My paternal Grandfather, Zachariah (Archie) Katzberg, was a Russian Jew, my Grandmother, Josephine (Josie) Puzelli, was an Italian Catholic. As you can imagine, neither of their families were very happy about their courtship and forbid them to see each other. This was in the early 1920's. Determined to win Josie for his own, Archie would go to the house next door to the Puzelli's in Brooklyn (NY) and play songs on the piano so Josie would know that he was there. He had a diverse repertoire and threw in a couple of Italian favorites. Eventually, the Puzelli's were won over and they welcomed Archie into their family. I'd love to travel back to sit on the stoop and watch Josie as she listened to Archie playing just for her. ----- Joyce
|