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'Without family you are nothing'

Memoir of Rutland's Sicilian community hits home

The magic of memoir occurs when a personal story touches upon or parallels that of a wider audience. It's as if the writer's story becomes the reader's.

Sandra M. Levesque has accomplished that bit of literary magic in her family memoir, "Under a Fig Tree," the story of her grandparents Antonia and Francesco Paolo Scafidi, as well as the Scafidi family, the broader Sicilian community of Rutland and her childhood in that community. Levesque tells a personal story, yet it echoes the experiences of so many who emigrated to America from Europe.

She's hearing from readers that "it's not just your story but mine too, which I love to hear," Levesque said in an interview in her circa 1826 home in rural Randolph, where she has lived for 37 years and raised her family. "It started as a legacy project because the way I grew up is a foreign concept to my children and grandchildren."

Levesque constructs the narrative from stories handed down, letters and personal papers, along with extensive research that included trips to Ellis Island in New York City and the small Sicilian city of Randazzo, once home to many in Rutland's Sicilian community.

The seeds of "Under a Fig Tree" were planted five years ago when Levesque participated in two writing workshops with Garrison Keillor, of "Prairie Home Companion" and Lake Wobegon fame.

But in reality, Levesque began the process while sitting at her Nana's kitchen table as a young girl, the first grandchild born to the four daughters of Francesco and Antonia Scafidi.

"I was one of those little kids who loved to hear stories, I couldn't get enough of them, and loved to tell stories," Levesque said. "Even though all the people in my world had an Italian grandmother — that was fairly ordinary — I found her so mysterious and so stoic."

Levesque watched her Nana's every move, studied how she made the traditional cookies, baked the bread and tended her kitchen garden, memorizing every detail. With only one house separating her home from her Nana's on Cherry Street just west of downtown, Levesque found refuge and solace at that kitchen table.

"I started this as a way to get down on paper this wonderful woman, who I didn't want to forget and didn't want others to forget …," Levesque said. Stories of earlier generations had come down through her Aunt Jata (Concetta), who died this summer at age 85, shortly before the book was published. "When I went back to the old neighborhood, all that was there was Bellomo's Store. The neighborhood had vanished, the people had vanished. I thought it was important that I get it down."

Levesque had a revelation: that it was no longer only her Nana's story, but also encompassed a way of life in a neighborhood that no longer exists, drawing in the schools, the church, the markets.

She had to bring it all back home again. She writes about her Catholic upbringing and education at St. Peter's School and Mount St. Joseph Academy, taught by the Sisters of St. Joseph. She depicts the life of a kid growing up in the 1950s, when children went home from school for lunch. And she offers sketches of the men and women of the neighborhood.

It's all there in a lovely 223-page book, with more than 100 photographs, recipes, maps and letters. Levesque presents us with a work that has released a flood of memories for many people.


Whirlwind romance

It all started, as the book's title heralds, "Under a Fig Tree." That is the spot where Francesco Paolo met Antonia in the years after World War I, when he worked for her father during the grape harvest. The workers gathered at noon in the fig tree's welcome shade to eat lunch, brought by the women, and in the evening would reconvene there for campfires, songs and stories.

She tells of a whirlwind courtship and the couple's voyage in 1920 to America, the land of opportunity, through Ellis Island with all of its immigrant tragedies, ultimately to Rutland. Francesco Paolo had previously worked and lived there in the small but growing Sicilian community that was drawn largely by job opportunities in marble quarrying and related industries.

When she started writing, Levesque struggled with finding the proper voice for the narrative and how to "connect the dots," or flesh out the story in those murky areas between points where she had solid facts.

Should she stand outside and be the narrator, or should she be channeling her grandmother? Levesque asked Keillor. His answer was immediate and clear: You're the storyteller; it's your voice.

"I didn't want to lie, but he told me, 'It's not a lie if you did the research. You are in the best position to fill in the blanks. That's your editorial license.'"


'Priestess of Storytelling'

The final bit of advice Keillor imparted was for Levesque to give herself the time and dedicate it daily to the book.

Being a morning person, Levesque was in her home office at 5:30 a.m. for at least three hours. Armed with coffee and her organizational ability, she departed on her three-year memoir voyage. In many ways Levesque's career in public relations, marketing and event management had her well prepared. "I do projects — that is what I do," she said. "This became my project."

Levesque found that her Aunt Jata, whom she calls the "High Priestess of Storytelling," was her key collaborator. She was blessed with a remarkable memory, had learned to read and write Italian, and was the family correspondent to those who remained in the old country.

The two talked several times each day, drawing out stories, firming up recollections, unearthing bits and pieces of the story. Levesque retrieved a box of photographs, letters and documents from her sister Judy, and they set about identifying this and fitting in that. She was also fortunate to have a friend who was an Italian scholar, and his skills were priceless.

"I was actually able to identify the people in the photographs. It took a long time, but I would say, 'Ah, oh, ah!' over and over again," she said. "Then my aunt would call and say, 'I found Papa's military records.' That's how it went. It was just unearthing. My Aunt Mamie would have something, a cousin would put the word out — it had to exist somewhere. And the trip to Sicily was invaluable."

As always there was some luck involved, but Levesque had the goods. It was only a question of sorting it out and writing it down.

"What I found, I guess the stars were aligned," she said. "You know how that happens when you open yourself up — stuff just starts coming."


Proverbs to write by

Once she had the story, she had to figure out how best to get it published. She decided against seeking a publisher since she wanted "ownership" of the project. Instead she self-published through Amazon.com's Create Space and has been doing the publicity and distribution herself, using her years of experience and contacts.

Levesque was hands-on in putting the book together, although she got help with the design.

The front and back cover images include her grandparents' wedding photo, a view of the Sicilian village that is the original home of the Scafidi family, and a photo of the marble industry, to which almost all Sicilian immigrants in Rutland are somehow connected.

She also wanted a motif to head the chapters, which she intentionally kept short, and she and her designer settled on a fig leaf and fruit cluster under which is a short Sicilian proverb written in the language and translated.

For example, on Chapter 8, headed "Return to Randazzo," is the proverb "Senza famiglia non sei niete: Without family you are nothing."

Levesque said she has received volumes of e-mails and letters from those who have read her words and related to her family's story.

"I would say to anyone who wants to write a memoir, you're home free. The day that I started and put in Francesco Scafidi into the Ellis Island (Web) site, I was very frustrated it took a few hours (to get results). In hindsight, why was I frustrated with a few hours?

"When his name popped up, I was breathless, and that's how it went."