Recollections of Dominic Ragucci – 4/16/2010
Recorded by Joe Ragucci

I was talking to my Dad (Dominic Ragucci) about a page from the 1930 Census that I found with a record of the Antonio and Maria Ricucci (affectionately called the Uncle and Aunt from Elizabeth) who were living in Port Reading at the time.  My Dad began to talk about the Aunt and her “episodes” which I believe were due to epilepsy.   He said that he remembers when they were living in Port Reading and his family lived nearby that his Aunt would become a crazy person and all the kids would run away scared.  She would scream, and move uncontrollably eventually lying on the floor kicking and screaming until she passed out.  My Dad said that the only person who  wasn’t afraid was his mother (Grace) who would try to hold his Aunt’s  arms behind her back until the episode ended.  Everyone else, even her husband, wouldn’t go near her.  

Eventually, my Dad said a doctor came to their house who gave her medicine to talk that stopped these episodes.  My Dad said she took this medicine all her life and was freed of these episodes.   My Dad recalls, later in life, asking her why she still takes it.  She said no way would she stop because she was afraid her episodes would return.