A trip down memory lane

My sweet and very dear friend Angela came to Birmingham last weekend and we attended the Beth Moore conference.  It was an amazing weekend full of praise and worship.  John Tanner and I rode back with her to Greenville, MS.  It was John Tanner's first time in the Delta. Mom and I went to visit Angela and her precious 3 kids in Leland.  It reminded me of old times when we use to "perform."  Wade was the grumpy camel in the church play and Katie Evelyn had a solo part.  I love watching confident and happy kids be themselves. Lots of love in this household....  KoKo and John Tanner got lots of one on one time while in Greenville!!  I got to sleep in:)! We met Jennifer and Angela at Sherman's for lunch.  We also ate at the new Pasquale's/Frostop with Laura, Becky, Ida, Toni, and Koko.  We all told stories about "the good ol' days" hanging out and eating at these places.  Lastly, we went to the cemetery and brought flowers and red bows to put along the graves.  I had NO IDEA Uncle Toni planted a tree when Mammaw Sophie passed away.  It's been a tradition to throw Mardi Gras beads in the tree and hang red bows on it.....only in Greenville can you get away with this:)!!  It was great sweeping the leaves off the graves, putting flowers out, seeing their names and remembering the times I spent with all of them as a child.  We remember.... Mammaw Sophie, Pappaw Kirby, Aunt Julia, Uncle Hoyt, Uncle Doyce, Aunt Alma, Baby Walter (Mom's baby brother that died at 9 mths old), Bobbie Ann, Uncle Jr., Aunt JoAnn, and my friend from high school Doug Faulkner and his dad Raymond Faulkner. We had to drive to the older section to find some of our other relatives.  As I read the names and looked at the dates on the tombstones, I couldn't imagine what life was like in 1866. A few weeks prior to this visit I received and email from Aunt Becky and it told the story of these relatives.  I love knowing about my relatives so.... thank you~ thank you ~thank you Aunt Becky for all your hard work on this!!     Enrico Mascagni Frank and Ida Mascagni IMMIGRANTS  TO  THE   U.S.A. from the Province of Bologna, ITALY: Is the United States really a "Land Flowing with Milk and Honey" ? I.  How did they get to America from Italy?    Enrico ["Henry"] Mascagni would be my Great, Great, Great Grandfather [on my Mama's side].      In the last l800s, money was tight, especially for farmers in Italy.  Bad weather had caused their garden crops to go bad.  Enrico's wife had just died, yet he had to support 3 young sons & one daughter.       A plantation owner in Lake Village, Arkansas,  heard of the hard times in Italy. So, he sent his Manager to the Bologna Province of Italy & "ads" [advertisements] were placed in the newspapers there, telling about the U.S.A. being a "land flowing with milk & honey".    The Manager also put up Notices around other Provinces in Italy, offering that any farmer could bring his familiy & would be given FREE rides on a cattle-boat to the U.S.A. - with a free-train ride on to the State of Arkansas.  Further, they offered that, after 2 years of working on his plantation-land, each farmer would be given 2 acres of land, which would be deeded to him at the END of that 2 years' worth of labor.   In the meantime, the owner offered to furnish a "roof over every head for each family, along with free vegetables to eat for the period of 2 years - in exchange for the farmer & his family's labor on the land. II.  Once they moved to the USA, how was      life for the Mascagni family?        After 2 years of living on the Sunnyside Plantation of Lake Village, Arkansas, USA,which was infested with mosquitoes,  the Plantation owner did NOT keep his word. Unfortunately, it had never been WRITTEN into a contract; therefore, the Immigrants were NEVER given the 2 acres per family, that had been promised.        Also, the weather was hot & humid & wet, with mosquitoes everywhere.  Within the first 2 years, many of the families lost children from either Yellow Fever or Malaria.    After being disappointed in Arkansas, Enrico brought his family across the Mississippi River  to Greenville.   Enrico's 3 cousins also brought their families to Mississippi.  Each of those families found jobs as "share-croppers." Within ten [10] years of being in the USA,3 of Enrico's 4 children died as a result of mosquito bites.  My Great, Great Granddad -Frank Mascagni, Sr. - was the only child who lived past l0 years in the USA. He always helped his Daddy with work on the farm & worked his way up to becoming Manager of the Farm & Dairy on Plum Ridge Farm. III.  What effect did the family have on the City, State where they lived in the U.S.A.?           During World War II, Frank & Ida's youngest son - Frank Jr. - volunteered  &served with the United States Army in Europe. Because the oldest son, "Buster" [Henry II] was a Farmer, he stayed in Greenville &amp, along with his Dad, Frank Sr., continued to grow vegetagles & raised chickens & pigs on their farms.  Frank Sr. also had a Dairy & raised milk cows.    During World War II, if  any family in Greenville, MS, NEEDED food, they were "welcome" to come out to the farm & gather as many veggies as they wanted.      Right after WWII, Frank Sr., & 2 others from Greenville, MS., opened Greenville Daily &Products Company -- it was the FIRST PASTEURIZED MILK PLANT   in the city. The citizens of Greenville were happy to be able to get pasteurized milk.December 9, 2010