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Mount Pleasant

Honoring Hawthorne’s Pasqualino DiSisto

November 10, 2023 by Michael Gold

From an Italian farming family, enduring the ravages of World War, to two children who earned college degrees, long time Hawthorne resident Pasqualino DiSisto encompasses the American ideals of improving your life through hard work and embracing the potential of education to open up your world.

His best teacher may have been a colonel in the U.S. Army.

DiSisto, well-known throughout the community, is a member of American Legion Post 112, serving on the post’s honor guard and its Medal of Honor Committee. The post worked to install a monument outside Mt. Pleasant Town Hall, with the names of all Mt. Pleasant Vietnam veterans.  (Editor’s Note: The monument was unveiled after our print press time, on November 11th, Veteran’s Day.) DiSisto is also a member of the Kensico Italian American Society and the Knights of Columbus.

His charitable work with these organizations includes giving scholarships to Mt. Pleasant students and making donations to the Pleasantville Ambulance Corps, plus donating food to the poor.

DiSisto was born in 1939 in the Molise region of Italy. The family grew wheat, potatoes, and hay for animals. His father was inducted into the Italian Army in 1941. He fought in North Africa, was captured by the Americans, and brought to the U.S. as a prisoner of war. Even as a war prisoner, his father was dedicated to work, volunteering for manual labor at more than a dozen Army bases.

“When the Germans came through Italy, I was four, five years old,” DiSisto explained. “I had a brother two years younger than me. We had to run away from home when the Germans came through, into the countryside. The Germans weren’t too kind to women and children. The Germans were bombarding and shooting at homes to scare people and give up.”

Concerning their father, “We didn’t know where he was for 18 months,” he said. The Americans “were very kind,” DiSisto explained. They “notified our family that he’s alive.” With the end of the war in 1945, DiSisto’s father got sent back to Italy, but “My Dad got a taste of what America was like,” DiSisto said. In 1955, father and son were admitted into the country. They became citizens in 1960.

“I was almost 17 years old and went to high school, without knowing one word of English, not even a letter of the alphabet,” he pointed out. “I had to do it on my own (learn English),” he said. “I forced myself to speak as much as possible, to read, by trial and error, and to write.”

During high school, he took a job working in a luncheonette. After graduation, DiSisto went to barber school and worked in the Bronx. Then he got drafted into the Army. He didn’t want to go. He had just purchased a Manhattan barber shop. An Army colonel at the Whitehall Street induction center talked with DiSisto.

The colonel gave him a “five-minute lesson to wise me up about the opportunities in the Army and to take advantage of it, to use it (the Army) wisely.”

“The Colonel opened up my mind,” he said. Stationed at Fort Carson near Colorado Springs, he took classes and “learned mechanics, electrical, carpentry. I even went to Colorado State College to study English, French, and math.” His educational work earned him a promotion to Sergeant.

After he was discharged, DiSisto got married and moved to the Bronx. He and his wife, Maria, had two children. He became a mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service and took other jobs too.

“I worked as a mail carrier from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. Then I cut hair for four hours and came home. I worked two jobs for 30 years,” he said. He did extra jobs on the weekends, as a house painter and working construction, mixing concrete, for instance. His dedicated work ethic was motivated by building a better life for his daughter and son and moving to a nicer neighborhood. DiSisto and his wife achieved their dream in 1976 and bought a home in Hawthorne. The kids graduated from Westlake High School.

DiSisto’s daughter, Lisa, went to Manhattan College, earning a degree in electrical engineering. She worked for IBM for 20 years. His son, John, earned a degree in accounting from Iona College and his grandson got a computer science degree. Of his children, DiSisto said, “They understand education. I’m glad I helped them in every possible way. They made me proud. America’s a beautiful country–the best in the world.”

Of his own life, he explained. “My road was not always smooth.” Confronting his obstacles, he said, “I managed to go over them or around them.”

Filed Under: Cover Stories Tagged With: American Ideals, American Legion, Medal of Honor, Mount Pleasant, Pasqualino DiSisto

At the Heart of Community

August 24, 2019 by Grace Bennett

One thing I’ve heard consistently about Pleasantville lately is how fiercely proud residents are of their town and of Mount Pleasant at large. As I produced this edition over the summer, and learned about Break the Hold, via Sabra Staudenmaier’s cover story for us, it was not hard to see why.

I feel like I’m getting to know a community that yes, celebrates all its gifts and good fortune, but also enthusiastically embraces solutions to challenging problems via its open hearts and extended hands. To me, such sincere involvement feels central to understanding the heart of a caring community. This story pulled my heartstrings right away. We also have a proud history covering mental health issues, and specifically the topics of depression and suicide. The Inside Press was the recipient a few years back of a Media Award from the Mental Health Association of Westchester. We hope to continue to shine a spotlight on mental health in future issues as well.

In additional heart sharing coverage, I am also thrilled to publish Ronni Diamondstein’s story about Pleasantville’s Gordon Parks Foundation; if you’re like me, you might be one of many who has walked by and felt curious about the foundation’s window on Wheeler Avenue. Its mission is to preserve the powerful images of artist and photojournalist Gordon Parks whose work has done so much to help bring attention to racism. It accomplishes that and so much more.

If you need more reasons to love Mount Pleasant, there is no shortage in this edition. We asked a long time savvy area resident and Inside Press contributor Jennifer Sabin Poux to compile ten, and she does a fantastic job of that too.

Two summer interns, Charlotte Harter and Madeline Rosenberg, have also helped turn our attention to community, with stories about how the Pleasantville Chamber of Commerce helps support local commerce, coverage of the town’s dedicated conservation efforts plus a look back at Pleasantville Community Day and the town’s firefighter parade.

We know fitness figures ‘big’ around here too, so please don’t miss the piece about area marathon runners either, which includes a Pleasantville resident!

Finally, we also keep hearing the music. In our debut edition, we offered a preview of the Pleasantville Music Festival (another mega successful day!), and in this issue, we give a nod to the area’s vibrant ‘music scene,’ as writer Miriam Longobardi spotlights a couple Rocker bands led by area moms!   

Enjoy the edition, and we hope to see you again in 2020. Our plans for now are for at least four a year, so stay tuned!  Follow Inside Press Magazines on Facebook or insidepress on Instagram, and soon enough, another surprise pub covering your town will be hiding in your mailbox!   

Filed Under: Just Between Us Tagged With: Bands, Break the Hold, Caring, community, fitness, Gordon Parks, heart, Inside Pleasantville, Inside Press Magazines, Just Between Us, Mental health, Mental Health Association of Westchester, Mount Pleasant, music, Pleasantville, Pleasantville Chamber of Commerce, Pleasantville Community Day, pleasantville music festival

Pleasantville Day: An Annual Celebration of Fun, Friendship, and Community

May 19, 2019 by Charlotte Harter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Story and Photos by Charlotte Harter

The town of Pleasantville was awash with smiles and laughter, the sounds of live music, and the unmistakable scent of funnel cake and popcorn as the community celebrated yet another successful Pleasantville Day festival on Saturday, May 18th. A tradition lasting over thirty years, Pleasantville Day is not only a day of fun and games for the children, but also an important reminder to their parents of the joys of living in a small, close-knit community.

The Pleasantville Day fair is an annual celebration of the wonderful and lively town and its people as school winds down and the weather finally begins to warm up. Filled with colorful booths, carnival rides, dance showcases, and an impressive selection of food, there truly is something for everyone. This year, the festival boasted a juggling stilt-walker, human statue, and giant inflatable slide in addition to its usual activities to keep it feeling new and exciting despite its long run in the town.

Upon arriving at Memorial Plaza at the festival’s beginning around ten o’clock on Saturday morning, children of all ages were gleefully laughing and clutching onto their cotton candy as they played games and won prizes. But Pleasantville Day isn’t just a day for the children- it wasn’t difficult to spot parents enjoying themselves equally as much, chatting, enjoying the live jazz music, and entering raffles to win gifts provided by local businesses. Even the pets of Pleasantville seemed to be having a good time, as there was no shortage of furry faces wagging their tails and enjoying the attention of excited children and adults alike. Besides the expected endless stands filled with games and crafts, Pleasantville Day also hosted a diverse number of tables this year, including a sports equipment swap, town conservation awareness booth, and a variety of fundraising tables for Pleasantville High School clubs.

Pleasantville Day is truly a cherished day in the community which provides a unique opportunity for townspeople of all ages to come together and enjoy a day of fun and celebration. This event has become somewhat of an institution in the village, a powerful reminder of the beauty of living in a tight-knit, small town in which every face is a familiar and friendly one. In essence, Pleasantville Day is an embodiment of all the values Pleasantville aims to encapsulate: friendship, fun, and most importantly, community.

 

Charlotte Harter is a high school senior interested in writing and journalism. She plans to continue her studies next year at Vassar College in the fall and hopes to eventually gain a career in the writing and publishing world.

Filed Under: New Castle News Tagged With: Close-knit community, community, community day, Family Fun, fun, Laughter, live music, Mount Pleasant, Pleasantville, Pleasantville Day

Finding Your Village

March 8, 2019 by Christine Pasqueralle

Christine with her family

The life of a mom who stays at home with young kids can be many things–exciting and fulfilling, yes, but also, crazy, hectic, and sometimes… lonely. Without the proverbial village we all hear about, it can be hard for a mom (or dad) to find their way in a community without guidance.

When my husband and I moved to Hawthorne, our daughter was not quite two and I needed a way to get to know the community and meet other stay-at-home moms like myself. We joined a local music class and did some fun events at the library. Incidentally, if you have young kids, story time with Miss Debbie at the Mount Pleasant Library is absolutely wonderful. But then my daughter started pre-school and our son came along. After he was born, things were definitely frenzied. I felt like I was running around in circles everywhere but not really meeting people in the community.

“Having just moved to Westchester all the way from the West Coast, and having limited support nearby, I was anxious to find my village–FAST,” said Johnson.

One day as I was perusing Facebook, I came upon a post from another local mom looking to meet others with similar-aged kids. Her name was Jenifer Johnson and she had created a group called Pleasantville Play Date Meet-up and right there, a new village was born! She was, just like me and so many others, a mom who simply wanted to get herself and her kids out of the house and socialize with others.

“I’ve always been a believer that being a parent takes “a village.” Having just moved to Westchester all the way from the West Coast, and having limited support nearby, I was anxious to find my village–FAST,” said Johnson, who currently runs the Ridgefield, CT Playdate Meet-up.

“Social media is an excellent tool to bring people together and connect with those who have similar interests. In my case, I was looking for other moms like me who lived close by and had an interest in making new friends and socializing our children. I created a group with a very basic name, stock photo of a playdate and posted it on some other, larger Parent groups.”

The group took off, with members joining from all over the Mount Pleasant area. Instead of just planning meetups at a local park, parents started hosting play dates at their homes, which evolved into special events like holiday parties, craft days, and more.

And then, it went from just getting the kids together to getting the moms out too. It’s important for moms to have some quality kid-free time. So one night a group of us got together to do a craft night and “Mom’s Night Out” was born. Cookie exchanges, baby showers, mani-pedi nights and many a birthday celebration followed. And the group also holds a monthly dinner at restaurants all around town.

Jennifer Liddle, the group’s current admin says, “As the admin, it is so rewarding to brainstorm and execute events for local moms and kids to meet. I’ve made some of my closest friends through this group–friendships that transcend the initial reason why we met in the first place, our kids. Additionally, I’ve seen several other friendships blossom and it makes me so proud that I have had a part in that. I remember when I moved to the suburbs, I was worried it would be impossible to make friends. This group of ours made it possible.”

Continues Johnson, “Eventually, this tiny idea became a reality with new parents joining everyday. Play dates, mom’s night’s, BBQ’S, birthday parties–we had our village. Jennifer Liddle, who runs the group now, has taken it to over 270 members! It’s awesome!”

As an introvert, it can be hard for me to get out of my comfort zone and take a chance in meeting new people. But sometimes you just have to do it and hope for the best. As Thomas Jefferson said, “With great risk comes great reward.”

I’m so glad I did. I’ve cultivated many new friendships through the group. We all want to feel like we belong somewhere. And it’s great to know that there are others you can turn to for camaraderie and support.

I truly enjoy living in Mount Pleasant and really feel like I’ve become a part of the community-at-large. I’ve gotten to know my town and my community through local meeting places such as the library, farmers market, school events, and of course a Facebook play date group that I just happened to click on that fateful day.

Filed Under: Et Cetera Tagged With: community, Essay, Mount Pleasant, moving, new place, play date group, playgroup, Social Media, village

Francesca Hagadus Win Paves Way to a Less Partisan Town Board

December 2, 2018 by The Inside Press

Francesca Hagadus, a Chappaqua school teacher for 32 years, became the first Democrat in 30 years to win a seat to the Mount Pleasant Town Board. She defeated Anthony Amiano, 24, who was appointed in May to fill a vacancy left by Mark Rubeo who became a judge.

The Town Supervisor is Carl Fulgenzi and the other Council Members are Laurie Smalley, Thomas Sialiano, and  Nicholas J. DiPaolo.

Hagadus, in a statement to Inside Chappaqua, said it is her “aim to provide a mechanism for the Town to feel connected and informed. Town Board decisions should not be partisan. They are for the greater good of the Town with all deserving a seat at the table.”

The Mount Pleasant Board consists of the hamlets of Valhalla, Hawthorne, Thornwood, Pocantico Hills, Briarcliff Manor and a small part of Chappaqua, as well of the villages of Pleasantville and Sleepy Hollow.

Filed Under: Happenings Tagged With: Chappaqua Teacher, Democrat, Francesca Hogadus, Mount Pleasant, politics, Town Board, win

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