The Order Sons of Italy in America, Southern Colorado Lodge No A story worth telling: Italian Americans in Pueblo, Colorado

Transcription

1

2 The Order Sons of Italy in America, Southern Colorado Lodge No A story worth telling: Italian Americans in Pueblo, Colorado By Joanne West Dodds Project Coordinators: John Panepinto & Sam Pisciotta Cover Illustration: Biff Gettel Layout: Cheri Young Proofreading: Judy McGinnis Published by My Friend, The Printer, Inc. Pueblo, Colorado 2016

3 ORDER SONS OF ITALY IN AMERICA Order Sons of Italy in America (OSIA) is the largest and oldest national organization of Italian American men and women in the United States. Founded in 1905, OSIA now has 600,000 members and supporters and a network of more than 700 chapters coast to coast. Originally established as a mutual aid society for the early Italian immigrants, today OSIA is the leading service and advocacy Italian American organization. OSIA promotes the study of Italian language and culture in American schools and universities; conducts research on Italian American traditions, culture, history and heritage; and encourages closer cultural relations between Italy and the United States. The Sons of Italy Foundation (SIF) is a private, grant-making philanthropic institution established by OSIA in To date, the SIF has given more than $83 million to scholarships, medical research, cultural preservation, disaster relief and other projects. The Commission for Social Justice (CSJ) is the anti-defamation arm of OSIA. The CSJ is committed to fighting racism, prejudice, and the stereotyping of all races, religions and cultures. OSIA s national headquarters is in Washington, D.C. near Capitol Hill. 219 E STREET, NE - WASHINGTON, DC TELEPHONE: 202/ FAX: 202/ WEBSITE:

4 The publication of this booklet was partially made possible by the generous donations of the following supporters: Fr. Ben Bacino Jim Bacino Joe Cacciatore Russell Cacciatore Gino Carleo Louie Carleo Mike Dalio Dan DeRose Ed Di Santi Jack Everhart Barbara Fortino Tony Gagliano Biff Gettel Gary Gennetta Judy Marascola Bob Marino John Obrin Jimmy Pagano John Panepinto Norman Williams Jan (Soldano) Williams Ralph Williams John Verna The St. Charles Mesa 1891 Plat Research Committee was instrumental in documenting the names of as many of the Italian American landowners that the committee could find. We regret those family names that were missed. Our thanks to the committee members: Joe Cacciatore, Russell Cacciatore, Sam Pisciotta, John Panepinto, Bob Williams, Norman Williams and Ruth Williams The Order Sons of Italy in America Lodge No Southern Colorado Chapter wishes to thank Joanne Dodds for her research, writing and production of this historical document. The success of the A Story Worth Telling booklet would not have been possible without the generous contributions of time and effort by the following individuals: John Panepinto and Sam Pisciotta Committee Co-chairmen John Obrin Sales and Distribution Biff Gettel, Lodge President - Cover Illustrations Thank you to the State Historical Fund for the matching grant that allowed the Lodge to clean, restore and preserve the Columbus Monument, as documented in the booklet.

5 Council Members Seated left to right: Sam Pisciotta, Norm Williams, John Panepinto, Kurt Madic, Louie Carleo, David Gohn, Al Spinuzzi, John Obrin. Standing left to right: Gary Gennetta, Bob Smith, Leon Harwood, Jack Everhart, Biff Gettel, Gino Carleo, Bryan Charles, Brad Farbo, Mickey Giarratano. Not pictured: Dominic Gallina, John Amidei, Jim Bacino, Greg Lauricella (photographer). Sons of Italy of Southern Colorado, Lodge 2738 The Sons of Italy of Southern Colorado Lodge was formed in 1998 because of the desire of many area Italian Americans to celebrate and preserve our rich culture and heritage. The Order Sons of Italy in America was the society selected because it is the largest and oldest Italian society in America. In fact, 2016 marks the 111th anniversary of OSIA. An official initiation took place in April of 1998 with national president Frank De Santis performing the ceremony. Since that time, our lodge has grown to over 200 members. We have established a scholarship program for students entering college and have granted over $260,000 in scholarships. The annual scholarship awards dinner features entertainment from Las Vegas, a raffle worth $4,000 in prize money, and a commercial video production honoring the students and their achievements. The event sells out every year because of the quality of the show, and our concern for young people who will carry on our traditions. The annual dinner is also when a new Italian of the Year Lodge member is surprised with the honor. 1 Our other top priorities are promotion of the Italian language in all Pueblo high schools and support for an Italian major at Colorado State University/Pueblo. We successfully completed a Sister City exchange with Bergamo, Italy, which enhances the mission of OSIA for close ties between our homeland and Italian Americans. In 2014, the Lodge completed a project to clean, restore and preserve the Columbus Monument in Pueblo that was first dedicated in In addition, another flagpole was installed to fly the Italian flag and the area was named the Christopher Columbus Piazza. Over $30,000 was raised to fund the project. The Lodge spearheads the Annual Columbus Day Celebration at the monument. The Lodge members plan to continue the 110-year-old tradition indefinitely. OSIA of Southern Colorado is dedicated to love of our Italian culture, the contributions of persons of Italian heritage to the betterment of society and the preservation of our culture for future generations.

6 Photographs courtesy of Lauricella Photography. 2

7 To remember and to be remembered is a core value everyone holds dear. We honor the memory of all of the men and women who had the courage to come to America and the wisdom to adapt to a new way of life. As their descendants we are grateful for the opportunity to live the American dream. The Sons of Italy Lodge of Southern Colorado No dedicates this booklet, a project commissioned by the Lodge, because our stories are worth telling. Photograph courtesy of Lauricella Photography. 3

8 THANK YOU TO OUR DONORS 4

9 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS MONUMENT RESTORATION AND PRESERVATION PROJECT by John Panepinto The Christopher Columbus Monument, located at the Mesa Junction in Pueblo, Colorado, was dedicated and given to the City of Pueblo on Columbus Day, October 12, Funds were raised nationally by the Columbian Federation of Italian Lodges. Newspaper stories of the event claimed there were more than 5,000 people in attendance, followed by a parade and a dinner at the Mineral Palace Park. The Sons of Italy Lodge No. 2738, Southern Colorado Chapter, joined the City of Pueblo s Adopt-a-Streetscape project for the monument area in 2010 and the same year installed the plaque describing the events surrounding the 1905 dedication. In 2011 the Sons of Italy Lodge No of Southern Colorado was successful in having the monument site included in the prestigious National Register of Historic Places. That designation was the catalyst for launching a project in late 2013 to professionally clean, restore and preserve the monument. The chairman of the restoration and preservation committee was John Panepinto with principal members Gino Carleo, Louie Carleo, John Obrin, Al Spinuzzi and Biff Gettel. The nearly $14,000 in restoration work was paid with a $7,920 State Historical Fund grant the city received in October of 2013, along with 40% matching funds donated by the Sons of Italy Lodge. Even though the Colorado Historical Society authorized the funding October 15, 2013, the project languished until Bill Zwick, Pueblo s Capital Projects Manager, stepped in to coordinate the project in June of With his guidance, good weather and a little luck the restoration was completed October 7, 2014, and the flagpole for the Italian flag was installed by 5 PM, Friday, October 10, Everything was finished in time for a Columbus Day rededication on Monday, October 13, Conservation Solutions, Inc. (CSI) of Clinton, Maryland, was selected to perform the restoration work which included detergent cleaning of the stone elements, re-pointing, patching, cleaning and refinishing the stone coat of arms and cleaning and applying a protective wax coating on the After Restoration bronze bust. The restoration work required ten days of specialized skills and detailed procedures by two young women, Sara Johnson and Lyndi Gulick, who have extensive conservation experience. The team provided a detailed 88-page report, including some photomicrographs of various stages of the process. The restoration firm selected by the city for the monument s restoration could not jeopardize the monument s historical integrity. For instance, the replacement mortar for all joints, and the products used for cleaning and restoring the bronze bust and base, and the small amount of repainting on the coat of arms required approval by the State Historical Fund representative. The project required Pueblo City Council to approve revocable permits for construction of two donor walls on each side of the monument and installation of a flagpole to fly the Italian flag. Council also approved an ordinance August 25, 2014, allowing the area to be named the CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS PIAZZA. The Lodge funded the project by accepting donations of $500 for a 4x6-inch bronze donor recognition plaque installed on the north side of the two donor walls. To date, 60 individual and family donors and 10 donors from Italian lodges and organizations have sponsored the project. 5 Before Restoration

10 Before After 6

11 O The Louie Carleo family and Barbara Fortino were major donors of $2,500 each to fund the purchase of a new flagpole and to refurbish the current flagpole. The Columbian Federation of Italian American Societies and the Al Spinuz z i family were major donors of over $1,000 each to fund the two large bronz e plaques which designate the area as a gathering place or Christopher Columbus Piaz z a. The Sons of Italy Lodge provided additional funding in 2015 to light the piaz z a at night. Pueblo Electrics owner, Ron Guarienti, donated time and materials to offset some of the expense to install LED lighting on top of the donor walls. Now the donor plaques are visible at night. Also in 2015, the Southern Colorado Lodge of the Sons of Italy funded the installation of solar panels on the flagpoles at the Christopher Columbus Piaz z a to properly light the flags at night. For 110 years the Christopher Columbus monument has symboliz ed Pueblo s Italian American citiz ens and their Italian heritage. Now another generation has funded the restoration and preservation of the monument to once again celebrate our Italian American community. ur T hank s to L y ndi Gulic k ( left) and S ara J ohnson ( right) for their restoration w ork! Photographs courtesy of John Panepinto 7

12 8

13 Knights of Columbus 4 th Degree Honor Guard Italian flagpole American flagpole Flagpoles courtesy of these generous donors Photographs courtesy of Lauricella Photography 9

14 ISBN