Pictured is the cover of, “Arrivederci: Recipes and Customs Every Italian Girl Takes From Home,” written by Rosalyn Queen. The cover was created and painted by Folly Basil, who recently died. Approximately 10,000 were sold throughout the United States, according to Queen. Courtesy photo.
This past week we bid a fond farewell to Folly Basil. Folly epitomized the woman of the fifties. She was a wife, a mother, a daughter and a friend. She volunteered for programs she believed in, and she was a faithful woman who she volunteered for her church. She was also a talented self-taught artist.
I met Folly at the Italian Festival when her husband Tom was chairman of the board. We became friends forever. She helped with whatever she was asked to do, but she will always be remembered for her assistance with the one-of-a-kind festival fashion shows. She worked with the committee to produce an event that the area talked about until the next year. Folly worked mostly with the decorations, and many times we incorporated her paintings with the theme. She would always offer one of her paintings to be used as a fundraiser.
We travelled several times to Washington DC to represent the festival, and it was always a pleasure to be in her company. She was a true lady.
This is the part of Folly that I want to talk about. I met Folly at the Italian Festival when her husband Tom, was chairman of the board. We became friends that lasted forever. She helped with whatever she was asked to do, but she will always be remembered for her assistance with the one-of-a-kind Festival Fashion shows. She worked with the committee to produce an event that the area talked about until the next year. Folly worked mostly with the decorations and many times we incorporated her paintings with the theme. She would always offer one of her paintings to be used as a fundraiser.
Around the beginning of 2006, a cookbook that I had been working on for several years was ready to go to print, but I had no cover. The book was a cookbook but incorporated with each recipe were customs, so I felt I had to have a special cover.
The cover was created and painted by Folly. Folly and I had several conversations, and it seemed we were both on the same page. But it was up to the artist to come up with a rendering. We both knew we were enjoying being Italian girls and having been brought up by traditional Italian parents thought that the cover could depict this. The Immaculate Conception Church sort of took the center as most customs and foods was centered around religious celebrations. The young Italian girl is waving goodbye as she moves off to start a new life. The boy in the picture surely must be her brother. And down in the corner is her famous signature.
And on the day when Folly was laid to rest, I looked at the painting with a different perspective. This is Folly in front of the church waving goodbye to all of us with her suitcase, which surely has painting supplies she will use in Heaven recreating beautiful pictures. Rest in peace my friend and thanks for the memories.
As we get closer to Easter remember to get your peanut butter eggs and fresh Easter bread at the PWA. Call 304-624-6881.
My mother, the predictor, is true once again as we are enjoying a long, cold Easter snow. Get ready to welcome a beautiful Easter morning.
Stay safe, stay healthy and until next week “Now You Have Heard It Through the Grapevine.”
