OSDIA Nation

MASSACHUSETTS CALIFORNIA

The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts hosted a meatball championship cook-off last October at the Piave Fiume Lodge #1036 of Watertown. The competitors were Darlene Campisano (Christopher Columbus Lodge #216 of Brockton); 99-year-old Ann Pacetti (Cristoforo Colombo Regina Elena Lodge #169 of Fitchburg); Donna Crisa (Methuen Lodge #902); Allison Crisci (Tewksbury Lodge #2872); Mark Pettiglio (Piave Fiume Lodge #1036 of Watertown); and Joe Martell (Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli Lodge #2183 of Wilmington). All participants had competed against members of their own lodges before advancing to this final competition. Members from 16 nearby lodges attended to cheer on the competitors.

The competitors’ meatballs were rated by a prestigious assembly of judges. The judges were Yolanda Cellucci, The First Lady of Fashion and 2021 NELA Gala Honoree; Michael Colomba, owner and chef at Brelundi in Waltham; Pam Donnaruma, owner and editor of the Post Gazette; Anthony Matarazzo, owner and chef at Lola’s Italian Kitchen and Market in Natick; and Theresa Reddish, owner of Service With a Smile, a hostess support service, in Natick.

The winner of the competition was Mark Pettiglio, who donned an apron that read: Meatballs are the answer. Who cares what the question is?

All competitors received a “meatball” hat and a bottle of wine. The judges received an Italian flag apron and a bottle of wine. After the competition, food and desserts were served.

“The world may have COVID,” said Event Chair Carol Rossi, “but on the twenty-third of October, the Grand Lodge had FIFFF: Fun, Italian Feast, Festivity and Fraternity!”

The meatball championship cook-off judges: (L. to R.) Theresa Reddish, Anthony Matarazzo, Pam Donnaruma, Michael Colomba, and Yolanda Cellucci.

The Vincenzo Bellini Lodge #2519 of Chico and the Dolly Sinatra Lodge #2400 of Palm Springs sponsored golf tournaments to raise funds for the Sons of Italy Western Foundation, which is operated by the Grand Lodge of California.

Most recently, the Vincenzo Bellini Lodge hosted their 22nd Golf Tournament at Canyon Oaks Country Club in Chico. It featured a regular golf round of foursomes and also a “Frozen Meatball Putt.” The meatballs were deep frozen for three days and then brought to the golf course, where they were kept in a cold place.

The golfers made three attempts to putt the meatballs, which were marked by how close they came to the hole. After the “real” golfers made their attempts, Grand Lodge President Barbara Fumosa Wisniewski stepped up against her will. After two dismal shots, she said, “If you were a baseball, I could hit you!”

Then she closed her eyes, thought of the little dimpled ball as a baseball, hit it, and … it went right into the hole!

Grand Lodge of California President Barbara Fumosa Wisniewski interviewed by Action News Now after her winning putt.

NORTH CAROLINA

For the ninth consecutive year, the Triangle Sons & Daughters of Italy Lodge #2817 of Raleigh has recognized the “Outstanding Italian American in North Carolina.” Unique to the lodge, this annual award was established in 2013 to honor Italian-Americans who have demonstrated significant success in his or her chosen career, embraced his or her Italian-American heritage, and served as an inspiration and role model to other Italian Americans.

This year’s award winner, Shelley Berardinelli McPhatter, is Founder and President of Bridgepoint General Contracting, a full-service construction company with expertise in developing commercial projects in the Research Triangle region of North Carolina. She also serves on the Festa Italiana Board, which sponsors a major

Italian Festival in Raleigh each year. During her acceptance speech, Shelley spoke fondly about her Italian-American upbringing— which reinforced strong work ethics, famShelley Berardinelli McPhatter receives ily values, and carrying on Italian-American traditions. the award from Award Selection Committee ChairSince its inception, prior winners of the “Outstandman, Pat DiLeonardo. ing Italian American in North Carolina” award have included film and documentary producers, authors, journalists, judges, child health advocates, veteran support leaders, and educators. “The award demonstrates the significant and positive impact of Italian Americans in our communities and the need to counter the narrow portrayal of Italian Americans in entertainment focused television and movies,” said Lodge President Don Cimorelli.

PENNSYLVANIA

Northeast Lodge #610 of Philadelphia may have the oldest member in the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America (OSDIA). On August 29, 2021, Albert Gannotta turned 103 years old!

To commemorate his long life and everlasting dedication to the ItalianAmerican community, Northeast Lodge Financial Secretary Joe D’Angelo presented Al with a Certificate of Recognition on behalf of the OSDIA Supreme Council and National President Robert A. Bianchi, Esq.

Al was born amidst the 1918 flu pandemic and served in the United States Navy during World War II. He was sent to the Pacific theater, where he took

103-year-old Albert Gannotta receives an OSDIA Certificate of Recognition from Northeast Lodge President Joe D’Angelo.

part in multiple landings—Tarawa, the Marshall Islands, twice in New Guinea, Guam, the Philippines, and Hiroshima.

Last December marked Al’s 36th anniversary of the day on which he was initiated into the Order.

MASSACHUSETTS

Last November, the Methuen Lodge #902 in Methuen, Massachusetts, hosted its First Annual Women’s Pickup Champion Bocce Tournament. Run by Vice President Gina Neve, it was the very first women’s tournament ever held at the lodge. Every woman was welcome—whether they played in a league, played just for fun, or never even played at all, and … 40 women signed up!

With breakfast muffins, doughnuts, and coffee cakes, the tournament kicked off and teams competed throughout the day. Wearing multiple hats, Gina not only organized the tournament, she also served as Head Chef, making a delicious lunch consisting of pasta, meatballs, salad, Italian bread, and butter along with a variety of pastries for dessert.

Though the tournament had to lead to a winner, everyone who competed didn’t want the day to end!

Winners of the First Annual Women’s Pickup Champion Bocce Tournament (L. to R.) Sheila Sacchetti, Lorraine DeRose, Lisa Labadini, and Cathy Sallese.

Have you or your lodge done something remarkable that makes a difference to your community or promotes our heritage and Italian studies? If so, send details including your lodge’s name/number, a brief writeup, and digital photos of 300 dpi to Editor Miles Fisher at mfisher@osia.org

THE STORY OF JIM

BY MILES RYAN FISHER

Before he set out on tour, Jim Croce took a walk with his wife, Ingrid. They talked about their future—now with a two-year-old son in tow—and Jim expressed his desire to leave the music business altogether. It was September 1973, shortly after Jim had seemingly become an overnight success, a songwriter shooting to stardom. Yet, in spite of his album sales and in spite of his concert performances, he still didn’t receive much income from his music. Life on the road had been taking its toll, and Jim simply wanted to be at home for good with his family.

It was family that initially inspired his love for music. Born in South Philadelphia during World War II, Jim grew up a first-generation Italian American surrounded by a large Italian family that was always singing and dancing. His father, James Albert Croce, was born in the town of Trasacco (Abruzzo region), and his mother, Flora Mary Babusci, was born in the town of Palermo (Sicily region). With a penchant for singing, Jim was raised on songs about Pennsylvania miners and farmers—tales of the working class, their lives and their struggles. It was his father who played them on the radio, instilling Jim with not only a love for songwriting but also a working-class identity.

Jim attended Villanova University, paying his way by driving a delivery truck and performing every kind of music at any kind of party that would hire his band. While in college, he attended a hootenanny—an informal folk concert with music and dancing—and it was there that he met a young woman named Ingrid, whom he’d marry just three years later.

Together, they shared a love for music, playing and singing songs along the East Coast before settling in New York City and recording an album in 1969. The album, however, didn’t sell, and it wasn’t long before they realized that music wasn’t offering them the means to make a living. So they retreated to a farmhouse in Lyndell, Pennsylvania, a rural town west of Philadelphia.

Jim continued to play in small dive bars, the kind in which he performed surrounded by chicken-wire to protect him from a rowdy crowd and flying beer bottles. He even grew accustomed to playing a strapless guitar while standing, since it made for an easier escape when, as Jim once put it, the “Martini Madness” set in.

But at this point, his live performances still weren’t paying the bills. Furthermore, Jim grew disillusioned by the music industry altogether, having signed a contract in New York City with representatives who made promises that were left unfulfilled. While others profited on his past recordings, he remained penniless.

Jim began selling off his acoustic guitars—one by one—to generate the income that he and Ingrid would need to get by. He also took on jobs as a construction worker and a truck driver—blue-collar work that, like the songs his father had played for him, would have a profound effect on him and the identity of his music.

Meanwhile, the Croces’ farmhouse became a refuge for many like-minded musicians—a collective of songwriters who would soon rise to fame. Songwriters like James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt, Jimmy Buffett, Randy Newman, and Arlo Guthrie. Yet Jim dwelled on his seemingly inextricable situation, one that caused him to quit writing songs altogether, fearing that the music representatives would pocket all the profits from his future recordings as they’d done in the past. During this time, he was introduced to another musician, Marty Muehleisen, for whom he began playing second guitar at Muehleisen’s gigs in Philadelphia.

Then, in December 1970, Ingrid became pregnant. And this—the vision of his own child entering the world—ignited a flame inside Jim that induced a lifetime of songwriting to pour from him in just one week. Character-based songs like “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim” and “Rapid Roy.” Sentimental songs like “Operator,” “Photographs and Memories,” and the one he’d penned for his future son: “Time in a Bottle.” It was this combination of characters and sentimentality—along with Muehleisen’s complimentary guitar lines—that would soon propel Jim Croce to the top of the charts.

Armed with a stockpile of songs and Muehleisen now backing him, Jim recorded two albums: You Don’t Mess Around with Jim (1972) and Life & Times (1973). By late 1971, he was on the road, performing at a pace of 300 shows per year. He’d become the working man of the music business, and it was in this image that listeners would perceive him—a songwriter whose lyrics captured the working-class identity and would one day be seen as the link between Woody Guthrie and Bruce Springsteen.

True to this identity, Jim never Jim and Ingrid with their newborn son, A.J. The classic cover for the album You Don't Mess Around with Jim that features Jim Croce staring from the window of an outhouse that still stands at the farmhouse in Lyndell, Pennsylvania.

canceled a show. There was, however, one date which he had to forego due to illness. It was a performance in Natchitoches, Louisiana, where he was scheduled to play at Prather Coliseum for Northwestern State University students. Rather than canceling the show, Jim decided to postpone it—promising to return on his next tour and make good to the students who’d bought tickets.

While on his tour, it was the first single, “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown,” from his second album that broke big and shot to #1 on the charts, propelling Jim’s album to be certified Gold, with more than 500,000 copies sold. Still, income didn’t follow his success, regardless of album sales and live performances. Meanwhile, touring continued to take him far from home, away from his family.

Soon, Ingrid confronted him about this—the meager income paired with prolonged absences. A disagreement ensued, and it was later that night that Jim stayed up and penned one of his most famous songs: “I’ll Have to Say I Love You in a Song.”

They decided to move to San Diego, California, trying to normalize their life on the other side of the country. But with another tour and time on the road looming, Jim and Ingrid took that walk—the last one before he left for his next tour. It was on that walk that they talked about their future and about Jim leaving the music business behind. It was on that walk that they talked about Jim returning home and staying for good.

The impression that this made on Jim prompted him to write a letter after he’d embarked on his tour. It was a confession and a promise that he addressed to his wife. After he landed in Natchitoches, Louisiana, he mailed it.

Dear Friends,

This is a birth note. I, after 30 years of looking, have recently found that I’ve lost many of my ingrained, inherited, learned, imagined, and programmed fears. My cup got so full it overflowed, and I had to empty it to really learn about life and what it means to me.

I now want to be the oldest man around with a face full of wrinkles of wisdom and a lot of across the board buddies. One thing I don’t want to become is intense. It’s the first 60 years that count, and I’ve got 30 to go.

Be cool,

Jim Jim and his partner, Marty Muehleisen, who wrote memorable second guitar lines, such as that in the song “Operator.”

On September 20, 1973, Jim landed at Natchitoches Regional Airport, returning to the little Louisiana town to fulfill the promise that he’d made to the students of Northwestern State University. Since postponing the show, Jim had become a household name, and Prather Coliseum held but a fraction of the audience that he now played for. But that didn’t matter to Jim. What mattered was staying true to his word and keeping the promise he’d made. That evening, Jim played a show that included multiple encores and culminated with “Time in a Bottle.”

After the show, he boarded the twin-engine Beechcraft plane that was chartered to take him from Natchitoches to Sherman, Texas, for his next show at Austin College. The plane taxied to the runway and, with limited visibility between the night sky and surrounding fog, accelerated downwind toward the row of pecan trees that lined the end of the runway. The pilot pulled back on the controls, and the nose lifted upward. As the plane lifted off the ground, one of its wings clipped a pecan tree, sending the plane crashing to the ground.

Jim Croce along with his guitar partner, Marty Muehleisen, and the four others on board died on impact.

The country met the news of Jim’s tragic death with disbelief. A songwriter with stories to tell had suddenly crashed while on his way up. Meanwhile, his music continued to climb. It was just the day after his death that “I Got a Name”—a song that makes regular appearances in popular culture today—was released as the first single off his eponymous album.

Then, less than one month after his death, a re-released version of “Time in a Bottle” reached #1—his only other song to reach the top of the charts. It was the last song that he’d ever played live. The song that he’d written for his little boy.

Miles Ryan Fisher (mfisher@osia.org) is the Editor-in-Chief of Italian America Magazine.