Growing Up in A Steel Town: Feeding the Family

Finding a New Home in a New Country

My paternal grandparents were born in Italy and migrated to America in their late teens. My grandfather arrived first, seeking a good paying job at the Jones & Laughlin Steel Mill in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. When he had saved enough money, he went back to Italy to marry my grandmother. They returned to their new country to begin married life together, to have a family and live their version of the American Dream.

They both worked hard, became citizens, learned to speak the language, raised seven children (five boys and two girls) and embraced everything about their new country. They were devoted to this land of opportunity and freedom and to adapting to the American way of life while keeping many of their Italian traditions and ethnicity.

Aliquippa, like all booming steel towns in their glory days, was rich with ethnic diversity and the wonderful variety of foods that were a traditional part of those native cultures carried on in the homes and families of the steelworkers in American steel towns. While many of the foods that I loved growing up have been deemed unhealthy in current times, I continue to enjoy many of them on special occasions and in moderation. They are just so comforting!

Making Every Penny Count

With such a large family to feed, and the need to make every penny count, my Italian grandparents were adept at making use of every resource available to them to grow and produce food to keep everyone fed and healthy. While I did not pay much attention to it when I visited my grandparent’s house, I was surrounded by food in one form or another. Their family life and most of my memories of being at their house revolved around food.

The brick two-story house that my grandparents lived in was on the third and highest plateau of a hilly area in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania known as McDonald Heights. The front of the house had a small level front yard with a sidewalk that led to the front porch entrance. The sidewalk also continued downhill along the side of the house to another level area adjacent to the rear basement porch.

The rear of the house overlooked the steel mill with about an acre of land that was a gradual downhill slope. And, they used almost every bit of that land to grow or produce food for their large and extended family including grandchildren, visiting relatives, and friends. I also remember that they often gave food to neighbors and other acquaintances who were struggling and in need.

The Garden

There was a large garden where they grew several varieties of tomatoes, lettuce, endive, arugula, radicchio, chicory, peppers, eggplant, zucchini, spinach, cauliflower, and onions. They planted rows of fruit trees including apples, pears plums, peaches and cherries.

There were grapevines and berries and they even had a henhouse to produce fresh eggs. I remember spending many hours helping my dad and grandpap fertilize, plant, water, and weed the garden. And I helped pick fruit and berries from the trees and bushes, eating as I picked. There is nothing better than a fresh tomato from the garden, or a ripe pear straight from the tree.

The one thing that I didn’t like to do was to collect eggs from the henhouse because the hens would squawk and peck at me. I would get nervous and end up dropping an egg or two. Then, I would cry because I broke an egg!

The rear basement porch of my grandparent’s house was also brick with wide cement caps that were perfect to sit and play on. But, one whole side was filled with herbs and spices planted in wooden crates. My grandparents grew their own basil, oregano, and parsley.

Like most Italian families in our town, my grandparents had a large kitchen in the basement. This is where the family gathered for meals. The smaller upstairs kitchen was rarely used for any serious cooking. Next to the basement kitchen was a laundry area and a section where they cured and dried certain meats. There was also a cold cellar where my grandpap stored his homemade wine barrels and my grandma stored all the fruits and vegetables from the garden that she had canned.

Food Purchases

Most purchased food items in my grandparent’s house came from the Strip District in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is a one-half square mile shopping district full of ethnic grocers, produce stands, meat and fish markets and sidewalk vendors. This is where they purchased fish such as Baccala, Smelts, and Calamari; meats such as Prosciutto, Capicola, Mortadella, Salami and Pancetta; and cheeses such as Provolone, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pecorino-Romana, Mozzarella, and Ricotta. They also bought their imported olive oil in large five-gallon cans in the Strip District.

One thing that I cannot remember seeing very often at my grandparent’s house was sugar or any type of sweets. The only candies that I remember seeing were those individually boxed Torrones (a European nougat confection, typically made of honey, sugar, and egg white, with toasted almonds or other nuts), that they purchased for the holidays. I rarely ate any of them since I didn’t really like the way they tasted. One treat that we had on special occasions and that I still love is Pizzelle (Italian pronunciation: [pitˈtsɛlle]. These are traditional Italian waffle cookies made from flour, eggs, sugar, butter or vegetable oil, and flavoring (usually anise or anisette).

Come Here and Eat

The Italian word for eat is “mangia” (pronounced: MAHN-jyuh). It was a word that I heard often growing up with my Italian grandparents. I was a skinny child and my grandmother was forever trying to fatten me up! She would be so happy if she could see me now! But, I understand now that to my grandparents, having some meat on your bones meant that you were eating well, and feeding their family well was a vital part of their Italian tradition. I am so grateful that while they were so determined to do things the American way, they gave me a love of their traditions, especially Italian food!

As my grandmother would say in Italian “Vieni qui e mangia” (come here and eat)!

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