Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

My first cousin, who is more like a sister to me, now owns our paternal grandparent’s house off Holland St. between Teele Square and Davis Square.

Cha-Ching! Not so fast! We are a very passionate, nostalgic, and emotional bunch. Since her mom (my dad’s sister), who lived there her entire life, passed in March at 94 years young, decisions had to be made.

There has never been a non-family member living in that house since Grandpa Giuseppe purchased it in 1918. Legend has it that he paid around $2,000. That’s what I call a very good investment!

Very few expecting mothers back then went to hospitals to give birth. My dad, the oldest, and all but one of his siblings were born right in that house.

The yard, which was the happy scene of 100 years of kids, grandkids, and great grandkids, remains almost exactly the same. Four generations enjoyed family parties in the yard with Auntie hosting her famous pizza parties well into her 80’s.

How lucky were my children, fourth generation, to be able to not only know my loving aunt but to be able to also enjoy their great grandparents’ backyard? Two of my three kids never knew either of my parents, as they passed before they were born, but were lucky enough to spend lots of quality time with their Auntie.

She was a lot like my dad and had a keen memory. We heard hundreds of touching and funny family stories about the early years. She kept the house going along with my uncle, her husband, who we lost in the 1990’s.

Auntie was born in that house, and peacefully passed there, surrounded by the very adult nephew (me), great nephews, and especially close great niece, who she loved, entertained and nurtured.

The grapevine and gooseberries that we enjoyed as kids are still intact and prospering in the yard.

So the house stays in the family. A million dollars is nothing compared to millions of warm and happy memories.

Gladly, my cousin has also inherited her mother’s incredible memory and has hundreds of happy and serious stories to pass down. We remain incredibly close and speak several times a day and do fun stuff a lot. We also still hang around with all those kids I mentioned.

A fifth generation, my daughter’s children who knew and loved Auntie, will hear the wonderful stories and be able to visit the house where their great, great grandparents started it all. They can also try the grapes and gooseberries.