Vol 4-2, Maria's copy2(R).pub (Read-Only) - Filicudi.org

PAGE 6 LA CANNA SIREN VOLUME IV ISSUE 2
Salina, (Continued from page 5)
walked to the church up very
steep roads and saw the procession
with some men carrying a
life-size statue of Saint Joseph
from the bottom to the top of the
hill, where they placed it in
front of the church. A couple
dressed up as Mary and Joseph
and a small boy representing
Jesus also walked in the procession,
as well as the town's people
who carried special foods
they had prepared just for the
occasion. Finally, when they
reached the church where tables
were set up, everyone gathered
to eat. After the ceremony we
went behind the church and
found 1 via Fontana where the
Ravisis had lived in 1983, but it
was now vacant and repainted.
We learned that the town is hoping
to make it into an herb/plant
museum because Salina is a
natural preserve, boasting more
plant varieties than the other
islands.
On Monday morning at
breakfast we met Clara Rametta,
who with her husband Michele
Carusso, owns the hotel, and she
took us to the town hall where
we found birth records for our
grandfather, Francesco Mandile,
born in 1878 and our grandmother,
Anna Sadoti, born in
1880; we found both in the same
book. Until that moment we
never even knew where our
grandmother was from. Later
that day Clara brought us to the
Museum of Eolian Emigration
and explained the history of
Salina and why people had to
leave the islands: the pumice
market was depressed and at the
same time, the filosera insect
devastated the grape crops. The
economy of the islands went
bust. We then left Clara and
visited the cemetery where we
discovered that Bernardo Ravisi
and his wife had died in 1985.
We recognized them by their
photos, placed in their headstones,
and felt so lucky that we
had met them in 1983.
When we visited Salina in
1983 it was so hot and dry that I
never wanted to return, but visiting
in March made all the difference,
so green and cool and
inviting. It was just perfect the
second time around! Next time
we will stay much, much
longer.
statue of Santo Stefano. The
faithful then joined in a procession
of the statue to celebrate a
mass held in the air-conditioned
chapel, located on the premises.
Father Mandile gave a lively
homily which was apropos to
the occasion upon which we
honor our patron saint, the first
Christian martyr, St. Stephen,
whose remains are believed to
have washed up onto the shores
of Filicudi sometime around the
5 th (Picnic, Continued from page 1)
century and now lie in repose
at the Church of San Lorenzo in
Rome. St. Stephen, one of the
first deacons of the church, was
selected to minister over displaced
persons in need of spiritual
guidance and charity.
The guests then enjoyed a
delicious feast featuring a variety
of Italian fare prepared by
individual families, who passed
around samples of such traditional
delights as homemade lasagna,
minestrone, eggplant parmesan,
chicken cutlets and
sfingi. Society members took
turns grilling hotdogs, hamburgers
and Italian sausages while,
replete with fluttering dollar
bills that the faithful had pinned
on it, the statue of Santo Stefano
stood watch.
After lunch a number of
contests engaged the children:
tossing beanbags through various
size openings, and foot
races. The highlight of the afternoon’s
events, however, was a
heroic tug-of-war between rivaling
teams of determined children,
and then, of the macho
adults. No doubt, fans will wait
anxiously for the outcome of
next year’s rematches! Winners
of all contests were awarded
ribbons and prizes.
We are most grateful to
Carolyn Fenn, Administrator of
Maristhill, to the custodians
who set up tables, chairs, etc
and attended to our needs that
day, to the Maristhill Nursing
Home for so generously
offering their beautiful setting
for our celebration, and to
Father Dennis Wheatley, OFM
for allowing us to park our cars
in the Sacred Heart Church
parking lot. A heartfelt thanks to
Al Bonica, our magnificent
picnic chairman; Fr. Jack
Mandile, our generous society
chaplain; Angela Aucoin, our
efficient and enthusiastic
organizer and director of games;
our tireless grill masters,
Stephen Bonica and Phil
Giardina; Tom Taranto and
Gregory Rando who took
photos, and others who so
kindly helped to bring us all
together again and make this
year’s Santo Stefano Filicudi
picnic an enjoyable and
memorable day.