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• 1 2018-04-30T13:48:20-07:00 Seamstress in SF 7 Dominic Gialdini google_maps 2018-05-07T05:00:34-07:00 37.725149N, -122.435571E Before marrying Arthur Gialdini (son of Giuseppe) on September 5, 1955, Maria lived at 40 Norton St. in San Francisco for a number of years with her family. On January 31, 1950, she submitted her declaration of intention to become an American citizen, which  she ultimately achieved on May 10, 1955. On her declaration, it states that her occupation was "housework." While this may have been the case, she also spent some time working as a seamstress in San Francisco. As she had no formal education past the fifth grade, she made use of the skills that she had learned in Italy in order to provide sustenance for herself and financially help out.
  
  Her community in San Francisco was the product of chain migration. In addition to her relatives, she had a circle of Lucchese friends. Among the community from Lucca was a man named Alfredo Lunardi, who opened up an Italian supermarket with the help of Nonna's brother, Domenico. Domenico was eventually bought out (before Lunardi's became a great success), and as a result he had nothing to show for it. 
  
  After marrying Arthur, the two eventually settled in San Carlos, CA, where I spent my childhood. Around the house during the time that my dad was growing up, the spoken language was Italian. It was not until they went to school that my dad and zio learned English, which corresponded with when Nonna learned the language, as well.
  
  Maria was a housewife. Even in her later years, she always kept her house in pristine condition, cooked large family meals, and cared for me and my siblings when my parents were at work. With her passing on April 2, 2014, a bit of the old world was lost, and with it difficult memories that I should have done more to preserve.