February 2013 issue

THE

ITALIAN TIMES Published by the Italian Community Center 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee, WI 53202 www.ICCMilwaukee.com VOL. 34, NO. 8 FEBRUARY 2013

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Your attendance is requested for the ICC’s Il Grande Carnevale on Feb. 9

By Thomas Hemman Times Editor Here’s your official invitation to attend the Italian Community Center’s social event of the year – the 34th annual Il Grande Carnevale – on Saturday, Feb. 9 beginning at 5 p.m.

Joanne (Sanfilippo) Czubek and Rosemary DeRubertis, general chairpersons, encourage members and friends of the ICC to make their reservations early for this spectacular event as Carnevale usually draws a full house. They assure that the 2013 edition will be a fantastic, fun-filled event.

The theme is “Ricordi di Carnevale” (“Memories of Carnevale), celebrating the memorable moment of the gala that has been part of the ICC’s tradition since 1980.

Costs to attend have been set at $55 per person, with a discounted price of $50 for ICC members. A reservation form accompanies this article. Reservations may also be made with a credit card by calling the ICC at 414/223-2180. The reservation deadline is Monday, Feb. 4.

Here’s what’s in store For those who haven’t previously attended, Carnevale gets under way in the galleria with a social hour (cash bar) during which the

Italian Conference Center’s scrumptious hors d’oeuvres are served. An hour later, attendees are invited to enter the Pompeii Grand Ballroom for a sumptuous dinner.

Next comes the colorful coronation ceremony of the ICC’s 2013 royalty followed by dancing (this year to Bill Sergent’s Big Band), a late-night pyrotechnics display presented by Bartolotta Fireworks and an abundant sweet table.

Carnevale’s dinner menu is best described as a gastronomic extravaganza. Starting with an Italian salad and bread and butter, it features a double entrée – a petite filet mignon and chicken Sarà – served with a nest of light garlic-butter angel hair pasta, broiled tomato parmesan and a vegetable medley followed by a decandent dessert of New York cheesecake with strawberry filling and chocolate ganache, coffee, tea, iced tea or milk. Each table will be set with a bottle of red and white wine.

The creative design team of ICC volunteers Marie and Craig Lieber, C.J. Lieber, Ryan Lieber, Christina Ziino, Ann Zambito, Santa Mazza, Frank D’Amato, Cosmo Carini and Pamela Mazza-Mueller are busy creating the ballroom decorations to carry out Carnevale’s theme. All they will say is that the ballroom

From the left: Craig Lieber, his grandson, Ryan, and his son, C.J., were hard at work preparing a small portion of the decorations that will be put up for the 34th annual Il Grande Carnevale on Saturday, Feb. 9. The festive decorations have long been an essential component to the Italian Community Center’s celebration of this pre-Lenten costume and mask ball. (Photo provided by Marie Lieber)

will sparkle.

Other members of the committee, including Rose Anne CerasoFritchie, Liz Ceraso, Mary Winard, Marie Schwindt, Jim Schwindt, Mary Pecoraro, Anna Pitzo and Ginny Balistreri are busy at work on registration, the raffle, publicity and program book ad sales.

La Befana pays a visit to ICC to the delight of children

For the 11th consecutive year, the Italian Community Center hosted a post-Christmas party for the youngest children and grandchildren of ICC members that celebrated the legend of La Befana. The gift-bearing witch of Italian folklore greeted everyone and presented gifts to the youngsters on Saturday, Jan. 5. She also told the children her Christmas story in which she dismissed a chance to travel with the Three Wise Men and also a shepherd to Bethlehem to see the Baby Jesus.

Then, realizing her mistake, she decided to make

amends by delivering gifts to good children on Epiphany Eve. La Befana was relaying her story to the children at the ICC when this picture was taken. Her appearance was made possible through the efforts of Anna Pitzo. The other adult in this picture is Rose Anne Ceraso-Fritchie, who served as chairperson of the party, which was organized by the ICC’s Avanti Committee. Several more photos from the event appear on the back page. (Times photo by Tom Hemman)

Costumes and masks Wear a costume, mask or both to truly capture the spirit of the Carnevale, which has been celePlease turn to page 8

Free ‘Cure for Cabin Fever Music Series’ starts Feb. 5

By Thomas Hemman Times Editor The Italian Community Center has the remedy for anyone who suffers from Wisconsin’s winter blues; it’s the second season of the “Cure for Cabin Fever Music Series,” starting Feb. 5. This freeadmission series will feature jazz and blues artists on Tuesday nights and rock-and-roll groups on Thursday nights.

The Cure for Cabin for Fever Series is much like the ICC’s longrunning summer Courtyard Music Series with one big exception. The Cabin Fever Series is held indoors, in the ICC’s comfy Festa Ballroom.

Shows start at 6:30 p.m. and end around 9 p.m. ICC officials are anticipating large crowds for virtually every show, so reservations are highly recommended. Call Cafe La Scala at 414/223-2185 to make yours. The Cafe La Scala staff will be on hand beginning at 5 p.m. to take food and beverage orders.

Past President Joe Campagna, Jr. and music coordinator Tom Sorce are pleased to announce the series lineup.

Tuesday night jazz and blues • Feb. 5 – Reverend Raven & The Chain Smokin’ Altar Boys (blues).

Please turn to page 5

A message from Gina Spang, Italian Community Center President Happy New Year! I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas and the whole holiday season. As we move into 2013 we have a lot of fun and exciting events planned for our members and guests. Starting off the new year is Carnevale, one of the Center’s signature events. This year the theme is “Memories.”

Carnevale is always packed with interesting costumes, regalia and royalty, good food, good friends, dancing and of course the fireworks.

Our “Taste of Italy” follows in April. This event brings people from all over the city down to our Center to sample Italian food, wine and wonderful desserts! A new event that is under consideration for this year is a golf outing. We are hoping to have this event in May or June – more details to follow.

Then there is Festa! This year’s Festa will be July 19th, 20th and 21st. We are working on reconfiguring the north end of the grounds to include a larger family and/or children’s area with rides and games. The north end will also be the home to all of our cultural exhibits …… Yes, this includes Mario Carini’s spectacular Pompeii Sacred Art exhibit. We are still working through some of the details, but we are excited about this new idea and confident that this layout will add some new energy to the grounds.

Another new event that we are working on for this fall is an Italian trade show. We would like to showcase our Italian heritage by exhibiting “All Things Italian”. We are planning a fashion show, exhibits by Italian retailers, wine, cheese and music! This event will be in September or October – again, more details will follow.

As I think about this upcoming year, I am very excited and very optimistic. We have a strong Board of Directors, a committed group of past presidents, a core group of volunteers that we are building upon and, most importantly, a strong membership. I think these components have positioned us for an exciting 2013. So join us at the Italian Community Center and have fun in 2013.

– Gina M. Spang, ICC President

Avanti Committee’s free ‘Great Artists of the Italian Renaissance’ series returns on Wednesday, Feb. 13

By Liz Ceraso Avanti Committee Chair Join the Avanti Committee for a free lecture series on the Great Artists of the Italian Renaissance.

The lectures will be shown at the Italian Community Center on the following Wednesdays from 6 to 8 p.m.: Feb. 13, 20, 27 and Mar. 6, 13 and 20.

This event is open to all ICC members and non-members. Call the Italian Community Center at 414-223-2180 or email me at liz.ceraso@gmail.com to let us know your name and how many people will attend. Walk-ins are certainly welcome, but we would like to get an estimated head count in order to prepare the room setup.

The series will be shown on the Members’ Room TV, and you will be able to order dinner from Cafe La Scala if desired. Even though the lectures are not live, they are captivating. They feature Professor William Kloss, who will guide us through a visual feast in an artistcentered survey that explores hundreds of different paintings and sculptures by scores of different artists. An independent art historian, scholar, and curator, Kloss is a frequent lecturer for the Smithsonian Institution’s seminar and travel program. He has served on the Committee for the Preservation of the White House by presidential appointment since 1990, and he is the author of several books and exhibition catalogs.

Harder Funeral Home JAMES T. GUARDALABENE ASSOCIATE 18700 W. Capitol Drive “Three generations of my family serving yours.” www.Guardalabene.com Phone: (262) 781-8350 Cell: (414) 588-0836 “As dictated by the laws of the State of Wisconsin, all pre-paid funeral trusts are allowed to be transferred to another funeral home at any time. I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to discuss transferring your trust to me from Schmidt & Bartelt or any other funeral home. I would, of course, honor all the terms and wishes as originally agreed upon. It is a very simple process that only requires your signature on a transfer form which I would provide. In addition, there likely could be a savings to you because of Harder’s more reasonable charges.”

PAGE 2 – FEBRUARY 2013

• NO LONGER ASSOCIATED WITH SCHMIDT & BARTELT/ GUARDALABENE & AMATO. • Personally providing the services you have come to expect at your church, chapel or at the Harder Funeral Home.

• Funeral planning & pre-planning at your residence or at the funeral home.

• Pre-planning and Title 19 expertise.

• Longtime member of the Italian Community Center.

• Proud sponsor of the Festa Italiana Mass since 2002.

No era of artistic achievement is as renowned as the Renaissance, and no country holds a higher place in that period than Italy. The supreme works created in Florence, Rome, Venice, and other Italian cities by such masters as Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Titian have never been equaled and have established a canon of beauty that pervades Western culture to this day.

These lectures cover the art historical periods known as the Early Renaissance and the High Renaissance, which extended from about 1400 to about 1520. Italy is the first and principal location of the Renaissance, and it was in Florence that it took its deepest root. Renaissance means rebirth, and it is the name given to the transition from medieval to modern times in Europe, when the rediscovery of ancient Greek and Roman culture sparked a creative revolution in the humanities, the sciences, and the arts.

Many major masterpieces will be discussed in detail, from Giotto’s frescoes for the Arena Chapel and Ghiberti’s bronze doors for the Florence Baptistery to Leonardo’s The Last Supper and Michelangelo’s Last Judgment.

Professor Kloss offers other insights as well. Did you know that it is incorrect to refer to Leonardo as “da Vinci,” which is not his last name but the indication of his town of birth? Or that the Renaissance was put on hold for half a century due to the Black Death? Or that Renaissance marble sculpture was sometimes painted?

You also learn how to recognize saints from the symbols that accompany them: St. Paul by his Please turn to page 6

THE ITALIAN TIMES 631 E. Chicago St. Milwaukee, WI 53202-5916 (414) 223-2180 Published 11 times annually Publisher . . . Italian Community Center ICC President . . . . . . . . . . . Gina Spang Newspaper Committee Chairman . . . . . . . Rosemary DeRubertis Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Thomas Hemman Italian Page Editor . . . . . . . Enrica Tarantino-Woytal Advertising Sales Manager . . . . . . . . . . . .Thomas Hemman Advertising Sales Representative . . . . . . Faye Ann Kessler Editorial Contributors and Staff Writers/Reporters . . . . .Ginny Balistreri, Bill Lavelette, Mario A. Carini Angelo Castronovo, Barbara Collignon and Susan Christiansen, Staff Photographers . . . . Tim Townsend, Joe Spasiano and Tom Hemman For advertising information, please call (414) 223-2180 or send an e-mail to: themman@italiancc.org.

Copyright 2013 The Italian Community Center, Inc. All Rights Reserved All advertisements must be in accordance with the rules and requirements as determined by editorial policy. Paid advertisements are not to be interpreted as an endorsement by the Italian Community Center or its newspaper, The Italian Times.

In addition, the Newspaper Committee reserves the right to reject ads based on editorial policy approved by the Board of Directors of the Italian Community Center.

The Italian Community Center is a member of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, Visit Milwaukee and the Historic Third Ward Association.

THE ITALIAN TIMES

Oldies But Goodies Spectacular with special guests to perform at ICC on Saturday, Feb. 2 Advance tickets available now for this show reuniting Milwaukee’s early rock performers The Oldies But Goodies Spectacular, joined by special guest performers, will bring back Milwaukee’s ‘50s and ‘60s rock-androll scene in a concert at the Italian Community Center, 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee, on Saturday, Feb. 2.

Doors of the Festa Ballroom open at 6:30 p.m. The show begins at 8 p.m. Advance tickets are now available at the ICC for $15. Stop in or call 414/223-2180 to purchase your tickets. Tickets are also available from members of the Oldies But Goodies Spectacular.

Cafe La Scala, the ICC’s public restaurant, will be open at 5 p.m.

The staff will be on hand to take food and drink orders in both the restaurant and Festa Ballroom throughout the evening.

Kim Marie, the founder and one of the three lead vocalists of the Oldies But Goodies Spectacular, said, “Several very special guest performers will be joining us for this show, which is a reunion of Milwaukee’s best rock-and-roll artists from the late ‘50s and early ‘60s.”

The special artists and the groups they played with back in the day include Little Artie of The Pharoahs; Big Louie of The

Renagades; Larry Lynne of The Skunks; Big Al of The Mob; Bob Hirschi of The Van Tels; and Johnny B, formerly of the Oldies But Goodies Spectacular.

People who have followed the Oldies But Goodies Spectacular through the years know that the band is comprised of several artists who also performed in popular Milwaukee bands from the late ‘50s

into the ‘70s. Kim Marie was a member of The Darnells.

Vocalist/guitarist Chuck Travis was the leader of The Do Wa Wa’s.

Keyboardist Brian Lorde played with The Walking Sticks.

Trumpeter Mike Betts performed with The Freeloaders. Bass guitarist Bob Sanderson was with The Citations. Saxophonist Mike Miller was a member of Jr. & The

Classics. Drummer Bruce Cole played with The Van Tels. Lead guitar Tom Sorce still plays with the Tom Anthony Group. The group’s third vocalist, Tony Clementi, is the only exception. He did not perform with any of Milwaukee’s early rock bands.

The emcee for the evening will be Pat Michaels, who’s a member of the Larry Lynne Group.

The Oldies But Goodies Spectacular is shown here during a prior performance at the Italian Community Center.

Calendar of Events January 22 – February 28, 2013 Monday, Jan. 21 • Milwaukee Ladies of UNICO planning meeting for Sept. 23 fashion show, 6 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 22 • Società Maschile M.S.S. Del Lume meeting, 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 29 • Milwaukee Ladies of UNICO Board meeting, 6 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 30 • Pompeii Women’s Club membership dinner and meeting, 6 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 2 • Oldies But Goodies Spectacular Reunion Concert, 8 p.m. Details in this issue.

Monday, Feb. 4 • Solomon Juneau Club meeting, 11:30 a.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 5 • Pompeii Men’s Club Board meeting, 6 p.m.

• Cure for Cabin Fever Music Series season opener: Reverend Raven & The Chain Smokin’ Altar Boys (blues), 6:30 p.m. Details in this issue.

Wednesday, Feb. 6 • Pompeii Women’s Club Board meeting, 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 7 • Italian Community Center membership dinner, 5:30 p.m.

• Italian Community Center general meeting, 6:30 p.m. Please note: New date for general meeting, first Thursday of the month.

• Cure for Cabin Fever Music Series: Tom Anthony Group (rock and roll), 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 9 • Il Grande Carnevale, 5:12 p.m. Details in this issue.

• Abruzzese Society dinner, 6 p.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 12 • Cure for Cabin Fever Music Series: Frank DeMiles Combo (jazz), 6:30 p.m.

• Milwaukee Chapter UNICO National meeting, 7 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 13 • Avanti Committee’s free lecture series: “Great Artists of the Italian Renaissance,” 6 p.m. Details in this issue.

Thursday, Feb. 14 • Cure for Cabin Fever Music Series: Bob Hirschi & Groove Therapy (rock and roll), 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 19 • Milwaukee Ladies of UNICO general meeting dinner, 6 p.m.

THE ITALIAN TIMES

• Cure for Cabin Fever Music Series: Top Shelve with Lem Banks, Joe Zarcone and Jeff Stoll (jazz), 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 20 • Avanti Committee’s free lecture series: “Great Artists of the Italian Renaissance,” 6 p.m. Details in this issue.

• Filippo Mazzei Greater Milwaukee Lodge 2763/Order Sons of Italy in America spuntino and meeting, 6 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 21 • Cure for Cabin Fever Music Series: Rick D’Amore Band (rock and roll), 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 26 • Cure for Cabin Fever Music Series: Steve Cohen Band with Jim Liban (blues), 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 27 • Avanti Committee’s free lecture series: “Great Artists of the Italian Renaissance,” 6 p.m. Details in this issue.

• Pompeii Women’s Club general meeting dinner, 6 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 28 • Cure for Cabin Fever Music Series: Larry Lynne Band (rock and roll), 6:30 p.m.

Daily and weekly classes and activities • Winter bocce leagues. The winter bocce season continues through the week of Mar. 4. Championship playoffs set for Monday, Mar. 11.

• Free Children’s Italian class. The spring semester of the Italian Community Center’s free children’s Italian class (for those ages 6-12) begins on Saturday, Mar. 9. Children can be enrolled on any Saturday during the 10-week series. Details in this issue.

• Italian I and II classes for teens and adults. The spring semester of Italian I and Italian II classes for teens and adults begins on Tuesday, Mar. 5. Classes are held on 10 consecutive Tuesday nights.

Pre-registration is required. Details in this issue.

• Caprisci Italiano (new conversational Italian class). The spring

semester of Caprisci Italian begins on Monday, Mar. 18. Classes are held on 8 consecutive Mondays. Details in this issue.

• Tradizione Vivente, The Italian Dance Group of Milwaukee. This folk dance group practices weekly on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. at the ICC. Visit www.tradizionevivente.com for details. Ballate con noi! Dance with us!

• Members Room. Open to Italian Community Center members and their guests, 8 a.m. - 9 p.m., Monday - Thursday and 8 a.m. - 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

FEBRUARY 2013 – PAGE 3

La Cucina Cooking Classes returning to the ICC by popular demand

By Susie (DeSanctis) Christiansen La Cucina, a well-received series of cooking classes is returning to the Italian Community Center … with a twist.

The members of the ICC’s Membership & Avanti Committees are very pleased to welcome you, or welcome you back, to La Cucina, classes and demonstrations involving local restaurants and chefs, this time with a slightly different format, but with the same delicious subject – Italian food!

You can register for each class separately, but we recommend you register for all three, at a lower price, since you won’t want to miss

one of these events. Read on and make your decision.

The first evening, Wednesday, Mar. 20, will feature a competition among three talented chefs in what is being billed as “The Battle of the Festa Italiana Chefs.” Carlo Pedrone of Trattoria di Carlo, Peter Carini of Carini’s Conca d’Oro and Santo Alioto of Papa Luigi’s will no doubt impress all attendees with their cooking finesse. In the end, you be the judge.

The second class, on Wednesday, Apr. 17, will bring to the forefront the “Culinary Stars of the Future” from the highly reputable Milwaukee Area Technical

College’s Culinary Program. Come enjoy this evening as several young and talented future chefs challenge each other and present to you their cooking and baking techniques. The future of food in Milwaukee awaits your discriminating palate.

And last but certainly not least, on Wednesday, May 15, you are invited to our home as Nonna & Nonno share their treasured recipes and cooking skills with you. You will be reminded of days gone by when all of Sunday was spent making sauce, slow cooking meat and hanging fresh pasta in preparation for Sunday night dinner. This is a class not to be

missed.

La Cucina Cooking Series will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. and will include food and wine tasting.

Reservations are required.

Three cooking demonstrations – cooking skills shared with you – food and wine tasting – and so much more. Cuciniamo! Let’s Cook!

Registration fees for each session are: Members – $30 and NonMembers –$40. The cost to sign up for all three classes are: Members – $80 and Non-Members – $90. To register, call the ICC at 414/2232180. Space is limited, so don’t wait to register.

21st annual St. Joseph’s Day luncheon set for Mar. 19 at the ICC

By Thomas Hemman Times Editor Chairperson Mary (Mineo) Winard has announced that planning is well under way for the Italian Community Center’s 21st annual St. Joseph’s Day luncheon.

This year, the celebration will be held on Tuesday, Mar. 19, the actual day set aside by Catholic Church to honor the foster father of Jesus Christ. The event begins at noon.

A pre-paid reservation policy has been established. The cost has been set at $17 for an ICC member and $23 a non-member. The reservation deadline of Thursday, Mar. 14. Reservations can be made by completing the form accompanying this article and mailing it with your payment to the ICC, 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee, WI 53202, or by calling the Center at 414/223-2180 and paying with a credit card.

The St. Joseph’s Day tradition includes a meatless meal. Winard and vice chairperson Ann (D’Amico) Skoczynski report that the ICC menu for the observance will include pasta con sarde e finocchio (pasta with sardines and fennel), eggplant artichokes, tossed salad

with grapefruit, Italian bread and coffee, tea or milk. There will be a special dessert.

Another part of the tradition is the setting up of a St. Joseph’s table, The table will be presided over by a statue of St. Joseph and will be blessed by a member of the clergy, who will also deliver the invocation at the beginning of the luncheon.

At the conclusion of the luncheon, attendees will be given gift bags containing apples, oranges and a small loaf of blessed bread to take home.

As of presstime, Winard was awaiting confirmation of the member of clergy, a guest speaker and a musician to play during the luncheon. She anticipates an announcement of these individuals to appear in a follow-up article in the next issue of The Italian Times.

St. Joseph’s Day tradition St. Joseph’s Day is marked with celebrations across Italy. ICC Historian Mario A. Carini said Sicilian immigrants, who followed the observance in their hometowns, brought the tradition with them with they settled in Milwaukee

Plans in motion for ICC’s ‘A Taste of Italy’ on Apr. 14 Ann Romano, general chairperson, said plans are already being made for the Italian Community Center’s 18th annual “A Taste of Italy” on Sunday, Apr. 14. She advises everyone who loves Italian food to keep the date open.

This celebration of Italian food, which serves as an essential fundraiser for the nonprofit ICC, will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

As always, there will be free admission and free parking, and, best of all, everything you choose to eat or drink will be available at an incredibly low cost. Romano said food and beverage tickets will cost the same as last year – $1.50 each or seven tickets for $10.

Just like the past 17 Taste of Italy events, there will be a large selection of entrée items, desserts and beverages. The entire building will be utilized for the event.

PAGE 4 – FEBRUARY 2013

Romano, who has been actively involved in all but one of the previous “Taste of Italy” fund-raisers, said Ann (D’Amico) Skoczynski is returning as vice chairperson and volunteer food ticket chair.

There will also be live entertainment and a giant raffle, Romano added. Marie and Jim Schwindt are returning to serve as chairpersons of this year’s raffle.

Last year’s “Taste of Italy” brought in more than $20,000 for the ICC. Romano noted that this profit would not have been possible without the generous support of numerous Italian societies, food and product vendors and members of the ICC. The 2011 Taste of Italy brought in a record net profit of $23,000 which, Romano said, “we would certainly like to top in 2013.”

The ICC presents the St. Josephʼs Day Luncheon Tuesday, Mar. 19 • Reservation Form Name(s): ___________________________________________________ Address: ____________________________________________________ City: _________________________________ State: ________________ Zip: ____________________ Phone: ____________________________ Number of ICC members attending: ___ @ $17.00 per person = $ Number of non-members attending: ___ @ $23.00 per person = $ Pre-paid reservations must be received by Thursday, Mar. 14th.

Tables of 10 available. Please list the people at your table: ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ Weʼre attending and wish to make an additional donation to the event.

Besides my payment for reservations, Iʼm sending a $ contribution.

We are unable to attend, but wish to contribute $ tradition in the high standard of the past.

to continue this

Checks payable to: St. Josephʼs Luncheon. (One check preferable for all at same table.) MAIL TO: Italian Community Center, Attn.: St. Josephʼs Day Luncheon, 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee, WI 53202. starting in the late 1880s.

The subject has also been written by Professor/Cavaliere Philip J. DiNovo, president of the American Italian Heritage Association of Albany, N.Y. In an article on the organization’s website (www.aihaalbany.org), DiNovo wrote: “In the Middle Ages, according to tradition, there was a severe drought that destroyed most vegetation and left many people in western Sicily dying of starvation. People began to pray to St. Joseph asking him to ask the Lord for rain. They promised if the rains came that they would honor St. Joseph for his intercession and perpetually honor him on March 19.

“At the stroke of midnight, the Lord sent the rain; it was on this day the prayers were heard. The people had water, the vegetation turned green, and there were fish for the fishermen. The St. Joseph altars are based on this traditional legend, which has been handed down from one generation to the next.”

Today in Italy, St. Joseph’s Day is also known as Father’s Day. The day, which used to be a national holiday, is traditionally celebrated with bonfires and sometimes pag-

eants with scenes from the life of St. Joseph. Children give gifts to their fathers on San Giuseppe Day. Zeppole (or zeppoli in southern Italian dialects) are traditionally eaten on St. Joseph’s Day. Zeppole are deep-fried dough balls that are usual topped with powdered sugar and may be filled with custard, jelly, cannoli-style pastry cream or a butter and honey mixture. In Rome, Naples and the region of Sicily, these little pastries are sold on many streets and are sometimes given as gifts.

Deadline set for March issue of The Italian Times All advertising copy, news and feature stories, letters from the readers and photographs for publication in the March 2013 issue of The Italian Times must be submitted to the editor no later than Monday, Feb. 11.

Materials can be emailed to editor Tom Hemman at themman@italiancc.org, sent to The Italian Times, 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee, WI 53202, or dropped off at the reception desk in the Italian Community Center office.

THE ITALIAN TIMES

ICC’s free ‘Cure for Cabin Fever Music Series’ starts Feb. 5 Jazz and blues artists perform on Tuesdays; rock and roll bands play on Thursdays from page 1 • Feb. 12 – Frank DeMiles Combo (jazz).

• Feb. 19 – Top Shelf with Lem Banks and Joe Zarcone and Jeff Stoll (jazz).

• Feb. 26 – Steve Cohen Band with Jim Liban (blues).

• Mar. 5 – Anita Stemper with Tom Sorce Band, featuring Jeff Pietrangelo (jazz).

• Mar. 12 – Reverend Raven & The Chain Smokin’ Altar Boys (blues).

• Mar. 19 – Bryan Lee Band (blues).

• Mar. 26 – Bob Maynard & The Milwaukee Connection (jazz).

• Apr. 2 – La Chazz (Latin jazz).

• Apr. 9 – Frank DeMiles & Friends (jazz).

• Apr. 16 – Reverend Raven & The Chain Smokin’ Altar Boys (blues).

• Apr. 23 – Pete Sorce with Jeff Labarge and Swing Explosion Band (jazz).

• Apr. 30 – Steve Cohen Band with Greg Koch (blues).

Thursday night rock and roll • Feb. 7 – Tom Anthony Group.

• Feb. 14 – Bob Hirschi & Groove Therapy.

• Feb. 21 – Rick D’Amore Band.

• Feb. 28 – Larry Lynne Band.

• Mar. 7 – Bob Hirschi & Groove Therapy.

• Mar. 14 – Tom Anthony Group.

• Mar. 21 – Rick D’Amore Band.

• Mar. 28 – Larry Lynne Band.

• Apr. 4 – Tom Anthony Group.

• Apr. 11 – Bob Hirschi & Groove Therapy.

• Apr. 18 – Rick D’Amore Band.

• Apr. 25 – Tom Anthony Group.

The jazz & blues artists One of the most popular acts to play at the ICC the last few years is Reverend Raven & The Chain Smokin’ Altar Boys (www.reverendraven.com). Specializing in classic Chicago blues, Reverend Raven and company won the Wisconsin Area Music Industry Award for best blues band in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2008 and 2010. Reverend Raven performed in Florida in late October and early November.

Frank DeMiles, appearing once with his combo and once with his jazz friends, has been performing for more than 60 years. DeMiles, who taught for many years at Greenfield High School, received a Milwaukee Civic Music Association Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010.

Three familiar faces on Milwaukee’s jazz scene join forces for the Feb. 19 show. They are vocalist Lem Banks, percussionist Joe Zarcone and keyboardist Jeff Stoll. The versatile Banks excels at singing jazz, but also shines with blues, R&B and pop vocals. Drummer Zarcone has been a key player on Wisconsin’s jazz scene for more than 40 years. Stoll chips in on vocals and is recognized for his musical arrangements.

Steve Cohen (www.stevecohenblues.com) and Jim Liban, legends in harmonica-style blues, take the stage on Feb. 26. Both have performed with some of the world’s top blues players. In 2010, Cohen was a finalist in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis as a solo performer. He has won numerous state and local awards over the years. Liban was known throughout the Midwest in the 1970s as the leader of Short Stuff, the innovative Milwaukee-based ensemble that pioneered the blues and rock sound later identified with bands like the Fabulous Thunderbirds and Stevie Ray Vaughn & Double Trouble.

Vocalist Anita Stemper takes a break from her own popular jazz group – the Anita Stemper Trio – to perform with the Tom Sorce Band (www.sorcegroup.com) and Jeff Pietrangelo on Mar. 5. Guitar guru Tom Sorce is joined by Joel Freisinger on keyboards and Brian Ford on drums.

Pietrangelo is a well-known trumpet and flugelhorn player, who also performs in La Chazz, a group that’s performing at the ICC on Apr. 2.

Known as the “Braille Blues Daddy,” Bryan Lee and his band make their only appearance in the Cabin Fever Series schedule on Mar. 19. Lee, a native of Two Rivers, Wis., completely lost his sight by the age of 8.

Having an interest in early rock and blues in the 1950s, Lee learned to play rhythm guitar. Lee went on to become a blues institution on Bourbon Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter. He has released several albums and continues to perform nationally and internationally with his band. His latest release is titled, “My Lady Don’t Love My Lady.” For more information, visit www.braillebluesdaddy.com.

Fans of standard jazz will want to be on hand for the Mar. 26 show featuring Bob Maynard & The Milwaukee Connection (www.milwaukeeconnection.biz). Vibraphonist Bob Maynard, who replaced the late Chuck Hedges as the leader of the band, will be joined by guitarist Steve Lewandowski, clarinetist John Blegen, bassist George Welland and drummer Jack Carr.

Formed in 1978 by guitarist Toty Ramos, La Chazz (lachazz.com) began as an 11-piece salsa band that featured original compositions and renditions of famous Latin bands of the time. Later, Ramos decided to concentrate on original instrumental Latin jazz works to showcase the band members’ improvisational skills and to differentiate La Chazz from traditional salsa bands. The group, which now consists of nine members, performs regularly throughout the Milwaukee area. Their only gig in this year’s Cabin Fever Series is Apr. 2.

Pete Sorce and Jeff Labarge with Swing Explosion Band (www.swingexplosion.com)will perform jazz sure to please all fans of the genre. The group features the smooth vocals of Pete Sorce and the classic arrangements of Jeff Labarge with more than a dozen of the finest musicians in southeastern Wisconsin. They specialize in the Big Band sound, but add their own unique style.

Closing out the Tuesday night shows will be the Steve Cohen Band

THE ITALIAN TIMES

Reverend Raven & The Chain Smokin’ Altar Boys will kick off the Italian Community Center’s free “Cure for Cabin Fever Series” on Tuesday, Feb. 5. The blues band has always been a popular draw at the Center. (Times photo by Tom Hemman)

with Greg Koch (gregkoch.com). Koch is a recognized guitar clinician and has performed throughout the world alongside some of the biggest artists in blues, rock and funk. His latest CD, “Strats Got Your Tongue,” has been hailed for featuring “sophisticated blues-based, old-school, six-string mojo of the highest level.” He is the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music’s 2012-13 Artist-in-Residence.

The rock and roll groups Whether it’s the ICC’s summer Courtyard Music Series or the Cabin Fever Series, the Tom Anthony Group (www.tomanthony.com) performs before a packed house. Vocalist Tom Anthony has long been a fixture on the Milwaukee area music scene. With his group – Tom Sorce (guitar), Joel Freisinger (keyboards) and Brian Ford (drums), Anthony presents the best of the rock, pop and rhythm and blues era with a bit of today’s country.

Anthony is famous for his Las Vegas-style show, singing the hits of Elvis, Buddy Holly, Bobby Darin, Everly Brothers, Frankie Valli, Roy Orbison and even some of today’s biggest hit-makers such as Marc Anthony, Brooks & Dunn and Dwight Yoakam. The latest CD by the Tom Anthony Group is “Just For You.” The group already has several big-time engagements in 2013 including the Wisconsin State Fair, Aug. 2-11.

Bob Hirschi & Groove Therapy (www.facebook.com/pages/GrooveTherapy-The-Band) is one of southeast Wisconsin’s hottest horn bands. The band covers the best in rock, soul, R&B, pop, and more in the style of the classic horn bands!

Some of Groove Therapy’s influences include: Chicago, Blood Sweat & Tears, Huey Lewis, Tower of Power, Sam & Dave, Phil Collins, Journey, The Commodores, The Doobie Brothers, Santana, Al Jarreau, Earth Wind and Fire, Van Morrison, Dire Straits, Toto, Ides of March, Billy Joel, Mayer Hawthorne, Boston, Frank Sinatra, REO Speedwagon, Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, ZZ Top, John Mayer, and Michael Bublé.

Hirschi was one of the original vocalists in the Oldies But Goodies Spectacular, a group that has played frequently at the ICC. The Rick D’Amore Band performs the best of the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s on up. Vocalist Rick D’Amore has been entertaining fans of rock, jazz and pop music for more than 50 years. Joining him in the band are Rob Chalifaux on bass, Tim Sardina on drums and Peter D’Amore (Rick’s son) on lead guitar.

Milwaukee’s “Godfather of Rock and Roll,” Larry Lynne and his band present a unique variety show that consists of rock, country-rock, blues and classic favorites from the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s to today’s hits and novelty music with a touch of comedy. Lynne. vocalist/guitarist, was a member of The Skunks, a Milwaukee-based band, which landed a Top 40 hit, “I Recommend Her,” in 1964. He recently performed in the “Salute to 35 Years of Festa Italiana Entertainment” show at the ICC. Joining Lynne is his current band are James Aubrey (keyboards, violin and guitar), Jon Dymond (bass) and Pat Michaels (drums). For more information on the band, visit www.larrylynne.com.

Tom Anthony

Frank DeMiles

FEBRUARY 2013 – PAGE 5

Tom Sorce to perform at Cafe La Scala on Friday nights, Feb. 8 – Apr. 26 Rick D’Amore to sub for him Feb. 15 and Apr. 26 On Friday evenings starting Feb. 8 and ending Apr. 26, Tom Sorce will be performing in Cafe La Scala, the Italian Community Center’s public restaurant.

Subbing for him on Feb. 15 and Apr. 26 will be Rick D’Amore.

There will be no cover charge and no drink minimum for any of shows which will start at 6:30 p.m. and end at about 9:30 p.m.

Sorce has been a fixture of quality entertainment in southeastern Wisconsin for more than 40 years.

A veteran guitarist, Sorce has shared the stage with national artists as well as Wisconsin’s finest musicians. Sorce says his shows will feature “a variety of music, some Italian, some Sinatra, Dean Martin, Louis Prima, some oldies, country and blues.”

Sorce serves as the music coordinator for the ICC’s Courtyard Music Series each summer and its “Cure for Cabin Fever Music

Tom Sorce

Rick D’Amore

Series” each winter. The next Cabin Fever series kicks off on Tuesday and Thursday nights

starting Feb. 5. (See separate article.)

Besides his solo shows, Sorce plays with the Oldies But Oldies Spectacular, the Tom Anthony

General meeting date moving to first Thursday starting in February Starting in February, the Italian Community Center’s general membership meeting is moving to the first Thursday of month. There will be no general meeting in January. So your mark calendars: the first general meeting in 2013 will be Thursday, Feb. 7 at 6:30 p.m.

Newly-installed President Gina Spang requested the switch to resolve a professional conflict.

Spang told The Italian Times, “Usually the date of the general membership meeting is on the same night as the Milwaukee Public Schools Board meeting (the

fourth Thursday). Since I need to attend both meetings, one needed to change.”

Spang is the Director of Facilities and Maintenance Services for Milwaukee Public Schools.

There will be a membership dinner preceding the February general meeting. The buffet will be available beginning at 5:30 p.m. In 2013, the membership dinner will be available prior to every other general meeting. On the nights when the dinner is not available, cake and coffee will be served.

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Group and the Tom Sorce Band, Vocalist Rick D’Amore has a long resume of performances at prestigious supper clubs, theaters and festivals. For many years, he regularly sang at Festa Italiana, the summer festival organized by the ICC and is always one of the acts in the Courtyard and Cabin Fever series.

From standards and jazz favorites to pop, rock and roll and popular Italian sing-a-longs, D’Amore’s show promises to be fun for all.

Cafe La Scala, which serves an all-you-can-eat fish fry on Friday nights in addition to its regular menu, accepts reservations. Call 414/223-2185. Food and drink service will be available throughout the evening.

Cafe La Scala is open for lunch and dinner, Monday through Friday. Lunches are available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dinner service begins at 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday and at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.

Free ‘Great Artists of the Italian Renaissance’ series returns on Feb. 13 from page 6 sword, St. Peter by his keys, and St. Jerome by the stone in his hand with which he strikes himself in penance for his sins.

Altogether, the Renaissance lasted about 120 years, and the period of the High Renaissance a

little over 40 years. No later Western art can be discussed without reference to this era – especially as it matured and flourished in the cities of Italy.

Please take time out of your busy schedule to learn about our rich Italian culture.

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414/562-3214 If no answer, please leave message.

4525 South 13th Street, Milwaukee, WI 53221 414/282-6449 – Fax 414/282-6701 ICC Member

William A. Jennaro Law, LLC General Practice of Law 330 E. Kilbourn Ave., Ste. 1170 Milwaukee, WI 53202 414.271.1440 – Office 414.224.8660 – Direct Line 414.271.7680 – Fax wajennarolaw@grgblaw.com Of Counsel with the firm of Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown, LLP PAGE 6 – FEBRUARY 2013

THE ITALIAN TIMES

Caprisci l’Italiano, new conversational Italian class, offered at ICC A new conversational Italian class, “Caprisci l’Italiano,” will be offered at the Italian Community Center on eight consecutive Mondays starting Mar. 18.

guage and are capable of conducting general conversations in Italian.

The instructor Enrica Tarantino Woytal announced that the class will meet from 4 to 5:30 p.m.

The course fee is $75 per person.

To register, please complete the form accompanying this article.

Enrollment is limited to the first 25 students.

Caprisci l’Italiano is intended for those who have already completed Tarantino Woytal’s Italian I and Italian II courses or individuals who are familiar with the lan-

For more information, contact Tarantino Woytal at enricaw@aol.com or 414/481-0170 or visit the ICC’s website at www.ICCMilwaukee.com.

Registration form for Caprisci l’Italiano course

Free children’s Italian class to Mar. 9 at ICC The spring semester of a free weekly series of Italian classes for children between the ages of 6 and 12 will begin Saturday, Mar. 9, at the Italian Community Center. The class, which runs from 3 to 5 p.m., will continue for eight weeks, with the final session on Apr. 27.

The course is intended to provide children with an introduction to the Italian language and the culture of Italy. Besides learning some basic words and the Italian alphabet, the children also make drawings for holiday and special occasions and receive a snack during each Saturday session.

The instructor is Enrica Tarantino Woytal, who also leads the ICC’s Italian classes for teens and adults. She was honored by

WisItalia as Wisconsin’s 2009 “Italian Teacher of the Year.”

Tarantino Woytal has been leading the children’s class at ICC since the early 1980s. Over the years, several hundred youngsters have participated in the free class.

To register for the spring semester, please complete the form accompanying this article and mail it to: Children’s Italian Course, c/o ICC, 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee, WI 53202-5916. Since there is no enrollment fee, parents can also register their children in person any time during the semester.

For further information, contact the ICC office at 414/223-2180, or Enrica Tarantino Woytal or Pietro Tarantino at 414/481-0170, or via email at enrica@aol.com.

Name(s) ___________________________________________________________ Address ___________________________________________________________ City, State, Zip _____________________________________________________ Phone No. ___________________Email _________________________________

Free Children's Italian Course Registration Form (For children ages 6-12) at the Italian Community Center, 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee

Number of persons enrolling: ______ x $75.00 per person = $___________.

Parent(s) Name ________________________________________

Make payment to: Italian Community Center, and send to: ICC, c/o Italian Class, 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee, WI 53202-5916. Enrollment is limited to the first 25 students who send in this registration form with full payment.

Address ______________________________________________ City ________________________ State _______ Zip __________ Phone No.: _____________ Email__________________________

Italian I & II classes for adults and teens to begin Mar. 5 at ICC The Italian Community Center will offer an introductory class (Italian I) and an advanced class (Italian II) this spring starting Tuesday, Mar. 5.

Both classes will be held on 10 consecutive Tuesday nights, with the final classes on May 7.

Instructor Enrica Tarantino Woytal described Italian I as being for those who want an introduction to the language and the culture of Italy. The introductory course will run from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

The Italian II course will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, and end at 7:15 p.m. “The advanced class is for those who have completed Italian I and are ready to learn more about the language and Italian culture and lifestyles,” Tarantino Woytal said.

Enrollment is open to ICC members and the general public. There is a limit of 25 students per class.

The fee for each course is $90 for an ICC member and $100 for a non-member. The fee does not include the course textbook.

To register, complete the form accompanying this article. Checks or money orders are payable to the Italian Community Center.

Registration will be accepted up to the start of the Mar. 5 classes if the enrollment limit has not been reached.

Tarantino Woytal began teaching children’s Italian classes at the ICC more than 30 years ago. She has been offering classes for adults and teens for more than 25 years.

She is also the editor of La Pagina Italiana, a regular Italian language news feature of The Italian Times.

WisItalia, the statewide organization promoting the instruction of Italian in schools, colleges and universities, honored Tarantino Woytal as its 2009 “Italian Teacher of the Year.”

Children's Names & Ages: _______________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ Send this form to: Children's Italian Course, c/o ICC, 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee, WI 53202-5916.

The Perfect Ending Bring your wedding day to a successful close. Gather your families and friends where the ambiance is special, the food is exceptional and the staff is attentive to your every need.

Registration form for Italian I course & Italian II course Name(s) ___________________________________________________________ Address ___________________________________________________________ City, State, Zip _____________________________________________________ Phone No. ___________________Email _________________________________ I am (we are) enrolling in:

Italian I course Number of persons enrolling.

Italian II course Number of persons enrolling.

Course fee: ICC Member - $90.00; Non-Member - $100.00 Make payment to: Italian Community Center, and send to: ICC, c/o Italian Class, 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee, WI 53202-5916. Enrollment in each class is limited to the first 25 students who send in this registration form with full payment.

THE ITALIAN TIMES

631 E. Chicago St. Milwaukee, WI Call David or Michelle 414/223-2800 or visit ItalianConference.com FEBRUARY 2013 – PAGE 7

Your attendance is requested for the ICC’s Il Grande Carnevale on Feb. 9 from page 1 brated in Venice, Italy since the Medieval era.. It is not unusual to see court jesters, Las Vegas show girls, ladies and gentlemen of the Renaissance, lions and tigers, “The Phantom of the Opera” and many other creativity costumes and masks at the ICC’s event. Some feature sequins, beads, plumes or whatever else strikes the creator’s fancy.

“We encourage our attendees to come in costumes and masks and creat a few memories of their own,” Czubek and DeRubertis said. “We’ll have a stellar panel of judges – including the Pfister Hotel’s Artistin Residence, Timothy Westbrook, and fashion blogger Alexis Rose Criscimagna – judging those adorned in costume and mask and awarding prizes for those deeded the best in various categories such as originality, creativity, presentation, etc.”

The judging will take place during the grand march led by La Gran Marescialla Marie Lieber.

The grand march takes place before the fireworks show and the serving of the sweet table. All persons who will be wearing a costume or masks are asked to register when they arrive at a table outside the ballroom. All costume and mask wearers will be given a number to wear to help the judges in selecting the winners.

In her role as mistress of ceremonies, Lieber will also open the evening’s festivities and be in charge of keeping the activities on

schedule.

Czubek and DeRubertis added, “This year we’re asking past royalty who plan to attend Carnevale to let us know they will be there and to wear their sashes, medals and crowns if they still have the, They will be asked to participate in the grand march.”

Coronation of Royalty The highlight of the evening will be the coronation of the 2013 Royalty. The Royal Court includes: John and Mary Anne (Ceraso) Alioto as Re e Regina (King and Queen), Ray and Caroline (Purpero) Besasie as Nonno e Nonna (Royal Grandfather and Grandmother), Mason Mueller as Principe (Prince), Gina Loeffelholz as Principessa (Princess), Dominic Bartolone as Piccolo Principe (Little Prince) and Ella Rose Vollbracht as Piccola Principessa (Little Princess). Alyssa Lieber and Zachary Rolf are Royal Pages.

Lending to the ecclesiastical air of the occasion as Il Vescovo (The Bishop) will be longtime ICC member Frank D’Amato.

Carnevale 2013 Reservation Form Name(s) ____________________________________________________ Address ____________________________________________________ City, State, Zip _______________________________________________ Phone: _________________ Email: ______________________________ Please list the names of persons in your party on a separate sheet of paper. Tables of 10 are available.

Number of ICC members attending: ______ x $50.00 = $ Number of non-members attending: ______ x $55.00 = $ Total amount of your check or money order: $ Please make your check or money order payable to: Italian Community Center. Send payment and this form with the list of those in your party to: Carnevale, c/o ICC, 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee, WI 53202-5916. seven for $10. “We encourage our members to purchase and sell as many tickets as possible,” the co-

chairs said.

For additional tickets, call the ICC office at 414/223-2180.

Re and Regina John and Mary Anne (Ceraso) Alioto

Money raffle As a fund-raising activity, a raffle featuring cash prizes will be conducted. Tickets have been mailed to ICC members for to purchase and sell to friends and family. Tickets will also be on sale the night of Carnevale.

The raffle offers chances to win $500 (1st prize), $300 (2nd prize), $200 (3rd prize) and $100 (4th prize). Ticket prices are $2 each or

Artist Timothy Westbrook and fashion blogger Alexis Rose Criscimagna to judge costume and masks at Carnevale Timothy Westbrook, the Pfister Hotel’s current Artist-inResidence, will be one of the Carnevale costume and mask judges. Westbrook will be joined

by Alexis Rose Criscimagna, a fashion blogger.

Westbrook’s media is fiber art.

He weaves, sews and constructs costumes with repurposed found materials and cassette tapes.

His maternal grandparents, Luigi and Ann Notarangelo, are first generation Italian Americans.

“Nonnie Ann taught me to sew when I was only five years old,” recalled Westbrook. And the passion has stayed with him ever since. His grandfather, “Poppy Luigi,” is legally blind and all his books are on cassette tape. Tim recalls that it was being surrounded by all the shiny tapes that inspired him to weave them with yarns to create sparkling fabrics.

Westbrook’s hometown is Wanakena, N.Y. He is 23 year old; attended Syracuse University and first came to Milwaukee on Jan. 20, 2012 when he was named one of the six finalists in the Pfister Hotel’s Artist-in-Residence program. To narrow it down to one, the finalists were then interviewed by representatives of the hotel and by a jury of Milwaukee artists.

There was also public voting.

Westbrook has been at the Pfister since Mar. 27, 2012. His term as its Artist-in-Residence

Principessa Gina Loeffelholz

Timothy Westbrook

Alexis Rose Criscimagna

will expire at the end of March 2013, but he had decided to stay on in Milwaukee to pursue other opportunities. He is deeply-rooted in Italian traditions and has become a member of the Italian Community Center.

Criscimagna has recently relaunched her brand “Alexis Rose” with her newly launched blog, “Alexis Rose Style.” She says at her blog, alexisrosestyle.com, that viewers will experience everything from styling editorials where she styles women from all walks of life, all different shades, sizes,

styles and more.

Her Italian heritage lies on her grandfather’s side. Alexis said, “I am 25% German and 50% Black, but I feel that my Sicilian roots play a big part in my natural love for style, fashion and just being overall chic. To me, that is the epitome of an Italian/Sicilian women.”

Keep an eye out for Timothy Westbrook and Alexis Rose Criscimagna at Carnevale. If you’re in costume or mask, they will have their eyes on you.

Principe Mason Mueller

PAGE 8 – FEBRUARY 2013

THE ITALIAN TIMES

Nonno and Nonna Ray and Caroline Besasie

La Gran Marescialla Marie Lieber

Il Vescovo Frank D’Amato

Piccola Principessa Ella Rose Vollbracht

Piccolo Principe Dominic Bartolone

Royal Page Allie Lieber

Zachary Rolf

Pietro Tarantino offers help to Italian citizens Pietro Tarantino, a longtime member and past board member of the Italian Community Center, is offering free assistance to members of Wisconsin’s Italian community on matters involving the Italian government. Tarantino will be at the ICC on the first Saturday of the month from 12:30 to 3 p.m.

Tarantino is a member of Comites (Comitato degli Italiani

all’estero) and a liaison to the Italian General Consulate of Chicago.

Among the matters for which Tarantino can provide assistance are visas and passports, power of attorney, verification of signatures, documents relating to death certificates and declarations dealing with citizenship, civil status and pensions.

Client praises Italian Conference Center for efforts on holiday party Dear Michelle LeFebrve, Italian Conference Center Catering Sales Representative: I wanted to let you know what a great job you and everyone else did in helping us plan and execute a great holiday bocce party for our employees. They are still talking about it and how much fun playing bocce was. Some of them are actually looking into playing more.

The pizza was very good, too.

We had plenty to go around and even had a few pieces left over to take home. It was very nice that the ICC’s staff delivered piping hot pizza from the oven.

I wanted to commend all of the

people who worked with us during the party; specifically Rico, Alyssa and Eric. We couldn’t have asked for more helpful people. They were very professional and accommodating throughout the evening. Rico was especially great when we asked to swap out sodas and order more beer and wine.

Thank you for helping us make this a memorable event.

Shirley Ciano Senior Executive Assistant J.P. Morgan Editor’s note: This bocce party was held on Dec. 12 and attended by 35 people.

Unmarried people celebrate St. Faustino’s Day in Italy on Feb. 15 Saint Faustino’s Day, on Feb. 15, commemorates the saint adopted by single people in Italy. If you see a sign for a St. Faustino Day party, it is most likely an event for singles.

St. Faustino is also the patron

THE ITALIAN TIMES

saint of Brescia, a city Lombardy region of Italy.

There, a large festival is Feb. 15.

The day is filled with vendors, lots of food and fireworks display at night.

in the held on music, a huge

FEBRUARY 2013 – PAGE 9

•••PAID ADVERTISEMENT•••

PAGE 10 – FEBRUARY 2013

THE ITALIAN TIMES

•••PAID ADVERTISEMENT•••

THE ITALIAN TIMES

FEBRUARY 2013 – PAGE 11

Milwaukee UNICO organizations ready to award scholarships for 77th straight year Continuing a program started 77 years ago, the Milwaukee Chapter of UNICO and the Ladies of UNICO will award several scholarships this spring to high school

seniors of Italian descent. The exact number of scholarships to be presented had not been determined as of press time.

To be eligible, applicants must

attend a public or private school in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee, Washington, Racine, Kenosha or Walworth counties. Additionally, the student must hold an academic

UNICO National offers scholarships for undergraduate and post-graduate studies to students with Italian ancestry Students in the United States who have an Italian ancestry and are interested in pursuing either an undergraduate or post-graduate education may apply for UNICO National scholarships.

UNICO National offers four $6,000 undergraduate scholarships and two $6,000 post-graduate scholarships. Presentations are made to recipients at events hosted by local UNICO chapters across the nation in the spring. Recipients are also recognized in the UNICO National Convention Journal, published for the 91st national convention which will take place July 30 Aug. 3 at the Harbor Beach Marriott in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The criteria that UNICO National uses in selecting its recipients are quite similar to those used by the Milwaukee Chapter in choosing local awardees.

The four undergraduate scholarships are designated as the Theodore Mazza Scholarship, the Major Don S. Gentile Scholarship, the William C. Davini Scholarship and the Alphonse A. Miele Scholarship. These awards do not require the applicant to specify a collegiate

major. The Mazza scholarship was established to commemorate the contributions of the late Theodore Mazza of Milwaukee to both the national organization and the Milwaukee Chapter.

The first post-graduate award is the Sergeant John Basilone Scholarship. It is available to any public or private college student of Italian extraction who is receiving (or has received) a baccalaureate degree and plans to enroll in a post-graduate program.

The second post-graduate award – offered for the fourth consecutive year – is the Dr. Benjamin Cottone Scholarship. Applicants for this award must be at least seniors at a university or graduates of a university who are starting study in the field of medicine or persons who are enrolled in an accredited medical school in the United States.

Application forms for all UNICO National scholarships are available online at www.acunico.org/serv01.htm. The deadline for submitting applications is Monday, Apr. 1.

standing in the top 20% of the graduating class and/or a relative standing in the upper 20% on a college aptitude test (ACT or SAT).

The spirit of this scholarship is to help needy Italian American seniors. Applications will be reviewed by a committee comprised of nonItalian dignitaries from the Milwaukee area. Financial need, scholarship, community/school involvement, and personal character are the criteria by which the applicants will be judged.

Obtaining an application Applications will be available on the Milwaukee UNICO website www.unicomilwaukee.org starting Feb. 1. Click on the documents link found on the sidebar.

Application deadline Candidates must submit their applications by Saturday, Mar. 30 to: Scholarship Director of UNICO Milwaukee, 10625 W. North Ave. Suite 300, Wauwatosa, WI 53226.

The students may be contacted to attend a personal interview at the Italian Community Center during school hours on Friday, Apr. 12.

The scholarships will be presented at a scholarship and awards banquet on the evening of Tuesday, May 14. The recipient or a representative of the recipient must be present to accept the scholarship award.

The Milwaukee UNICO scholarship program has awarded over one million dollars in scholarships over the past 76 years.

The Milwaukee Chapter of UNICO is celebrating 82 years in existence in 2013.

Members: Please notify ICC of change of address Any member of the Italian Community Center who has a change of address is asked to notify the ICC promptly so that mailings from the Center are sent to the correct address.

Since the ICC uses nonprofit bulk rates to mail The Italian Times, the United States Postal Service is entitled to charge a fee (50¢) for each newspaper that is returned to the ICC and deemed undeliverable due to an incorrect address. Since June 2009 when the fees were first assessed, the ICC has been forced to pay more than $415 to the Postal Service because members did not supply the ICC with their change of address information.

Even if you are temporarily away from your permanent residence and are not receiving mail at that address, you need to notify the ICC of your temporary address so that your newspaper can be delivered to that address and so that the ICC is not charged 50¢ for each failed attempt to deliver the publication to your permanent residence.

“We’ve had a number of members who have gone to Florida or another warm weather location for the winter and these people did not supply us with their temporary change of address; hence their newspaper was returned to the ICC with the 50¢ service fee due for each newspaper,” Editor Tom Hemman said.

Nonprofit bulk rate mail is not forwarded to a new address, which means those members who neglect to inform the ICC of their change of address will not receive the newspaper.

Please send change of address information to: ICC, 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee, WI 53202-5916 or email Constance Palmer at cpalmer@italianconference.com or call her at 414/223-2808.

PAGE 12 – FEBRUARY 2013

THE ITALIAN TIMES

Thanks for your donations to the Italian Community Center building fund The officers and directors of the Italian Community Center wish to thank and acknowledge all those who pledged, fulfilled a pledge, or contributed to the building fund.

To obtain information on how to make a donation, please call 414/2232194 or visit www.ICCMilwaukee.com.

The following donations were received between December 7, 2012 and January 8, 2013.

In memory of Alma (Martini) Malley Mark, Angela & Jeanna Mrezek In memory of Sammy Arena George & Judy Menos In memory of Gaspare “Jack” Fallucca (Papa Palermo) Connie Sanfelippo Betty Hermann In memory of Robert J. “Bob” Ruggieri Betty Hermann In memory of Anna Mortellaro Betty Hermann In memory of Frank Vitucci, Sr. Gordon & Bernice Boucher

ICC Historian Mario Carini wants your old high school yearbooks for research Don’t throw away your old high school yearbooks. If you attended a high school in Milwaukee County or surrounding counties, Italian Community Center Historian Mario A. Carini is interested in using the yearbooks for furthering his research on local Italian Americans.

Carini will deposit the yearbooks to the Milwaukee County

Historical Society after he completes his research.

“These can be yearbooks from public, Catholic or private high schools,” Carini said.

Yearbooks can be dropped off at the reception desk in the main office of the ICC. Please include a note with your name and phone number so Carini knows who made the donation.

Copies of vintage photos displayed at ICC or Festa available through Milwaukee County Historical Society Persons interested in acquiring a copy of any of the vintage Italian American photographs that are displayed throughout the year at the Italian Community Center or during the four days of Festa Italiana must contact the Milwaukee County Historical Society (MCHS) to obtain the photo, ICC Historian

Italian Community Center Membership Join us today! What’s not to love?

• ALL ARE WELCOME. Membership is open to any person of Italian heritage or other publicspirited individuals supporting the purposes and objectives of the Italian Community Center.

• A MEMBERSHIP IN THE ITALIAN COMMUNITY CENTER IS A PERFECT GIFT for friends and relatives, holidays, anniversaries, birthdays, weddings and other special occasions.

BENEFITS OF INDIVIDUAL OR SENIOR MEMBERSHIP • Home delivery of The Italian Times* • Complimentary ticket to Festa Italiana • Voting privileges** • Free international television in Members Room for sports and cultural programs • Special events discounts • Social, recreational, cultural and educational opportunities • Discount on advertising in The Italian Times. *Online edition of The Italian Times available for everyone. Visit www.ICCMilwaukee.com. **Persons, 18-25, who purchase individual membership, will have voting privileges.

TYPES OF MEMBERSHIP Individual Membership (64 or younger) @ $35.00/year. Senior Membership (65 or older) @ $30.00/year.

FREE Junior Membership, available for children, teens and adults under the age of 25 with a paid individual membership.

Please complete the following information and mail this application form with your payment to: Italian Community Center, 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee, WI 53202-5916. If you have any questions or want further information, please call (414) 223-2180. If there are more than two persons in each category, please list the additional persons on a separate sheet of paper. All memberships are valid for one full year.

Names and birthdates of persons applying for or renewing an individual membership: New Membership Name: ___________________________________ Birthdate: _______________ Renewing Membership Address: _________________________________ Phone: _________________ Email: _____________________________ New Membership Name: ___________________________________ Birthdate: _______________ Renewing Membership Address: _____________________________ Phone: __________________ Email: ________________________________

Mario A. Carini announced.

“The Historical Society is the keeper of all of the negatives,” Carini said, who donated a massive collection of artifacts, photos and other memorabilia to the society on behalf of the ICC and the early Italian immigrants in 2010.

Please contact either Steve Daily or Amanda Koehler at the MCHS. They can be reached at 414/273-7487 or 414/273-8288.

Looking for great Italian food in a casual setting?

Pasta, pizza, daily specials and a whole lot more?

Youʼll find it all at

Cafe La Scala And every Friday night, an all-youcan eat fish fry from 4:30 pm

Number of persons applying for or renewing an individual membership ____ @ $35/person = $_______________________ Names and birthdates of persons applying for or renewing a senior membership: Name: ___________________________________ Birthdate: _______________

New Membership Renewing Membership

Address: _________________________________ Phone: _________________ Email: _____________________________ New Membership Name: ___________________________________ Birthdate: _______________ Renewing Membership Address: _____________________________ Phone: __________________ Email: ________________________________ Number of persons applying for or renewing a senior membership ____ @ $30/person = $____________________________ Names and birthdates of persons applying for or renewing a free junior membership: New Membership Name: ___________________________________ Birthdate: _______________ Renewing Membership Address: _________________________________ Phone: _________________ Email: _____________________________ New Membership Name: ___________________________________ Birthdate: _______________ Renewing Membership Address: _____________________________ Phone: __________________ Email: ________________________________ Number of persons applying for or renewing a junior membership ___________ at no cost.

Date of application

THE ITALIAN TIMES

TOTAL AMOUNT ENCLOSED: $

_

631 E. Chicago St. Milwaukee A block west of Summerfest

Dine-in or Carry-out 414/223-2185 For advertising information, please contact us at 414-223-2180 or send an email to themman@italiancc.org.

FEBRUARY 2013 – PAGE 13

Spotlight on Cultural Arts Bobby Tanzilo steps back in time to study Milwaukee schoolhouse history

By Andy Tarnoff Reprinted courtesy of OnMilwaukee.com Bobby Tanzilo, a longtime member of the Italian Community Center and the managing editor of OnMilwaukee.com, is already a published author beyond his columns in The Italian Times and the city’s popular online magazine.

He has recently had his fourth book published; one that spawned from an interest in where his own kids go to school, not to mention his long-time interest in “going behind the scenes.”

“Historic Milwaukee Public Schoolhouses” hit bookshelves in late 2012 and chronicles the amazing architecture of the landmarks we send our children to every day.

World-class architects built these schools in a time when quality mattered, and more than a century later, many stand strong today.

The idea for the book sprung up organically, says Tanzilo, himself an MPS parent.

“I was posting pictures on Facebook, and people kept saying, ‘Are you writing a book? Are you writing a book?’ So I approached the publisher of my last book with the idea, and they loved it.”

Tanzilo says the writing and research of the paperback took a

few months, researching old photos and documents. He says that MPS was extremely helpful in the process, too. Superintendent Gregory Thornton, in fact, wrote the forward to the book.

“I went to an old school building when I was a kid, and I was interested in those places you could never go,” says Tanzilo. “But no, I didn’t especially love going to school. Though I didn’t hate it and I was a pretty good student.”

Still, some of what Tanzilo dis-

Bobby Tanzilo

covered during his research surprised him.

“I got interested when I realized that the buildings were built by Milwaukee’s greatest architects. I would’ve thought that schools were designed by some civil engineer who worked in a municipal building, but they really took them seriously,” says Tanzilo. “A few of them are on the National Register of Historical Places.”

For example, the architect who

built most of the school houses in the 1870s, Henry Koch, also designed City Hall and The Pfister.

“Though they took bids, the Common Council wasn’t looking for the cheapest way out,” he says.

“They had the best and the brightest architects working on these schools.”

During the research and writing process, Tanzilo found a few personal favorites, too.

“Of the 1880s buildings, Garfield Avenue School is pretty hard to beat. By the ‘30s, you have some Eschweiler buildings. One called Phillipp, which is near Rufus King, is really amazing, with great woodwork and tilework.”

Interestingly, some of these buildings are now closed and have an unknown future. MPS enrollment has been shrinking for some time, but if it’s cyclical and more facilities are needed, these gems are available on a moment’s notice.

“The reception of the book has been great so far,” says Tanzilo.

“And it’s great that people are taking an interest in these schools, that are, I think, among the most beautiful old buildings in the city.”

“Historic Milwaukee Public Schoolhouses” is available now at Boswell Books, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.

Leading Italian American author, Christopher Castellani, to read from his new book in Milwaukee on Feb. 27 In what promises to be a highlight for Milwaukee Italian Americans in 2013, award-winning author Christopher Castellani will read from his new book, “All This Talk of Love,” at Boswell Books, 2559 N. Downer Ave., at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 27. The talk is free and open to the public.

The son of Italian immigrants, Castellani is the author of two critically acclaimed novels, “A Kiss from Maddalena,” which won the 2004 Massachusetts Book Award, and “The Saint of Lost Things,” which was nominated for the 2005 IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.

His books have examined the experiences of rural Italians during World War II and of Italian Americans during the 1950s. “All This Talk of Love” focuses on a contemporary Italian American family dealing with the duality of their identities as the older generation faces infirmity and their American children seek answers in the family’s roots.

Castellani was raised in Wilmington, Del., and is the artistic director of Grub Street, a center for creative writing in Boston.

He was interviewed for The Italian Times by Milwaukee author Paul Salsini.

Paul Salsini: You obviously have great pride in your Italian heritage. Can you tell us something about your roots?

Christopher Castellani: My parents were born across the street from each other in Sant’Elpidio, on the Lazio/Abruzzo border, a small village very much like the Santa Cecilia I depicted in all three of my novels. My father emigrated to the U.S. immediately after World War

PAGE 14 – FEBRUARY 2013

II with his family, then went back in the early ‘50s, when he was 26, to find a wife. My mother was the youngest daughter in the Marcelli family and, at 19, had no desire to leave her family behind for a foreign country and a man she barely knew. But the possibility of a “better life,” as well as parental pressure, convinced her. She told me she cried tears of sadness and regret throughout her wedding, but within a few years she came to love my father dearly.

PS: How much time have you spent in Italy, and what are your feelings when you are there?

CC: I’ve been to Italy eight times with my family and have stayed for as long as a month, usually in August or over the Christmas holidays, which seem to take up most of December and half of January. It’s always a very emo-

Christopher Castellani

tional experience because we go from house to house, from cousin to aunt to uncle, meal to meal, and are constantly showered with love and affection and gifts. We don’t do much, if any, sightseeing. Leaving the family at the end of the trip is extremely difficult, especially for my mother and father. Last summer I went back for the first time with my partner, without my parents, and even that was quite emotional because I felt the weight of my parents’ history, of all they left behind.

PS: The love of family is obviously a theme in all of your books.

Can you tell us something about your own family?

CC: We are very close, very loud, very much mixed up in each other’s business, very protective, very suspicious of “outsiders,” very

anxious, very nostalgic, very emotional, very (melo)dramatic, very complicated, very loving, very contentious, and very forgiving.

PS: Do you think the closeness of family is a particular Italian trait, for better or worse?

CC: I’m not a sociologist; I know only what I see in my own extended family and communities in Wilmington and Boston, and what I’ve read in other books by or about or including Italian families. But hey, it’s impossible to deny that Italians are particularly familycentric and that most of us are just as I describe above: all those “very”s. Let me add another one here: very loyal.

PS: Another theme is a focus on mortality. Is this something that’s in the Italian gene?

CC: When I was in high school, I frequently visited my aunt, who was in her early 60s at the time.

Every time I came over, she’d ask me to confirm that I would deliver her eulogy. She’d then hit a button on her CD player, and out came the song she wanted me to make sure was played at her funeral. I didn’t find any of this odd. And, of course, 25 years later, she’s still alive.

Italians are drawn to extremes, I’ve found, and what’s more extreme than our own passing, especially given how deeply attached we are to each other? We are inherently social creatures who can’t imagine our lives without each other, and so the idea of aloneness of any kind, especially that final aloneness, haunts and obsesses us.

PS: There’s also a theme of the dreams of immigrants. Can you discuss that?

Please turn to page 19

THE ITALIAN TIMES

Opera Topics by Angelo Castronovo Opera on the radio continues apace, but not without a glitch or two. Listening to the Saturday broadcasts on digital radio (WHADFM .2) this season has been an enjoyable experience, pretty much.

The season started on Dec. 8th with Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera and then Aida. Also The Barber of Seville (in English) and Ades’s The Tempest based on Shakespeare’s play, until we got to Berlioz’s Les Troyens.

Imagine my surprise and chagrin when the opera’s fifth act began and was only heard for about five or six minutes, when it was suddenly replaced by instrumental

classical music and an announcer.

The opera was supposed to run until approximately 4:30 p.m. according to a previous announcement, but the Berlioz work never returned after the interruption.

When I called the station on Monday, there was a further surprise; the staff person who takes such calls was not even aware of the program lapse. I voice strong objection to the broadcast problem, and said I hoped it would not happen again, and I moved on.

Recalling that Rossini’s “Barber” was heard this season reminded me that this creative, prolific composer wrote some 36 works for the stage,

starting at age 18 and continuing with five more operas in a 12month period and culminating eventually with his masterpiece William Tell.

Born in 1792, Rossini retired at the early age of 38, producing such memorable works as Scala di Seta, L’Italiana in Algeri, La Cenerentola, La Gazza Ladra, Le Comte Ory and Otello. He died in 1868.

Of course, Rossini was not the only Italian who composed numerous operas. Donizetti penned more than 60 works and Verdi wrote more than 20 works including two masterpieces late in life – Otello

L’Angolo del Poeta Prepared by Barbara Collignon and Roberto Ciampi Francesco Petrarca (July 20, 1304 – July 19, 1374), poet and scholar, is often credited with being the “Father of Humanism”. His works, along with those of Boccaccio and Dante, became the model for the modern Italian language. He encouraged the study of mankind through the ideas of ancient Greece and Rome, believing classical history, literature and philosophy were important for Christians. Born in Arezzo, he studied law until his father died in 1326. He later asserted, “I couldn’t face making a merchandise of my mind.”

He traveled for pleasure throughout Europe, and his celebrity grew to the extent that he is also sometimes called “the first tourist”.

At a Good Friday mass in the church of Sainte-Claire d’Avignon in 1327, he met Laura de Noves, the alleged Laura of the 365 sonnets he wrote in her honor.

Laura de Noves (1310–1348) was the wife of Count Hugues de Sade (ancestor of the Marquis de Sade). Although never positively identified as such, she had a great influence on Petrarch’s life and lyrics. According to Wikipedia, Laura was married at age 15, was a virtuous wife and died in 1348.

Since his first encounter with Laura, Petrarch spent the next three years in Avignon singing his purely platonic love and haunting Laura in church and on her walks.

He left to take a position gifted him

by Pope Benedict XII but later returned to Avignon.. He bought a small estate at Vaucluse in order to be near his dear Laura. It was here that he wrote some 365 sonnets of courtly love in her praise.

About Petrarch’s legacy, poet J.D. McClatchy has said, “True love – or rather, the truest – is always obsessive and unrequited. No one has better dramatized how it scorches the heart and fires the imagination than Petrarch did, centuries ago. He dipped his pen in tears and wrote the poems that have shaped our sense of love – its extremes of longing and loss – ever since.” Here’s an example.

vanno.

Benedette le voci tante ch’io chiamando il nome de mia donna ho sparte, e i sospiri, e le lagrime, e ’l desio; e benedette sian tutte le carte ov’io fama l’acquisto, e ’l pensier mio, ch’è sol di lei, sì ch’altra non v’ha parte.

– By Francesco Petrarca *** Blessed be the day, and the month, and the year, and the season, and the time, and the hour, and the moment, and the beautiful country, and the place where I met with the two beautiful eyes that bound me: and blessed be the first and sweet suffering I felt on being conjoined with Love, and the bow, and the arrows with which I was pierced, and the wounds that penetrate my heart.

Blessed be all the cries I scattered calling the name of my lady, and the sighs, and the tears, and the desire:

Realta”, a poem by Alejandro Jodorowsky, inspired me to pen “What is Love?”, my poetic offering this month of February.

What is Love?

It’s the warmth I feel when I think of you.

It’s the joy I feel when I see you smile.

It’s the song I hear when I hear you speak.

It’s the comfort I feel when we embrace.

It’s the emptiness I feel when you’re not here.

It’s the calm I feel when you are.

It’s knowing you’re there when I need you.

It’s knowing.

I’ll be here when you need me.

This is love.

– By Barbara Collignon *** Che cos’è l’amore È il calore che sento quando penso a te. È la gioia che provo quando ti vedo sorridere. È il canto che odo quando ascolto la tua voce. È il conforto che trovo quando ci abbracciamo.

and blessed be all the writings by which I acquire fame, and my thoughts, that are for her alone, shared by none other.

– Translation by Roberto Ciampi *** As moderns, we have perhaps a different idea of what constitutes love. Rather than unrequited love, idealized love, love is perhaps the enjoyment of commitment fulfilled.

“Non so che cosa sia l’amore, ma so che godo della tua presenza.” This fragment of “La Danza della

– Translated by Roberto Ciampi

Barbara Collignon

Roberto Ciampi

È il vuoto che sento quando tu non sei qui. È la calma che sento quando tu ci sei. È sapere che tu ci sarai quando avrò bisogno di te. È sapere che io ci sarò quando tu avrai bisogno di me.

Ecco cos’è l’amore.

Benedetto sia ’l giorno, e ’l mese, e l’anno, e la stagione, e ’l tempo, e l’ora, e ’l punto, e ’l bel paese, e ’l loco ov’io fui giunto da’ duo begli occhi che legato m’hanno; e benedetto il primo dolce affanno ch’i’ebbi ad esser con Amor congiunto, e l’arco, e le saette ond’i’ fui punto, e le piaghe che ’nfin al cor mi

THE ITALIAN TIMES

and Falstaff. Composer Pacini produced more than 70 operas, and Scarlatti wrote a staggering 115 works for the stage. And there was Paisiello with a mere 83 operas including his version of Barber of Seville.

On a completely different subject, we turn to the habits of some opera singers of the past. Most led rather temperate lives. They were often concerned with the least hint of a cold and seldom ventured out into inclement weather. And most retired at an early hour on nights when not performing – as early as 7 or 8 p.m. Soprano Lillian Nordica was one such singer.

Tenor Jean de Reszke and his brother, basso Edouard, both had a facility for imitating people and animals. Edouard even astounded and amused his colleagues with his imitation of the cello throughout its entire range.

Quotable Quote: “In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different.” – Coco Chanel

University of Chicago hosting Puccini exhibit through Feb. 17 The University of Chicago is hosting an exhibit and symposium exploring the life work of Giacomo Puccini, the acclaimed Italian composer of numerous operas including La Bohème, Tosca and Madama Butterfly.

The exhibit, “Puccini e Lucca e Chicago,” tells the little known story of Puccini’s strong attachment to his hometown of Lucca, located in Tuscany, Central Italy. Presented in printed panels and rotating digital slides, the exhibit features neverbefore-seen photographs of Puccini and the places where he grew up and was formed into one of the best-loved names in opera.

The narrative, presented in both English and Italian, deepens the opera-going public’s understanding of what motivated one of the world’s most celebrated opera composers.

The exhibit was first presented as part of the 2008 celebration of Puccini’s 150th birthday.

It then traveled to several cities in China and South America. In the last 18 months, it has been exhibited in Boston, San Francisco, Atlanta and Pittsburgh.

The exhibit, which is located in the University’s Logan Center, 915 E. 60th St., Chicago, will be on display through Feb. 17. Admission is free.

FEBRUARY 2013 – PAGE 15

Pompeii clubs preparing for big fund-raisers Pompeii Women’s Palm Pompeii Men’s Club Sunday Breakfast Buffet Good Friday Fish Fry on Sunday, Mar. 24 Buffet on Mar. 29

For the 15th year in a row, the Pompeii Women’s Club is hosting a Palm Sunday Breakfast Buffet to which the public is invited. Marie Schwindt, who is chairing this fund-raising breakfast, said the hours for the Mar. 24 event, to be held in the Italian Community Center’s Pompeii Grand Ballroom, are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Visitors to the buffet will find plenty of dining choices. The allyou-can-eat menu includes eggs, ham, pancakes, sausage, bacon, hashed brown potatoes, fresh fruit, Danish pastry, juice, milk, coffee and tea.

Prices are $10 for adults and $5.50 for children ages 4 to 12.

There is no charge for children age 3 and younger. Guests will be seated upon arrival. Advance reservations are not being accepted.

Parking is free in the lot south of the building.

Besides the breakfast buffet, there will be a bake sale, several

raffles, free face painting, a coloring contest for the children in attendance and an appearance by the Easter Bunny.

More than 30 members are baking homemade treats for the bake sale.

The breakfast buffet is the only fundraising activity for the nonprofit Pompeii Women’s Club and is essential for the club’s continuing support of various charitable organizations and projects. The ICC is one of the organizations that has benefited significantly from the club’s charitable giving.

“We’re hoping for another large turnout,” said Schwindt. “Your participation and support will be greatly appreciated.” Last year, more than 600 people attended.

The Pompeii Women’s Club represents women of Italian heritage and/or association who make an active contribution to the community by providing funds and services to worthy charitable organizations.

Grandson of Tom and Barbara Balistreri baptized Aiden Walker Balistreri, the son of Andrew W. and Terri Balistreri, was baptized at St. Rita Catholic Church, Milwaukee, on Sunday, Dec. 23. His godparents were Ensign Michael Balistreri and Kris Torgenson. Bishop Joseph Perry from Chicago, a close family friend,

baptized Aiden.

His maternal grandparents are Daniel and Anita Kosterman of Germantown. The paternal grandparents are Tom and Barbara Balistreri of Milwaukee.

All of the Balistreris are Italian Community Center members.

The Pompeii Men’s Club will hold their annual Good Friday Fish Fry Buffet at the Italian Community Center, 631 E. Chicago St., on Mar. 29. The buffet is the group’s biggest fundraiser and proceeds will benefit their extensive charity work.

The meal is all-you-can-eat and will be served from 4 to 8 pm. The cost will be $12.50 for adults, $6.50 for children ages 4-10 and free for children age 3 and under.

The menu for the buffet will consist of breaded and baked cod, coleslaw, potato pancakes, baked potatoes, French fries, popcorn shrimp, mostaccioli with red sauce, cole slaw, tossed salad, Italian bread, watermelon wedges, a beverage of coffee, tea, or milk and dessert. A full range of condiments will be available to accompany the meal.

Free parking will be offered in the south lot of the ICC (N. Jackson St. entrance).

Money raffle The event also features a money

raffle. The cash prizes are: 1st – $400; 2nd – $100; 3rd – $100; 4th – $100; 5th – $100; 6th – $50; 7th – $50.

Raffle tickets are available for $2 each or seven for $5 and can be purchased at the ICC office or by contacting the club’s president Chuck Lazzaro at 414/421-7359, John A. Sanfilippo at 414/282-2667, Tony Zingale at 414/444-4689 or Joe Palmisano at 414/281-5556.

Tickets will also be sold at the Good Friday event.

The Pompeii Men’s Club charitable outreach has benefited the Italian Community Center along with several other local organizations, among them the Sojourner Truth House, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, the Ronald McDonald House and Special Olympics of Southeastern Wisconsin.

The club also has strong ties to Three Holy Women Parish. It was founded by members of Blessed Virgin of Pompeii Church, the predecessor to St. Rita of Cascia Church on Cass Street.

Welcome new Italian Community Center members!

The following people became members of the Italian Community Center between Dec. 7, 2012 and Jan. 8, 2013. Benvenuti! (Welcome!)

Judith Condulmari of Longport, NJ Aimone Condulmari of Longport, NJ Annette Robinson of Whitefish Bay Donna Dorman and child Rachel of Brookfield Patricia Menefee of Shorewood Jennifer Barachy and children Nathan, Dominic, Antonio and Micah of Milwaukee Joseph Rosso of Milwaukee Lucas Robak of Milwaukee Thomas Mangi of Milwaukee

Aiden Walker Balistreri is seen here with his mother and father, Terri and Andrew Balistreri, and Bishop Joseph Perry.

Dave Vetta East Troy John & Arlene Jorgensen of Milwaukee

Apply conventional wisdom when planning your next business conference, banquet or meeting. Hold it at the

John Rizzo of Shorewood Vincent Bellante and child Brooklyn of New Berlin Joshia C. Zimmerman of Milwaukee

ITALIAN CONFERENCE CENTER LOCATED AT THE ITALIAN COMMUNITY CENTER

Donelle Scaffidi of Glendale Mary A. Maglio of Sun City, AZ Jim Zaffiro and children Emily and Grace of Milwaukee

The Italian Conference Center offers . . .

• First rate conference, convention, banquet & meeting facilities for groups from 4 to 1,400.

• Professional planning assistance.

• Outstanding food service.

• Handicap access & convenient parking.

• Easy access to freeway & downtown.

For professional assistance in coordinating your event, call David or Michelle at (414) 223-2800 or or visit www.italianconference.com.

Italian Conference Center, 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee, WI Just a block west of Summerfest in the Historic Third Ward.

PAGE 16 – FEBRUARY 2013

Frank J. Alioto of Whitefish Bay

February weather in Italy While January tends to be colder overall than February, the two months are fairly interchangeable weather-wise. The northern part of Italy and other mountainous regions are often snow-covered, and rain usually dominates the forecast in other areas.

Still, February is when some parts of Italy, especially southern regions, are beginning to shake off

the winter cold.

Here’s the average temperature range in the northern, central and southern parts of Italy: • Northern Italy: 25º-45º Fahrenheit.

• Central Italy: 40º-55º Fahrenheit.

• Southern Italy (including Sicily): 50º-60º Fahrenheit.

THE ITALIAN TIMES

Italians married in Milwaukee: 1897-1925 Part IV Compiled by Mario A. Carini, Italian Community Center Historian Introductory Notes The Milwaukee Marriage Index: 1897-1925 includes the name of the individual married and the month and year the marriage took place.

Information contained in the Milwaukee Marriage Index:1926-1940 was compiled by this researcher in January of 1993 and will be featured in The Italian Times at future dates. The Milwaukee Marriage Index: 1941-1955 was previously published in The Italian Times.

Reporting of the volume Milwaukee Marriage Index was obtained from the Milwaukee County Historical Society and copies at the City of Milwaukee Legislative Reference Bureau. These works are all copyrighted and an original copy is at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. for all time.

Please keep in mind that these marriages were actualized only in the City of Milwaukee. Accordingly, if you were married outside the city limits (e.g., Shorewood, West Allis, Cudahy), your name won’t appear in this listing. Names appearing here are listed and spelled exactly as found in the marriage volumes. If you know of a relative who was married in Milwaukee during the time period 1897-1925 and that relative’s name does not appear in these listings, please contact the Milwaukee County Historical Society.

Name Married De Buono, Calogero Apr-1924 Delnegro, Rose (Petrizzo) Jul-1916 DeLorenzo, Mary (Bliss) May-1911 Delpapa, Georgiana (Legnini) Nov-1911 DeLuca, Natale Oct-1911 Delvecchio, Laura (Caputi) Jul-1923 DeMarco, Mary (Moccilli) Dec-1918 DeMarino, Giuseppe Feb-1913 DeMarino, Louis Oct-1913 Demato, Joseph May-1920 Demetrio, Carl Feb-1908 Demoi, Julia (Gasti) Apr-1914 Demosto, Rose (Miklocich) Aug-1925 DeMotto, Antonetta (Marona) Sep-1914 DeNicola, John Apr-1923 Dentice, Anthony Jun-1921 Dentice, Anthony Oct-1924 Dentice, Frank Jul-1916 Dentice, Gaetana (Gioacchino) Nov-1924 Dentice, Katherine (Balistreri) Jul-1921 Dentici, Calogero Jun-1902 Dentici, Catherine (Principato) Dec-1910 Dentici, Catherine (Sporacino) Jun-1911 Dentici, Jennie (Tarantino) Nov-1904 DeStefano, August Oct-1913 DeStefano, August Aug-1922 DeStefano, Carmela (Blando) Nov-1920 DeStefano, Carmella (Alioto) Nov-1925 DeStefano, Carmilla (Trolongo) Aug-1913 DeStefano, Joseph Jul-1924 DeStefano, Lucy (Perlongo) Jan-1917 DeStephano, Joseph Dec-1916 Di Bella, Angeline (Picarella) Jul-1919 DiBella, Angelina (Galluzzo) Oct-1910 DiBella, Thresa (Crupi) Jan-1917 DiBella, Vincent Jun-1908 DiBenedetto, Lena (Lorino) Oct-1923 Dibeneditto, Anna (Frinzi) Oct-1920 DiRollo, Mary (Di Ciaula) Oct-1916 DiCesaire, Vincent Feb-1915 Di Chiara, Damiano Aug-1916 Di Chiara, Rose (Romano) Aug-1916 Di Chiaro, Rosie (Pica) Jun-1912 Di, Ciaula, Louis Jul-1918 Di Ciaula, Sam Aug-1923 Di Ciaula, Thomas Aug-1921 Dicivia, Saverio Feb-1899 Di Cristofano, Angelo Nov-1914 Di Fabio, Biago Oct-1910 Di Francesco, Annunziata (De Luca) Oct-1911 Di Gioia, Mike Jan-1910 Di Giorgio, Concepta (Bulgarino) Jan-1911 Di Giorgio, Nick Dec-1916 Di Giorgio, Rose (Tomassino) Apr-1917 Di Giorgio, Vincent Jun-1908 Diliberti, Joe Sep-1916 Diliberti, Vito Jun-1919 Dimaggio, Saverio Oct-1919 DiMarco, Peter Nov-1914 Dimarine, Joseph Jan-1914 DiMaro, Peter Nov-1914 DiMatteo, Josephine (Di Placido) Mar-1915 Dinapoli, Theresa (Grippe) Apr-1914 DiNicola, Sara (DiPiazza) Nov-1917 DiPaola, Theresa (Corrao) Mar-1903 DiPiazza, JosephApr-1912 DiPiazza, Vincenzo Nov-1917 DiPietro, Theresia (Di Cristofaro) Nov-1914 Di Placido, Joseph Mar-1915 Diquardo, Angeline (Piano) Jun-1924 DiRaimondo, Giovanne Mar-1912 Dispensa, Nicolo Oct-1905 Dispensa, Rosie (Dispensa) Oct-1905 DiStefano, Lucy (Perlongo) Jan-1917 DiStefano, Rosina (Ceraso) Sep-1907 Domiano, Anton Jun-1922 Domiano, Caroline (Tendiglia) Dec-1919 Domiano, Vincent Feb-1917 Domico, Peter Sep-1915 Domini, Mille (Prager) May-1906 Dominiak, Wanda (Gagliano) Nov-1925 Domino, Leo Jul-1907 Domiono, Meri (Giaimo) Sep-1921 Dragoli, Elisa (Fucili) Aug-1910 Dragonetti, Filomena (Grippo) Nov-1912

THE ITALIAN TIMES

Name Emanuele, Rose (Purpero) Enea, Vicenzina (Sciurba) Ercole, Luigi Enama, Flora (Chemotti) Enama, Mary (Pasi) Endrizzi, Mayme (Toller) Enea, Celia (Sciortino) Enea, Celia (Serostino) Erato, Steve Erato, Samuel Eufemi, Alfio Eugenio, Bockerellia (Carbonaro) Eugeln, Anna (Mastropietro) Eugenio, Conte Fabbri, Louis Fallica, Josephine (Scarding) Fambunini, Filomena (Euemi) Fambunini, Rosaria (Spirogatti) Famularo, Antonio Famularo, Salvatore Fanello, Frank Fabio, Biagi Fabo, Mary (Ello) Faludi, Rosalia (Mustapitch) Farina, Angelina (Podowano) Farina, Angelo Farina, Concettina (Domiano) Farina, Iono Farina, Jennie (Travia) Farina, Joseph Farina, Josephine (Alberti) Farina, Maria (Fricano) Farina, Maria (Sansone) Farina, Nicoletta (Letizia) Farina, Rosario Farina, Salvador Farina, Santo Farina, Angelo Farina, Salvatore Farina, Serafina (Destefano) Faletti, Grace (Lasieck) Fellini, Mary (Zanotelli) Filippi, Mary (Hauer) Filippi, Rose (Walder) Fillo, Theresa (Holba) Flingelli, Bena (Stelzer) Foro, Peter Fazio, Angelo Fazio, Cona (Fazio) Fazio, Frances (Leto) Fazio, Nunzia (Magro) Fazio, Rosario Fazio, Rose (Ross) Fazio, Vincent Feduzzi, Egisto Feduzzi, Oscar Fedenia, Sam Felice, Giombi Ferina, Bastianina (Lorenzetti) Feroli, Vincenza (Mazzaroli) Ferra, Nick Ferrara, Georgio Ferrara, Salvatore Ferrari, Nella (Santa Maria) Ferrerio, Dominic Ferrito, Giovanina (Calderone) Ferrito, Maria (Corona) Ferritta, Josephine (Traina) Ferruggia, Gerolamo Fiarelli, Anestasio Fiasca, Pasquale Fiorda, Filomena (Olli) Fiori, Alber Fiori, Mary (Calvano) Fitpaldo, Congetta (Geippi) Filippo, Leonard Foscato, Henry Foti, Domenico Foti, Francis Foti, Joseph Foti, Liberanti Foti, Lucia (LaDuca) Foti, Margaret (Dovi) Foti, Petruzza (Curro) Foti, Phillip

Married Oct-1920 Feb-1912 Jun-1921 Dec-1920 Jul-1917 Feb-1925 Mar-1920 Oct-1920 Jul-1918 Aug-1920 Mar-1917 Jul-1907 Aug-1914 Jul-1907 Dec-1916 Mar-1914 Mar-1917 Mar-1917 Oct-1906 Aug-1920 Jul-1923 Oct-1910 Nov-1922 Sep-1925 Apr-1913 Dec-1923 Feb-1917 May-1916 Dec-1914 Dec-1916 Nov-1920 Nov-1912 Oct-1921 Oct-1917 Sep-1915 Apr-1910 Sep-1925 Mar-1917 Jan-1908 Oct-1913 Aug-1921 Dec-1924 Dec-1908 Sep-1922 Feb-1924 Feb-1909 May-1912 Jun-1912 Jun-1912 Feb-1924 Jul-1910 Aug-1911 Oct-1920 Apr-1923 Nov-1912 Aug-1920 Oct-1910 Aug-1912 Apr-1921 Mar-1921 Sep-1916 Dec-1911 May-1921 Apr-1925 Mar-1907 Jan-1914 May-1902 May-1920 Nov-1909 Jul-1921 Jun-1920 Aug-1912 Jul-1924 Sep-1907 Sep-1907 Jul-1925 Dec-1924 Nov-1915 Oct-1900 Oct-1923 Dec-1914 Feb-1920 May-1925 Jan-1906 Jan-1916

Name Married Foti, Salvador Oct-1903 Fortino, Liboria (Giordina) Oct-1925 Franceschetta, Louis Aug-1923 Franceschi, Carolina (Piacentino) Jul-1912 Franceschina, Caterina (Leonarduzzi) Jul-1923 Francesco, Pileggi Sep-1913 Franceschi, John Apr-1921 Franchino, Samuel Jan-1922 Franchino, Theresa (Catrini) Sep-1925 Franco, Guiseppe Oct-1916 Franco, Joseph Oct-1914 Francolina, Nicolina (Leone) Dec-1910 Francolino, Nicolina (Togneri) Oct-1914 Francaidia, Felici Dec-1898 Francinlia, Stefano Jul-1917 Fricano, Isado Jul-1920 Fricano, Isadoro Nov-1912 Fricano, Nunzio Apr-1919 Frititto, Nancy (Sorce) Nov-1925 Frinzi, Joseph Oct-1920 Fucili, Enrico Apr-1918 Fucili, Ericol Sep-1913 Fucili, Nazzareno Aug-1910 Fugarino, Joseph Sep-1920 Fuggiti, Ray May-1924 Fumai (Funai), Angela (Paccagnella) Jun-1921 Fumai, Francesca (Pellegrino) Jun-1921 Fumaio, Rachael (Loquercio) Feb-1906 Funai, Amelia (Lucchini) May1923 Funai, Rociel (Doepke) Jun-1921 Fusso, John Jan-1922 Fusso, Joseph Nov-1919 Fusso, Steve unknown Gaetano, Gieracchino Sep-1914 Gaetano, Ferrara Jan-1908 Gaginella, Samuel Jul-1924 Gaglano, Sam Jun-1921 Gaglei, Nunzio Nov-1914 Gagliane, Josephine (Zingale) Sep-1905 Gagliano, Antonio (Tarantino) Sep-1911 Gagliano, Calogero Sep-1901 Gagliano, Francis Dec-1913 Gagliano, Frances (Bruno) Dec-1919 Gagliano, Frank Dec-1911 Gagliano, Frank Apr-1918 Gagliano, Ignatius Sep-1912 Gagliano, Giuseppe Sep-1920 Gagliano, Josephine (Fort) Oct-1923 Gagliano, Leonara (Gagliano) Dec-1913 Gagliano, Mary (Gagliano) Sep-1912 Gagliano, Mary (Macaione) Jun-1914 Gagliano, Prudence (Iannelli) Aug-1923 Gagliano, Regina (Gagliano) Sep-1901 Gagliano, Rose (Zielke) Oct-1923 Gagliano, Rosie (Zaffiro) Dec-1916 Gagliano, Rosie (Suro) Aug-1925 Gagliano, Sadie (Maglio) Apr-1911 Gagliano, Sadie (Gagliano) May-1920 Gagliano, Samuel May-1920 Gagliano, Sebastiano Dec-1910 Gagliano, Theresa (Serio) Jun-1915 Gagliano, William Nov-1914 Gagliona, Ann (Micheli) Oct-1905 Gaglione, Caterina (Bobo) Feb-1905 Gaglione, Francesco Nov-1901 Gaglione, Teresa (Corrado) Jun-1901 Galionia, Tony Jan-1915 Galioto, Rose (Gumina) Sep-1925 Galippo, Tony May-1924 Gallo, Concetta (Zizzo) Jul-1924 Gallo, Nicholetta (Savaiano) May-1903 Gallo, Rosie Jul-1917 Gandolfo, Anton May-1917 Gardetto, August Sep-1925 Gardetto, Dominic Feb-1921 Gardetto, Giuseppi Jul-1923 Gardetto, Maria (Martinelli) Apr-1908 Gardetto, Savino Sep-1915 Garello, Tommaso Oct-1911 Gariglietti, Peter Sep-1923 Garofolo, Josie (Stanfa) Dec-1921 Garofani, Adolfo Aug-1920 Gendusa, Benedetto Nov-1909 Gendusa, Joseph Jun-1915 To be continued in the next issue

FEBRUARY 2013 – PAGE 17

LA PAGINA ITALIANA a cura di Enrica Tarantino-Woytal

Sanremo, Cutugno, Al Bano, Ricchi e Poveri ‘’Fabio Fazio porterà al Festival di Sanremo, come ospiti, nella serata di martedì Toto Cutugno, mercoledì i Ricchi e Poveri, giovedì Al Bano’’.

Lo ha rivelato Massimo Giletti, oggi pomeriggio durante la trasmissione L’Arena su Rai1.

Lo staff del Festival conferma e annuncia che le sorprese in fatto di ospiti e di omaggi al passato non finiranno qui, precisando che tutto ciò non e’ contradditorio all’idea di modernità e contemporaneità voluta da Fazio, ma un suo completamento.

Ramazzotti, doppio disco platino per Noi E 7 milioni di visualizzazioni su Youtube. ‘Noi’, il nuovo album di Eros Ramazzotti, e’ doppio disco di

platino in Italia. Un disco di platino anche per ‘Un Angelo disteso al sole’.

14 febbraio San Valentino È patrono di Vico del Gargano (FG), dove viene festeggiato il 14 febbraio con manifestazioni religiose e attività culturali.

Caratteristico l’addobbo della statua e delle vie del paese con arance e alloro. Molto partecipata è la processione con la reliquia del santo che si tiene la mattina del 14 febbraio. Di particolare interesse è

inoltre la fiera campionaria, con oltre 100 espositori e luna park, alla quale partecipano migliaia di persone che visitano anche nel caratteristico centro storico le bancarelle di prodotti artigianali e gastronomici.

San Valentino e’ la festa degli innamorati.

Felice San Valentino!

Melato, grande folla ai funerali a Roma Una grande folla fuori e dentro la Chiesa degli Artisti a Piazza del Popolo a Roma per l’ultimo omaggio a Mariangela Melato ‘’antidiva regina del palcoscenico, anticonformista per autenticità e non per moda, appassionata cittadina italiana’’, come l’ha

omaggiata Emma Bonino che la stessa artista ha voluto fosse a ricordarla.

Renzo Arbore, applaudito, era molto provato, commosso, sorretto da Marisa Laurito. In chiesa fra i tanti Rosi, Scola, Giannini,Wertmuller, Proietti,Luciano De Crescenzo.

Melato: a lei intitolato premio Maschere Da quest’anno il premio Le Maschere del Teatro Italiano si chiamera’ Premio Mariangela Melato per il teatro. La decisione e’

stata annunciata dalla Fondazione Campania dei Festival che organizza il Napoli Teatro Festival Italia.

Esce il 15 nuovo album di Gianna Nannini Il 2013 di Gianna Nannini si apre con un album tra il rock, l’influenza letteraria di Elsa

Morante e le parole di Tiziano Ferro, Pacifico e Isabella Santacroce.

In Friuli relitto imbarcazione XI secolo Il relitto di una imbarcazione di mille anni fa e’ stato ritrovato e recuperato sul fiume Stella, nei pressi di Precenicco (Udine), dai

ricercatori della Soprintendenza ai beni archeologici del Friuli Venezia Giulia.

Victory School’s Italian Immersion Program report The four year olds from room 101(FLES) are studying health this month. They are learning about healthy eating habits including eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and small portions of lean meat, poultry and fish. They are creating collages of “healthy foods” and “unhealthy foods”. The students will present their collages to other kindergarten rooms and report on “Healthy eating habits.”

The four year old Italian Immersion class is studying “Living

PAGINA 18 – FEBBRAIO 2013

and Non-Living Things” and “Animals Everywhere”. Students are having fun dressing in animal costumes and comparing animal habits such as those of leopards and domesticated cats.

The five-year old kindergarten class is studying planets and the universe. Students are learning attributes of the moon by creating small replicas.

The first graders have been embracing and applying the common core state standards by read-

ing like detectives and writing like reporters. Students read informational text about sea animals and then chose one sea animal to research. In the end, students published a report about their animal and taught their readers some interesting facts. Impressive work!

The third graders are working hard to master multiplication.

Right now, the students are focused on “La sfida di moltiplicazione” (the (in)famous multiplication challenge). The students who master their multiplication facts between 1 and 10 by February get to shave off Maestro Steve Falsetti’s beard.

Over the last month, the third grade class has been working closely with the GE math teacher leader to develop strategies in order to fluently multiply and divide numbers up to 100.

The 3rd, 4th and 5th grade classes have also received a grant that will allow the classes to attend a theater production at First Stage Milwaukee.

Last year, many of the 4th graders were able to attend a play at First Stage Milwaukee (thanks to help from the Tanzilo family) and this year the students are Continued on page 19

THE ITALIAN TIMES

300 free Thanksgiving dinners served to less fortunate at 36th annual event organized by ICC volunteers Times photos by Joe Spasiano

These volunteers helped to served about 300 free Thanksgiving dinners to the less fortunate who came to the Open Door Cafe at St. John’s Cathedral on Sunday, Nov. 18. The dinner was purchased mostly through generous donations and prepared by the Italian Conference Center culinary staff.

From the left: Jerry Steele, Jerry Steele II, Mike Cardo, Ray Martinez,

Mike Toeffler, Tyler Hromadka, George Collura, Charlie Zingale, Tony Zingale, Theresa Accetta, Lena Zingale, Francesca C. Busalacchi, Barbara Lupo, Carol Martinez, general chairman Tony Lupo, Father Mike Hammer, Joe Dentice and Tony Carlson.

Tony Lupo thanks those who contributed to Thanksgiving dinner A big, warm thank you to those who donated money and helped serve the Thanksgiving dinner for the less fortunate at the Open Door Cafe at St. John’s Cathedral on Sunday, Nov. 18.

A special thanks to the Italian Community Center’s Executive Chef Jack McNeir and his crew for making all the food and delivering it to the meal site. It was greatly appreciated by all the needy that came to eat. We served approximately 300 people!

Here is the list of those who made monetary donations to the dinner: Dr. and Mrs. Harvey Kohn, Paul and Rose Iannelli, Peter Spera, Sal and Donna Agnello, Eddie and Jo Ann Glorioso, Anthony and Catherine Gazzana, Ted and Rosemary Glorioso, Joe Panella, Sal Mussomeli and Sally Mullins, Anthony T. Machi, Mirian Miranda, Holt Andrus and daughter Natalia, Frank and Nina Galioto, John Coffaro, Bill and Rita Jennaro, Tom Spera, Frank and Dorothy Orlando, Mike and Karen Iannelli, Brian and Kathryn Iannelli, Brian and Kathryn Meka, Donald and Doris Reynolds, Denise Palasz, Celine Wong, James Becker, George and Aggie Collura, Sam and Joanne Seidita, Theresa Accetta, Jackie Maggiore, Carmen Germane, Ralph and Agatha Michaels, Phil Balistreri, Anthony and Barbara Lupo, Ray and Charles Martinez, Sally Rondinelli, Pompeii Men’s Club, Anthony and Kathleen Carlson, Mary Winard, Addolorata di Santa Elia Society, Joe Dentice, Faye Ann Kessler, George and Gina Manning, Tony and Lena Zingale, Anthony T.

THE ITALIAN TIMES

Bruno, Anna Rose San Felippo, Joe and Ann Zambito, Quentin and Roselea Oliva, Milwaukee Ladies of UNICO, Filippo Mazzei Greater Milwaukee Area Lodge #2763 of the Order Sons of Italy in America, Jane Gentler, Margaret M. Carini, Tom and Susan Christiansen, Anna Pitzo, Mr. and Mrs. John Pellmann, Mary Winard, Joseph Dentice and an anonymous donor.

Love and prayers, Tony Lupo General Chairman

Victory’s Italian Immersion report continued from page 18 excited to have once again secured funding to participate in the First Stage Connections Program. In addition to attending a performance, First Stage performers will visit the classrooms multiple times and engage the students in lessons using acting as a teaching tool.

Open enrollment at Victory Elementary School for the Gifted and Talented and Italian Immersion Program begins in mid February. Please call the Principal.

Janine Graber at 414-304-6700 for a tour of the school and online enrollment procedures. We welcome perspective parents, students, and members of the ICC to come for a tour of Victory!

Find out how inexpensive and effective newspaper advertising can be.

Contact The Italian Times for details.

Phone: (414) 223-2180 Email: themman@italiancc.org

This year’s Thanksgiving dinner for the less fortunate was held in memory of Robert “Bob” Cefalu, who served as the general chairman of the event for the past several years and was a volunteer since the project began.

Cefalu died June 18 at the age of 75. Seen here (l to r) are Cefalu’s wife, Terry, his daughter, Gina, and Tony Lupo, who replaced Cefalu as general chairman.

Christopher Castellani to read from his new book from page 14

CC: Antonio, the patriarch in the novel, says he wants to live as long as he can to keep reminding the younger generation that “the working man built this country.” A product of a working-class family, I am finely attuned to how those particular dreamers took unglamorous jobs and felt strongly—and rightly—that they played an important part in the American dream. Many had “bigger” dreams for their children, of course, but still they took enormous pride in their own various hard labors and hoped they would add up to a better life for everyone. I am continually staggered and moved by how many hours and pleasures my father’s generation sacrificed for what came after them.

PS: As a writer, you could have chosen any subject to write about, yet you chose to focus on Italians and Italian immigrants. Why?

CC: Without planning to, I keep going back to themes of longing and loneliness in my fiction. As we’ve discussed in these excellent questions, Italians and Italian immigrant characters execute these themes quite well. Or maybe I keep coming back to these themes because I’m a first-generation Italian myself, and my history and instincts dictate that I spend as much time with these people as I can; before they disappear.

Editor’s note: Paul Salsini, the writer of this story is a longtime member of the Italian Community Center, a retired journalist and the author of four novels set in Tuscany, Italy as well as a recently published book for children, Stefano and the Christmas Miracles. He received the 2011 Leonardo da Vinci Award for Excellence from the Filippo Mazzei Greater Milwaukee Lodge of the Order Sons of Italy in America.

FEBRUARY 2013 – PAGE 19

Legend of La Befana passed on at ICC’s children party on Jan. 5 Times photos by Tom Hemman

Alarie Moye, 9, and Nicholas Firle, 4, decorated their own Christmas cookie with the supplies set out by the Italian Conference Center staff.

La Befana greeted every child who attended the ICC’s party on Saturday, Jan. 5. Seen here with the kindly witch of Italian folklore is Skylrae Riccio, 3, who was adorned in traditional Italian attire.

Photo above: Here’s Ajah Jones, 10, decorating her Christmas cookie.

Photo on left: Julia Bongert, 8, displayed her artistic abilities decorating a Christmas cookie.

Shirley Megna of the Italian Conference Center staff set up a table with all the ingredients necessary for children and adults to make their own ice cream sundaes.

Lacey Romano-Schober was hard at work on decorating her own Christmas cookie when this picture was taken.

PAGE 20 – FEBRUARY 2013

Pianist John Puchner and Laura Easey-Jones led the children in singing popular Christmas songs before the arrival of La Befana.

THE ITALIAN TIMES