The Nesquehoning Historical Society's July meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesdayat the borough hall, 114 W. Catawissa St.

Members will have the opportunity to take a look at Bessie Chiarizio's 1946 class graduation photo, which was taken on the steps of the Nesquehoning High School.After graduating from Nesquehoning High School, Chiarizio continued to live in town until her early 20s, when she moved with her parents to Philadelphia to be near her sisters who had already relocated to the Philadelphia area.She worked in the garment industry her entire life. She passed away in November 2014.Bessie was the daughter of Mary (nee LaRizzio) and Nicholas Chiarizio. Mary was raised in New Columbus and Nicholas was an immigrant from Sepino, Italy.Mary's parents, Carmen and Bessie LaRizzio, were both Italian immigrants from Sicily. They had originally settled in Little Italy and were among the many villagers who relocated to New Columbus in 1918 when the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company decided to mine the coal deposits that were discovered under Little Italy. The LaRizzios raised seven children in Nesquehoning. Carmen was employed in Nesquehoning Strip Mining for over 50 years.The LaRizzio homestead on West Columbus Avenue in the New Columbus section of Nesquehoning still belongs to family members.The original photo and frame ofChiarizio's graduation were recently donated to the society by Bessie's niece, Kathy Zingaro Clark.Kathy is an author of regional photographic history books. She has published several Images of America books which focus on Bucks County. She is currently researching Nesquehoning's Little Italy for a future publication.She welcomes any information or photos on the subject and can be reached by email at

HistoriaPro@verizon.net or through the Nesquehoning Historical Society.Everyone is welcome to attend. Light refreshments will also be served.