It is a tradition in the family that Thanksgiving Dinner is at Rose & Joe’s home.  We have hosted Thanksgiving dinner every year since we were married in 1970.  It began with just Rose’s parents and then expanded year  after year to include more of the family.

During the early years of our marriage when we lived our home in Carteret, the family included mostly Rose’s “Ciaccio” family plus Rose’s parents and Joe’s parents and brothers and of course our daughter Rosalie. The “Ciaccio’s” would arrive early from New York where they lived (Uncle Joe, Adeline, and their son Jimmy, Uncle Jim and Aunt Irene, Uncle Mike, Uncle Andrew and Helen, and their daughter Carmela).  We would start with appetizers and Uncle Joe’s “bloody mary” drinks. It would then continue with a full dinner beginning with a turkey soup course, followed by the traditional thanksgiving feast with turkey and all the trimmings. Later it moved to the dessert course and finally to the large variety of liquors that Uncle Joe gave to us from his ship’s ports of call.   The day went from around 10 am to 9 pm and of course everything was home made by Rose and her mom.

As the Ciaccio family passed away, Thanksgiving became smaller with only Rose, Joe, Rosalie, Rose’s mom, Joe’s Dad, Mike and Rick.  For many of these years Fr. Dave Brown from St. Joseph’s church would join us for dinner.  He was so comfortable being here and everyone enjoyed his presence. One year we especially remember is when Fr. Brown was released from the hospital on Thanksgiving day and still made to our home for the Thanksgiving dinner  tradition.  Of course he sat in a chair and fell asleep between courses but who could blame him.

The Thanksgiving Dinner then began to slowly grow as Mike married Tammy and Rick married Patty and starting having their children (Kristin, Jackie, Dana, and Mark).  It stayed this size for many years until the Rick’s children started having their own families.

Photo from Thanksgiving during the 1980’s in Carteret.  Shown are
Marge, Dom, Tammy, Mike, Fr. Brown

Now, it has grown once again to include all the Ragucci clan including Rosalie’s family, Kristin, Jackie,  and Dana’s family, Rick’s wife Debbie, and the other family changes that have happened over time.

Photo from Thanksgiving 2016 in Edison.  Shown are the whole Ragucci clan in the sunroom.

This is a collection of stories related to my school attendance through the years.  This post is on my college years.

I knew for a long time that I wanted to be an electrical engineer.  I think it was a love of math and science combined with seeing and hearing what Warren, Uncle Tony, and my father did in this area.

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This is a collection of stories related to my school attendance through the years.  This post is on my high school years.

When I started high school, the Township of Woodbridge was undergoing tremendous growth in schools due to the “baby boomers” that came when the families started after World War II.  I was part of that generation.  As a result I moved around a lot from school to school.

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This is a collection of stories related to my school attendance through the years.  This post is on my elementary school years. Continue reading →

When our wedding date was approaching, we needed a place to live.  Uncle Tony was working at a 2 family house in Carteret that was being renovated into 2 apartments.  We talked to the landlady and convinced her to let us do the finishing touches (like paint) in exchange for a few months rent.  The rent was also very cheap ($125/month) which was great since we were still going to college.  Thus, the downstairs apartment at 12 Christopher Street became our first home. Continue reading →

Recollections of Rosalie Ragucci-Cook

My parents went to the Poconos for their honeymoon because it was all they could afford.  The following year, they went to Bermuda.  It rained the first day and my mother recalls sitting in her room writing postcards.  She wrote “It’s beautiful here!  The weather is gorgeous!” because she knew that it would be beautiful by the time they got the post cards.  Continue reading →

(Recollections of Joe Ragucci – recorded 1/12/2005 by Joe Ragucci)

Growing up, the bicycle was a big deal because it gave me a great deal of freedom.  Over the years I had many bicycles, but ran each one to the ground since they were always in use.  I remember constantly repairing bicycles, whether it be fixing flats, or repairing broken chains, or greasing the rear axle gears, or straightening frames.  It was a constant job.  I remember one bicycle that was in really bad shape so I repainted it florescent orange.  It really stood out and glowed in the dark.  I felt so cool. Continue reading →