Legacy
1 As a young child, I remember listening to stories about Angelo Pagano, my great-grandfather who emigrated from Italy to the United States in the early 1900s. I had always envisioned him traveling on a ship like the Titanic, sailing across the Atlantic in a luxury liner to his new home in America.
2 Those fanciful images faded one warm autumn day when, as I was cleaning out the attic, I uncovered a collection of old letters tied together with a worn green ribbon. The paper was yellow and dry and started to crumble as I touched it. As I carefully untied the ribbon and unfolded the top letter, I realized the writing was Italian. My knowledge of the language is limited to spaghetti and espresso, but from the greeting at the beginning of the letter and the signature at the end, I could tell that the letter was written by my great-grandfather to Sofia, his beloved wife and my great-grandmother. Immediately, I decided to have the letters translated into English so that I could learn more about Angelo and the rest of my family.
3 A few weeks later, I received the translations. I learned so much about my family and about my heritage through Angelo's words. I learned about a man's hopes for a better future. Here, these few letters offer a small glance into his past, and my present.
4 The letters continue in a similar fashion until Sofia, their two children, and Sofia's mother finally arrive in New York in 1932. Angelo continued to work in construction, and Sofia earned money as a seamstress. It would be years before they made their journey west and purchased a small farm where they grew fruits and vegetables and raised chickens.
5 Pagano's farm, Angelo's legacy, has sustained four generations of Paganos. I placed the translations of the letters on top of the fragile yellowing letters, retied them with a fresh green ribbon, and returned them to the attic. They could wait there so the next generation could discover their history. I hoped that they would be as inspired by Angelo's words as I had been.
6 Farming was a difficult life, but the optimism and determination I had read in Angelo's letters inspired me to go out once again and sink my hands into the rich soil and plant sweet basil.