Carmine Pitoscia was born on July 15, 1883 at Boiano, Campobassa, Italy. He was the son of Saverio Pitoscia and Maria Teresa Malatesta. On September 29, 1906, Carmine married Teresa Perrella , daughter of Ferdinando Perrella & Santa Nardella. Carmine immigrated on October 26, 1912 at the age of 29. There his cousin, Angelo Malatesta, of New York City, met him. Carmine soon found work in the railroad industry. Maria Teresa, age 29, appeared on the passenger list of S.S. San Guglielmo, traveling from Napoli. She was visiting husband Carmine Pitoscia, along with her son Domenico.
They settled in Camden, New Jersey, where Carmine worked for the NJ Atlantic MW&S (Railroad) and where two more sons, Alfredo and Pasquale, and a daughter, Maria, were born. Maria died soon after her birth. On September 26, 1918, Carmine & Teresa received their Naturalization Certificate together with their three sons. On March 29, 1919, another daughter, Maria, was born and then on December 15, 1920, they welcomed daughter, Carmella.
After saving enough money to start a new life, the family returned to Italy. However, their stay was short lived as they soon missed the modern conveniences of the New World, and after attending the wedding of Carmine’s nephew, Angelo Colaricci, they returned to the United States on May 22, 1922 with their five children. This time they settled in Waterford, New Jersey, where they welcomed their nephew, Angelo Colaricci , who immigrated on August 29, 1922. On November 7, 1922, their fourth son, Armond Pitoscia, was born.
The family again moved to Camden, New Jersey, where Mario Pitoscia was born on August 16, 1925. Carmine continued to work for the Penn Seashore line of the railroad, where he lost his eye when a spike accidentally hit him. He then became a track foreman until his early retirement in 1940 due to a hip injury, he claims was caused from a fall from a tree when he was a child. Carmine was able to read and write Italian as well as English and corresponded with his family in Italy and America, although he never returned there to visit.
The Pitoscia’s lived a modest life. While not wealthy, their needs were provided, with a nice home and enough food to feed the large family. Many traditions were carried to America from Italy. For instance, on Christmas Eve food was always left on the table in case a late night visitor would appear. Wine making was also continued in America. Every fall, during grape season, 30-40 boxes of grapes would be turned into four to five barrels of wine. The barrels would be prepared by loosening their rings before being filled with water in order to seal each barrel. A hand grinder would then be placed on top of each barrel, filled with the grapes to be turned into liquid. The fermenting would begin. After some time, the preliminary barrels would be drained into prepared sealed barrels, which were horizontally stored. The remaining residue called mesh would be put aside until all the preliminary barrels were drained. A squeezer would receive the mesh into its basket cage, where heavy blocks were placed atop while pressing the mesh liquid into a bucket, which would be added to the prepared wine barrels. This step was repeated until every drop of wine was extracted from the grapes. The wine would sit for several months until the sentiment fell to the bottom of the barrel until a clear sampling of wine was drawn and found to be suitable for drinking. Nothing was ever wasted. The boxes from the grapes were chopped and used for firewood to fuel the furnace along with discarded railroad ties brought home from the yards, which were cut to fit in the firebox.
Carmine was very active in the Roman Catholic Church. He served as a Sunday usher at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, an Italian-American parish in Camden, NJ. Soon he became a Trustee of the Church and assisted in many administrative duties for the parish. As an officer in the Holy Name Society of the Church he promoted Catholic teachings and provided many community functions.
Carmine enjoyed his time with family and friends. Sunday card games and sharing wine became a regular event. His strong faith helped him endure many hardships. The untimely loss of his three daughters especially affected him. Little Maria and Maria II both died during the diphtheria epidemic and his beautiful Carmella died of a cerebral hemorrhage on November 6, 1947 after a miscarriage at the age of 27. Alfredo died on February 6, 1929 of epileptic seizure and Pasqualle passed away on January 30, 1951 after suffering from bone cancer.
Carmine was blessed with eleven grandchildren and he reveled in their visits to him. All his grandchildren knew of his secret place in the dining room drawer where they could find a piece of gum as their special treat. Forced to walk with a cane, he would sit in his big chair and oversee the household.
In 1960 Carmine suffered a stroke, which eventually caused his demise on October 24, 1961 at the age of 78.
(P. Ettore)
