Saturday, May 12, 2012

Italian Farmers Of The Central Valley

I found the card above in a thrift shop. I had to pick it up, because I loved the image on the front. It brought to mind the pictures I had seen of my husband's grandfather and his uncles, shown in the two images below.
His grandfather is the one in the dark coat, and he and his two brothers were all farmers in Hanford, California. They grew grapes, apricots, and almonds, mostly, as he recalls. My husband also remembers how they would all sit around the dinner table and drink wine, and cut cheddar cheese off of a huge round of cheese that was purchased at a store that was also run by another family member.

The image on the card also made me think of the father of a dear friend of mine who grew up on an almond ranch in Escalon, California. I had the distinct pleasure of meeting her parents once many years ago at their home and we sat down and had a midday meal, and for the first time I had that "salad" with fresh mozzarella and garden-ripe tomatoes (does it have a name?) - yum. Anyway - that's it - just some memories. I may add more to this later when I have time - I am at work, on my break!

3 comments:

Mary said...

Oh, this is sweet!

yosemite faith said...

love this so much

Tina Dawn said...

Wonderful old family photos! Love that salad too, only I always add basil. That is how I had it the first time, and drizzled with balsamic vinegar. Mine was prepared by a Canadian immigrant... She is now a U. S. citizen, my friend Janet. LOL. Love T