Today’s restoration features this passport photo of my Great-Grandma Papagni taken in the late 1970s. She was on her way to visit Italy, her homeland. Born in 1899, Angelina immigrated to California in 1919 – to meet her betrothed husband, Mauro. For decades they lived their lives and raised their children on a farm in the Central Valley.

When I was in kindergarten at Homan Elementary in Fresno, Grandma lived in a house on Brown Ave. just a few blocks away. I would get done with Mrs. Ford’s class at 11 AM and walk the few blocks to Grandma’s. Over the next couple hours, I would sit at the kitchen table as Grandma sliced fresh tomato and some homemade bread, then she’d scramble a couple eggs in olive oil. She’d sit with me at the table as I’d eat and we’d talk. She spoke in broken English, heavy with accent, slipping in and out of Italian. She would laugh at my stories and I’d laugh at hers and then she’d pinch my cheek real hard and call me her “chickadee.” Us great-grandkids were all her little chickadees. I’ll always cherish those mornings with Grandma Papagni.

If you have an old photo of a loved one you’d like to have restored, I’m running a promotion on photorestoration – $35 per image – check out my portfolio and contact me for more info: