Uncle Louie, born in 1898, was complex and interesting being a plumber,
mechanic, and inventor (with Marino) of the Crinella Brothers Power
Pipe-threading machine, which patent was granted in 1923 and is still being
cited in patent applications with the US Patent Office. It was always said
that Uncle Louie could "fix anything," and it seemed that way. When he
visited our home, there were always radios, appliances, guns, and
automobiles
that needed his attention, and he never failed to deliver. Louie was almost
as well known for not cleaning up afterwards, a trait that always rankled
his
more meticulous father and brothers. Louie felt that he had done the hard
work--the mental work.
With his first wife, Mae, Louie had two children, Albert, and Louise,
but it was Aunt Hilda born in
1893 who raised the children as her own after they came to California.
Hilda was of German ancestry, but learned Italian cooking from Nona
Crinella,
who was concerned that her sons be properly fed.
Returning to Uncle Louie, it was no secret that he liked gizzards and
hearts best of all, so Marino would always save up a few pounds for him.
Aunt Hilda used this recipe, which she learned from Nona Crinella, to make
a delicious pasta gravy out of duck and goose gizzards.
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