Albin - Prologue. Prologue

In 1880 in a small village in Northern Italy, a woman of an undetermined age is considered by the villagers to be a ‘seer’, (also called a 'Strega’ which is Italian for ‘witch’), who divines or has 'visions’ of the future. Villagers simply call her ‘Nonna’ or 'Grandmother.’ No important decisions were made without her input.

As was the custom, the men of the village met on Saturday evenings over a glass of wine. Normally the conversation centered around the weather and quality of the wine. But this Saturday was different. One of the men received a letter from his brother who lived in England.

According to his brother, nine years after the end of the Franco-Prussian war, there is noise and rumors about the possibility of another war coming to Europe.
The men decided that if this was true, their Nonna would know. So two of the men went to her to see what she knew and would tell them.

Walking up to her door, they were surprised that the door opened before they could knock. They asked her what she knew about the possibility of a war in Europe. She went into a trance, and staring she said: “A terrible great war is coming that will affect all of Europe.” She then blinked, as if awakening from the trance, and asked the men what they wanted. Surprised, they told her why they had come to see her and what she had said. She didn’t speak for a few minutes but then replied: “Go and prepare. War will come and you will be a part of it.”

The men left and when they met their group, they told what she had said. One of the men said they should all move away. When asked where, if all

of Europe would be involved, the answer they got was, “We need to move to America.” Not all of the men agreed, they worked hard for what they had and weren’t ready to give it up. Angelo Merino, one of the group, said he wasn’t going to stay in the village, and perhaps have to fight in the war, so he decided he, his wife, and 3-year-old son Angelo Jr were going to America.

Over the next several weeks, Angelo made preparations to leave. He searched for a boat to sail to America and the cost of such a trip for him and his family was very high. Although a skilled mason, Angelo worked every job he could find, regardless of the complexity, sold off anything they didn’t need and finally he sold his home. Now he had to find a horse and wagon to take him, his family, and what items he wanted, to the coast. During this time, he checked to see what boats were leaving and their departure schedule. Of course, he had to see his grandmother for her blessing.

When the day arrived, the villagers wished him well and told him to write to them. They helped him load the truck, waving goodbye, and with tears, they left the village. They arrived on the coast in the evening and had accommodations at an Inn. In the morning, Angelo looked for the Captain of a boat that was preparing to leave. Approaching the Captain, he booked the trip for him and his family. The boat had just missed the tide, so they planned to leave the next morning and Angelo and family had to be there before the sun was up.

Excitement was high, except Angelo’s wife was concerned. Giulia was pregnant and she was hoping the child wouldn’t be born on the boat. As planned, the ship sailed as light broke. Angelo was smiling, his family would be safe. Three weeks later, the boat docked in America and Angelo was happy. He was in North America only the country he was in was Canada. He didn’t know that America was the name of a continent that had a lot of countries.

Happy, his family is safe from a European war, he found a home and started to look for a job. By trade, Angelo was a mason. It didn’t take him long to

find small projects and these led to larger projects. He was making a good wage, his wife presented him with a girl they named Victoria, in celebration of being in ‘America’.

Over the next years, Angelo and his family did well in Canada. So well, Giulia presented him with another son. The oldest son was named after Angelo and so this new son was named after his grandfather, Rudolfo, and ended up being called Rudy. When Rudy was five years old, Angelo heard about the United States and realized that America was a big continent. So plans were made for the family to move to the United States of America. But where in the United States should they go? One of their neighbors told Giulia that she had family that lived in Pennsylvania and they were pleased. They had a small home with a garden. Giulia missed the garden she had in Italy and she was ready to try out Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, whatever and wherever that was.

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