Being the daughter of two immigrant parents, Farrell (PA) native Christine Incerto did not have an easy start to life. Yet through her struggles, Christine overcame. And on Sunday, she turned 100. Born to Jenny and Theodore Yassall, two immigrants from Italy who did not speak a word of English, Christine struggled early in school.

Yassall was not even the real last name, but rather an Americanized version of the Italian surname. It was given by the teaching staff and never corrected. “I had to teach my mother all about Christmas,” she said. “I told mother I had to hang my stocking to get the presents. She had heard nothing of this Santa.” Christine taught her mother some Christmas songs, and they sang together through broken English.