Utica, Libraries, Family & Food

Sunday May 18, 2014

Lock 20, Erie Canal

This week has been busy with exploration, meeting and eating. On Tuesday we began with a stop at Lock 20 of the Erie Canal. It's a cold windy day and the canal is quiet, with no traffic, and only two women fishing off of the far bank.

For some reason I find locks fascinating. Maybe because it is such old technology, but still very useful. Maybe it's because I get a kick out of the idea of lifting a boat uphill. But today there wasn't much going on here.

We drove into downtown Utica and around  Peg and Pat's old neighborhood, which is looking pretty old. Once a beautiful, walk-able area is now decrepit and dangerous. "What keeps Utica alive?" I asked. "Nothing" was Pat's answer.

Utica Library

Library interior

We stopped at the Utica library and wandered a bit taking pictures. One of the Freitas grandfathers was a construction supervisor on the building and there was supposedly a plaque with the names of all those who worked on the library. We never found the plaque, and no one who worked there knew anything about it. The director of the library came out and spoke with us, apologizing for not being able to help. She was very pleasant, as most librarians seem to be, and promised to send two library bags to Pat when the new ones came in.

Remember these?

We left the library, drove through the neighborhood again and almost got Sue (a cousin, I think) run over when we saw her on the street. Sue still lives in the neighborhood. She walks everywhere she goes, at any time of day or night that she pleases. She must be personally watched over by God. Apparently she is very stubborn and very hard of hearing. She couldn't hear what Pat was yelling, so she crosses the street to us, oblivious of traffic, repeating "I can't hear you", as Pat keeps yelling "Get out of the road, meet us over on the corner." She is on her way to Mass and can't be late, so it's quick Drive-by-Hugs and we're off to lunch with Irene (another cousin, I think. From now on it is easier to assume everyone is a cousin unless I know otherwise).We went to a local fast-food joint called Nicky Doodles, where they supposedly have two for a dollar hot dogs on Tuesday, except we were early, by about a month. They don't start that until June. We order hot dogs anyway and Peg and Irene finish with ice cream.

Irene, Pat and Peg after hot dogs

Irene Pat and Peg with ice cream

I'll put in a plug here for  Irene's husband, Joel. He is a tinsmith and does beautiful work, especially his chandeliers. A lot of what he does is historical reproduction work, which can be seen online at jptinsmith.com.

The Jervis Library Plaque Pointer

Pat needs to stop by Jervis Library to pick up some books. Jervis is the local Rome public library. They have a whole wall of books for sale. While Pat checks out her books we spend at least 30 minutes getting books at 5 for $1. Like we need more books. But it's too good a deal to pass up and I wish we could spend more time here.  I look for big books, figuring they're cheaper by the pound.

Fort Stanwix

We leave the library and drive around Fort Stanwix on our way to the important stop of the day, an Italian Deli.

Rocco Gualtieri

Rocco Gualtieri is the name of both the store and the original proprietor, who immigrated from Italy in 1897. He opened his store in 1900 and became a confidant and friend of the local Italian immigrants. He even opened a small private bank and received a charter from the Bank of Naples, which allowed him to let his customers send money to relatives in Italy.

Gualtieri Interior

The store is a throwback to an earlier time, with the tin ceiling, manual crank cash register and wooden flooring. But more important is the food. Imported olive oils, canned tomatoes, pastas and the deli counter with the best provolone I've ever tasted. I asked if they had Lebanon bologna, but that was a no go.  Wrong neighborhood.  I bought some cappicola and a hot Mastro Calabrese salami.

Pizza for all. The one on the right is Upside Down Pizza (sauce on the top)

We headed for home. Nephew John and girlfriend Char showed up with Char's granddaughters and pizza. The pizza was appreciated and we ate enough of it, but everyone agreed that the dough was not up to the usual quality of this particular pizza joint. In this Italian/Portuguese family, that  is a sin. Peg makes friends with the oldest girl and Pat plays with the baby. Jimmy is in position on the Barca-lounger talking boats and fishing with John, with the Stanley Cup playoffs on in the background. It's a beautiful Upstate evening and all is right in the world.