A very special milestone will be observed on August 18 as my sister Joan and her husband Virgil Smith will be observing their 60th wedding anniversary.

 

I remember well the day they were married in 1956. I was going into my senior year of school and I was Joan's maid of honor. As most Italian families do we were planning a large wedding. First my aunts came in from Morgantown and they baked hundreds of cookies. We had the traditional shower before the wedding and mom and I worked a long time on getting the invitations addressed and mailed. Dad made arrangements for the wedding dinner to be held at the Clique Club.

 

The wedding took place at the St. John’s Catholic Church.  It was a beautiful traditional wedding and we made a lot of memories that day. Best man was our cousin Dr. Frank Oliverio and the wedding party consisted of members of our family and Joan and Virgil's friends   Memories that have lasted for 60 years.

 

A year and two weeks later they welcomed their first child Vincent and then along came Bridget and Vanessa.  Several years later they were joined by four grandchildren and now they have one great grandchild.

 

Over the last 60 years, like many of us, they have had a lot of ups and a few downs but too few to mention. Through it all they made it to celebrate this wonderful milestone.  A milestone that few people will ever observe. For many years Joan was the director of the United Technical Center and Virgil retired from a dental equipment business.  I want to congratulate them and wish them many more years together in good health.

 

My other sister, Cathy and her husband Dan will also be celebrating their anniversary on the same day. Many more to them.

 

A group of family and friends sponsored a weekend of fundraisers to help the family of little Flora Iaquinta George (the fondly call her Flo), who has been diagnosed with leukemia.  Her mother is the former Ali Iaquinta and the campaign has been named GO-4-FLO.  Dave and I along with my son Michael, grandson Ben, Ben's mother Paula, and Jeff and Jeanie Jenkins and their family all attended the spaghetti dinner at St. James Gym. We had a wonderful time and got to see so many friends. 

 

You can always count on getting a great plate of pasta and meatballs at St. James.  Congratulations to the ladies and men of the St. James Parish who prepared the food.  If you would like more information on little Flora's progress or would like to donate contact Richard Iaquinta or Flora's grandmother, Sandra Iaquinta.

Once again you can find me glued to the television as the Olympics are being held.  I really enjoy watching these athletes.  I am most proud when the USA wins but I do respect the other countries as they compete.  I think about all the time these athletes have put into getting to this point. I look at those sculpted bodies with not an ounce of fat and I see muscles where I did not know we had muscles. I can only imagine how much time and effort these athletes and their families have put into getting to this point. I celebrate with every winner, especially if they are Americans and I feel the emotion that those parents who are watching from the stands feel. They all represent our nation well.

 

Between watching the Olympics I have found time this week to read a few Danielle Steele novels. My friend, Patty Martino, brought me one of her latest novels and while browsing through items at the PWA Rummage sale I found two more. I have quite a collection of her books but did not have any of the three I picked up. They were some of her best and I am happy to be back to reading again. I think my treatments have affected my eyes and now that I am done I will have to have an examination and get a new pair of glasses.

 

School will be back in session and I urge you to watch out for the students.  They will be excited to see their friends and may not be as observant as they need to be, so it will be up to us to have extra eyes for them.

 

Enjoy the rest of the summer and keep in touch with me at spanishqueen86@aol.com. Until next week "Now You Have Heard It through The Grapevine."