The Town of Roseto, PA
Growing up in the quaint Italian town of Roseto, Pennsylvania, was like living in a beautiful tapestry of connections. In a place where everyone knew everyone, your neighbors were often your cousins, and their neighbors knew your Grandparents and so on. The web of relationships extended far beyond the immediate family. You could hardly walk four houses down without your parents getting a phone call: “Rose saw Brenna walking with a boy by the ballpark!” It was a community where relationships were woven into the very fabric of daily life. It was a community that watched out for one another, weaving a safety net that made growing up feel almost magical.
A Foundation of Family and Friendship
I attended a small Catholic high school, graduating with a mere 33 classmates—one of the larger classes! I had known most of them since elementary school. This school, much like the town itself, held generations of our families.
Our school sat right across from the town’s Catholic church, where my Grandmother was a devoted member of the choir and the ladies Sodality. Sundays meant choir in the upstairs of the church and the warm embrace of familiar faces. “Oh, you’re Phyllis’s granddaughter!” they’d say, kissing my cheeks and leaving behind traces of bright red lipstick and strong perfume. I felt like a local celebrity in that church.
Sure, you might think, “That sounds nice, but you probably never got away with anything!” You’re right, but it created a sense of security that’s hard to replicate today. Growing up, I could walk to my best friend’s house or swim at my aunt’s pool without a care in the world. Everyone was watching out for me. Even if they gossiped, they were still looking out, ready to call my parents if something seemed off. The natives of that town could have been detectives! There would have been a timeline from my house to every house three blocks away that Rose told Joe who told Diane, who told Marie, that they saw me walking up the street with a giant inflatable alligator floaty on my back (because I refused to leave it at my Aunts pool for others to play with). In Roseto, it would have been nearly impossible to disappear off those streets.
The Heart of Our Community: Family Dinners
Family dinners were the heart and soul of our gatherings. Every Thursday and Sunday, we would meet at my Grandparents’ house for a feast of spaghetti, meat, bread, salad, nuts, and dessert. The smell of homemade sauce wafted through the air, creating an ambiance of warmth and love. The adults could sit for hours around the table eating and talking loudly over the television. The chaos of children running around and adults engaging in animated conversation was the soundtrack of my childhood.
My Nana and Poppop would fight over the dinner roll as usual, “Snooky!!” Nana would yell and slap his hand as he tried to grab her favorite end roll. That is his nickname, my Poppop. He always loved to annoy her. Nana would sit at the head of the long wooden table, holding her wine glass, tapping it with her fingertips, laughing as everyone told stories.
Even with our family’s occasional squabbles, when it was time to gather, differences melted away. One of my fondest memories was walking into their kitchen as a child, it was Easter. The aroma of cooking sauce came through the open screen window as you approached the house. Frank Sinatra’s melodies playing loudly. Always greeted with a great big hug and a wet kiss from Nana and lots of noise and fun chaos. A sense of belonging that wrapped around us like a warm blanket.
Rediscovering Community Today
A study was published in the “American Journal of Public Health” in 1992 called “The Roseto Effect”. Researchers studied Roseto, Pennsylvania over generations and discovered that its residents seemed to have lived longer, healthier lives than those in other places with less comorbidities.
The number one killer of Americans is heart disease, so why were the people of this town defying the odds and living well into their 80’s and 90’s with minimal episodes of heart disease?
They considered whether maybe it was the fresh food they were eating, since many of them grew fresh food in their own garden in the 1950’s and drank homemade red wine. While diet may have played a part, the research showed that the Rosetans diet overall was not all ideal. They drank quite a bit of alcohol and wine, the men smoked cigars, they ate foods high in unhealthy fats, like dried sausage and beef, plenty of pasta, carbs, and cheese galore. So if not for their diet or the red wine, then what was the difference?
Stout et al. (1964) stated: the authors suggested a possible explanation: “Their sensible way of life, with social support and close family ties reflecting Old World values, might act as a buffer against the deleterious effects of stress and life change.”
The real secret was community. They found that strong family ties and social support acted as buffers against stress—something we often overlook today. In our fast-paced world, many of us feel isolated, scrolling through social media feeds that can amplify feelings of inadequacy.
But community is still out there, waiting to be rekindled. It’s essential to reach out, talk to your neighbors, and connect with other parents in your area. Whether you’re planning a coffee date, organizing a playdate, or joining a local group, you’ll be amazed at how many people are craving the same connections.
Remember, it’s not about perfection—it’s about companionship and support. By putting yourself out there, you’ll find others who share your struggles, from feeding your kids pop tarts for breakfast to managing the chaos of daily life.
Let’s take a cue from Roseto. Together, we can rebuild the community spirit we all crave. Be the one to initiate the connection.
Vol. 58 No. 2 (2024): OENO One. The Roseto Effect: An Italian American. Version of the French Paradox? https://doi.org/10.20870/oeno-one.2024.58.2.7838
Bruhn, J.G. (1965). An epidemiological study of myocardial infarctions in an Italian-American Community. A preliminary sociological study. Journal of Chronic Diseases,18, 353-365. https://doi.10.1016/0021-9681(65)90039-1
