Bay City holds fond memories for Madonna: interview with Martin Ciccone, Madonna's brother

Bay City a des souvenirs affectueux de Madonna: interview de Martin Ciccone, le frère de Madonna.


Bay City holds fond memories for Madonna, family says
Posted by Ryan J. Stanton | The Bay City Times March 10, 2008 10:16AM

While the star known to the world as the "Material Girl" takes the stage tonight to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, family and friends remember the pretty little girl who once enjoyed Bay City.
"Bay City holds a real personal place in her heart, I know that for sure," says Madonna's older brother, Martin Ciccone of Beverly Hills.
Martin Ciccone said he and his siblings - Madonna included - all have fond memories of visiting Bay City during their childhood summers, weekends and holidays.
"She appreciated the fact that we got to go there and visit our Nanoo," he said, referring to their grandmother, Elsie Fortin, 96. "She took care of us after our mom passed, so that was a big deal being able to get up there."
Although raised in Rochester and Pontiac, Madonna and her siblings spent considerable time in Bay City - so much that Martin Ciccone says they "grew up" here.
"We would go to State Park Drive, go up to the park, go fishing and swimming," he recalled.
"We would go to Tony's Park and ride the carnival rides and play golf and all that," he said, referring to the former amusement park off of Beaver Road. "We would go fishing in Quanicassee with my uncles, we used to go smelt dipping."
On a hot summer day, he added, they'd get Coney dogs at the former Red Lion or grab malts at a shop owned by "the Beson boys." And in the winter, they'd go skating on a makeshift ice rink near Anderson Pharmacy, 1108 Marquette St.
"You know what she loved to do?" Martin Ciccone said, recalling one of Madonna's favorite parts of Bay City. "We'd get in the back of the car and make my dad kind of go fast over the viaduct (on Marquette Avenue) and it'd make your stomach jump."
Madonna, who now lives in London with her husband and three children, has three sisters - Melanie, Paula and Jennifer - and four brothers - Martin, Mario, Christopher and Anthony. Because the family was so large, the kids sometimes took turns visiting, especially during extended stays, but other times - at Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving - they all came.
"I can still hear those kids coaxing when they'd come to Bay City, 'Take us to Tony's Park,'" said Elsie Fortin, who still lives on Bay City's West Side. "That was a fun place."
Fortin became a motherly figure to the Ciccone children when their mother - her daughter - died of cancer in 1963. Madonna was 5.
Elsie Fortin was the mother of eight children, all of whom grew up in the Banks neighborhood at 1204 Smith St., the same home where the Ciccone children visited. "We all enjoyed each other, in spite of the loss," Fortin said.
Martin Ciccone recalled that excited feeling of crossing the Zilwaukee Bridge on the way north. Once in town, the Ciccone children would play on the monkey bars at the park, jump off the bridge into the Kawkawlin River, and watch freighters unload piles of stone along the Saginaw River.
"We loved it partly because my mom was gone, so my grandma was kind of like the mom," he said.
Martin Ciccone, the second oldest, said he and his siblings often attended Visitation Church on State Street, where their parents married in 1955. He also recalled a church basketball court where he'd take on Madonna.
"She'd come out there and try to compete with us. She was only a year younger, so it seemed like we were always together."
A Catholic family with French-Canadian background, the Fortins followed generations of farmers and lumberjacks to arrive in Bay City. Elsie Fortin's husband Willard Fortin, who died in 1959, was a manager for H. Hirschfield Sons Co.
Relatives say if not for the reputation of a family doctor, Abraham H. Jacoby, Madonna's story may not have started here. Her mother came to have her baby at Bay City's Mercy Hospital, where Jacoby was on staff, in August 1958.
Martin Ciccone said Bay City is referenced in many of Madonna's songs that reminisce about childhood and losing their mother, including "This Used To Be My Playground" and "Oh Father." Martin Ciccone said parts of the video for "Oh Father," circa 1989, actually were filmed in Calvary Cemetery, 2977 Old Kawkawlin Road, where their mother is buried.
Martin Ciccone, 50, said he keeps in touch with his sister mostly through e-mail these days, but had lunch with her recently in Los Angeles.
Madonna is a strong woman who still embraces her roots, according to her grandmother.
"She's done things that I didn't approve of, but at the same time she's my granddaughter and I still love her and I'm proud of her hard work," she said. "She's been good to me."
Despite her granddaughter's success, Fortin said she enjoys life in Bay City.
"That's me," explains Fortin, now a member of St. Mary's of the Assumption church. "I'm glad she made good in the world, but that wouldn't cause me to live any differently than I do in this funny little house."
Martin Ciccone, who is pursuing voice-over work in Hollywood, said he comes back to visit once a year - mostly to see his grandmother, though he has many other relatives living here as well.
"Bay City is my heart," he said.

Source: mlive/The Bay City Times.