La Gazzetta Italiana printed this article in the March 2006.
La Gazzetta's Person of the Month
"Petaling" Along to Success -- Michael J. Cua
During his middle school years, Michael J. Cua swept the floors of his grandparents', Joe and Esther's, florist shop. In 1978, at about the time her received his college degree from Ohio State University, his nonna decided that at age 82 it was time to retire, so Michael took over the florist shop. Each passing year he attended floral design school to keep up with the trends in floral design and eventually became a member of the American Institute of Floral Designers.
During the years, Michael managed the progress of the flower shop while his wife Laura (Giammarco) continued to teach in public schools. They have been blessed with four children: Angelo, who graduates from John Carroll University this summer with a degree in Finance; Mario, who studies in Rome and is a sophomore; Marcella, a high school senior and Santino, a seventh grader.
When not working, Michael and Laura combine their hobbies of gardening and cooking to make their own sauce, wine, and prosciutto. Every year, Michael plants tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, oregano, parsley, and garlic. While Michael prefers a chunky marinara sauce for his homemade spaghetti, Laura prefers the smooth sauce for her homemade cannelloni. Each year, Michael joins his brothers and travels to Cleveland to buy grapes. From the grapes come the wine, and the Cua's do it well. They have won gold and silver awards at the St. John's Italian Festival homemade wine competition. Every January, Michael makes prosciutto. He buys fresh hams from his brother-in-law, Sam Carfagna, whose family has operated an Italian grocery store in Columbus since his grandfather started it seventy years ago.
Michael also makes time to stay even closer to his "grounded roots" by being a member of the Columbus Italian Club, the Abruzzi Club, the S.F.I., Societa Fratellanza D'Introdacqua, and the American Italian Golf Association. And for sure Michael and Laura always make time for la famiglia and enjoy the pleasure of loving their children.
The Cua children have regularly visited Italy and the hometown of Maranse, which is located north of Catanzaro in Calabria, their favorite locale. That may appear unusual, considering the beauty of Italy, but the fact is the town is family. There are 300 people living in Maranse and probably half of them are Cua's. It's easy to understand why the children have come to enjoy Maraise, according to Michael. The town is near the beach where there is excellent swimming and pristine sand. When they are not in the water or on the beach, they and their cousins are taking quick trips on their Vespas. The Cua children believe "everyone makes their own fun."
Among the many imported flowers in the shop are Genestra from Italy. They flourish from December through June and resemble a fountain with off shoots of 12 inch stems. Each stem has fingernail sized flowers and in Italy these very same blossoms are scattered on the floor over which the communicants walk at Holy Communion time. As for the stems, they are tied together and are used as a broom.
Cua's of Columbus is more than just a floral shop. It's an Italian love and success story of Michael's grandparents, who began a landscaping and floral business. His parents and their ten children, Michael being the oldest, were raised next door. The flower shop eventually developed into the ninth largest of 160 such shops in central Ohio.
They came a long way since Nicola Cua (Michael's Great Grandfather) left his parents in 1890 in their impoverished village, and braved the Atlantic, landing at Ellis Island. He traveled to Columbus where he befriended Luigi Mango, who had a produce stand on High Street in the downtown area. Luigi sent for his mother and sisters, Maria Concetta, caught the eye of Nicola and soon they were married. They were blessed with six children and Nicola & Maria raised them in a two story home. The home's first floor had two front doors -- side by side. The door on the right led to a homemade ice cream parlor and the other to a saloon. Both were owned and operated by Nicola. The second floor was their home. As the children grew, they bought property and built their homes next to their parents. Each of those homes remain standing and are in use today.
During the early 1920's Nicola bought ten acres of farmland northeast of their property and built a home with another building behind it for an ice cream business. With the older sons now in their teens and early twenties, Nicola made ice cream and his sons traveled by horse and buggy to sell the ice cream. Like spokes on a bike, they took off in different directions to make sales.
Business success aside, Nicola and Maria instilled in their children love and respect and the values they brought from the old country. They also allowed their children to spread their wings and embrace all the possibilities and opportunities in America. The children of Nicola and Maria have passed along these same values to their children and they to their children. In turn, Nicola and Maria have 106 descendants and they all operate a variety of successful businesses...the flower shop, a computer supply business, a pizza and pasta shop, and a produce market.
by Paul Sciria, Editor
La Gazzetta Italiana, PAS Publishing Co. P.O. Box 222, Hudson, OH 44236
More on AIFD:
The American Institute of Floral Designers was established in 1965 by a small group of leading floral designers dedicated to recognizing and promoting the art of floral design as a professional career. Today, it is the floral industries leading non-profit organization committed to establishing and maintaining higher standards in professional floral design. With only 1200 members worldwide, AIFD and it's members are in the forefront of the floral industry.
Accredited Membership in AIFD is selective. To be accredited, a floral designer must fulfill rigid qualifications and demonstrate advanced professional ability.To maintain accreditation, they must meet certain continuing education requirements.
