Italiano !
October 2nd, 2007
This is where it all began ! My great grandfather and great grandmother were born in Sicily. They emigrated to America and thus began the Raciti family in the USA !
Jason Christopher, LA Commercial & Fashion Photographer Bio
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August 25th, 2008 at 7:56 am
Very cool… I love seeing old family photos.
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February 19th, 2009 at 10:18 am
can u tell me more about your history? it’s intresting, i love italians and sicily, italy
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February 23rd, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Hi Nikki,
Well I actually should have explained that my last name is Raciti. Christopher is my middle name. I was born in Hollywood, CA. My parents were born in Massachusetts. My grandparents and great grandparents were born in Sicily. Now the stories I know about them are pretty amazing actually. I could write a book lol.
But one interesting story is that my great grandfather owned a bar/ lounge in Lawrence, Massachusetts and part of the time he owned it was during the prohibition. My father who at that time was only about 9 yrs old worked behind the bar washing glasses, cleaning etc. My Grandfather worked as a bartender and a bouncer. He had a baseball bat and he used it many times.
So you’re probably asking how in the world does a bar stay open during prohibition. Well that is where things get really interesting
My great grandfather, Vincenzo Raciti made some good friends down at the local police dept. Now whenever anyone wanted to come into the bar there was a secret knock, and if you did not know that knock you weren’t getting in. In addition, there was a peephole in the door that he could see who was standing outside. So basically the place would be filled with people he could trust, he paid off the cops to leave him alone and business was great !
Behind the bar he built a trap door that he could open and get rid of any liquor just in case he got pinched. One day my father, remember he was 9, accidentally fell down the trap door when it was open and broke his leg lol.
So that is one interesting story. I mean there are so many. My grandfather beat up many trouble makers in his lifetime. If any drunks would cause any trouble and they didn’t calm down he just beat them up with his baseball bat.
Obviously things were much different those days.
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