Recollections by Joe Ragucci (in conjunction with other discussions):

One of my vivid images of Marge was sitting next to the telephone in the kitchen talking quietly to her sister or one of her phone friends.  The only place she ever went on her own was to her sisters who lived 4 blocks away.  But even that was rare.  The phone was her link to her world.  My father would find out the lies she told to people and when he confronted her she would act as if she never said it.

It was very common for Marge to get mad at Dom and not talk to him.  Many times he had no idea why.  When he asked her she would say “You know why!”.  I always found it weird when she was in one of these moods and someone would come to the house.  She became “jeckle and hyde” and would be totally normal while others were around and then immediately return to her isolation when they left.  She would still cook, clean, and care for everything but she just wouldn’t talk to anyone.

Marge would frequently tell Michael and Ricky that they should be more like me.  That’s because I would do whatever she asked and they wouldn’t.  It was common for her to say, Joe can you go to the store for me.  And I would always say yes. I would either walk, or more likely take my bike, and go to Foodtown or the bakery in Carteret for her. It was my chance to get away and I saw no reason to refuse.

Marge was always good to me but not to my friends.  I was never allowed to play with my cousins who lived a block away but could go to the playground or Marge’s parents and sisters house which was a few blocks away.  So I spend a lot of time with her family because I had no choice.  I would never tell her if I saw my cousins because she would get mad. It wasn’t until I became a teenager that it changed.

One vivid memory was when my Dad and I moved out of the house.  I remember him coming to Woodbridge High for me during the daytime and telling me that we weren’t going home.  Due to the gracious hospitality of Delores and Warren, we moved in with them.  I’m not sure how long we stayed there but eventually we moved upstairs our house with Aunt Mary and my grandmother. It was so strange being separated from my brothers.  They would come upstairs and plead with us to come back home. Eventually we did return but it was never the same.  I no longer felt a commitment to Marge’s demands.  I rarely went to the Minucci house and started spending lots of time with my Ragucci cousins.  Her power over me was gone even though I continued to treat her kindly and go to stores or do things for her when she asked.