“You Can’t Go Home Again” – A Visit to the Palma Maria near Orlando

Picture - Pete - Mary Ann - Parma - Anna - Harry

Thomas Wolfe wrote a book entitled “You Can’t Go Home Again” where he dealt with a man trying to return to his roots and childhood. If you are a Trailing Spouse from Tamaqua, Pennsylvania and living in Florida – that is not necessarily so. Last night my wife Lulu and I had a chance to visit our past without leaving Florida when we visited The Palma Maria in Casselberry, Florida near Orlando.

When we were coal cracker kids growing up in Appalachia in the 50s – 60s – and 70s – the place to “hang out” in town was the Palma Maria Restaurant. It was on Broad Street and owned by Pete and Dolly Rosinola. They were like the second mother and father to many of the kids in town - offering a nice place to eat and sit to watch the world go by. Besides the marvelous Italian food – one of the attractions was his three beautiful daughters who provided much of the service and they were not too hard on the eyes either.

I recall some of the events in town like when a string of limousines would be parked outside and celebrities like Mohammed Ali would drive for miles to sample Pete’s cooking. The dining room was Tamaqua’s own piece of “Little Italy” right out of the old country. And Pete was our “godfather.”

In 1980 – things changed – the mines and factories were closing down – and the town could no longer support many restaurants. So Pete decided to move the restaurant to the sunshine. He chose Casselberry not to far from Disneyworld – and moved everything. Not only did his spouse Dolly “trail along” – so did the four kids. In a local development – they bought a row of homes – Pete and Dolly – Anna – Palma – Mary Ann – and little Pete.

Life was very good in Central Florida for the Rosinola’s. The news media loved this little slice of Italy by way of Tamaqua. The magazines gave them rave reviews and the best ratings. And even more stars dropped by to enjoy the fine food and warm hospitality. The little restaurant has kept this close family very busy for 27 years.

Like everyone’s lives – some sadness has hit this family. Pete passed on about 17 years ago and Dolly died about 3 years ago. But their presence is evident in the Palma – by watching the 4 “kids” working and seeing all the wonderful family pictures.

I am not a food critic – but biting into my veal parmesan time warped me back to a simpler time. Dinner was wonderful – only to be eclipsed by the peanut butter and banana cream pies made from scratch right in the kitchen just a couple of feet from our table.

The place was busy and the same three beautiful girls that waited on us “back home” served us there. We arrived at 6 PM – and were a bit embarrassed at the special treatment we were getting in the center table surrounded by all these patrons. Folks were wondering who the celebrities were – but not for long as the girls told everyone who these special guests were. As business slowed down toward 10 PM – we just all gathered together to exchange gossip – really serious gossip – that only 4 transplanted Florida coal crackers could only know or care about. Imagine sitting in this central Florida mecca of dining and shopping – worrying about whether the new Walmart back home would make it. We talked about the closing of Wenzel’s Bakery – Morgan’s Knitting Mills – Atlas Powder Company – the CVS that closed after a couple of years because the ground subsided. We all hung our heads about the death of Greg Machay – the heart and soul of our youth. Yes – the same Greg that broke the girls’ hearts with his wonderful personality and was the envy of every guy in town when he upstaged The Beach Boys in concert at the Lakewood Ballroom.

At 10 o’clock – like 6 lost souls on a life raft in a sea of busyness – as we all grabbed for that one last breath of the past – reality set in – we took our “together pictures” – had some wonderful hugs - got in the rental car – and headed back to our Hyatt at the airport. Of course we were armed with a loaf of crusty homemade Palma bread to be delivered the next day to another coal cracker - our buddy Gary in Plantation, Florida.

If you are ever in the Orlando Area – your trip will not be complete without a visit to The Palma Maria. Yes – they have a web page – www.Palmamaria.com - but I have not had the heart to look at it yet. This Trailing Spouse wants to keep the memories safely locked up in that little restaurant – to be visited again soon.