THE DAIRY LADY
Many years ago, my grandparents, Guiseppi & his wife, Salvina, fled Sicily because of bad times for them as owners of an olive oil business. There were many stories handed down over the years, but poverty was in their future had they stayed in Sicily. I’m so glad they left the bad times behind and invested in a future in the United States of America, and our great state. It was primarily because the south Louisiana climate was similar to Sicily’s, and it helped that Uncle Charlie, whoever he was, came to Berwick first.
The property where Guiseppi’s Park is located is where the old Guzzetta Dairy used to be in Berwick. My Grandmother Salvina from the old country of Sicily took care of the cows, goats, and chickens. She also had a garden where she grew Japan plum, fig, olive, and banana trees. She grew corn, tomatoes, faves, sugar cane, grape vines, and other vegetation common to the Sicilian climate.
She’d wake early every day and walk to the dairy from her home on the corner of 3rd Street and Pacific to milk the cows and shuck the corn. When my dad would claim he had to walk 6 miles in the snow to milk the cows and shuck corn before school, it was only a few blocks! Oh, how he and his brother, Nina Guzzetta (Recollections of Berwick), could exaggerate trudging through snow for long distances! But I do believe they milked cows and shucked corn, if Grandma Salvina could find them!
& THE SHOEMAKER
My Grandpa, Guiseppi “Joe” Guzzetta, was a shoemaker. He made and repaired shoes for the community in his shoe shop which was an exterior room connected to his home. I guess you could say he was the ‘stay at home dad’ while Grandma worked outside the home at the Dairy! Boy were they pioneers who worked hard to provide for their family!
Joe’s Logo Letterhead
