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Columbus Day Parade Is Alive and Well It’s official! Philadelphia’s renowned Columbus Day Parade and Italian Festival will take place Oct. 10 with an estimated 5,000 marchers including eight string bands, two service bands and several high-school bands. This time, however, the parade route is shorter. Marchers will gather at Broad & Morris in South Philadelphia and proceed to Marconi Plaza, at Broad & Oregon. The parade will conclude at Bigler Street just after passing by the reviewing stand. The parade will be telecast on Channel 6 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. The festivities will continue with the Columbus Day Festival on the west grounds of Marconi Plaza during the parade and will continue to 6 p.m. Grand Marshall of this year’s parade will be Jerry Blavat, well-known radio disc jockey. Coordinating this year’s parade is the 1492 Society, a newly formed nonprofit which has replaced the now-defunct Columbus Day Committee, founded 50-plus years ago by the late Commendatore Severino Verna, the husband of Council President Anna Verna. This year’s committee should raise the $50,000 in expenses generated by the parade and celebration. According to Jody DellaBarba, “Congressman Bob Brady is to be credited with funding all of the city’s ethnic and neighborhood parades. He asked Gerry Lenfest for help. The humanitarian put enough money into a fund from which the parade committees can draw to pay for the City expense generated by the use of police, fire, and sanitation services. This lowered

the cost for this parade and all the others.” Leading the list of donors who have contributed to the $50,000 needed for this year’s Columbus Day parade is Verna, who donated $10,000 in honor of her husband, Sevy Verna. He had been the parade’s marshal from its first celebration until his death two years ago. Other donors to date include Pete Ciarrocchi, restaurant owner, $5,000; Jay Agnes, of P. Agnes Builders, $5,000; Defense Realty, $5,000; State Sen. Larry Farnese, $5,000 through a State grant; Grand Lodge of Sons of Italy, $5,000; Philadelphia Federal Credit Union, $2500; UNICO, $500 with Verna adding another $4,000 through a City Council grant. Solicitations are still continuing. Chairperson of the newly formed 1492 Society is Ciarrocchi. Secretary is DellaBarba, and vice president is Mark Rago, owner of Monte-Rago Funeral Directors. The festival at Marconi Plaza includes Italian dishes and desserts from many of South Philadelphia’s famous eateries. Entertainment will include the Verdi Band, the Munier Mandolin Society, The Business band, Singer Nick Desiderio, with DJ Ed Tulley, emceeing the festivities. It will conclude at 6 p.m. Kathy Murray, retired chief of staff of Verna’s office, will assume the duties of organization and coordination of parade activities. This will be her last parade, she said, as she heads into a religious vocation.

Winemaker Ready For Vendemmia Vol. IV No. 37 (Issue 154)

The Only Union Newspaper Reporting South Philadelphia The Way It Deserves

Value 50¢

September 16, 2010

Prayers Answered Sacred Heart Nuns Joy At Convent Renovations Third In A Series

“OH WHEN THE SAINTS GO marching in” chimed from a cell phone sitting on the dining table as Father Robert Feeney, Sisters Andrew, Kathleen, Marita, thank Niki and Mary Capo, Brian Donnelly and Tom Betteridge for their help renovating Sacred Heart of Jesus Convent at 3rd & Reed Streets.

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by Rory G. McGlasson A group of nuns at a local Catholic church have had their prayers answered by some generous hearts. The Sacred Heart of Jesus convent is unusual, in that the convent at 1422 S. 3rd Street is home to eight sisters. So dark and dreary-looking was their front-room chapel, the sisters moved upstairs to their (Cont. Page 2)

by Maria Merlino Local winemaker John Patane has been winning awards for his wine for more than 30 years. His secret ingredient: a university thesis paper, he wrote, that mixes science with winemaking. When John Patane’s father passed away, he left enough wine that would have lasted the family for about a year. But because he was in college, majoring in science and physics, Patane needed to drink moderately, so that wine lasted for four years. When he ran out, he started making it again. This was back in the 1960s, when he was attending La Salle College. (Cont. Page 2)

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...South Philadelphia vine expert, John Patane. Photo By Maria Merlino


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