Lucia (Luci) Fiorentino Cunningham

This interview with Luci Cunningham was conducted in Hudson, New York, on June 5, 2013 for the Oral History Summer School 2013 project. Luci was born and raised in Hudson, living first on Allen Street and then at 254 Union Street. She now lives in Ghent.

Luci is the only child of Italian immigrant parents. She tells the story of her parents’ immigration from Italy to Hudson and their work in local Hudson industries, including the mushroom factory and the sewing factories. She describes life in Hudson’s Italian immigrant community below Third Street, touching on family life, Italian food, St. Mary’s school, Mount Carmel Church, community fund raising, Don’s Confectionary Store soda fountain, evening walks to visit with neighbors on the front steps, bocce games, dances, scopa card games, parades and roller skating. She tells about trips to Italy and compares visits with extended family to life at home as an only child. She describes the night St. Mary’s grade school at Allen Street and Third Street burned. After Luci married, she and her husband lived in an apartment in her parents’ house for several years. She describes the new stores opening on Fairview in Greenport, the boarding up of businesses on Warren Street and the impact on Hudson. In 1989, Luci, her husband and young children moved to Ghent. Luci compares her life in Hudson to that in her new home in the country and the life of her children growing up in Ghent to the way she grew up in Hudson. She describes the recent revitalization of Warren Street and changes in the community. Three years ago, Luci became active in Below Third, an organization promoting business on Warren Street below Third Street, and talks about their activities. She describes “Spout” the whale, a popular parade float from her Childhood that was found in storage and returned to the Flag Day parade line-up. Luci talks about her hopes for the future of Hudson and her grown daughter’s desire to move back to Hudson.