Excerpt from Michael Sanchelli Memoirs – Depression Years

My father never gave up on his singing, even when he was sick, he still gave it his best when he was in the mood.  Every Sunday night before he would come in and go to bed, he would go out to the middle of the big bridge and sing ‘America the Beautiful’.  I still remember the time when Mrs. Steele who lived way down the other end of the Hollow, commented to me one day, “I was telling my kids it was time to go to bed one Sunday night, when my son Donald piped up, ‘Oh no ma, Tony Sanchelli didn’t sing America yet’ “, so the voice of Swede Hollow also became the time piece on Sunday night.

It was about at this period (around 1927) of my life that I would witness an old Italian way of making wine.  I walked in the front door of my house one evening and there were two Italians kneeling by my father who was seated on a chair, they were trimming his toe nails and washing his fee, then they picked him up and carried him across the big bridge and to the Barilla’s front yard.  They stood him up in a great big wooden half barrel, then the fun started.   Two men would dump crates of dark blue grapes in the barrel, my father was mashing the grapes with his bare feet and singing at the top of his voice, songs of Italy.  I had witnessed a scene hardly ever done in this country even at that time.  I had seen my father mash grapes and sing before, but he always had rubber boots on.

So… many of you already know, but some may not.  Tony Sanchelli recently got married.  The ceremony took place in a beautiful park in Rapid City, SD with small party of 10 witnesses to the event.

Congratulations to Tony & Melissa, we wish you all the best!