Memories & Stories

Grandpa’s Currency: Pigs, Prosciutto and Punchlines

  • Grandpa Magelli
Grandpa had a gentle sense of humor. 

Nickel’s Worth of Yeast, A Lifetime of Love

  • Grandma Magelli
Remembering the essence of Grandma Magelli.

High on the Hog

  • Aunts and Uncles, Grandma Magelli
The memory that always makes me SMILE is a weekend family reunion on Uncles Angel and Joe’s farm.

Etched in Stone: The Magellis’ Journey to Ellis Island

  • Grandma Magelli, Grandpa Magelli, The Maretas
If you visit Ellis Island, search for our relatives’ names.

The Little Pitcher That Sweetened Every Summer

  • Grandma Magelli
Nothing tasted sweeter to the Magelli grandkids than the refrigerated water from the Jewel tea pitcher.

Half a Million Gallons a Year, Zero Lumps of Coal

The feds couldn’t believe the depth of the operation

A Tower Watches Over 2,000 Years of History

Castel di Casio is Grandpa Magelli’s birthplace.

For Grandpa, Love Looked Like a Mushroom

  • Grandpa Magelli
It was spring and the “spongy”, or morel, mushrooms were ripe.

The Pasta Knife that Crossed an Ocean Ahead of a War

Hidden among his few belongings was a giant kitchen knife.

Provisions for Pasta and More

As a kid, I always knew we were going for a trip “down home.”

The Swanson’s Roots Trip to Italy

  • Castel di Casio, Harry Swanson, Theresa Swanson
It was the first time members of the American side of the family walked the village’s stone paths.

Grandma Knew Best: Dodging the 1938 Tornado

  • Aunts and Uncles, Grandma Magelli, Grandpa Magelli
The two-story family home of Biagio and Mary (Marata) Magelli was destroyed in the storm.

Picks, Lamps and Mules

  • Grandpa Magelli
With only a carbide lamp on his helmet, Grandpa Magelli toiled 500 feet underground in one of Illinois’ underground coal mines, loading chunks of black gold onto mule-drawn carts.

Eating Organic: Before it was Cool

  • Grandpa Magelli
Our grandparents were poor. Not destitute—but poor.

A New Life in America

  • Grandpa Magelli
In 1907, at the age of 16, Biagio emigrated to the U.S. with paternal cousins, Attilio, 17, and Amelio, 32.

The Magellis

Biagio Magelli

Mary Mareta Magelli​

From One Family Hearth, a Legacy Grew 

The Magellis carried the traditions of Italy into a new generation, raising twelve children on a coal miner’s wages. Nine of their children survived to adulthood, nurtured by Italian parents whose grit, remarkable cooking, deep love of family, and devotion to tradition made their home a gathering place—and their love a lasting inheritance.

The Maretas

They Crossed an Ocean and Planted Roots

In the early 1900s, our great-great-grandparents, the Maretas, left Italy for the promise of a new life. In Mark, Illinois, they raised six children, opened their home to coal miners, and worked their farm. Around their hearth, a family story began—one of courage, sacrifice, and hope carried across generations.

Stefano Mareta , his wife Theresa Lenzi, and their children

Aunts & Uncles

Angelo "Angel" Magelli

Rose Magelli Turigliatto

Stephen Magelli

Janette "Jen" (Magelli) Audo

Anne (Magelli) Anderson

Joseph Magelli

Peter Michael Magelli

Paul John Magelli

Theresa Marie Magelli Swanson

Diane Stephana (Kasich/Kasycz) Hoemeke

The Nine — Plus One: The Legacy

And then the story traveled on.

Nine Magelli children came of age carrying the strength, traditions, and love they inherited from their parents. and grandparents. And a granddaughter was a contemporary of the youngest Magellis and lived with our grandparents until the age of 15. Over the next 125 years, most would build families of their own, filling the branches of the family tree with scores of children and grandchildren.

Their stories are the living legacy of those who crossed the ocean.

From Italy to Illinois.
From farm and coal mine to family table.
From one generation to the next.

The journey began with the courage to leave home.
The legacy lives on in all who came after.