Part I : Ada Monetti looks back on her Life

Ada Monetti was born on East 55th Street in Manhattan. Her father went to work everyday at Giovanni’s, and her mother and grandmother did the domestics before the family moved to the Bronx in 1941. But prior to departing, Ada did leave her mark on the Catholic School she attended.

“I played hooky with my friend Jeannie in first grade,” she said.

However, there was more to the story than mischief, because the six year old’s heart was in the right place. “My friend had trouble in penmanship class, and the nun used to embarrass her,” said Ada. “So I stayed with her, and we hid away.”

The rigorous accounting of every moment of children’s movements not yet in place, the teacher failed to notice the omissions. But the duo needed the bathroom and gave themselves away when going back to the apartment.

So their sudden appearance obviously did not get passed Ada’s grandmother. “Perché non sei a scuola,” Carmel interrogated. (Why aren’t you in school)

A good talking to from the moms ensued. But Ada wasn’t done standing up for others - even if the returns from adults weren’t favorable. A trouble making boy in the neighborhood was giving Lita and Jeannie Rosso a hard time on a tricycle, and he met the brunt of big sister’s sense of street justice. “I punched him in the nose,” remembered Ada. “Then his mom came and yelled at me.”

Even so, Ada was more a peacemaker. She used to organize neighborhood kids to put on plays in the backyard and charged parents two cents admission.  

The same went for getting the kids together for all the street street games played. Stoop ball, stickball, Jacks and Ringolevio reigned until the street lights went on. But apparently one game held dominance for Ada, according an old friend.  “I wouldn’t play marbles with you, you were a champ,” Ada conveyed Chickee’s words.

In school, though, Ada met her match - even though she didn’t pay him much attention. Not impressed by that “skinny thing,” she said, “He was a devil.”

Thus, Charlie Monetti’s impish weapon of choice were spitballs, and he often found himself in the principal’s office. But elementary school eventually gave way to high school and life grew beyond Garfield Street. Ada got a job as a floater at Bloomingdale’s and enjoyed helping customers in various departments at the 59th Street locale in Manhattan.

The big stage, though, wasn’t just reserved for after school employment.  Ada fondly remembers going to the opera with her mother.  “The singing, the costumes and the echo of the music, I never saw anything like it,” she said. "Aida was especially formative and inspiring with its elaborate costuming and production."

The horizons expanded even more, Syracuse University was her first choice, but proved beyond her parent's means. Settling for Hunter College wasn’t so bad, though, and the 18 year old majored in economics with a minor in psychology.

There she pledged a sorority and boat rides to Bear Mountain were a typical social event. All told, the college adventure had her meeting Dolly (DiGregorio) Calvo and Toni (Malizia) Novak and lifelong friendships took root.

Free time also allowed for an unexpected passion. “I liked fencing," Ada said. "The sport made me feel like I could do what they did in the movies."

In between, Ada got a gratifying summer job on Wall Street and was offered a position for September. But her father encouraged his daughter to finish her education, and she went along.

Completing her studies in 1955, Ada took her first trip to Italy. There she met up with the long skinny guy around the corner who was deployed in Germany. “We met in Rome and went to see Oklahoma in Venice,” she said of Charlie.

Afterwards, the soldier back with his friends to Germany, and Ada continued the vacation with her family. However, Ada’s return to America had her plans of pursuing a career in business take an unexpected turn.

Her friend Antoinette was getting married, and she recommended that Ada take her Catholic school class for two weeks. “Teaching was the farthest thing from my mind,” she revealed

Seamlessly adapting, a three month position arose, and the fit was a natural. She loved the profession, and her career plans never looked back.

Teaching, Marriage, Kids, the country, part II is on the way.