Lowellville Legacy: Mount Carmel fest turns 122

By SARAH LEHR

slehr@vindy.com

LOWELLVILLE

Mt. Carmel Festival

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Two Lowellville men who are active in the annual Mt.Carmel Festival have deep roots there.

Every year at the Mount Carmel festival, Rocco Nolfi passes by the DiRusso’s Italian Sausage truck and says “hey” to Archie DiRusso.

It’s a connection that spans four generations.

Nolfi’s great-great-grandfather, Pietro Pirone, first came to the United States from Italy after receiving a letter from DiRusso’s great-grandfather, Agostine Vespasian. The letter assured Pirone he would be able to find a job in the Mahoning Valley.

After Pirone made the voyage to America, he ended up founding Lowellville’s first Mount Carmel Club, originally a homeless shelter for Italian immigrants.

Pirone’s legacy lives on through his great-great-grandson, Nolfi, who is the current club president as Lowellville’s Mount Carmel Festival celebrates its 122nd year.

Because Our Lady of Mount Carmel Feast Day falls on a Sunday, the festival will span five days this year. The festivities began Wednesday and will continue on Washington Street through Saturday from 6 p.m. to midnight each night.

State Sen. Joe Schiavoni of Boardman, D-33rd, a candidate for governor, will be honored today as “Italian man of the year.”

On Sunday, a 10:30 a.m. procession outside the Mount Carmel Club, 102 Washington St., will lead to an 11:30 a.m. Mass in celebration of Our Lady of Mount Carmel at Holy Rosary Catholic Church, 131 E. Wood St.

The festival resumes at 4 p.m. Sunday downtown and concludes with fireworks at 10 p.m.

The festivities include food, games and music from the Mount Carmel Club band.

Attendees agree, however, the nightly “baby doll dance” is the highlight.

The spectacle involves fireworks shot out of the tops of papier mache dolls. It’s an homage to a 13th-century ritual. Villagers in Southern Italy used to burn dolls in effigy to symbolize purging their communities of last year’s tribulations.

After more than a century, Lowellville’s Mount Carmel is faithful to its roots.

“It hasn’t changed much, and that’s what we like about it,” Nolfi said.

DiRusso has memories of the festival dating back to his childhood in the village. His grandparents sold their signature Italian sausage at DiRusso’s Market, which was across the street from the festival until the store closed in 1970.

“Being from Lowellville, it’s like a gigantic family reunion,” DiRusso said.