Author reflects on Donora Smog, other memories of an eventful life
Adela Damiani Costanza is shown with her daughter, Linda Costanza Kelley, at her home in South Strabane Thursday.
Author Adela Damiani Costanza holds her book,”Seeing Through the Smog ... Clearly!” at her home Thursday in Washington South Strabane Township.
Adela Damiani Costanza opens her book to a few of her favorite pages at her home in South Strabane TownshipThursday.
In her 95 years, Adela Damiani Costanza experienced the Great Depression, World War II and the Donora smog.
But the South Strabane Township resident doesn’t look back with regret.
“That’s what made me who I am. Sometimes you have to go through a few things in life,” she said.
Costanza will celebrate the release of her memoir, “Seeing Though the Smog … Clearly!” with a book signing at 2 p.m. Thursday at Strabane Trails, Wellness Way, Washington.
Costanza started writing the book more than 40 years ago, as a record for her four children, Robert, John, Anthony and Linda, first jotting down notes on loose paper. She later used a typewriter, then an early model computer, to document her eventful past. With the help of her daughter, Linda, and niece, Mary Anne Battaglia, Costanza self-published the book through Outskirts Press.
“I’m so glad I was able to finish it,” she said. “That was in my dreams for a long time.”
The fifth daughter of Italian-American immigrants, Costanza grew up in Donora.
“My mother, like a lot of people from other cultures, had to figure out ways (to make) money,” she said.
The family ran a grocery store, sewed and eventually opened a beauty salon to produce an income. Eventually, all five sisters would work as beauticians in “Julie’s Beauty Shop,” named for the oldest sister.
A graduate of Donora High School – Costanza graduated with baseball Hall of Famer Stan Musial – she met Antonino, who had emigrated from Italy at 17 years old. They were married June 3, 1946.
Then, in late October 1948, the Donora smog disaster struck.
Over several days, a thick wall of smog rolled in, killing 20 people in the Monongahela River Valley and causing thousands to become ill.
Six months pregnant at the time, Costanza developed pneumonia and pleurisy, an inflammation of the tissues surrounding the lungs. Her baby did not survive.
She credits her faith with getting her through the ordeal.
“Thanks be to God, I survived,” she said, echoing a sentiment peppered throughout the memoir.
In search of work, the Costanzas moved to Hollywood, Fla., soon after. It was a culture shock for the small-town girl.
While raising her children, Costanza worked as a beautician in the famous Diplomat Hotel, a vacation spot of celebrities like singer Connie Francis, who once asked Costanza to be her personal beautician.
The Costanzas enjoyed their life in the balmy beach environment, but maintained their ties to Southwestern Pennsylvania, often visiting family.
“Our vacations were from Florida to Donora,” Linda said.
The children grew up and left for college, then started families of their own. Robert, the oldest, became an environmentalist, a career path his mother thinks he followed because of her experience in the Donora Smog.
Costanza’s life was transformed again when her husband died in 2002. Soon after, she came back to her home state with Linda, who had moved back to attend nursing school at Washington Hospital.
Costanza now resides in the same facility as her childhood friend Agnes. The two women, who were in each other’s weddings, eat meals and play cards together.
The title of her book, which the family worked on together, symbolizes Costanza’s reflection on all she has lived through.
“That’s a good title,” said Costanza. “I got through a hell of a lot.”
For information, visit www.outskirtspress.com/seeingthroughthesmogclearly.