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Marcia Buzzelli
Marcia Buzzelli

Seniors Shine: Marcia Buzzelli celebrates Italian heritage

Fri, Oct 25th 2024 10:00 am

By Christopher Warner

The proverbial phrase, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade,” is often used to encourage optimism in the face of adversity or misfortune. For 84-year-old Marcia Buzzelli, overcoming obstacles began at an early age, setbacks that would only stiffen her resolve with a can-do attitude. And as for those lemons? She’d prefer making her family’s legendary Ricotta pie recipe. Brava, Signora!

Marcia Marie Buzzelli was born Jan. 12, 1940, in Niagara Falls. Her parents, John and Frances (nee Scrivano), were both second-generation Italian-Americans whose families immigrated to Western New York around the late 1800s.

“My father’s parents came from a little town in Abruzzo called Castel Di Sangro – ‘Castle of Blood,’ ” Marcia said in a recent interview. The rural village in southeast Italy takes its name from Sangro River, which runs through a valley in the mountainous region before emptying into the Adriatic Sea.

“My mother’s family was also interesting,” Marcia said. “They left Calabria, Italy, and went to Brazil.”

Her grandfather, Luigi Scrivano, worked at the Ouro Preto Gold Mine, located in the center of the country’s gold rush region north of Rio de Janeiro. From South America, he and his wife, Rosina (nee Campanaro), gradually made their way to the U.S. via Ellis Island.

The steady influx of Italian immigrants, many of whom fled extreme poverty and catastrophic natural disasters back home, would play an integral role in the history of Niagara Falls – and emerge as the largest ethnic group in the city. Several families settled along Pine Avenue from Main Street to Hyde Park Boulevard in a neighborhood that became known as Little Italy.

A vibrant assortment of Italian-owned businesses included Buzzelli’s Dairy, founded by Francesco Buzzelli (Marcia’s great-uncle) in 1912. For years, the company’s motto boasted, “You can whip our cream, but you cannot beat our milk.”

As World War II raged across Europe and the Pacific, a different kind of battle was being fought on the American homefront: polio. The debilitating illness, caused by a virus that mainly affects nerves in the spinal cord or brain stem, struck indiscriminately, afflicting both the rich and the poor – and even the 32nd U.S. president, Franklin D. Roosevelt.

At age 4, Marcia contracted the disease and spent 18 months in the hospital. Though polio would permanently compromise her mobility, the hardship also presented an unexpected turn.

“Because of the polio, I became a physical therapist,” Marcia said.

She went on to earn her Bachelor of Science degree at the University at Buffalo, and received her master’s in physical therapy from Niagara University. In 1970, Marcia began her career working in hospitals and nursing homes throughout Niagara County before opening her private practice.

Eventually, her expertise in the field led to a long tenure as an educator. In 1979, Marcia joined the staff at Daemen College (now Daemen University) in Amherst as an associate professor. Among the school’s notable alumni is Buffalonian Sue Falsone, who was hired as the first female physical therapist in Major League Baseball and became the head athletic trainer for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Marcia also later taught in the physical therapy department at D’Youville University.

Adding to her academic achievements, Marcia is an active member of the Lewiston Library Italian research group, which has published several books on the history and culture of the Italian community in Niagara Falls. The collection features several of her contributions, ranging from family narratives to a review of a local eatery that first opened its doors in 1939.

“In the television program ‘Cheers,’ I remember the announcer would say it is a place where everyone knows your name. This is the type of place you will find in the Marketside Restaurant,” Marcia said. (Author’s note: I recently had breakfast there and ordered the “Sal Maglie,” a potatoes and eggs dish named for the former all-star Major League Baseball pitcher and Niagara Falls’ most famous native son. One word: delizioso.)

Marcia’s passion for her Italian heritage has inspired no less than five trips to the Old Country – or, as she puts it: “Italy from north to south and everywhere in between.” These journeys included stops in Florence, Rome and Venice, while paying homage to her ancestral roots in Abruzzo and Calabria.

On one of these trips, she bought a chitarra (aka “guitar”), a wooden frame with stainless steel wires used for cutting dough to make authentic homemade pasta. Some of her recipes (and a whole lot more) can be found in “The Italians of Niagara Falls” (volumes I, II and III) and “Buon Appetito.”

Marcia Buzzelli and her family in Italy. (Submitted photo)

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