Dear Photograph, My Mom, a young girl in her twenties, had lived an impoverished life in German-occupied Italy during WWII. Her fiancé was a member of the resistance and he was tortured and killed. Life as she knew it was over. Until one day in April,1949 that my Dad (age 51, had moved to the US from Germasino, Italy in 1921) came by her house to visit with family members. It was a chance meeting as he was about to leave to return home when he saw her. He always said he watched her walk down the staircase and knew at that moment she was the one. He had never married, was hard working and had built a new life for himself in the United States after his father deserted him and his mother when he was just a baby. Mom always said he rescued her, just like a prince would, and took her away to live in California. They had two children all the while living happily ever after, until cancer took them both…just 53 days apart. As I stood in the shadows of yesterday where they once walked on their wedding day August 5th, 1949 the energy was palpable and powerful. Thank you both for life and for all the stories that keep me connected to you and my heritage. Your legacy lives on ….I will never forget. Oliva

Dear Photograph,
My Mom, a young girl in her twenties, had lived an impoverished life in German-occupied Italy during WWII. Her fiancé was a member of the resistance and he was tortured and killed. Life as she knew it was over. Until one day in April,1949 that my Dad (age 51, had moved to the US from Germasino, Italy in 1921) came by her house to visit with family members. It was a chance meeting as he was about to leave to return home when he saw her. He always said he watched her walk down the staircase and knew at that moment she was the one. He had never married, was hard working and had built a new life for himself in the United States after his father deserted him and his mother when he was just a baby. Mom always said he rescued her, just like a prince would, and took her away to live in California. They had two children all the while living happily ever after, until cancer took them both…just 53 days apart. As I stood in the shadows of yesterday where they once walked on their wedding day August 5th, 1949 the energy was palpable and powerful. Thank you both for life and for all the stories that keep me connected to you and my heritage. Your legacy lives on ….I will never forget.
Oliva