M t . O l i v e’s H o m e t o w n N e w s p a p e r
MOUNT OLIVE LIFE Vo l . 1 8 • I s s u e 2
Februar y 2023
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Mount Olive Psychologist, Author of Psychological Thrillers, Pens Memoir of Grandmother’s Extraordinary Life
BY ALEXANDER RIVERO STAFF WRITER
MOUNT OLIVE - One of the most profound experiences in Dr. Michael Canzoniero’s early life was watching first-hand as many of his childhood friends descended into drug and alcohol addiction in his native Bronx. Wanting to do anything he could to help, he noticed a community priest doing the work to push these individuals into programs and grew inspired to follow suit. At first he thought the priesthood was for him, but figured that going into psychology would be a better idea. He earned his Ph.D from St. John’s University in Queens. He
worked for decades as a school psychologist, and is now retired. Over the length of a full career, if there is one thing a psychologist lacks, it is naivety. Such is one way to describe what is now the blossoming new career for Canzoniero, that of writer. He was inspired by some of his many cases over his long career as a school psychologist to turn to fiction writing— specifically, thriller writing—as a way of drawing attention to some of the problems that arise naturally out of certain cases of inter-familial dysfunction. “You certainly see a lot of in-
teresting cases,” says Canzoniero by phone. “One of the things I learned as a psychologist is that there are roles that a child will play when they grow up in abusive homes—such as the role of the hero child. I began to write my early books in such a way that they would teach some of these issues.” Most recently, fresh off four novels, he turned to the task of writing a memoir of the life of his grandmother, who went from living in abject poverty in southern Italy to, as he describes it, “abundance in America.” The title of the memoir is The Evil
Town Officials Thank Mayor’s Assistant for Longtime Service
Mayor Rob Greenbaum, Lisa Brett and Council President Joe Nicastro.
MOUNT OLIVE - Upon her resignation as Mayor’s Assistant for the last 11 years, Lisa Brett was acknowledged by the BY RICHARD MABEY JR. GUEST WRITER AREA - Author’s Note: I do my absolute, honest best to write stories that are true and endearing to the human heart. This story is very precious to me, in that it is the story of the love that brought my paternal grandparents together. From September of 1965 till the late Summer of 1966, my feet never touched the ground as I battled a most serious case of Rheumatic Fever. Like clockwork, my grandparents, Watson and Bertha Mabey would come to visit me in my bedroom every Tuesday and Thursday. It is during these endearing visits with my grandparents that Grandpa told me many, many stories of his youth and of his remembrances of life along the old Morris Canal. This very story was one of those true-life tales that Grand-
mayor and township council for her dedication, hard work, and for going above and beyond. She was the “go to per-
son” at town hall and will be missed tremendously. Wishing her all the best in her new job.
pa told me, all those years ago. My grandfather was a very shy man. However, the good Lord graced him with the gift of story telling. Grandpa had this uncanny talent to use his voice flexion, to animate his hands, and to use his facial expressions to hold me spellbound as he spun his yarns of a time, long since past. One of Grandpa’s favorite stories to tell was about the Valentine’s Day of 1915. Grandpa was 21 years old and Grandma was 18. It is a story unto itself, but Grandma’s parents, David and Catherine Storms, moved to Beavertown, just across the street from the old Mabey Homestead, in 1914. Grandpa was friendly with the Storms family. And, on the Valentine’s Day of 1915, Grandpa finally got the nerve to as Grandma for
a date. From Grandma’s point of view, I had learned that Grandma’s father did not fully approve of Watson taking his daughter for a date. You see, Grandpa rode his Indian motorcycle across Route 202 and knocked on the door of the Storms Homestead and asked to see Bertha. According to Grandma, it was her father who answered the door and when he saw Grandpa’s motorcycle in the back driveway, he was very concerned about Watson being too wild and reckless for his beloved daughter. Grandpa often told me, with a big smile on his face, how he remembered sitting on the bench just outside the backdoor of the old Storms Homestead. “I remember your Grandma and her father had a bit of a
Dr. Michael Canzoniero went from psychologist to writer, and now memoirist.
Eye, The Pure Heart, and it is available on Amazon. “About thirty years ago, we were having a cousin’s reunion,” says Canzoniero, recalling the origins of the memoir. “I decided it would be a nice thing to do to put these historical accounts on paper for my cousins. I heard the stories of what they went through to get to this country, and for the reunion I put together a sort of family history.” Canzoniero’s cousins absolutely loved it. A few of them worked as teachers, and incorporated the historical articles into their own lesson plans to share with their students during classes having to do with immigration. “Years later,” he adds, “after one of my cousins lost the book I presented her at the cousin’s reunion, she asked if I had another copy of the manuscript.” Canzoniero says he refused to give his cousin a copy of that manuscript, which he felt was too flimsy, so he set out to rewrite the whole thing, but to do so completely, for a wider audience. At the time of writing, Canzoniero already had the full background story. His mother would tell him stories about her mother, specifically that she came over from the southern Italian town of Pomarico, at the age of 16, alone. She herself was fleeing a dysfunctional family situation in which she could not get along with her step-mother, and her father thought it better if she left. When she arrived in New York,
discussion whether or not your Grandma was going to be allowed to go for a motorcycle ride with me,” Grandpa would tell me. Then Grandma would interrupt Grandpa and say to me, “but I finally convinced Pop to let me take that motorcycle ride with your Grandpa!” In May of 1916, my grandfather got the courage to ask his beloved Bertha to marry him. She said yes. They got married the very next month. Together my grandparents had nine children, 15 grandchildren, 19 great grandchildren, and 16 great great grandchildren. In memory, I return to those wonderful and magical times of watching and listening to Grandpa tell his stories of the remembrances of his life as a young man. I do my best to be true to bring his stories back to
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Winners From January’s “Find Moe Life Mascot” Contest
MOUNT OLIVE - The winners from January’s “Find Moe Life Mascot” are Barbara Petrie; Flanders. Jeannie Cer-
she went to work in local factories and sweat shops. Here, she met her future husband—Canzoniero’s grandfather, who happened to be from a neighboring village to hers in southern Italy—and married him some time later. Asked if we stand to learn one thing in particular from his grandmother, Canzoniero explains that there is, in all of us, a courage that our ancestors had. “It’s important for people to not be so quick to go to pessimism in life, in handling crises. We have a deep, deep well of courage within us, and it’s always a good idea to focus more on that than on whatever is pushing us into depression.” Canzoniero adds that we can be a welcoming country to all immigrants, but that implicit within that welcome should be
A Valentine’s Day Story
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MOUNT OLIVE - Check out our new mascot...Mr. Moe Life. Look for him in the ads in this issue and enter (no purchase necessary) to win a $25.00 gift card.
Canzoniero’s first memoir, The Evil Eye, The Pure Heart, traces his grandmother’s journey from southern Italy to America.
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an expectation that those immigrants respect our rule of law. “Especially in light of the southern border,” he says, “I think that there should be a mutual understanding of the law. People come to America because it is a welcoming country. In my grandparents’ day there was respect for authority. Returning to that should be something to aim for.” Currently, Dr. Canzoniero is working on another memoir, this one on his grandfather’s life. It will be called My Papa: An Homage to My Courageous Italian Grandfather. For more information on Dr. Michael Canzoniero and his books, including The Evil Eye, The Pure Heart, please visit his page on Amazon, or e-mail him: drmichael817@optonline. net.
An endearing photograph, from 1915, of my Grandma and Grandpa, Watson and Bertha Mabey, on Grandpa’s Indian motorcycle.
life, to honor the beloved patriarch. I loved my grandfather all so very much. In many ways, he taught me a lot about the fine art of storytelling. I dearly
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miss him. Richard Mabey Jr. is a freelance writer. He can be reached at richardmabeyjr@hotmail. com.
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