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From Bill Thayer's web site, http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Biographical/Diary/edited/1194/6.html#noteB .

My mother remembers that it was the Nov 4th celebration. Read the paragraph below. This might be the 5th anniversary of the end of WWI which would date the photo to 1923. The Monumento ai caduti in the town square has a dedication date of  1921 so its also possible that was when this photo was taken. Additionally, Nov 3rd is the feast day in honor of the patron saint of San Pietro Avellana, Sant'Amico.

Probably a school picture from about 1920-1922 of the school in Italy attended by Benilda Frazzini. Click on the image for a larger version. I'm sure my mother Benilda is in here somewhere. Today in San Pietro Avellana, they are, maybe, a couple of dozen children. All that remains open is an elementary school. For more about this and related pictures, click here. This postcard was also in the museum in San Pietro. There it was identified as a Fascist Demonstration.
In Jan of 2009, Concetta diCianno wrote: Ti invio questa foto perché ,nel riquadro se lo ingrandisci ,vedi mia madre  e mio padre identici alla foto  con il maestro  Scocchera ,quindi in questa zona ci deve essere anche tua madre ,perché facevano parte della stessa classe.	I send you this photo because, in the panel if you magnify it, you will see my mother and my father identical to the photo with the teacher Scocchera, therefore in this area there also should be your mother, because they belonged to the same class.
about 1922 Benilda Frazzini. From top right corner, down one row and she is third from the right. Just in front of the flag. The man in the photo is the schoolteacher named Giacomo Scocchera. Click on the image for a larger version. Click here for the photo with index numbers. This photo, taken about 1922  in San Pietro Avellana, shows my mother Benilda Albina Victoria Frazzini (index #12) with her school mates. Here is my mother, maybe 10 years old, a US citizen at birth who speaks no English and is not aware of the big changes coming in her life. Her father became a naturalized citizen in 1904 even before he married. At this point in her life, Benilda had seen her father only 2 or 3 times for short periods of months. Her father did what many Italian immigrants did, worked in the US (in his case, mines in MN and CO) for long years going back to Italy only to father children. Once enough money was saved and the proper paperwork completed, the entire family could be finally united in the US. In  my mother's case, this was four years after this photo was taken in 1926. The man in the photo was a well known school teacher in San Pietro Avellana by the name of Giacomo Scocchera. I have several photos of him and he is still remembered by the people of the town. My mother could not remember the names of any of the others in the photo. During my 2004 trip to San Pietro, I showed this photo to several of the oldest residents of the town but they could only identify one of the schoolchildren. See the emails below for more info from Concetta diCianno. We are fairly certain now that all of these children were born about 1912 and are in the same school grade. Licia diTella remembered that the last name of the second girl to the right of Scocchera is "Angelaccio" (index #5). For more about Giacomo Scocchera, click here. This photo was used on page 35 of Vincenza Scarpaci's book The Journey of the Italians in America. You can order a copy of Vincenza's book at Amazon.
In Dec 2008, Concetta diCianno wrote (computer aided translation into English in the next column): Ho guardato anche tutte  le foto ed ho trovato quella dove sta tua madre con il maestro Scocchera  ed ho riconosciuto tra le bambine in seconda fila a sinistra del maestro mia madre Frazzini Ester (n. 9) nata 1912, in alto il secondo bambino a destra  è mio padre Di Cianno Valentino (n. 18) nato 1912.	I have also looked at all the photos and I have found the one where your mother is with the teacher Scocchera and I have recognized to the left among the children in second line of the teacher my mother Frazzini Ester (No. 9) born in 1912, from the top right, the second child is my father diCianno Valentino (No. 18)  born 1912.
In Jan 2009, Concetta wrote: Inoltre ho individuato parte dei bambini che sono nella foto con il maestro       n.4      Frazzini Beatrice       n.7      Di Sanza Stella       n.11    Di Martino Elvira  (zia di Nando) questo perché ho analizzato tutti quelli nati nel 1912.	I have identifed some of the children that are in the photo with the teacher.         no.4 Frazzini Beatrice       no.7 diSanza Stella       no.11 diMartino Elvira (aunt of Nando) This because I have analyzed all those who were born in 1912.
In Oct 2009, Concetta wrote: Gentile Mark Sono tornata  a Campobasso dopo una lunga assenza trascorsa a S.P.Avellana dove ho avuto modo di contattare varie persone per poter individuare  le persone della foto del 1922 dovè c’è anche tua madre  e seguendo la tua numerazione ti posso confermare  i nomi di alcune persone: n.1 Colaianni Lidia n.2 Morelli Elvira coniugata Musilli Alfredo n.3 Di Sanza Elena n.4 Frazzini Beatrice n.5 Angelaccio Giacinta n.6 ?? n.7 Di Sanza Stella coniugata Buzzelli n.8 Labate Giuseppe coniugato Di Iullo Augusta n.9 Frazzini Ester n.10 ?? n.11 Di Martino Elvira  (zia di Nando) n.12 Frazzini Benilda n.13 Angiolina Morelli coniugata con Colaianni Luigi n.14 ?? n.15 ?? n.16 Di Iullo Amico coniugato  Bice Frazzini n.17 Carlini Igino coniugato Maria Colaianni  figlia di Amico Anselmo Colaianni e  Musilli Tersilla n.18 Di Cianno Valentino n.19 ?? Spero che ti sarà gradito questo messaggio. (p.S,. credo che potrai eliminare quello che ti avevo scritto prima  .grazie)	Dear Mark, I have returned to Campobasso after a long absence spent in S.P.Avellana where I have had the opportunity of contacting various people to be able to identify the people of the photo from 1922, where there is also your mother and following your numeration I can confirm you the names of some people: <<< See numbered list PS: you can delete what I had written you before. Thank you. Mark's notes: Here are some notes about some of the boys and girls that we've identified in this photo: No.1 Colaianni Lidia - aunt of my cousin Giuliano Colajanni. No.2 Morelli Elvira married Musilli Alfredo No.3 Di Sanza Elena No.4 Frazzini Beatrice No.5 Angelaccio Giacinta No.6 ?? No.7 Di Sanza Stella married Buzzelli - daughter of Domenico and Giovanna. Appears in the 1920 census from Mansfield, OH. In my family tree data base as person #8564. MIGHT NOT BE CORRECT No.8 Labate Giuseppe coniugato Di Iullo Augusta. Son of Carmine and Orantina Carlino. Did not come to the US. In my family tree data base as person #7164. No.9 Frazzini Ester - mother of Concetta diCianno, in my family tree data base as person #6656. No.10 ?? No.11 Di Martino Elvira  (aunt of Nando) No.12 Frazzini Benilda - my mother, in my family tree data base as person #3. No.13 Angiolina Morelli married to Colaianni Luigi No.14 ?? No.15 ?? No.16 Di Iullo Amico married Bice Frazzini - Bice may be in my data base as person #1985. No.17 Carlini Igino married Maria Colaianni  daughter of Amico Anselmo Colaianni amd  Musilli Tersilla. In my data base as person #8562. Never came to the US. Maria Colaianni was the niece of Ercole Colaianni with whom, my mother travelled to Ely, NV with in 1943. No.18 Di Cianno Valentino - father of Concetta diCianno, in my family tree data base as person #6658. No.19 ??
Here are some other people who were born in 1912 or 1913 that might be in this photo: Giudo diIullo  14 Mar 1912 Corrado Frazzini Verino diCianno  2 Jun 1912 Vincenzo Cinea Vera Carlini 12 Aug 1912 Liberta Carlini Annina Capone Adolfo Fraini  30 Oct 1913 Cristina Gatti
Aug 2014 - Photo received from Vince Frazzini (grandson of Rocco Sabatino Frazzini (b1879), son of Vincenzo Innocenzo Frazzini (b 1912)) Circled in the photo are Vincenzo Innocenzo Frazzini (b 1912) and his sister, Maria Frazzini (b 1910). So, depending on when this photo was taken, Vincenzo was about 10 years old and Maria was about 12 years old. Another amazing photo taken the same time as the other two on this page. So now, without a doubt, there must be many photos from this day in SPA history. Who are the rest of the kids in this photo? Who is the priest? Is he the teacher for this class? I don't think that he is my granduncle Sabatino Frazzini who served from 1903-1921, he does not have the Frazzini nose. So he might be the next priest, Liborio diCosmo who served from 1921-1946.
Date:    Thu, 21 Aug 2014 14:21:59 +0000 (UTC) From:    vfrazzinicomcast.net Subject:    Vince Frazzini Hi Mark,   As you know, I am having Mirella Ammirati checking into my Italian heritage in San Pietro Avellana before we make our 50th Anniversary celebration trip to Italy.  I will be visiting San Pietro Avellana the end of September and to say I am excited about it is an understatement.   Mirella mentioned that we may be distant cousins and that you have been in contact with Pat Frazzini's great grandson.  He has given you a lot of information about our Frazzini side of the family.  I would really like to see this info you compiled.  As you may know, my father Vince (Jimmy) Frazzini was killed in action in WWII and since then I have lost contact with most of the Frazzini side of my family.  It is a sad thing that has haunted me all my life.  To find relatives I have, and to be part of that family has been a dream of mine all my life.    I am from Youngstown, Ohio and currently live in Howell, Michigan, retired.  Time has gone by so quickly it is hard to believe.  It has been a long journey since I started in Struthers, Ohio (a suburb of Youngsown).   Mirella mentioned to me that she sent you a photo I sent her of my father's school in San Pietro Avellana and she told me you would like to publish that on your site.  Of course I give my permission to use that photo.  I have others of my family that I cherish but they are all from Youngstown, Ohio and I don't have others from San Pietro Avellana.  I will be looking up your site to see what you have about our Frazzini heritage.   I am so happy to have contacted you Mark.  Looking forward to your reply.   Vince Frazzini
Date:    Mon, 11 Aug 2014 18:46:21 +0200 Subject:    Help with a genealogy research about the Frazzini From:    Mirella Ammirati <southernitalytravelgmail.com> Hello Mark and Sally, My name is Mirella Ammirati, I'm from the Abruzzo region in Italy where I currently live. I'm writing you about the Frazzini family from San Pietro Avellana. I'm a genealogist and licensed tour guide and I run www.southernitalytravel.com, I'm specialized in private ancestry tours in Italy: http://www.southernitalytravel.com/en/Post/show/Genealogy-Tours http://www.southernitalytravel.com/reviews I'm now working on a research regarding Vince (Vincenzo Innocenzo) Frazzini, born in San Pietro Avellana on January 13, 1912. His father was Rocco Frazzini and his mother was Chiara Tonti.  However, I have no other information than this, just a picture that you can find attached. I was very suprised when I noticed that the picture was taken in same period and in the same school as Benilda Frazzini. I think they were from the same generation, born in 1912. Were they related? The few information I have is that Rocco Frazzini went to America alone and became a naturalized citizen of USA, 26 December, 1900.  He then returned to Italy and married Chiara Tonti, and had Vincenzo Frazzini. Vincenzo had 4 siblings: Rose, Mary, Pat and Joe. I don't know much about them, just that Mary was probably in the attached picture. Vincenzo was killed in action December 9th, 1944 in Germany in the Battle of the Hurtgen Forrest. Would you be so kind to help me understand how Vincenzo may be related to you? I'm going to San Pietro Avellana tomorrow morning and try to find out more information talking to the elders and historians of the town. Any help from you will be so much appreciated. Many thanks, Mirella Ammirati	Greetings, Here are my children, Maria and Vincenzo with their class. (rough translation)

Dedication of the Monumento ai Caduti in SPA

In Oct of 2014, our cousin, Concetta diCianno, sent me a photo which she describes as the 1921 Dedication of the Monument to the Fallen in SPA.

Concetta diCiaono wrote : ti invio foto dell'inaugurazione del monumento ai caduti di Spa  del 1921. la foto di cui mi parlavi nella tua email è sicuramente riferita ad una manifestazione fascista con tutti gli alunni delle scuole. Rough translation: I send you a reported photo to the inauguration of the monument to the fallen sort in 1921, the photo of which you speak to me has surely reported to a fascist demonstration with all the pupils of the schools of SPA.  The other photo she is referring to is the photo earlier on this page with all the children.

You can see more photos and postcards of the Monument to the Fallen  here and here.

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email :  markd@silogic.com
 
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