The ANNOTICO Report
There are about 50,000 Americans that have reached 100 years old!!!
[Della is from Green Ohio, near Bellaire, near Akron.
She is of the Usual Skin Color, and Definitively not
Green. :)]
Dodging soldiers during WWI, returning to U.S. penniless all part of life
The Akron Beacon Journal
By Jeffrey E. McCants
Thu, Aug. 04, 2005
The key to living to a long life may be endurance.
That seems to be the case when it comes to Mary Della-Bianca,
who has been
living for an entire century.
The resident of Green will celebrate her 100th birthday
on Thursday, Aug.
4, and will enter a club that includes only about 50,000
Americans.
Della-Bianca was born in Bellaire, Ohio, in 1905 to Italian
parents. But
when her father, who worked in a coal mine, became ill,
her family returned
to Italy so he could recuperate.
The next 32 years of Della-Bianca's life were spent away
from the States.
She was one of eight children who survived into maturity;
four siblings
died young.
Della-Bianca remembers storing apples in the attic during
World War I, and
the family even moved to another town ``to save ourselves.''
Family members
stayed inside whenever they saw soldiers coming, and
she was able to finish
only the equivalent of fourth grade before going off
to work to make money
for her family.
She worked many types of jobs, from housekeeper to factory
worker. At one
point, she worked in a battery factory, welding on the
tops of battery
boxes.
Once, when Della-Bianca and two friends found themselves
without a place to
stay, she ventured into a cemetery, where she found a
gatekeeper. He told
them that he had a single bed available, and the trio
shared it.
In 1936, Della-Bianca returned to the United States. Her
aunt had written
to her about Venanzio Della-Bianca, who lived in Akron
and was a ``good
man.'' Because she was born here, Della-Bianca had no
trouble returning.
She arrived in New York City by ship and took a train
to Akron. But she had
no money and no idea where she was going. A woman who
lived close by helped
her.
She and Venanzio were married on Dec. 31, 1936, and stayed
together nearly
six decades, until his death in 1994.
Venanzio Della-Bianca worked at Goodyear, but during the
Depression, he
worked just two days a week. To make up for the loss
of money, Della-Bianca
had a garden. The couple also ran a home business called
Della-Bianca
Aviary, where they sold canaries through the mail. The
two continued the
service and their garden through their retirement.
Today, Della-Bianca lives with her daughter and enjoys
being both a
grandmother and a great-grandmother. She stays active,
cleaning with a dust
mop and washing lettuce for salads at home in Green.
She likes watching the Travel Channel and religious stations,
but doesn't
care for some of the other channels. ``I can't stand
it, the fighting and
killing,'' she said.
Arthritis in her back keeps her from some of the things
she enjoys, like
gardening. ``My back, it kills me,'' Della-Bianca said.
But she'll soon
have therapy to help her back feel better.
``The doctor, he takes care of me,'' she said.
To celebrate her birthday, family and friends will go
to Mass at Queen of
Heaven Catholic Church, then have dinner back at the
house.
But she doesn't want any presents and she means it. The
party invitations
make it clear, she wants the presence, not presents,
of her family and
friends.