Florence (Cavallo) Brown
(March 2003 -- El Cerrito, CA)

From where did your family emigrate and when? Who emigrated (self, parents, grandparents) and what were their names?
My grandparents on my mother's side emigrated to the U.S. in 1912 and 1914 from Torino, Piemonte. Vittorio and Angelina Dugoni. My mother, then age 21, came also. Maria Dugoni.

What led them to their destination (relatives already there, hopes of a job at a mill, mine, etc. Please explain)?
Presumably, hope for a better living.

Did they emigrate to another location before or after (Argentina, France, England, etc.)?
No.

Did they settle among other Piemontesi and were they members of a Piemontesi society (fraternal, mutual aid, etc.)?
They settled in the Italian neighborhood of North Beach, San Francisco. No memberships known to me. They were very quiet and private.

Did your family maintain Piemontesi traditions -- language, culture, history, cuisine, etc.?
Yes, we certainly maintained Piemontesi traditions: language, food, stories, culture. The dialect was (the) first language for my sister and me for at least five years -- till school.

Did your family return home to visit or to live after the initial emigration? Did they maintain contact with family back home?
They never returned to Italy. My mother kept in touch with cousins in Torino. My father kept in touch with his sister and family who had emigrated to Sao Paolo, Brazil.

Do you identify yourself more as American, Italian or Piemontese?
I identify myself as 1) American and 2) Piemonteis.

Have you visited your family's town(s) in Piemonte? What was your experience like?
Yes, I have visited Torino, Cavallermaggiore, etc., many times while my husband was stationed in France and Germany for 7 years. My experience was positive, as I tried to picture my parents' life there.

Have you studied your Piemontesi genealogy? Please explain why.
My sister Yolanda has studied the genealogy and even hired a person there to do it. Why? Just to see if they had always been Piemonteis.

Do you belong to the Piemontesi nel Mondo, Famija Piemonteis or any other organization?
I belong to Piemonteis del Mondo, reliving the dialect!