Mary Nucci: The Decision That Changed a Lifetime
They say “experiences last a lifetime,” and for Mary Nucci, coming to the United States at the age of 16 was something she will never forget.
From 1892 to 1954, over 12 million immigrants came to the United States in pursuit of the well-known American Dream. My grandmother was one of the millions of other immigrants to pass through Ellis Island, searching for a better life in the land of opportunity.
She came to the United States in 1954 on the ship Queen Frederica, and at the time her name was Delia Brunetti. Her voyage across the deep blue was a rocky one to say the least. All alone at 16, my grandmother arrived with just a small bag of clothes, some pocket change, and a positive mindset. Starting fresh in a new country, she had no clue what to expect and simply hoped for the best. “It was frightening,” she told me recently.
Leaving Italy, she wondered constantly whether she had made the right choice. Homesick, she longed to go home some nights when coming home from a hard day at work.
Coming to a new country in order to start a new life is no small feat. Emotionally, it can weigh heavily on a person, as one wrong decision can change a life forever. By the time Nucci boarded the Queen Frederica, she had already experienced struggles that would leave a mark on her forever. Her mother, for example, died from complications just days after giving birth to her. After that, Nucci grew up in poverty in Fraine, Italy, a small town in the mountains of Abruzzo.
Still, my grandmother could have decided to stay in Fraine, leading a quiet and peaceful life. She could have done what many people did at the time in Italy, which was to live at home with their parents and inherit their property up in the mountains of Abruzzo. Instead, she sought “something better than the boring life she could have had,” and along with millions of other Italian immigrants, chose to start fresh in America. Her entire family stayed behind.
Saying goodbye to friends and family can be one of the toughest things anyone every has to do, especially when there’s a very good chance the goodbye might be permanent. Boarding the gigantic Queen Frederica, Nucci looked up in awe and wondered whether she had made the right decision and whether she would ever see her family again. She was traveling in the company of strangers, with no education and no knowledge of English. “My body was overwhelmed with chills and goose bumps,” she said, adding that she felt “scared, nervous and all alone.”
Still, the trip had moments of happiness too. Nucci remembers that when the Queen Frederica passed the Statue of Liberty, a worldwide symbol of freedom, the ship’s passengers sang, jumped with joy, and excitedly shouted in Italian “Ecco la statua della libertà!” which translates as “There is the Statue of Liberty!”
The immigration period during the 1900s was a monumental time in American history; it shaped the country into what it is today. Millions of immigrants from around the world flooded in through Ellis Island, on ships where conditions were often brutal. Still, little by little they assimilated into American society, while also becoming accustomed to American culture.
Stepping off the ship in New York, Nucci was astounded at the monstrous skyscrapers, a day she will never forget. “It was the most shocking view of my life,” she said.
More big changes were in store. Like all immigrants, Nucci had to first get past the medical checkpoints and also have her paperwork checked in order to enter the country. Later, she worked countless hours a week that included considerable overtime, yet she received minimal compensation for her efforts, as she was merely an immigrant working an unskilled job.
Because money was tight, Nucci lived at first with her three sisters who had followed in her footsteps and also immigrated to America. The sisters lived in a small apartment with just a few small rooms. Still, her siblings looked up to her, and to this day family members credit her for paving the way for them to to come to America in search of a better life.
Nucci now lives in a lovely house with her husband in a well-to-do suburban town in northern New Jersey. Over the years, she managed to open her own restaurant business, own an apartment building, and last, but not least, start her own family. Her daughter, Connie, has this to say about her mother: “Being able to come to this country with nothing, and to do what she did is just amazing, really. All the hours she worked throughout her life to get to this point show what a hard-working lady she is, and she’s the toughest person I know.”
Being part of one of the biggest immigration waves the world has ever seen is not something everyone can boast about, yet Nucci is proud of it.
“This moment was truly a turning point in my life, as I started a new life and for the better,” she says. “No one understands how much hard work it took, but in the end it was worth it.”
