph], uh-huh. Is that sort of the middle of Italy, Caserta[ph]? Naples area?

CIOFFI:

Near Naples. ( break in tape )

SIGRIST:

All right. We're now resuming again. We've got all the dietary plans all planned. And Mrs. Cioffi, you said that you were born in Gallo[ph], which was in the province of Caserta[ph], in Italy. What do you remember about the town? What did it look like?

CIOFFI:

Then, then it was nice.

SIGRIST:

It was nice?

CIOFFI:

That's all.

SIGRIST:

What did it look like?

CIOFFI:

A nice place.

SIGRIST:

What kind of buildings?

CIOFFI:

Ah, buildings. Well, I got to tell you. Nice buildings. It was nice. That's all.

SIGRIST:

Okay.

CIOFFI:

That's what I got there. ( she laughs )

SIGRIST:

Can you describe the house that you lived in?

CIOFFI:

( she laughs ) The house. It was nice. It had stairs, like, you know?

SIGRIST:

How many rooms?

CIOFFI:

Five rooms.

SIGRIST:

Five rooms. Uh-huh. What was the house built out of?

CIOFFI:

Uh, stone, you know. Rock, like, yeah.

SIGRIST:

Was it in town or out of town?

CIOFFI:

In town.

SIGRIST:

It was in town. And were you born in the house?

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Did your mother or father ever tell you a story about the day that you were born?

CIOFFI:

No. Just the day I was born, that's it.

SIGRIST:

Okay.

CIOFFI:

I was born. ( she laughs )

SIGRIST:

What was your father's name?

CIOFFI:

Domenico.

SIGRIST:

Domenico. And what did he do for a living in Italy?

CIOFFI:

He was working in the fields.

SIGRIST:

He worked in the fields. Can you describe your father's personality for me?

CIOFFI:

He was a big man, like. He was a big man, like, was strong, too.

SIGRIST:

A big guy.

CIOFFI:

Yeah, a big guy.

SIGRIST:

And what did he enjoy doing when he wasn't working in the fields? For his own pleasure, what did he enjoy doing?

CIOFFI:

Well, to tell you the truth, he was working all the time. He was enjoying working all the time, that's all.

SIGRIST:

What was your mother's name?

CIOFFI:

Magdalena.

SIGRIST:

Magdalena.

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Do you know what her maiden name was?

CIOFFI:

No.

SIGRIST:

No. What can you tell me about what your mother did when you were a child?

CIOFFI:

She was working, too.

SIGRIST:

She worked in the house, or in the fields?

CIOFFI:

Yeah, she does something in the house. Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Did you have brothers and sisters?

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

How many?

CIOFFI:

I got, uh, they died, though. I got four sisters and two brothers.

SIGRIST:

One sister and two brothers.

CIOFFI:

Four.

SIGRIST:

Four sisters and two brothers. Uh-huh. And, um, are you the oldest child?

CIOFFI:

No.

SIGRIST:

No.

CIOFFI:

My brother was the oldest.

SIGRIST:

What was his name?

CIOFFI:

John.

SIGRIST:

John. Giovanni.

CIOFFI:

Yeah, Giovanni.

SIGRIST:

And then the next?

CIOFFI:

The next, Tony.

SIGRIST:

Anthony?

CIOFFI:

Anthony.

SIGRIST:

And then the next child?

CIOFFI:

It was me. ( she laughs )

SIGRIST:

You, Domenica.

CIOFFI:

Domenica.

SIGRIST:

And who was next?

CIOFFI:

Mary.

SIGRIST:

Uh-huh. And after Mary.

CIOFFI:

Mary . . . Oh, boy. I forgot.

SIGRIST:

Uh-huh. But there were a couple of children after Mary.

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Yeah?

CIOFFI:

Marie, oh, Pashca[ph], Pashca[ph].

SIGRIST:

Pashca[ph]?

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Am I saying that correctly?

CIOFFI:

My sister, after Mary.

SIGRIST:

Yes.

CIOFFI:

Yeah. And another, Angela.

SIGRIST:

Angela. I see. So is that everybody?

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Yeah. Do you remember one of your brothers or sisters being born?

CIOFFI:

No, brother, brother was first of me.

SIGRIST:

They were older than you.

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

But what about one of the sisters?

CIOFFI:

The sisters. I was small, though, I was young.

SIGRIST:

Right.

CIOFFI:

You know?

SIGRIST:

But do you have any memories of when that happened, when, what you saw?

CIOFFI:

I don't saw nothing. I just saw when they're born, and somebody got to, like a lady to take care of kids. So, yeah. My two sisters, Angela and Pashca[ph].

SIGRIST:

When you were growing up, what was your job in the house? What were you responsible for doing?

CIOFFI:

Uh, I was, watch the kids, watch the kids, yeah.

SIGRIST:

And how did you feel about doing that?

CIOFFI:

Well, all right, you know, all right. Because my mother went to work, I watched the kids, yeah.

SIGRIST:

Where did your mother go when she went to work?

CIOFFI:

At the fields.

SIGRIST:

She went to work in the fields. Uh-huh. And what did they do in the fields?

CIOFFI:

Plant things, plant.

SIGRIST:

Bran?

CIOFFI:

Plant.

SIGRIST:

Plant, oh, plant. Do you know what they were planting?

CIOFFI:

Plant, uh, (Italian). : Grain, you mean? Wheat?

CIOFFI:

Yeah, wheat. Plant wheat.

SIGRIST:

Wheat.

CIOFFI:

Plant the, there's another thing.

SIGRIST:

Vegetables?

CIOFFI:

Yeah, vegetables.

SIGRIST:

Did you, when you got a little older, go to work in the fields?

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Yes?

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

How did you feel about that?

CIOFFI:

I like it.

SIGRIST:

Yeah? ( they laugh ) What was the countryside like around where you lived?

CIOFFI:

Yeah, it was nice. It was very nice.

SIGRIST:

What could you see if you looked around?

CIOFFI:

You see just the country all around. All the people at work, all the people who work.

SIGRIST:

But it was all out in the country.

CIOFFI:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SIGRIST:

Yeah. What religion were you in Italy? What was your religion?

CIOFFI:

Catholic.

SIGRIST:

Catholic. What do you remember about, about going to church back then?

CIOFFI:

I remember the church, I remember mass, yeah, I remember those things. I remember, yeah.

SIGRIST:

So there was a church in town?

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

How often did you go to church?

CIOFFI:

Oh, on every Sunday, I go.

SIGRIST:

Every Sunday.

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

And how did you practice your religion at home?

CIOFFI:

At home, my mother said the rosary every night. Every night the rosary, at home, in the house, in the house.

SIGRIST:

Can you say your rosary in Italian for me, on tape?

CIOFFI:

Ah, I can't say.

SIGRIST:

Okay. Is there any prayer that you remember learning as a child in Italian?

CIOFFI:

I say the rosary, I say the rosary myself, but I can't say for you.

SIGRIST:

Oh, you've got them right there.

CIOFFI:

Yeah. ( she laughs )

SIGRIST:

But do you say them in English, or in . . .

CIOFFI:

In Italian.

SIGRIST:

In Italian.

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Can you do that for me right now a little bit, just a little? : Say a Hail Mary.

SIGRIST:

Just so we can hear it on tape, in Italian.

CIOFFI:

Okay, okay. ( she prays in Italian ) : In Italian.

SIGRIST:

In Italian.

CIOFFI:

( she prays in Italian )

SIGRIST:

Thank you, that's good. And you do that every night still.

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Uh-huh.

CIOFFI:

I still do.

SIGRIST:

Who taught you how to pray like that?

CIOFFI:

My mother.

SIGRIST:

Your mother. She was the religious one in the family.

CIOFFI:

Yeah, she say a prayer, say a rosary every night.

SIGRIST:

Did you have any religious statues or objects in your house?

CIOFFI:

Yeah, yeah.

SIGRIST:

What did you have in the house?

CIOFFI:

We had the Blessed Mother, we had Saint Anthony, we had lots of prayers.

SIGRIST:

I see. Um, can you describe for me how you celebrated Christmas when you lived in Italy?

CIOFFI:

Oh, Christmas was nice. Christmas was nice. Christmas Eve I go (Italian), very nice. Nice fish, nice and close to the sea.

SIGRIST:

Fish, you served.

CIOFFI:

We say a lot of prayers, a lot of prayers, yeah. A lot of prayers.

SIGRIST:

Tell me more about the food. You said you had a fish. Was that something special for Christmas?

CIOFFI:

I got fish, yeah. Everything is special for Christmas.

SIGRIST:

Did you give presents on Christmas?

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Yes? Do you remember a Christmas present that you received as a child?

CIOFFI:

I received like a dress, gloves or something. Everybody, everybody chip in.

SIGRIST:

Were you able to go to school in Italy?

CIOFFI:

No.

SIGRIST:

Never. Could your mother or father read and write?

CIOFFI:

No.

SIGRIST:

No. So they just, they worked in the fields their whole life.

CIOFFI:

That's right.

SIGRIST:

Uh-huh. Um, did you have any relatives that came to America when you were a child?

CIOFFI:

I had my father. My father came in America.

SIGRIST:

Your father came to America. How old were you when he came?

CIOFFI:

I was young, I was young. And when he came back to Italy, and then came back in America, he was (?).

SIGRIST:

So he went back . . .

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Back and forth. When he first came to America, where did you go to live?

CIOFFI:

I don't know.

SIGRIST:

You don't know where he was living in America?

CIOFFI:

No, no.

SIGRIST:

Do you know what he was doing when he went to America?

CIOFFI:

He was working, I think he was working, yeah. He sent money to Italy, too.

SIGRIST:

You remember the money coming.

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Yeah. Did, um, was your family affected at all by the First World War? 1914, 1918.

CIOFFI:

1914? No. My brother was in the war.

SIGRIST:

Your brother? Your brother served in the First World War?

CIOFFI:

Yeah, yeah.

SIGRIST:

Do you remember anything specific about that? ( disturbance to the microphone )

CIOFFI:

I wasn't too old, like, you know? But I remember he was in the . . . ( disturbance to the microphone )

SIGRIST:

Your microphone fell off here. There. What, Ann?

ANNE:

Can I answer a question?

SIGRIST:

For Rose? What?

ANNE:

Ask her again.

SIGRIST:

What is it that you want to . . .

ANNE:

I want to ask her, I want her memory, her brother died in that war. Her brother died in that war.

SIGRIST:

Your daughter, Anne, wants to know if your brother, did he live through World War One?

CIOFFI:

He was living, but he died.

SIGRIST:

He died in the war.

CIOFFI:

He died.

SIGRIST:

Uh-huh.

CIOFFI:

Know why he died? Because the boat, he wanted to come on the boat to America. The boat to, he drowned, my brother.

SIGRIST:

The boat sunk? Is that . . .

CIOFFI:

He joined, my brother.

SIGRIST:

I'm going to fix your microphone again. Your brother died during the war, and you said he was on the boat.

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

And the boat sunk?

CIOFFI:

Eh?

SIGRIST:

Is that what you said?

CIOFFI:

He drowned, he drowned. Yeah.

SIGRIST:

He drowned. Oh, he drowned. I see, yes. I see. Do you remember how you felt about that when it happened? How did that make you feel?

CIOFFI:

Oh, I feel sad. Everybody feel sad, because he was my brother, you know.

SIGRIST:

Was your father in Italy at that time, or was he in America?

CIOFFI:

He was in Italy.

SIGRIST:

He was in Italy. Well, what did you know about America when you were growing up in Italy? How did you think about America?

CIOFFI:

Another thing, tell the truth, then my father went in America, he write to us, you know?

SIGRIST:

Well, I was just wondering what he was telling you about America?

CIOFFI:

Well, he talk nice about America. He was nice, you know. He wasn't working.

SIGRIST:

But your mother stayed in Italy.

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

You got, did you get married in Italy?

CIOFFI:

Yes.

SIGRIST:

Yes? Do you remember what year you got married?

CIOFFI:

I forgot what year I got married. I forgot.

SIGRIST:

Yeah? Well, how old were you when you got married?

CIOFFI:

Twenty, twenty-three.

SIGRIST:

You were twenty-three when you got married. Um, and, uh, what was the name of the man that you married, his first name? ( Mrs. Cioffi pauses and laughs. ) Well, we know his last name was Cioffi.

CIOFFI:

Yeah. Benny, Benny.

SIGRIST:

Benny.

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Benny Cioffi. Do you remember how you met Benny?

CIOFFI:

He was in Italy, yeah.

SIGRIST:

Does that mean you met him just in the town?

CIOFFI:

In the town, yeah.

SIGRIST:

Okay. And did you have any children in Italy?

CIOFFI:

Yeah. Yes, my daughter Mary came from Italy. When I came in America, they call me, they send me, I got my daughter Mary.

SIGRIST:

So did your husband go to America first?

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Oh, I see. So you had, how old, when your husband went to America, how old was your child? How old was Mary?

CIOFFI:

She wasn't even born yet.

SIGRIST:

She wasn't even born yet.

CIOFFI:

Yeah. Then when I came she was, uh, uh, two years or three years old. Mary was, uh . . .

SIGRIST:

It was 1931 when you came.

CIOFFI:

She was, uh, I came in January. She, she was two years old in February.

SIGRIST:

Oh, so she turned three after you got here. Um, what, when your husband came to America first, where did he live in America?

CIOFFI:

In New York.

SIGRIST:

He went to New York City. And what did he do when he got there? What kind of work did he get?

CIOFFI:

I don't know. I can't tell.

SIGRIST:

Okay.

CIOFFI:

I can't tell you.

SIGRIST:

And where were you living in Italy while he was in America?

CIOFFI:

Over there, in the town.

SIGRIST:

In Gallo[ph]?

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

You stayed in Gallo[ph].

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Were you with relatives, or were you living by yourself?

CIOFFI:

I was by myself.

SIGRIST:

Living by yourself. Uh-huh. And, um, did you want to come to America?

CIOFFI:

He write to me all the time, yeah. It's all right.

SIGRIST:

Yeah? It was okay with you if you came? Yeah? Um, tell me what you had to do to get ready to leave Italy?

CIOFFI:

I got to make a card, papers.

SIGRIST:

All the papers.

CIOFFI:

Yeah. You know, and I came to America.

SIGRIST:

Did you have to have a physical? We're going to pause again. ( break in tape ) It's a busy day here in this room.

CIOFFI:

What was she looking for?

SIGRIST:

She was looking for one of the nurse's aides. So, anyway, we're resuming now. You were all by yourself in Gallo. You were pregnant, I guess, you know, when your husband left. How was your life different, while your husband was in America and you were in Italy by yourself?

CIOFFI:

It was all right, you know. I (?), and then he wrote to me.

SIGRIST:

What did you pack to take with you to America?

CIOFFI:

I pack a lot of things. I got some clothes, some things, you know?

SIGRIST:

Do you remember taking an object that was yours as a memento of Italy, something to remember Italy by?

CIOFFI:

Huh. Everything. I got saints for memory.

SIGRIST:

A picture of a saint?

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Uh-huh.

CIOFFI:

Yeah. ( she laughs )

SIGRIST:

Um, so your child is little at this point, two years old. Where did you have to go to get on the ship?

CIOFFI:

Uh, Naples, Naples.

SIGRIST:

You went to Naples. How did you get from Gallo[ph] to Naples?

CIOFFI:

A driver. Somebody drove us.

SIGRIST:

In an automobile?

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Uh-huh. And, um, how long did you have to stay in Naples before you got on the ship?

CIOFFI:

No, not long, not long.

SIGRIST:

What was the name of the ship?

CIOFFI:

Veragonia[ph], Veragonia.

SIGRIST:

Vera . . .

CIOFFI:

(Italian) Veragonia. ( voices off mike )

SIGRIST:

Eragonia[ph]? : V, Ma? Spell it.

CIOFFI:

Veragonia[ph]. V. Veragonia[ph].

SIGRIST:

I'll look it up. Veragonia. Oh, the Vulcania?

CIOFFI:

Vulcania, Vulcania.

SIGRIST:

There we go. Lots of Italian people came on the Vulcania. There was the Vulcania, and there was the Saturnia, her sister ship. There we go. ( Mrs. Cioffi laughs ) Can you describe for me where you slept on the ship?

CIOFFI:

Well, the Vulcania was big. Underneath there was a room, you know, and the room is there, me and my daughter, me and my daughter.

SIGRIST:

And Mary was with you.

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Were there any other people in this room?

CIOFFI:

Those were next to us, next to us.

SIGRIST:

Next to you.

CIOFFI:

Yeah, yeah.

SIGRIST:

I see. What do you remember about being on the ship?

CIOFFI:

I remember my daughter want to eat all the time.

SIGRIST:

Wanted to eat all the time.

CIOFFI:

Yeah, only because . . . ( disturbance to the microphone ) Another time she said, they ring a bell, they ring a bell in the morning, "Ma, I want to go, I want to go eat." I don't want to go, and I went, I went. All right.

SIGRIST:

Did you ever get to go up on deck of the ship?

CIOFFI:

I went sometimes. I went a little bit. But, uh . . .

SIGRIST:

What could you see when you were up on deck?

CIOFFI:

Uh, a lot of things, you know. All things, but I no like it, because then I can't stand it.

SIGRIST:

Because you're sick.

CIOFFI:

Yeah, we're sick.

SIGRIST:

How long did the ship take to get to New York?

CIOFFI:

Twenty days.

SIGRIST:

Twenty days. And, um, uh, it's in January, you said.

CIOFFI:

Mmm.

SIGRIST:

Was it rough? Was the water rough?

CIOFFI:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SIGRIST:

Did you go through any storms on the ship?

CIOFFI:

Yeah, I did. Oh! Nobody wanted to eat. ( she laughs ) They bring food in that thing, yeah.

SIGRIST:

That'll make anyone sick. ( they laugh )

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Do you remember when the ship came into New York Harbor, to the harbor? Did you see the Statue of Liberty?

CIOFFI:

Yeah, I saw the Statue of Liberty.

SIGRIST:

Did you know what that was?

CIOFFI:

No, they say, they say Statue of Liberty. I wouldn't stop there.

SIGRIST:

Right, the boat just kept going, yeah.

CIOFFI:

They pass it by, yeah.

SIGRIST:

Well, what happened next? After the boat went by the Statue of Liberty, what happened next?

CIOFFI:

Then we went on the thing where you get off the boat.

SIGRIST:

You didn't get off the boat.

CIOFFI:

No?

SIGRIST:

Did you say you didn't get off the boat, or you did get off?

CIOFFI:

Yeah, yeah.

SIGRIST:

You did get off.

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Did you have to go to Ellis Island for any reason?

CIOFFI:

Go in, no, no.

SIGRIST:

You didn't have to go there, right. Who was waiting for you when the ship . . .

CIOFFI:

My husband and my brother.

SIGRIST:

Uh-huh. And how did it feel to see your husband?

CIOFFI:

It feel good.

SIGRIST:

Yeah?

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

How did you greet your . . .

CIOFFI:

I say I'll never go by boat. ( she laughs ) That's what I said. I never go by boat any more.

SIGRIST:

Don't want to get back on a boat. Where did your husband and your brother take you?

CIOFFI:

Where he was living, in New York, in the Bronx, at the Bronx.

SIGRIST:

In the Bronx. Uh-huh. And what did you do for that first night in America? Do you remember what . . .

CIOFFI:

We had some, eat something, like, you know.

SIGRIST:

Did you get a job when you first came to America?

CIOFFI:

No.

SIGRIST:

No, you stayed home. How did you learn English?

CIOFFI:

English? I learned. People, a lot of people, you know. I try to do things.

SIGRIST:

Were there other Italians who lived near where you were living?

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Were there any other Italians from your town?

CIOFFI:

Uh-huh.

SIGRIST:

Yes? Pisan lived?

CIOFFI:

Yeah, yeah.

SIGRIST:

Yeah? Um, did they help you learn English?

CIOFFI:

They don't know them, either, English. All I, from my kids. When I had my kids, I spoke Italian to them. They spoke English to me.

SIGRIST:

And that's how you learned.

CIOFFI:

Yeah, that's how I learned, yeah.

SIGRIST:

Well, how soon after you were in America did you have another child?

CIOFFI:

About a year.

SIGRIST:

About a year. And which child was that?

CIOFFI:

Magdalena.

SIGRIST:

Magdalena. Uh-huh. Named after your sister? : Mother.

SIGRIST:

Mother, rather. Named after your mother. Yeah. What was, what was really hard for you to get adjusted to in America?

CIOFFI:

Well, it was that. 'Cos you know everything, everything crazy, like.

SIGRIST:

Crazy. Were there things in America that you had never seen before?

CIOFFI:

Sure.

SIGRIST:

Like what? What, what was something that you saw that you had never seen before in Italy?

CIOFFI:

A lot of things.

SIGRIST:

A lot of things, yeah. Um, what, do you remember what your husband, what kind of a job he had when you arrived in America?

CIOFFI:

He worked for the city.

SIGRIST:

Working for the city. Do you know what he was doing specifically?

CIOFFI:

Where he worked? Department of Sanitation. ( voice off mike )

SIGRIST:

Department of Sanitation, your daughters say. ( he laughs ) Department of Sanitation. And, um, and, uh, you said you didn't work, though. You stayed home, right? What about your brother? What was he doing?

CIOFFI:

My brother was working, too.

SIGRIST:

The same, for the Department of Sanitation, yeah. Could your husband speak English?

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

And, um, did you have a, did you or your husband have an opportunity to, for instance, take a night class about how to learn English? Sometimes they offered evening classes for adults? Were you, was that possible for you?

CIOFFI:

I had no time, anyway.

SIGRIST:

Well, you had kids.

CIOFFI:

Yeah, I had no time. But I liked, I tried to learn something, you know.

SIGRIST:

Did you miss Italy when you were here?

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Yeah? You still had family over there, didn't you?

CIOFFI:

I went a couple of times.

SIGRIST:

You did go. On an airplane?

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Uh-huh. ( they laugh ) What was the, do you remember what year the first time?

CIOFFI:

I don't remember that.

SIGRIST:

No?

CIOFFI:

Three years I came over here. I don't remember what.

SIGRIST:

And were things different in Italy than you had remembered them when you first went over?

CIOFFI:

Yeah, it's all right, you know. I say, I saw everybody, all my kids, my family. Now I want to leave again.

SIGRIST:

Did any more of your family come to America to live?

CIOFFI:

My family?

SIGRIST:

Any of your, your, you know, your sisters, or anybody?

CIOFFI:

My sister, my sister, yeah.

SIGRIST:

One of your sisters came. Did she live with you?

CIOFFI:

No, no. She was married.

SIGRIST:

She was already married. I see. Did you become an American citizen?

CIOFFI:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Yes? And can you tell me how you went about doing that? What did you have to do to become a citizen?

CIOFFI:

I got (?). Yeah.

SIGRIST:

And how did you feel when you became a citizen?

CIOFFI:

I felt good, yeah.

SIGRIST:

Great. One more question for you. When you think of yourself in terms of nationality, do you think of yourself as being Italian or American?

CIOFFI:

I'm American now, that's all. ( she laughs )

SIGRIST:

All right. Well, Mrs. Cioffi, thank you very much for letting me ask you these questions. This is Paul Sigrist signing off with Domenica Cioffi on Wednesday, September 10, 1997, with her daughters Anne and Rose in attendance. Thank you.