I was born in the Borough of Dunmore, PA. It was a working class town, which was mostly Irish, Italian and Polish. It's in the northeastern part of the state, which was a big coal region, so one thing my friends and I had in common was that our grandfathers and great-grandfathers were coal miners.
Dunmore, PA the home of my in-laws (not anymore). They lived on Bunker Hill. Rt 81 goes through where their house was. My wife's grandmother (Irish) married an Italian, whose family ran a boarding house for Italian coal-miners. She lived in the boarding house and learned to speak Italian. When I met her she was about 70 yrs. old. She had an Irish brogue and could speak Italian. You could listen to her stories of Bunker Hill for hours. The Irish brogue peppered with Italian curse words and a bunch that she made up. Quite a lady.
I know the area well. My first job was delivering groceries in 7th grade for a local grocer/butcher, named Vito Ianelli, and we had many deliveries in Bunker Hill. My friend, who also delivered groceries, and I were driven by a small, old balding man, known as Nick, the Greek. All I remember about him was that he would mumble to himself a lot, and would laugh occasionally for no apparent reason.
Recently, I stopped at a new lunch spot in Dunmore Corners, called Cara Mia (next to the Candy Kitchen, which is still in business, MC). The place makes phenomenol sandwiches, soups and breads. The menu included a note from the owner, who explains that in addition to studying the culinary arts in Hyde Park, she learned a great deal from her great-uncle Vito Ianelli.
I felt like asking her if she needed a delivery boy.
