[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 124 (Friday, September 21, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1700]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           THE AMARONE FAMILY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 21, 2001

  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, is my great honor to rise today to pay 
tribute to a truly amazing family of my hometown neighborhood: the 
Amarones of New Haven, Connecticut. Now over two hundred strong, the 
Amarones have long been a legend in the Wooster Square neighborhood and 
have held the distinction of having the largest family in New Haven 
since 1938.
  Their story begins in 1911 when twenty-one year old Josephine arrived 
in the United States and met Andrew Amarone on Wooster Street. It was 
there that they were married and there that they made their home. It 
was also where their seventeen children were born and where two of 
their children died. Twenty-two years separates oldest son John from 
their youngest son Nicolo and one can only imagine the schedule 
Josephine and Andrew kept. Raising seventeen children through the 
hardest of economic times, I am still amazed at all they were able to 
accomplish living on the wages Andrew received as a polisher at 
Sargents, an architectural hardware factory where many immigrants were 
employed--averaging between fourteen and twenty five dollars a week.
  Throughout this last century, the Amarones have lost a number of 
their loved ones like Benny who was killed at Iwo Jima for which he was 
posthumously awarded the Silver Star. Many others will be remembered 
this weekend when New Haven will be host to an Amarone family reunion 
where over one hundred and twenty family members from across the United 
States are expected to attend.
  The Amarones are an incredible family with a rich history and a 
reflection of times past. Generations to come will continue in their 
strong traditions and will be a bright beacon for the future. In a time 
when family values are under close scrutiny, it is families like the 
Amarones that we look to for inspiration. It is my honor and privilege 
to recognize the Amarone family as they gather to celebrate their first 
family reunion and to extend my very best wishes to them all.

                          ____________________