The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Giardino serves food with a smile
ROME, N.Y. » Back in 1973, Fernanda “Freddie” Giardino could be found in the kitchen at Rome Memorial Hospital up to her elbows in sinks full of pots and pans. It might not have been the most glamorous job in the world, but for Giardino, a job was a job and she was ready to do hers to the best of her ability. At 77, she still works part-time because it gives her a sense of purpose and pride.
Giardino learned her work ethic from her parents. Born and raised in Rome, Italy, Giardino saw her parents working hard every day of her childhood.
“We lived about a mile fromthe Vatican,” Giardino said. “My mother and father ran a little grocery store there. That was how I met my husband, Frank.”
Frank Giardino, from Rome, N.Y., was serving in the military and stationed in Rome, Italy. “He always came to my parent’s store to get a sandwich at lunchtime,” Giardino laughed. The couple courted over the serviceman’s mid-day meal.
After they were married, Giardino and Frank returned to Rome, N.Y., where Frank’s parents operated a bakery. Giardino worked with her motherin-law in the bakery until the family business closed in the early 1970s. By now, Frank and Giardino were parents to two daughters. To help support her family, Giardino said she had to find another job.
She applied for a job in the kitchen at RomeMemorial Hospital and was hired in the dish washing room.
“I worked washing pots and pans for four years,” Giardino said. “I never complained. I was glad to have a job. When another position in the kitchen became available, I applied for that and got the job of preparing food for patients on liquid diets.”
Giardino said she took pride in specially preparing food for patients so that they could get the nourishment they needed to get well. She did that job for 38 years, until she retired.
It was only a semi-retirement though. Her husband Frank has been gone for several years now and Giardino explained that she needed something to keep her busy, so she asked if she could continue working in the hospital cafeteria part time. “Coming to work every day, even for a short time, gives my life a purpose,” she said.
Today, Giardino works 2 ½ hours per day, five days a week, during the busiest hours at the hospital’s cafeteria. Dishing out smiles and laughter along with the daily lunch fare, she is always a friendly face for employees going through the line.
“I try to cheer people up,” Giardino said. “The people here have to deal with a lot, whether they are working here or are family of a patient. I try to lighten the mood by being friendly.”
“Any job can be good if you do your best and take pride in what you do,” Giardino laughed. “The best advice that I can give to anyone in any job is do your work well and be kind to everyone.”