MICHAEL J. LACIVITA When a rabbit came to Christmas dinner
My father Giovanni was a life long rabbit hunter, starting at age 12 in 1904, atop the Apennine Mountains in Agnone, Italy.
He continued hunting for the next 50 years, from Nov. 15 to Dec. 31. My uncle Tony Lacivita owned a hunting dog and a sturdy 1928 Buick, during the height of the Great Depression. In the early 1930s, we looked forward to the two brothers arrival about noon from their favorite regional hunting ground, such as Andover and Kinsman. They got to know some of the farmers over the years and they were permitted to hunt on their farms. The hunting dog was a key player in rooting out the rabbits during these excursions.
The most important hunting day of the year was Christmas, because rabbit in the evening would be our main meal, fried or in spaghetti sauce. The first place I looked was at the back of my father's hunting jacket. Why, because there was a huge pocket in it. If the jacket was flat, we would not eat, but if there was a bulge, there would be a rabbit feast, lead buckshot and all.
Most of the time there were several hunters in the group, so they would share the yield.
The bonus I looked forward to were the empty 16 gauge shotgun shell casings my father brought home for me. They were Remington and Winchester, red and green in color, with shiny brass caps. They were some of my most cherished Great Depression toys, since we could not afford the store-bought kind.
Wish list
In those days my dream and wish list was a bike, electric train, sled and erector set. There were a few East Side friends, that had at least one of those prized toys. Another favorite toy that I never received was a dump truck. The past two Christmases I have bought a Tonka Turbo Diesel dump truck and a Tonka Mighty Motorized dump truck. These toys are awesome, only about 70 years too late for me.
X Michael J. Lacivita is a Youngstown retiree who writes stories of the past and hunts only with his camaera. A collection of his columns, "Rag Man, Rag Man," has been published by Pig Iron Press in Youngstown.