In a fast-paced and often fickle world, Ennio and Pia Arduino prove that love can in fact last. Italian immigrants and Needham residents since 1961, the two will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary March 24. Along with two of their daughters, they shared their story, their perspectives on how Needham has evolved over the years, and their wisdom and advice with the Observer.
Their love story started like many of their generation. They met when they were 18 in Ennio’s home town of Capestrano in the Abruzzi region of Italy. He was newly single and she was visiting with a group of friends from the neighboring town of Capodacqua where she lived. Their connection was instant.
“There’s a little story behind that,” Ennio said with a twinkle. “I was going with another girl.”
“He was a playboy,” Pia said.
“But she left me,” he continued. “So a cousin of mine says, ‘There’s a girl from Capodacqua coming here.’ So I saw her and fell in love.”
They were married in 1956, and soon after Ennio left for America to forge their new life. Of all the towns in all the cities in the States, he landed in Needham where his aunt was living at the time.
“I stayed with her for a while, then I couldn’t take it anymore so I moved to Newton with my sister.” Eighteen months later, when he was able to secure papers, Pia joined him. They lived in a small apartment in Newton Center where there was a large Italian community. They had their first daughter, and after a couple of years they decided it was time to buy a house.
“We were looking for a house, going up and down. This house was brand new, just built. I said ‘Let’s go in, let’s go take a look,’” Ennio said. “On the counter there was a card of the guy that built the house. I called him up, and not even a week later I bought the house.”
They paid $20,250. According to Zillow, their home, largely unchanged, is now worth $1,159,900.
“We made a deal,” said Pia. She said they had looked in Newton, but at the time it was too expensive. They were drawn to Needham not only because it was more affordable, but because of the diversity of cultures. “It was still hard for us, but we managed and we moved to Needham and we got to know that neighborhood,” she said. “Very, very nice people. Some Italian, some Jewish, some Greek. We got a mixed neighborhood.”
A laborer, Ennio worked in construction for 27 years before starting his own landscaping company, which he ran for more than 30 years. When their four daughters were old enough, Pia also began working. For several years she worked in the school kitchens, preparing lunches and serving students, which allowed her to be home when her girls came home. “We didn’t have daycare at the time, so mothers stayed home,” she said. She later worked in the electronics industry, and ended her career at Raytheon. They worked hard to make sure there was always food on the table and, as they caution today’s generation, they lived within their means.
A great place to live
In 1961, when they first moved to town, all the houses looked like theirs, traffic wasn’t an issue, and they became close friends with their neighbors.
“They were all small houses,” said Pia. “You could go anywhere in five minutes — the center, pick up the kids. Only thing I see (now) is lots of big houses, and not a lot of people can afford these millions of dollars of house.” Just down the street a small ranch like theirs was torn down to build a much larger home.
“It’s changed a lot,” Ennio said. Maria Arduino, their second daughter who lives with them, said she has seen those changes in large part over the past 20 years with real estate and population growth.
“Too much for the younger generation and for my kids,” Pia said. “They had to move out of Needham; they couldn’t afford Needham.” Lorraine, their third daughter, said she had wanted to live close to her parents, but she couldn’t afford it. “Not even close.”
“Some of the things that they allow to build — the houses with little land. We have land on both sides, we have land in the back. Now this house takes the whole thing,” Pia said. “Why the town allows that?”
Hearing about the proposal to institute a limit on building large homes on certain types of properties, the Arduinos all agreed this would be beneficial. When asked whether they would be OK to sell their home for less as a result, both Pia and Ennio emphatically said yes.
“You know what,” said Pia, “If I don’t get the money, a million dollars, and somebody would buy it for less — absolutely. Somebody who would keep the house.”
“There’s no starter homes,” said Maria. “So if this house were to sell, we’d probably sell to someone who’s just looking to move into Needham. They can go up, they can go out, they don’t have to tear down the house to build a huge mansion.”
Along with the shift in real estate came a shift in the community feel of the neighborhood. They moved into their home in February, but as soon as spring came, Pia said all the neighbors were out and came to meet them. Now, she said, it seems new people who move in have no interest in knowing them, and at worst turn away when they pass in the street.
Once upon a time, their kids used to run back and forth through the yards with all their friends who lived close by. “This was a big neighborhood,” said Pia. “The kids would be outside when there’s not school all day. You had to call them for lunch, you had to call them for supper because they want to be outdoors. The kids were together all day.” Now, she said, she sees none of that. “It was a nice time when we moved here. Now it’s different for us.”
Maria and Lorraine talked about all the places kids and teens could go in the town when they were younger, none of which exist today. “There were lots of places to go for teens to hang with friends,” said Maria. “Brighams, Bergson’s, ice cream places, sandwich places, Woolworth’s when we were little, and the movie theater. And lots of clothing stores. We used to shop at Wests for jeans every year, and we used to go to Perlin’s for town jackets and Jacob’s for shoes. Most of those are gone now, it’s mostly real estate offices and banks — or restaurants that are out of reach for some of the population.”
There are also fewer options for grocery shopping, which comes with increased costs.
The Arduinos witnessed the switch from the freight train to the commuter rail. It made things quieter, but also made the town more desirable, contributing to its population growth and socio-economic shift.
As the homes have grown and the businesses have turned over, the taxes have gone up in tandem, something Pia and Ennio feel deeply. “I’d like to know why they’re building this big house and they’re paying less than me, some of them,” said Ennio. “We can’t afford it. We should move out, but where would we go?”
One thing they don’t begrudge is funding the schools. “The schools are important,” said Ennio. “It’s important we build the schools and cut down another place.”
Having watched the town grow and change for more than 60 years, they said they don’t understand people who still want to keep others out. Pia mentioned specifically conversations she’s had about what the new apartments at the former Avery Manor site will bring. She said some people are concerned about the sort of people who will move in. “Some of them are not too happy. I say these people have to live.” Maria added that Needham could use more diversity.
After more than six decades and many changes, the Arduinos agree Needham is still a great place to live. “If you hear, a lot of towns, a lot of different places, it’s not as good,” said Pia. “I think Needham has always been a nice town to move in and still is.”
A little wisdom
Despite their longevity — 90 and 91 years old respectively — Pia and Ennio are humble and reluctant to give advice. They look at the efforts they made to raise their family, and they see that today’s generation may have it easier in some cases and harder in others.
“It wasn’t easy,” said Ennio. Pia said the fact that parents can now work from home is a nice benefit that they didn’t have when she was a young mother. And cellphones make communicating with kids much easier. On the flip side, however, Ennio said there are many more pressures on families today. “All depends on who you ask,” he said. “It’s easy for that, but look at what they want to do for their kids. They want to go to soccer, they want to go to play football. It’s a lot of stress for the parents today too.”
They caution young people coming out of school to be careful with their money. “I always say take care of yourself, but watch where you spend it,” Pia said. “I was raised with very little, so was my husband, so I follow that type of thing.” They never went into debt; they simply lived within their means.
“They’re amazing people,” Lorraine said. “They always shared to be generous, to be kind, accepting of everybody. They were very responsible.”
And their secret to keeping their love strong across seven decades?
“You gotta say ‘Yes dear,” Ennio joked. But more seriously he said, “Husband and wife, they got to talk things over.”
“Forgive one another, we all make mistakes,” said Pia. “And keep going. You just let it go, don’t over react. And love one another the best we could.”
“That’s the most important thing,” said Ennio. “And do the best you can.”
The Arduinos celebrated their anniversary early along with Pia’s 90th birthday with a family dinner at Conrad’s in Needham. They will also celebrate at the Italian Club in Newton Center, where Ennio has been a member since he first came to America.
Save as PDF