Italian Times - June 2012 issue

ICC ready to kick off 12thCourtyard Music Series season

Free weeknight concert series starts June 4

A large crowd of Italian food lovers came to the Italian Community Centeron Sunday, Apr. 22 for the 17th annual “A Taste of Italy,” an essentialfund-raiser for the nonprofit organization. Seen here: Tony Farina and hisdaughter, Diane, enjoyed the wide variety of delicious Italian food thatwas available at nearly 30 booths set up in the Pompeii Grand Ballroomand the Festa Ballroom. Look for more photos and information from theevent inside this issue. (Times photo by Tom Hemman)

All the pieces are in place for aspectacular 12th season of theItalian Community Center’sCourtyard Music Series. Featuringa variety of live music performanc-es on Monday, Tuesday,Wednesday and Thursday nights,the series begins the week of June4.

Best of all, the series continuesto be offered with no cover chargeand no drink minimum, and freeparking is available in the lot southof the building.

The staff of Cafe La Scala, theICC’s public restaurant, will be onhand each night to take food andbeverage orders.

Due to the popularity of theseries, reservations are stronglyrecommended and can be made bycalling Cafe La Scala at 414/223-2185.

The shows go on rain or shine.In the event of inclement weather,the shows are moved indoors to theFesta Ballroom.

Best lineup ever“This year, I think we have our

strongest lineup ever – from jazzlegend Janet Planet and Midwestblues powerhouse The Bel Airs to apopular flamenco group, fabulousopera singers and the one-and-onlyDoo-Wop Daddies – this is going tobe a great summer,” said Joe

Campagna, Jr., who is again coordi-nating the series with Sal Quarino.

“We brought back some of ourlongtime friends and favorites andadded some new acts to the lineup,which we know have large follow-ings, so we’re expecting a full housenearly every night,” Quarino said.

Like the last couple of seasons,the series is offering jazz on

Monday night, blues on Tuesdaynight, opera and classical (withsome Broadway, too) on Wednesdaynight and good time rock and rollon Thursday night.

Tom Sorce, a Midwest guitarlegend and recording artist, bookedthe entertainment for Monday,Tuesday and Thursday nights. KaySparling, a former Metropolitan

Opera soprano and owner of aJefferson, Wisconsin conservatoryfor young performing artists, puttogether the talent for theWednesday night series.

This year, the series is beingextended a month longer than lastyear. Campagna said the decisionto extend the series was based on

We’re less than two monthsaway from the start of the celebra-tion of our 35th annual FestaItaliana and all of our committeesare working diligently to put on thefinishing touches.

The dates of Festa areThursday, July 19 through Sunday,July 22. Advance $10 tickets arenow available. (Look for a story inthis issue or go towww.festaitaliana.com.) At the gate,admission will be $13.

We have some great entertain-ment, including classical crossoverartists Michèal Castaldo and Alfio,escape artist Mario Manzini (per-forming his tribute to Houdini),and The Louis Prima, Jr. Band(direct from Las Vegas). SammyLlanas, formerly of the BoDeans,

has been added to the entertain-ment lineup for a show on Saturdaynight, July 21.

We have verbal commitmentsfor shows by the Ides of March onFriday and Saturday, July 20 and21, and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy onSaturday night, July 21 and we’llbe announcing a show by a nationalcountry artist closer to the start ofFesta. All of these shows will befree with a paid admission to thefestival.

We know many of you come toFesta to enjoy the wide variety ofItalian food that’s available. Thisyear, we’ll have more than 30 dif-ferent vendors ready to satisfy yourtastes. Trattoria di Carlo andMajor Goolsby’s have been added toour food vendor lineup.

Celebrity chefs Nick Stellino

A message from Dave Spano,Italian Community Center President

Several thousand enjoy“A Taste of Italy” Different day, similar perks

for Festa’s VIP DaySpecial event for persons with disabilities

moved from Thursday to FridayBy Colleen Jurkiewicz

The 35th Festa Italiana will seesome changes, most notably in itspopular annual VIP Day event,which has been serving the dis-abled of southeastern Wisconsinsince 1981.

Festa and the sponsors of VIPDay, Milwaukee Public Schools,Goodwill and Summerfest, aim tomake Festa more accessible tothose with disabilities as well astheir caregivers. Summerfest gra-ciously charges Festa half the nor-mal daily rental for use of MaierFestival Park during the threehours of VIP Day. In years past, itwas an exclusive event held onThursday, the festival’s first day,with the grounds open only to thedisabled and their caregivers, fea-turing reduced-price food anddrinks from vendors.

With this year’s Festa openingat 5 p.m., festival officials havedecided to move VIP Day toFriday, July 20. The VIP Day

time period remains the same, 11a.m. to 2 p.m.

Attendees will be glad to hearthat nearly all of the same perksare available. There will again befree admission for all those withdisabilities and their caregivers, aswell as designated reduced-pricefood items and free soda from allvendors (for that three-hour periodonly). The only difference will bethat the grounds will also be opento the public during this time.

Parking for the three-hour peri-od will be $5 as in previous years inthe Italian Community Center lotand Summerfest Lot P. Vans willbe allowed to discharge and pick upVIPs at the Mid Gate at Harbor Dr.and Chicago St. Festa will issuespecial van passes for these situa-tions, so please specify that withyour ticket request if one isrequired.

The Special Olympics BocceTournament will also return. The

Please turn to page 7



THE

ITALIAN TIMESPublished by the Italian Community Center,

631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee, WI 53202-5916www.ICCMilwaukee.com

VOL. 34, NO. 1 JUNE 2012

By Colleen JurkiewiczThis year more than ever, Festa

is all about family.To that end, the festival will fea-

ture the family-friendly “La ParataItaliana” (The Italian Parade) onSaturday, July 21 and Sunday,July 22. The Saturday parade willhonor Festa’s 35 years and serve asa memorial tribute to the lateHenry W. Maier, the long servingMayor of Milwaukee.

Led by Vespa scooters, courtesyof Reina International Auto/VespaMilwaukee, and accompanied by

the Sicilian Band of Chicago, theparade will feature Festa favoritesPinocchio, Geppetto, the Blue Fairyand Topo Gigio. TradizioneVivente, I Bei Bambini and theFesta Regional & RenaissanceGroup will dance in the parade.The 2012 ICC Carnevale Royaltywill process along with theCarnevale costume and mask win-ners.

Completing the grand processionwill be baton twirlers, a jug-gler/stilt walker (who will also per-form on the Children’s Stage), a

Sicilian carretto (cart), beautifulimported Italian cars (also courtesyof Reina) and much more. And ofcourse, Italian music will be promi-nent in the procession as well.

In honor of Festa’s 35th anniver-sary, parade organizer Susie(DeSanctis) Christiansen hasextended an invitation to all ofMilwaukee’s ethnic festivals to par-ticipate in Saturday’s parade torepresent the many ethnic groupsthat have made this city the melt-ing-pot metropolis that it is today.

“Since this is Festa Itali-

ana’s35th anniversary, we wantthis year’s parade to be as spectac-ular as possible,” said Christiansen.“We think it would add a great dealof energy and enthusiasm toinclude cheerleading squads toshout cheers celebrating Festa’sanniversary and pom pon squads toperform along the way with red andgreen pom pons.”

The purpose of the parades, saidChristiansen, is to “celebratefamiglia, cultura, and all thingsItalian!”

Children needed for paradeChristiansen has put out a spe-

cial call for more children. All chil-dren are encouraged to participatein the parade on both days.

Parents whose children wouldbe interested in walking in theparade or riding on the Pinocchiofloat are asked to contact her byphone at (414) 217-0174 or by emailat [email protected].

Please note, the parade will notbe held on the first two days ofFesta, July 19 and 20.

THE ITALIAN TIMESPAGE 2 – JUNE 2012

All advertisements must be in accordancewith the rules and requirements as deter-mined by editorial policy. Paid advertise-ments are not to be interpreted as anendorsement by the Italian CommunityCenter or its newspaper, The Italian Times.In addition, the Newspaper Committeereserves the right to reject ads based on edi-torial policy approved by the Board ofDirectors of the Italian Community Center.

The Italian Community Center is a mem-ber of the Metropolitan MilwaukeeAssociation of Commerce, Visit Milwaukeeand the Historic Third Ward Association.

THE ITALIAN TIMES631 E. Chicago St.

Milwaukee, WI 53202-5916(414) 223-2180

Published 11 times annually

Publisher . . . Italian Community CenterICC President . . . . . . . . . . . Dave SpanoNewspaper CommitteeChairman . . . . . . . . . . . . Robert RuggieriEditor . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Thomas HemmanItalian PageEditor . . . . . . . Enrica Tarantino-WoytalAdvertising SalesManager . . . . . . . . . . . .Thomas HemmanAdvertising SalesRepresentative . . . . . . Faye Ann KesslerEditorial Contributors and StaffWriters/Reporters . . . . .Robert Ruggieri,

Colleen Jurkiewicz, Mario A. Carini,Bobby Tanzilo, Angelo Castronovo and

Susan Christiansen, Staff Photographers . . . . Tim Townsend,

Tom Hemman and Colleen Jurkiewicz

For advertising information, please call(414) 223-2180 or send an e-mail to:[email protected].

Copyright 2012The Italian Community Center, Inc.

All Rights Reserved

Festa’s parade will be all about family

By Thomas HemmanTimes Editor

Could you be Festa Italiana’snext “Italian Idol” winner?

For the sixth consecutive year,Festa Italiana is conducting itsItalian Idol karaoke competitionfor amateur singers, 14 years andolder. This year, the nightly eventwill be presented, for the firsttime, on the Cucina Showcasestage, starting at 8 p.m.

The 35th annual Festa takesplace Thursday, July 19 throughSunday, July 22 on theSummerfest grounds

To register to compete inItalian Idol, persons who believethey have some degree of vocalability are asked to come to theCucina Showcase starting at 6

p.m. on the Thursday, Friday orSaturday of Festa to sign up. Idolmanagers Christine Conley andSandy Winard said they are look-ing for 15 contestants each night.

At the time of registration, con-testants will be asked to decidewhat song they wish to perform.They are allowed to choose anytitle from the extensive karaokerepertoire brought to Festa byKim Marie, the founder and one ofthe vocalists of the Oldies ButGoodies Spectacular, a rock androll band that is slated to performlate nights at Festa.

Three finalists and an alternatewill be selected by a panel ofjudges each of the first threenights of Festa to advance to thechampionship round on Sunday,

July 22. In all, nine finalists willsing for a chance to win cashprizes on Sunday night.

In the finals, the contestantswill not only sing the song of theirchoice, but will be asked to choosea number from Kim Marie’sItalian tunes selection.

Prize money doubledThis year, the prize money has

been doubled from previous years!The first prize is $500. Secondprize is $300 and third prize is$200.

Last year, Kelly Gerschke ofBrookfield captured the first prize.Jim Unger of Racine win secondprize and Ed Lemberger of SouthMilwaukee took third prize.

Winard will be serving as theemcee each night.

Singers wanted for Festa’s‘Italian Idol’ contest

Deadline set forJuly/Augustissue of The

Italian TimesAll advertising copy, news and

feature stories, letters from thereaders and photographs for publi-cation in the July/August FestaItaliana 2012 issue of The ItalianTimes must be submitted to theeditor no later than Monday, June11.

Materials can be emailed to edi-tor Tom Hemman at [email protected], sent to TheItalian Times, 631 E. Chicago St.,Milwaukee, WI 53202, or droppedoff at the reception desk in theItalian Community Center office.

Your cooperation will insuretimely publication of the newspa-per.

THE ITALIAN TIMES JUNE 2012 – PAGE 3

Tuesday, May 22• Società Maschile M.S.S. Del Lume meeting, 6 p.m.

Wednesday, May 23• Festa Italiana Advisory Board meeting, noon.

Thursday, May 24• Italian Community Center membership dinner, 5:30 p.m.• Italian Community Center general meeting, 6:30 p.m.

Friday, May 25• Abruzzese Society social, 6 p.m.

Saturday, May 26• Balliamo, Bambini, last class this spring for toddlers, ages 2-5, 10 a.m.

Monday, May 28• Memorial Day. The offices of the Italian Community Center, ItalianConference Center, Festa Italiana and The Italian Times and Cafe LaScala will be closed.

Tuesday, May 29• Milwaukee Ladies of UNICO Board meeting, 6:30 p.m.• Italian Community Center spring bocce championship playoffs, 7 p.m.

Wednesday, May 30• Festa Italiana Advisory Board meeting, noon.• Pompeii Women’s Club May Crowning ceremony and dinner, 6 p.m.Details in this issue.

Monday, June 4• Solomon Juneau Club meeting, 1 p.m.• Courtyard Music Series season opener: Hot Jazz with Bob Maynard &The Milwaukee Connection, 6:30 p.m. Details in this issue.

Tuesday, June 5• Italian Community Center Culture Committee meeting, 6 p.m.• Pompeii Men’s Club Board meeting, 6 p.m.• Courtyard Music Series: Tuesday Bluesday with Steve Cohen Band andGreg Koch, 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, June 6• Festa Italiana Advisory Board meeting, noon.• Courtyard Music Series: Opera, Classical & Broadway with SparlingTheatrical Productions, Inc., 6:30 p.m.• Pompeii Women’s Club Board meeting, 7 p.m.

Thursday, June 7• Courtyard Music Series: Rock and Roll with the Oldies But GoodiesSpectacular, 6:30 p.m.

Monday, June 11• Italian Community Center Finance Committee meeting, 6 p.m.• Courtyard Music Series: Hot Jazz with Jackson Dordell & The Ray TabsTrio, 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, June 12• Courtyard Music Series: Tuesday Bluesday with Bryan Lee Band,6:30 p.m.• Abruzzese Society meeting, 7 p.m.• Milwaukee Chapter UNICO National meeting, 7 p.m.

Wednesday, June 13• Festa Italiana Advisory Board meeting, noon.• Courtyard Music Series: Opera, Classical & Broadway with South Shore

Youth Opera Ensemble, 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, June 14• Italian Community Center Board meeting, 6 p.m.• Courtyard Music Series: Rock and Roll with Rick D’Amore’s Rockin’Dance Party, 6:30 p.m.

Monday, June 18• Courtyard Music Series: Hot Jazz with Vivo Rio (Pam Duronio, TimStemper and Warren Wiegratz), 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, June 19• Milwaukee Ladies of UNICO membership dinner meeting, 6 p.m.• Courtyard Music Series: Tuesday Bluesday with Jim Liban BluesCombo, 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, June 20• Festa Italiana Advisory Board meeting, noon.• Filippo Mazzei Lodge/Order Sons of Italy in America Council meeting,6 p.m.• Pompeii Women’s Club membership dinner meeting, 6 p.m.• Courtyard Music Series: Opera, Classical & Broadway with SiempreFlamenco, 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, June 21• Italian Community Center membership dinner, 5:30 p.m.• Italian Community Center general meeting, 6:30 p.m.• Courtyard Music Series: Rock and Roll with the Oldies But GoodiesSpectacular, 6:30 p.m.

Friday, June 22• Abbruzzese Society social, 6 p.m.

Monday, June 25• Courtyard Music Series: Hot Jazz with Frank DeMiles All-Stars,6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, June 26• Courtyard Music Series: Tuesday Bluesday with Leroy Airmaster andJunior Brantley, 6:30 p.m.

Daily and weekly classes and activities• Bocce leagues. The spring leagues championship playoffs are onTuesday, May 29. The fall league season will get under way the week ofSept. 10. Look for details in our next issue.

• “Balliamo, Bambini,” a dance class for children, ages 2-5, concludes itseight-week run on Saturday, May 26 at 10 a.m.

• Free Children’s Italian class. The fall semester of the ItalianCommunity Center’s free children’s Italian class (for those ages 6-12) willbe announced soon.

• Italian I and II classes for teens and adults. The fall semester of ItalianI and II classes for teens and adults will be announced soon.

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

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

Calendar of EventsMay 22 – June 26, 2012

The Italian Community Centerwill actively participate in theMilwaukee Brewers’ “ItalianHeritage Day” promotion for thegame on Sunday, July 1 against theArizona Diamondbacks.

The ICC has purchased 500 tick-ets for the game and is offering apackage that includes a pre-gametailgate party at the ICC, bustransportation to and from MillerPark and a premium ticket in theshade-covered rightfield loge for$55.

These tickets can be obtained bystopping in at the ICC receptiondesk on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 5p.m. or by calling 414/223-2180 andhaving a credit card handy.

Everyone who buys this $55package will be entitled to freeparking in the ICC’s closest lot tothe building even thoughSummerfest will be going on atnearby Maier Festival Park.

An Italian-style tailgate partywill begin at 10:30 a.m. in the ICC’sCourtyard, with buses departingfor Miller Park around 11:30 a.m.The first pitch is at 1:10 p.m.

This event is being organized bythe ICC’s Membership Committee.

For the three-game seriesagainst the Diamondbacks (June 29and 30 and July 1), the Brewerswill wear special uniform tops,including the word “Birrai” (theItalian translation of “Brewers”)stretched across the front.

The Brewers have alsoannounced that the July 1 gamewill feature a bobblehead giveaway.All fans entering the ballpark withreceive a bobblehead of “Guido,” theItalian racing sausage, courtesy ofKlement’s Sausage.

ICC to participate in Brewers’ ‘ItalianHeritage Day’ game promotion

Italian Community Centermembers are asked to mark theircalendars for meeting datechanges in June, all of which areprecipitated by the opening ofSummerfest at nearby MaierFestival Park. Summerfest opensits 11-day run on Wednesday,June 27.

These meetings are beingadvanced by one week from their

normal time:• The ICC Finance Committee

will meet on Monday, June 11 at 6p.m. (instead of the normal thirdMonday, June 18).

• The ICC Board will meet onThursday, June 14 at 6 p.m.(instead of June 21).

• The ICC membership dinnerand general meeting will takeplace on Thursday, June 21

(instead of June 28, the second dayof Summerfest). The dinner andmeeting will be at their usualtimes, 5:30 and 6:30 p.m.

In July, the ICC has no regularBoard meeting or general member-ship meeting scheduled.

The organization returns to itsregular meeting schedule inAugust.

ICC’s June meetings advanceda week due to Summerfest

By Colleen JurkiewiczThe students of Gina

Jorgenson’s North Division High

School art history class got achance to travel back to ancientRome while preparing displays for

this year’s Festa Cultural Exhibit.Historic dioramas, artistic repro-

ductions of ancient weapons,boards explaining Roman socialtraditions, and much more will beon display at the Culture Tent onthe north end of the festivalgrounds. Students from the classwill volunteer to be experts-on-hand at the tent to explain exhibitsto festival-goers.

Jorgenson is the chairperson ofthe ICC’s Culture Committee andpresident of Tradizione Vivente,the Italian Dance Group. She holdsa bachelor of arts degree in art edu-cation and art therapy fromAlverno College, as well as a mas-ter’s degree in visual studies fromCardinal Stritch University.

“Before the project is completed,the students do much researchfirst,” Jorgenson said. “We startwith an essential question and stu-dents create projects.”

Jorgenson explained she got theidea for the exhibit while doing aproject-based learning unit onancient Rome in her class.

Some examples of displaysinclude a board explaining thelogistics of an ancient catapult, uti-lized by the Romans in their warsagainst Syracuse, Macedon, Sparta,and Aetolia in the 3rd and 2nd cen-turies, BC. Another board illus-trates the details of social etiquettein ancient Rome, explaining the dif-ference between the appearance ofnoblewomen and common women.Other boards provide informationon ancient Roman swords andshields.

The students are also creating agiant Pinocchio head and whale tobe featured in the Festa Parade,using materials like chicken wire,zip ties, thin wire, newspaper, plas-ter wrap, and paint.

Students have made impressiverepresentations of Roman shieldsout of cardboard, plaster wrap,newspaper, and paint, along withexamples of intricate mosaics.

Some students also created theirown renderings of such historicbuildings as the Coliseum, whichwill accompany information aboutancient Roman gladiators.

Festa attendees will also be ableto see the projects used in an inter-active way. “The catapult will beused to launch off bean bags some-where on the grounds, most likelythe Kid’s Area,” said Jorgenson. “Itwill also be used to launch offcandy during the parade.”

Jorgenson also plans to do anart activity in the Cultural Tent. “Iam thinking of doing paper mosaicplates that will be displayed alongwith a display board about the his-torical aspect of this art form,” shesaid.

Anyone who would like to volun-teer to assist at this year’s CultureExhibit should contact GinaJorgenson ([email protected] [email protected],com) or Chirstina Zizzo([email protected]), managerof the Culture Exhibit. Individualsinterested in volunteering can alsocontact the Festa Italiana office at414/223-2808. Items can be donatedfor the art activity, including paper,glue sticks, any kind of designstamp, paper of any kind, markersand ink pads.


Cucina Showcase serves up a goodtime for 2012 Festa Italiana

By Colleen JurkiewiczThe kitchen is the heart of the

Italian home, and fittingly theCucina Showcase stage will be theheart of this year’s Festa Italiana.

In the May issue of The ItalianTimes it was reported that special-ty chef Rossella Rago, host of theonline show Cooking with Nonna,will be appearing at the CucinaShowcase. She will demonstratethe cooking of traditional familyrecipes (tried and true through thegenerations) with the help of onelucky nonna who will assist heronstage.

All nonnas are invited to write ashort paragraph on why they wouldlike to show off their culinary skillsat the Cucina Showcase. All inter-ested applicants should send atypewritten paragraph explainingtheir love of family, food, and beingan Italian nonna. Applicantsshould include their name, address,and telephone number. Entriesmust be submitted no later thanFriday, June 15. Please sendentries to Nonna’s Cooking withRossella, c/o Marie Lieber, CucinaManager at 9140 N. Goldendale

Drive, Milwaukee WI 53223.The lucky nonna will be selected

by Rago prior to the beginning ofFesta.

Contests to returnFesta attendees will be glad to

hear that the annual Cannoli-Eating Contest is making its grandreturn for the seventh year in arow. The contest consistently drawsa large and enthusiastic crowd towatch devoted eaters vie for thecoveted crown of “CannoliChampion.”

Last year’s champion, three-time winner Anthony Paulis, willbe invited back to participate, alongwith other champions. Paulis wonthe contest, devouring 10 cannoli,while his closest competitors laggedfar behind, digesting their seventhand eighth pastries.

This year’s contest will takeplace on Saturday, July 21.Interested in competing in thisyear’s contest? You can register atthe Cucina Showcase anytime priorto the start of the contest.

The cannoli, courtesy ofSciortino’s Bakery, will arrive atthe Cucina Showcase on silvertrays carried on the shoulders ofRoman soldiers. Ten contestants

will compete after their names arerandomly drawn. To be eligible,contestants must be present at thedrawing of the names and must beat least 18 years of age. All partici-pants will receive a t-shirt and thefirst-place winner will be awardeda cash prize.

Returning to the CucinaShowcase for its third year will bethe popular Children’s Pizza-Making Contest on Sunday, July22. Two contests (one for childrenages 5 to 9 and the other for ages10 to 16) will be held. The contestswill once again be sponsored byDue Sorelli, an Oak Creek manu-facturer of Italian spices and otherunique cooking and baking prod-ucts. Due Sorelli has long been asponsor and participant in Festa.

Interested kids can sign up forthe contest at the Cucina Showcaseall days of the festival. Names willbe randomly drawn to determinewho will compete. Contestantsmust be present at the drawing ofthe names. A pizza-making demon-stration will precede the competi-tion, which will be judged on cre-ativity and visual appeal.

Chef Rossella Rago

Ancient Rome coming to life atthe Festa Culture Exhibit

Correcting acouple errors inour March issue

In the obituary for longtimeItalian Community Center mem-ber Joseph Ninfo, we incorrectlylisted his birth date as Jan. 19,1919. His wife, Josephine,reports that Joe was born sixdays earlier, Jan. 13, 1919. Wealso listed that he graduatedfrom Rufus King High School.He actually graduated fromanother Milwaukee high school,Riverside.

Our apologies to JosephineNinfo.

By Thomas HemmanTimes Editor

Can’t wait for Festa Italiana?Then, get your advance admissiontickets now.

Festa officials have kept theprice of an advance admission tick-et for the 2012 festival the same aslast year – $10. That’s a $3 savingsover the gate admission price.

One way to get your advancetickets is to order them online byvisiting www.festaitaliana.com.

You may also buy advance tick-ets in person at the ItalianCommunity Center, 631 E. ChicagoSt., Milwaukee, or for credit cardpuchases, call 414/223-2194. Youcan also use the form that accompa-nies this article to order youradvance admission tickets.

A complete list of advance ticketoutlets will be published in theJuly/August issue of The ItalianTimes, which is expected to beavailable the week of June 25.

The 35th annual Festa Italianatakes place Thursday, July 19through Sunday, July 22 at HenryW. Maier Festival Park (theSummerfest grounds).

As has always been the case,children, 12 and younger, areadmitted to Festa for free when

accompanied by an adult.

Festa will open from 5 to 11 p.m.on Thursday, July 19 and 11:30a.m. to midnight, Friday throughSunday, July 20-22.

The deadline to order advancetickets is Sunday, July 1.


Get your advance Festa tickets now; save money

Instead of offering a new car ora trip to Italy with other grandmerchandise in its raffle, FestaItaliana officials have decided togo in a new direction. This year,Festa is offering a “50/50 cash raf-fle.”

What this means is there willbe one prize. The prize winnerwill collect 50% of the raffle’sgross revenue based on the num-ber of tickets sold as verified bythe accounting firm Reilly, Pennerand Benton, LLP, certified publicaccountants. The amount of theprize is anyone’s guess at thispoint, but it’s expected to be sub-stantial since raffle tickets arealready on sale. Festa Italianawill retain the remaining 50% ofticket sales. The minimum prizeis $5,000.

The cost of one raffle ticket hasbeen set at $10. Tickets can bepurchased at the ItalianCommunity Center during regu-lar business hours and at specialevents or online atwww.FestaItaliana.com. They arealso available from ICC membersand will be on sale on the Festagrounds during the festival, whichbegins Thursday, July 19 andends Sunday, July 22. The draw-ing will take place on July 22 at10 p.m. on the Miller Lite OasisStage.

The prize winner need not bepresent for the drawing. That per-son, however, will be responsiblefor payment of all applicable stateand federal taxes. The tax settle-ment date must occur on or beforeDec. 31, 2012.

One-of-a-kindFesta raffle

A ‘50/50 cash raffle’ now under way

ORDER YOUR MONEY-SAVING ADVANCE TICKETSTO FESTA ITALIANA 2012

Name(s) ____________________________________________________

Address _____________________________________________________

City, State, Zip _______________________________________________

Phone ________________ Email _________________________________

I/we want to order _____ advance tickets @ $10.00 each.

Total amount enclosed: $________________________________________

Payment by check, money order and credit card accepted.

Credit Card No. _______________________________________________

Credit Card Expiration Date _____________________________________

Mail this form with your payment to Festa Italiana, 631 E. Chicago St.,Milwaukee, WI 53202. Checks or money orders are payable to FestaItaliana. Your advance tickets will be mailed to you. Requests for advancetickets must be received no later than July 1, 2012.

As feast day for Florence’s patronsaint – San Giovanni Battista – June24 is essentially a religious holiday.The day’s celebrations start with anearly-morning parade, with processorswearing historic costumes and carryinglarge candles (ancient tradition dictat-ed that Florentine nobility donate theircandles to the feast day’s celebration).Mass is then said in the Cathedral.

The day also includes a medieval

tournament followed by music, drink-ing and feasting.

In true Italian fashion, a soccertournament is held in the Santa Crocepiazza – although this form of soccertakes on a medieval twist, with moreaggressive, almost violent, playing.

In the evening, rowboats carryinglit candles make their way down theArno River. A fireworks show follows.

San Giovanni Feast Day celebrated in Florence, Italy


Details about Festa Mass announcedBy Bob Ruggieri

As has become customary, thousands of worshipersare expected to converge upon the MarcusAmphitheater on Sunday, July 22, to join in FestaItaliana’s celebration of a Catholic Mass. Officiating atthe 11 a.m. Mass will be Fr. John Belmonte, S.J.,superintendent of Catholic schools for the diocese ofJoliet, Ill. and former principal of Milwaukee’sMarquette University High School.

Vivian Balistreri ([email protected]) and Sal LoCoco ([email protected]), co-chairs of Festa’sMass Committee, said that the Mass will be followed bythe traditional procession to the north end of thegrounds for a benediction ceremony. The Sicilian Bandof Chicago will be on hand for that event. Participatingalso will be the band of La Società San Giuseppe.

“We are very grateful for the support of the Italianclubs and societies whose participation each year in theMass and the procession reinforces the traditionalaspects of our celebration,” said Balistreri.

Adding to that is the music used during the Mass.It is distinctly Italian music compiled by Dr. MarisaGatti-Taylor, who also teaches Italian pronunciation tomembers of a volunteer chorus assembled especially forthe Festa Mass. The choir is under the direction ofMichael Kamenski, music liturgist at St. Sebastian’sCatholic Church and conductor of the Menomonee FallsSymphony Orchestra.

The day’s activities are sponsored by CatholicFinancial Life and James Guardalabene of HarderFuneral Home.

The gates to the Marcus Amphitheater will open at10 a.m. Those attending are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items, which will be collected at theentrances by representatives of the Hunger Task Force.In 2011, 3,000 pounds of food were collected, up from1,000 pounds in 2010, the first year of the project.

Once again, donations to help defray the costs of theMass are welcome. Contact either Balistreri or LoCoco.

Ted Catalano, Mass &Procession Committee member andusher recruiter, has issued a callfor at least 15 new ushers to stepup and volunteer for this year’sFesta Italiana Mass on Sunday,July 22.

To be an usher, you must be atleast 16 years old. The only otherrequirement is that you attend abrief instructional meeting at theItalian Community Center onMonday, July 16 at 7 p.m. At thattime, information on the duties ofan usher during the Mass and the

procession, which follows the Mass,will be discussed.

Catalano requests that new ush-ers sign up with him early andthen follow through on their com-mitment. To volunteer as an usheror for more information, callCatalano at 414/305-9769.

At least 55 ushers are neededevery year for the Mass, which hasdrawn up to 15,000 people.Catalano said he has about 40 dedi-cated ushers who show up auto-matically each year.

AttentionFirst Holy

Communicants!Do you have or know a child

receiving his/her First HolyCommunion this year? The FestaItaliana Mass & ProcessionCommittee is inviting all 2012First Communicants to participatein the 2012 Festa mass and proces-sion on Sunday, July 22.

For more information, pleasecontact Shannon Drezek by phoneat 608/577-6353 or by e-mail:[email protected]. Deadline tosign up is June 30. Children arenot required to be of Italiandescent to participate.

Would you like to learn some Italianand be part of an inspiring musicalexperience? The Festa Choir invitesyou to participate in one of the mostmoving events at FestaItaliana: Sunday High Mass at theMarcus Amphitheater, 11 a.m., on July22.

Be among the sopranos, altos,tenors and basses who will meet for sixtwo-hour rehearsals, beginning in earlyJuly, under the direction of MaestroMichael Kamenski. There is no need toaudition, and no previous knowledge ofItalian is required, since Italian tutor-ing will be provided by Dr. Marisa

Gatti-Taylor.Persons interested in singing in the

Festa Choir are asked to contactMichael Kamenski by phoneat 414/453-1928 or via emailat [email protected] (pleaseuse Festa Choir in the subject line).

A detailed rehearsal schedule willbe announced in the next issue of TheItalian Times.

Priests, deacons and brothersare cordially invited to participatein the 35th annual Festa ItalianaMass on Sunday, July 22. TheMass will be celebrated at 11 a.m.in the Marcus Amphitheater.

Priests are invited to concele-brate; deacons to vest. Free park-

ing and admission to Festa will beprovided. Members of the clergywho are interested in participatingshould contact Therese Ciofani at414/303-9772 or email her [email protected].

The principal celebrant will beFather John Belmonte.

Call put out for Festa Mass ushers Festa seeks priests, deaconsand brothers for Mass

Singers sought for Festa Choir

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ICC Historian Mario Carini seeksmore vintage Italian American

photos to display at Festa Italiana.Photos must be submitted by June 1

for Festa 2012 consideration.Italian Community Center Historian Mario A. Carini has put out acall to all persons of Italian descent to consider submitting photo-graphs – either originals or quality reprints – of vintage pictures thatdemonstrate your family’s Italian heritage.

Carini is looking, in particular, for photos that were taken prior to1955 and show outdoor and indoor activities of any kind, or busi-ness activities or studio portraits. He wants to have a new selectionof these vintage photos to display at the 34th annual Festa Italiana,July 19-22, on the Summerfest grounds.

Your photos can be dropped off or mailed to the ICC, 631 E.Chicago St., Milwaukee, WI 53202. On the back of the photo,please write the names of all persons you can identify, an estimateof the date when the picture was taken, and your name and phonenumber.

Carini is also accepting all types of memorabilia (documents, news-papers, film footage, business and club records, souvenir programs,tools, utensils and handiwork) that once belonged to early Italianimmigrants. These materials not only chronicle our forefathers’ lives,but give insight into and appreciation of the immigrant experience.

People who have questions or need more information about donat-ing photos or memorabilia can contact Carini at 414/964-5898.


These food vendors willsatisfy the appetites of

Festa attendeesThe lineup of food vendors for

the 35th annual Festa Italiana isall set. More than 30 vendors –many of whom operate well knownItalian restaurants, bakeries anddelicatessens in southeasternWisconsin – will be ready to satisfythe appetites of the thousands whoattend Festa, July 19-22, on theSummerfest grounds.

Here’s the list of food vendors inalphabetical order:

Alioto’s, Angelo’s Pizza, BadgerCorn, Bella Caffe’, BobalouEnterprises (Lemon Chill), Cafe LaScala, Carini’s La Conca d’Oro,Carrabba’s Italian Grill, CatalanoFruit & Lemonade, Cataldo’s, ColdStone Creamery, Crocker Root BeerBarrels, Gelateria Italiana,

Glorioso’s Deli, Italian Sno, JohnnyV’s Classic Cafe, Koepsell’s FestivalPopcorn Wagons, Libiamo, MajorGoolsby’s, Mille’s SpaghettiFactory, Nessun Dorma, Nino’sItalian Bakery, Nuts for You!, PapaLuigi’s, Pietro’s Pizza, Saz’sFestival, Sciortino’s Bakery, Sil’sMini Donuts, Trattoria di Carlo,Ultimate Confections, Venice Cluband Water Street Brewery.

Trattoria di Carlo, an OakCreek restaurant, and MajorGoolsby’s, a downtown Milwaukeesports pub and restaurant, are newto the lineup.

A more complete story onFesta’s food vendors will appear inour July/August Festa Italianaissue.

New this year at Festa Italianawill be scheduled wine tastings.The tastings, called “flights,” willfeature some of the most famousand expensive wines of Italy alongwith some from Napa, Calif. thatare becoming world famous.Among the latter will be winesfrom the Napa vineyard of MarioAndretti, the famed race car driv-er.

A special wine bar at the top ofthe Harley-Davidson building,across from the Harley stage, willserve the wines between “flights.”

Lo Duca Bros., sponsor of wineconcessions at Festa, whichannounced the wine tastingevents, reported that the educa-tional and informative “flights”will be led by Frank Mirenda. Heis a certified sommelier and, forthe last 11 years, has been gener-al manager of the AndrettiVineyard. His presentations willinvolve seven wines.

Registration for the “flights”can be purchased at any of the

wine booths at Festa Italiana for$20. There will be two wine tast-ing events on Friday, July 20;three on Saturday, July 21; andtwo on Sunday, July 22. Spacewill be limited to 30 people ateach session.

The menu at the wine boothsthis year will consist of the follow-ing wines from Italy: PinotGrigio, Mamertino, Chianti fromTuscany; Pinot Noir from Verona;Moscato d’Asti from Cuneo;Lambrusco from Reggio Emilia;and the always popularMamertino from Emilia Romagna.Wine will be $6 per glass.

This year, Festa’s wine boothswill be run by volunteer groups,with the profits going to FestaItaliana and to the ItalianCommuniy Center to support cul-tural activities and the buildingfund. The volunteers come fromthe St. Joan Antida AlumniAssociation, the Garibaldi Societyand the Order Sons of Italy.

New at Festa –Wine tastings

Italian and Napa Valley wines to be featured

Festa bocce courts will be movedback to their location near the MidGate, unlike last year when theywere featured on the south end ofthe festival grounds.

First aid and paramedic person-nel will be on hand during all ofVIP Day. The National Spinal CordInjury Association/GreaterMilwaukee Chapter will operatetheir usual Respite Center near theMid Gate, offering barrier-freerelaxation areas, restrooms, and aplace to cool off during a hot festi-val day. A “special needs” trailerfor changing clothes, administeringmedication and doing other neces-sities will be situated near theSouth Gate.

The VIP guests will also receiveone piece of fresh fruit from theCatalano fruit stand in the MillerStage area. The fruit is beingdonated by an anonymous areafruit vendor.

The discounted meals wereselected by the Festa FoodCommittee. “We wanted to make

sure we treat our guests nicely,”said Bill Jennaro, VIP Day chair-man.

To obtain tickets for VIP Day,anyone with a disability mayrequest a free advance admissionticket (which admits one VIP andone guest) by sending a stamped,self-addressed envelope to

VIP Day, c/o Festa Italiana631 E. Chicago St.Milwaukee, WI 53202-5916Please include the name of the

VIP and guest (unfortunately, anymore than one guest is prohibited)and any special needs. (Festa pro-vides wheelchairs at no cost.) Thisinformation is important to festivalplanners to ensure that all guests’needs are met and that suitableaccommodations are present on thegrounds during VIP Day.

“We’re looking forward to VIPDay and we hope we’re going tohave a nice turnout and goodweather,” said Jennaro. “We arevery grateful to our sponsors, with-out whom this day would not bepossible.”

VIP Day moved to Fridayfrom page 1


ICC’s free Courtyard Music Seriesopens the week of June 4

the demand of those many peoplewho attended last year. “We had somany people say they were sad tosee last year’s series end that earlyand that they would support ourshows if we extended the seriesthrough September. We decided totake them at their word,” he said.

The only series that will not beextended into September is theWednesday night opera, classicaland Broadway series. Sparlingexplained that many of the artistswho perform these genres areteachers or professors or profes-sional vocalists and musicians whohave to go back to their vocationsin September.

As usual, the series will be sus-pended during Summerfest at near-by Maier Festival Park (June 27 –July 8) and there will be no showson the opening night of FestaItaliana (Thursday, July 19 atMaier Festival Park) and on LaborDay (Monday, Sept. 3).

Here’s a look at the acts thatwill be performing during the firstmonth of the Courtyard MusicSeries.

Monday night jazzThe “Hot Jazz” series will open

with some familiar faces as ItalianCommunity Center favorites BobMaynard & the MilwaukeeConnection take the stage, led byvibraphonist Bob Maynard and fea-turing 2006 WAMI “Guitarist of theYear” Steve Lewandowski. Joiningthem will be Chicago’s John Blegenon the clarinet, George Welland onbass, and Jack Carr on the drums.

Begun in 1999 by the late ChuckHedges, the band has become aMilwaukee jazz-scene staple by fea-turing some of the Midwest’s bestjazz musicians along with a hard-driving rhythm section and tightensemble melodic lines.

The beat goes on June 11 asJackson Dordell & The RayTabs Trio perform. JacksonDordell has been impressing audi-ences in the past several years withsoulful performances. The RayTabs Trio is entering their fourthdecade as local jazz performers,having released several albums like“I’m In Love With You.”

June 18 will bring Vivo Rio andtheir vibrant international beats.The ensemble’s jazz-drivenmelodies are spiked with notes ofpop bossa and samba, and everytune takes the audience on a vaca-tion of their desire with lyrics inEnglish, Portuguese, Italian, and

Spanish.Hear them put their own stamp

on favorites such as “Santa Lucia,”“The Girl From Ipanema,” and“Light My Fire.” Vivo Rio featuresMilwaukee jazz artists PamDuronio and Tim Stemper, alongwith their frequent collaborator,11-time WAMI Reed/BrassInstrumentalist of the Year WarrenWiegratz. Wiegratz is also knownfor composing the score for twomajor motion pictures, Dream-weaver and Lady Mary.

The June leg of the CourtyardMusic Series’ Monday Night Jazzwill conclude on the 25th with theFrank DeMiles All-Stars, headedby keyboard wizard and vocalistFrank DeMiles. DeMiles’ real nameis Frank Dominguez; he’s a retiredGreenfield High School musicteacher and local jazz favorite fordecades – as well as a formerteacher and mentor of TheMilwaukee Connection’s SteveLewandowski.

Tuesday BluesdayThe Tuesday Bluesday series

gets right in the groove the openingnight, June 5, with a band featur-ing a homegrown harmonica play-ing legend and guitar virtuoso. It’sthe Steve Cohen Band withGreg Koch.

For years, Cohen has been rec-ognized as one of the Midwest’s topblues harmonica players. Cohenhas received public recognition,winning over a dozen awards fromseveral organizations, includingWisconsin Area Music IndustryAward, the Shepherd/ExpressReaders Poll, and MilwaukeeMagazine. He was a finalist at the2010 International Blues Challengein Memphis as a solo performer

Koch is a recognized guitar clini-cian and has performed throughoutthe world alongside some of thebiggest artists in blues, rock andfunk. Earlier this year, Kochreleased his latest CD, “Strats GotYour Tongue,” which has beenhailed for featuring sophisticated,blues-based, “old-school” six stringmojo of the highest level.

The Bryan Lee Band takes thestage on June 12. Known as the“Braille Blues Daddy,” Bryan Leewas born in Two Rivers, Wis.. Hecompletely lost his sight by the ageof eight. Having an interest in earlyrock and blues of the 1950s, Leelearned to play rhythm guitar, Hereleased his first album, “BeautyIsn’t Always Visual,” in 1979.

In 1982, he moved to New

Orleans and landed a steady gig ata club on Bourbon Street andbecame a French Quarter institu-tion. His latest CD titled “LiveFrom Sao Paulo,” released in 2011.Before coming to the ICC, Lee andhis band have gigs in Topeka, Kan.(June 8), Kansas City, Mo. (June 9)and Cape Girardeau, Mo. (June 10).

The June 19 show will be anight for fans of harmonica styleblues when the Jim Liban Comboperforms. Jim Liban has an inter-national cult status as one of theforemost post-war blues harmonicastylists on the scene. One criticsaid, “Liban is one of the few play-ers working today who seems tohave captured much of the bite andplayfulness of (Junior) Wells’ bestharmonica work and he’s taken itone step further to his own voice onthe instrument.” Liban has pennedsongs for John Mayall, JohnnyWinter, Lonnie Brooks and otherinternational blues artists.

June 26 brings LeroyAirmaster with Junior Brantleyto the stage in the ICC’s Courtyard.Brantley, formerly of The FabulousThunderbirds, teams up with theMilwaukee legendary players inLeroy Airmaster. With drummerVodie Rhinehart and bassist KurtKoenig keeping a steady yet elasticgroove, guitarist Bill Stone andharmonica king Steve Cohen standon a solid platform for their emo-tive solos.

Brantley, a Milwaukee native,played with a popular local bluesband, Short Stuff, before he wasrecruited by Texas blues guitarhero Jimmy Vaughn to join hisband (The Jimmy Vaughn Band).Later, both were members of TheFabulous Thunderbirds.

Wednesday nightOpera, Classical & Broadway

Wednesday, June 6, the openingnight of the Opera, Classical andBroadway programming, will fea-ture performers from SparlingTheatrical Productions, abranch of Sparling Conservatory.The company presents opera andmusical theatre concerts, Broadwayrevues, pop concerts, plays, operasand lectures. Students enrolled inSparling Conservatory have theopportunity to audition for compa-ny productions.

Performers on June 6 willinclude dramatic soprano KaySparling, who has performed operaand sacred works in the U.S. andEurope and has performed severaltimes in the Dominic H. FrinziMemorial Opera Tent at FestaItaliana; Ryan Albrechtson, a lyric

tenor from Waukesha who has per-formed on several regional musicaltheatre stages; MeriKate Bock, alyric coloratura soprano fromRacine whose most recent appear-ance was at a benefit concert forthe Italian-American Club inKenosha; Halli Stewart, lyricmezzo-soprano from Fort Atkinsonwho recently played the lead role ina production of “Romeo and Juliet;”and Seth Westenberg, lyric bari-tone who, in 2011, performed atCarnegie Hall with a nationalselect vocal ensemble.

Sparling said that the programwill consist of 20 Italian arias,duets and songs, and seven tunesfrom Broadway shows.

On June 13, the CourtyardMusic Series welcomes back theSouth Shore Youth OperaEnsemble, which has performed inthe series for several years. Theensemble was formed in 2002 byJulie Maurer, who is its director.Initially, the group was meant toprovide Maurer’s voice studentswith increased opportunities to usetheir training and showcase theirtalent. While that still remainstrue, South Shore’s primary pur-pose today is to educate and inspireyoung singers, musicians and audi-ences through the art of opera.

In the beginning, most SSYOEmembers were from south shorecommunities. Today, members arejoining from throughout the metroMilwaukee area. Performers arebetween the ages of 14 and 30.

Maurer, a mezzo-soprano, is agraduate of St. Norbert College,where she received a bachelor’sdegree in music education with avocal/choral emphasis. She studied

Vivo Rio

Bryan Lee

Kay Sparling

Continued on page 9

from page 1


Live music four nights a week with nocover charge, no drink minimum

voice and language in Italy throughLa Musica Lirica. While there, sheperformed the role of Fidalma fromDomenico Cimarosa’s comic opera,“Il Matrimonio Segreto.” In addi-tion to performing, she maintains afull voice and piano studio. Sheserves on the board of directors ofthe MacDowell Club.

On June 20, Milwaukee-basedSiempre Flamenco will make itsCourtyard Music Series debut. Thegroup, whose mission is “to study,interpret and perform traditionalFlamenco music and dance,” wasformed in 2009.

One of the traditions associatedwith flamenco is the assigning ofSpanish “nicknames” to the partici-pants. Members of SiempreFlamenco, with their nicknames inparentheses, are guitarists EricWruck (“El Marinero”), DonWeimer (“El Valiente”) and WimLeydos (“El Panadero”); percussion-ist Anthony Ramirez (“ElCocinero”); dancers DianneDziengel (“La Verona”) andRebecca Skurulsky (“La Picara”);and vocalist Heidi Papadhopulli(“La Traviesa”), who sometimesdoubles as a dancer.

Flamenco is described as anartistic expression fusing song,dance and musicianship. It origi-nated in and is strongly identifiedwith Andalusia in southern Spain.

In the May issue of The ItalianTimes, we advised readers that theOpera, Classical and Broadwayschedule was not yet available.Following is the Wednesday nightperformance schedule for themonths of July and August.

• July 11 – Sparling TheatricalProductions.

• July 18 – Master Singers ofMilwaukee.

• July 25 – Notturno.• Aug. 1 – Wisconsin Conser-

vatory of Music Faculty Singers.• Aug. 8 – South Shore Youth

Opera Ensemble.• Aug. 15 – Notturno.• Aug. 22 – Kerry Hart & Fri-

ends.• Aug. 29 – Metropolitan Opera

National Council Singers.

Thursday night Rock & RollKicking off the Thursday night

Rock and Roll series is the OldiesBut Goodies Spectacular onJune 7. The band was formed byvocalist Kim Marie about 15 yearsago after she completed seven yearsin Las Vegas and a gig forChevrolet at New York City’sLincoln Center and in various citiesaround the country.

Kim Marie said her goal in form-ing the band was to gather themost talented Milwaukee areamusicians from bands popular inthe 1960s, and and regenerate thenostalgic feel of the ‘60s rock androll era in Milwaukee.

Joining Kim Marie today arevocalists Tony Clementi and ChuckTravis; keyboardist Brian Lorde,drummer Bruce Cole, lead guitaristTom Sorce, bass guitarist BobSanders, saxophonist Mike Miller,trombonist Jay Allison, and trum-peter Mike Betts.

On tap for June 14 is RickD’Amore’s Rockin’ Dance Party.Rick D’Amore, a longtime popularvocalist, told The Italian Times,“Get ready to dance the night awayto your favorite rock and roll tunesfrom the ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s and on up.”

Joining D’Amore will be Rob

Chalifaux on bass; Tim Sardina ondrums; and Pete D’Amore on leadguitar.

The Oldies But GoodiesSpectacular return for their sec-ond performance on June 21.

* * *This story was compiled by

Colleen Jurkiewicz, Bob Ruggieriand Times Editor Tom Hemman.

from page 8

The South Shore Youth Opera Ensemble vocalists and instrumentalists are seen here in a photo taken at theMilwaukee Art Museum.

Siempre Flamenco will make its Courtyard Music Series debut onWednesday, June 20.

The Oldies But Goodies Spectacular will kick off theThursday night Rock and Roll Series on June 7. Thispicture was taken when the band performed for the

ICC’s Winter Rock and Roll Blast this past February.(Times photo by Tom Hemman)

Rick D’Amore

Part of what makes America sounusual is the celebration of somany different ethnic cultures –each with different music, differentfoods, flavors & spices, differentlanguages – and I may be biased,but to me, the Italian culture is atthe top of the list – one of the mostbeautiful and rich.

I think the reason it is so impor-tant to me that our ItalianCommunity Center thrive is the

thought that one day we could livein a country where the cultureshave all been watered down to justa hint of what they once were – theuniqueness of each culture gone,and the stories, recipes and pic-tures lost.

Please look at the larger pictureand do what you can to preserveour stunning culture. Listen toItalian music. Learn how to cookItalian meals. Listen to and learn

the Italian language. And encour-age others to do so.

All of these things can be foundat the Italian Community Center.At the ICC, you can attend Italianlanguage courses; get dressed upand go dancing at Carnevale; feastat “A Taste of Italy”; sit on a com-mittee and meet new friends (Ihave met some of my best friendshere); play bocce; learn Italian folkdancing from one of the most recog-nized Italian folk dance groups inthe United States; and find outwhat keeps this center ticking eachmonth at the general membershipmeetings. Of course, you canalways volunteer at Festa Italiana,the ICC’s four-day celebration ofItalian culture on the Summerfestgrounds.

Not only are these things fun,but there is a huge sense of satis-faction that comes from contribut-ing to the success of our communitycenter and to our festival.

If there is something that youwant from our Italian CommunityCenter, you can help make it hap-pen. You cannot change anythingwhile standing on the outside. Step

inside and start a volleyball leaguehere. Step inside and organize acooking class. Step inside andmake whatever changes orimprovements you think wouldhelp. You give, and you get back.

Occasionally, I hear people talkabout the different ages here – forme, it’s not about age – it is aboutItaly. It’s not about young or old;it’s more about sharing both ourhistory and also our hopes for thefuture of the ICC. It is about com-bining traditional ideas with newideas. It is about passing down amagnificent culture from one gen-eration to the next; all of this creat-ing a really fascinating, invitingcommunity center. That is thelegacy here. Be a part of it.

– Susan (DeSanctis)Christiansen

Proud Member of the ItalianCommunity Center* * *

Tell us why you love being amember of the ICC. Send a para-graph or two by U.S. mail to theItalian Community Center, Attn:Membership Committee, 631 E.Chicago St., Milwaukee, WI 53202,or submit your paragraph(s) on ourwebsite under Membership atwww.iccmilwaukee.com.


The value of ICC membership

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

• A MEMBERSHIP IN THE ITALIAN COMMUNITY CENTER IS A PERFECT GIFT forfriends 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 purchaseindividual membership, will have voting privileges.

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

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 CommunityCenter, 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 sheetof 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 �


Address: _____________________________ Phone: __________________ Email: ________________________________

Number of persons applying for or renewing an individual membership ____ @ $35/person = $_______________________

Names and birthdates of persons applying for or renewing a senior membership:New Membership �





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 �





Number of persons applying for or renewing a junior membership ___________ at no cost.

Date of application TOTAL AMOUNT ENCLOSED: $ _

Scarvaci Florists & Gift Shoppe2663 N. Holton St., Milwaukee

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

Pietro Tarantinooffers help to

Italian citizensPietro Tarantino, a longtime

member and past board member ofthe Italian Community Center, isoffering free assistance to membersof Wisconsin’s Italian communityon matters involving the Italiangovernment. Tarantino will be atthe ICC on the first Saturday ofthe month from 12:30 to 3 p.m.

Tarantino is a member ofComites (Comitato degli Italianiall’estero) and a liaison to theItalian General Consulate ofChicago.

Among the matters for whichTarantino can provide assistanceare visas and passports, power ofattorney, verification of signatures,documents relating to death certifi-cates and declarations dealing withcitizenship, civil status and pen-sions.

Correction to Festaentertainment line-up

story in last issueDue to a misunderstanding, it

was incorrectly reported in theMay 2012 issue of The ItalianTimes that Spider George & TheWeb would be performing at FestaItaliana this year.

The group will not be appearingat Festa.

There’s no better time toadvertise in The Italian

Times than in ourJuly/August Festa

Italiana issue. It’s ourbiggest and most read

issue of the year.If you’re interested in

advertising, call 414-223-2180 or send an email to

Tom Hemman at [email protected].

The Italian Community Center’s17th annual “A Taste of Italy” onSunday, Apr. 22 proved to be anenjoyable and successful event. Allof this is due to the magnificenteffort put forth by so many individ-uals, societies, clubs, donors andthe ICC staff.

With so many people, groupsand businesses participating, it’simpossible to thank everyone indi-vidually. But I can assure you thatthis fund-raising event couldn’thave been done with such successwithout you. All of your efforts aregreatly appreciated.

I want to extend a big thank youto ICC Business Manager PatrickMorgan, Assistant BusinessManager/Maintenance ManagerLaurie Bisesi, Executive Chef JackMcNeir and their staffs; Mary AnnMaglio, Tom Hemman, MichelleLeFebvre and Constance Palmer.

Jack McNeir is excellent to workwith, and Tom Hemman does awonderful job promoting the eventin our newspaper and other publi-cations and in getting the word outto television stations.

Many thanks also to those whoentertained our Taste of Italyguests: the Sicilian Serenaders II(Peter Balistrieri and Tom and TedPappalardo); Tradizione Vivente,the Italian Dance Group ofMilwaukee; and vocalist CharlesEvans and his accompanist GalinaGerakosov.

I want to acknowledge morninganchorwoman Kim Murphy andWITI- TV Fox 6 Milwaukee formaking time available for us to pro-mote our event. I appeared on Fox6 on their Wednesday morningnewscast on Apr. 18. My thanksalso go to ICC Chaplain, The VeryRev, Timothy Kitzke, for allowingus to put the Taste of Italy flyers inthe bulletins of Three Holy WomenParish and Old St. Mary’s Church.

My heartfelt thanks to the soci-eties and clubs that made dona-tions or ran a booth. Those includedthe Milwaukee Ladies of UNICO,Milwaukee Chapter UNICONational, Pompeii Women’s Club,Pompeii Men’s Club, Holy CrucifixSociety, Addolorata Society,Abruzzese Society, Solomon Juneau

Club, Milazzese Social Club,Società Femminile Maria S.S. delLume, Società Maschile Maria S.S.del Lume, Società Santa Rosalia,Società di San Giuseppe, theFilippo Mazzei Lodge of the OrderSons of Italy in America and the St.Theresa Society.

My sincere thanks to these indi-viduals and vendors who donatedmoney or products (which are notedin parentheses): PaulineCannestra; Joe Reina and GelateriaItaliana (gelato); Miller Beer (sodaand beer); Premium Waters, Inc.(bottled water); Patrick Cudahyand its Pavone Italian Deli (alllunch meat for subs); Glorioso’sItalian Market (olive salad); theGiacomo Fallucca family andPalermo’s Pizza (“Dat’s da Best”pizza); Joe Vella and Sciortino’sBakery (all the rolls); DeanCannestra and Nessum Dormarestaurant (all the sfingiune andBloody Mary drinks); ItalianConference Center (wine);Milazzese Social Club (peaches);Grande Cheese Company (cheese);Mille’s Italian Sausage and VeniceClub (Italian sausage); Bella Caffè(espresso); Ted Glorioso andGlorioso’s Gold Imports & DiamondCenter (crystal bracelet); SuminskiFamily Funeral Homes ($500 dona-tion for raffle ticket printing): pastpresidents Sam Purpero, PhilPurpero, Tony Machi, JoeCampagna, Jr., Bill Jennaro, vicepresident Gina Spang, board mem-ber Tony Piacentini and business

manager Patrick Morgan for mone-tary donations for raffle prizes; andcatering director SanDee Peller forbeautiful gift baskets.

Special thanks to my wonderfulcommittee co-chair Ann (D’Amico)Skoczynski for handling of food andbeverage tickets and raffle chair-persons Marie and Jim Schwindt,who did a terrific job.

A special thanks to Anna Pitzoand Sophia Michalovitz for makingand donating all the manicotti as

they have done for many yearsnow; Rosalia Ferrante for chairingthe pizzelle booth and doing thepizzelle-making demonstrations;Isidore Pecoraro and his crewFrank Galioto and Giovanni Frijiaof the Società Maschile Maria S.S.del Lume for making Milwaukee’sbest calamari; and John Sanfilippofor chairing the beer and soda.

– Ann RomanoChairperson

“A Taste of Italy”


• NO LONGER ASSOCIATED WITH SCHMIDT & BARTELT/GUARDALABENE & AMATO.

• Personally providing the servicesyou have come to expect at yourchurch, chapel or at theHarder Funeral Home.

• Funeral planning & pre-planningat your residence or at the funeralhome.

• Pre-planning and Title 19expertise with a cost guarantee.

• Longtime member of theItalian Community Center.

• Proud sponsor of the FestaItaliana Mass since 2002.

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HarderF u n e r a l H o m e

“Three generations of myfamily serving yours.”

www.Guardalabene.comPhone: (262) 781-8350

Cell: (414) 588-0836“As dictated by the laws of the State of

Wisconsin, all pre-paid funeral trusts areallowed to be transferred to another funeral

home at any time. I would greatly appreciate theopportunity to discuss transferring your trust tome from Schmidt & Bartelt or any other funeral

home. I would, of course, honor all the terms andwishes as originally agreed upon. It is a very

simple process that only requires your signatureon a transfer form which I would provide. In

addition, there likely could be a savings to youbecause of Harder’s more reasonable charges.”

JAMES T. GUARDALABENEASSOCIATE

17th annual ‘Taste of Italy’ was a wonderfulsuccess, thanks to donors, volunteers and

ICC staff, chairperson Ann Romano reports

These three ladies put a lot of their time and talent into making the 17thannual “A Taste of Italy” a grand success. From the left: vice chairpersonAnn Skoczynski, chairperson Ann Romano and raffle chairperson MarieSchwindt. (Times photo by Tom Hemman)

Rosalia Ferrante made homemadepizzelle for guests to enjoy at “ATaste of Italy.”


Scenes from 17th annual “A Taste of Italy”

Giovanni Frijia removed some deep-fried calamari from one of the fryersin the ICC kitchen.

Peggy Salamone put cinnamon and sugar on the fried bread dough thatwas served at “A Taste of Italy.”

Dean Cannestra cut his homemadesfingiune into slices in the ICCkitchen.

Manicotti with red sauce wasserved by these volunteers (l to r):Sophia Michalovitz, CaroleCasamento and Yvonne Zarcone.

Members of the Abruzzese Society sold slices of Palermo’s pizza from abooth in the Pompeii Grand Ballroom. From the left: Tom Conzonieri,Vince Mattanga, Vince Azzolina, Joe Vitale and Vince Vitale, who is presi-dent of the society.

Members of the Pompeii Men’s Club served Italian sausage sandwichesfrom a stand in the northeast corner of the Pompeii Grand Ballroom.

Bill and Rita Jennaro (seated) were among the volunteers who sold foodand beverage tickets to guests.

These volunteers, representing the Addolorata Society, sold cannoli madefor the event by Sciortino’s Bakery. From the left: Mary Brusky, CatherineKelly, Megan Clancy, Katie Clancy, Kathy Clancy, Daniel Clancy, ZachSorole, Frank D’Amato and Joe Dentice.

Times photos by Tom Hemman


Ballroom dancing friends got together for “A Taste ofItaly” at the Italian Community Center on Sunday,Apr. 22. From the left (going around the table):

Dorothy Calicchio, Carol and Jim Anschutz, Clarenceand Marlene Czysh, Dino and Ruth Ann Schneider andLouis Calicchio.

Pamela Hoff (left) and ErinMazaba sold Italian olive salad toguests. The olive salad was donat-ed by Glorioso’s Italian Market.

The Sicilian Serenaders II – Ted Pappalardo (on mandolin), TomPappalardo (on accordion) and Peter Balistreri (on guitar) entertainedguests during the afternoon.

Vocalist Charles Evans, accompanied by Galina Gerakosov, performedclassic Italian songs in the Festa Ballroom.

Tradizione Vivente, the Italian Dance Group of Milwaukee, gave two per-formances in the Festa Ballroom.

Marie Lieber (left) and Darlene Tocco served genuine gelato to Taste ofItaly attendees. The gelato was donated for the event by Joe Reina andfamily.

Concetta Sanfilippo prepared aserving of calamari (deep-friedsquid) for a Taste of Italy guest.The booth was operated by volun-teers from the Pompeii Women’sClub.

Marilyn St. Martin, Geri Mascariand Karen Jablonski helped toserve the Italian wine fromLoDuca Bros. for “A Taste of Italy.”

Members of Società Santa Rosalia served as volunteers at booths whereItalian salads and Italian sub sandwiches were sold. Here are the volun-teers who were working at the salad booth when our photographerarrived. From the left: Goffredo Alferi, Tiffany Biandi, Jeff Hubbard andTanino Alferi.



More photos from 17th annual “A Taste of Italy”

These volunteers sold éclairs from a booth in the Festa Ballroom. Fromthe left: Rose Mary Joecks, RebekaLee Schwindt, AudriAnn Schwindt andJim Schwindt. The éclairs were made by Sciortino’s Bakery. AudriAnn iswearing her “Principessa” sash. She was crowned the ICC’s 2012Principessa at the organization’s “Il Grande Carnevale” this pastFebruary.

Pat Rashak (left) and Lou and Jane Pedriani were among the volunteersfrom the Solomon Juneau Club who sold bowls of pasta with red sauce.

Members and volunteers from the Madonna del Lume Society Women soldpolenta with red sauce, a northern Italy treat, from their booth.

At the conclusion of the 17thannual “A Taste of Italy,” the win-ning tickets in the event’s rafflewere drawn. The prize winnersare listed here.

• 1st prize – a 42-inch LCDHDTV, to Gwen Wood ofMilwaukee.

• 2nd prize – an Apple IPadwith WI-FI, to Shannon Drezek ofOxford, Wis.

• 3rd prize – a Swarovski crys-tal silver bracelet, donated byGlorioso’s Gold Imports &Diamond Center, to QuentinOliva of Milwaukee.

• 4th prize – a 32-inch LCDTV, to Mark Nordigian of TwinLakes, Wis.

• 5th prize – a $100 gift certifi-cate from the Bartolotta

Restaurant Group, to DeborahSlominski of Milwaukee.

• 6th prize – a basket filledwith Italian wines, donated by theItalian Conference Center, toMark A. Cameli of Brookfield.

• 7th prize – a girl’s bike, toSophia Michalovitz of Milwaukee.

• 8th prize – a boy’s bike, toGregory Jedrzejewski of OakCreek.

Wood, Drezek, Oliva,Nordigian, Cameli andMichalovitz are members of theICC.

The raffle serves as a key fund-raising ingredient for “A Taste ofItaly.” This year, Marie and JimSchwindt served as chairpersonsof the raffle.

Sfingiune, thick Sicilian-style pizza, was available at this booth where vol-unteers Kathleen Mirenda and Nina Galioto worked.

Taste of Italy rafflewinners drawn William A. Jennaro Law, LLC

General Practice of Law

330 E. Kilbourn Ave., Ste. 1170Milwaukee, WI 53202

414.271.1440 – Office414.224.8660 – Direct Line

414.271.7680 – [email protected]

Of Counsel with the firm of Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown, LLP

Sagra di San Giovanni is oldestfestival at Lake Como, Italy

The Sagra di San Giovanni isthe oldest historical event to takeplace on Lake Como in theLombardy region of Italy.

It is celebrated the last weekendof June in the town of Como.Hundreds of tiny lamps float in thelake and there’s a large fireworksdisplay on the Saturday evening

(which is June 23 this year).

The next morning brings aparade on the lake in which boatsare decorated with flowers.

This is followed by folk dancingcompetition, the showing of folk artdisplays and flag throwing competi-tions.


The officers and directors of theItalian Community Center wish tothank and acknowledge all thosewho pledged, fulfilled a pledge, orcontributed to the building fund.

To obtain information on how tomake a donation, please call414/223-2194 or visitwww.ICCMilwaukee.com.

The following donations werereceived between Apr. 9 and May 8,2012.

In memory of Gloria JennaroBill & Rita Jennaro

In memory of Robert S. “Bob”CurroBill & Rita Jennaro

In memory of Elizabeth ZappiaJimmy & Linda Spataro

In memory of Carlo A.BalistreriAngelo ProchazkaDavid & Susan BehrensIn memory of Salvatore T. “Sal”PizzoMary WinardMary Ann MaglioAnna Rose San FelippoAnthony T. MachiJim & Marie SchwindtIsidore & Mary Pecoraro

In memory of RossanaPappalardoAnthony T. Machi

In memory of Rose SchroderAnna Rose San FelippoJim & Marie SchwindtMary Ann Maglio

Frances FirleRon & Joanne CzubekIsidore & Mary PecoraroMary Winard

In memory of Robert Michael“Bob” RiepenhoffAnthony T. Machi

In memory of Margaret“Marge” AlbertiJack Carini

In memory of Frances(Vincenza) BalistreriGeorge & Judy MenosMary Ann MaglioPaul & Rose IannelliAnthony T. MachiTom & Barbara BalistreriIsidore & Mary PecoraroJohn CoffaroMario A. Carini

Margaret M. CariniSam & Lucille Purpero

In memory of Antonia “Ann”PanellaAnthony & Catherine Gazzana

In memory of Vincent J.CastiglioneMarty & Nancy Hassenfelt

In memory of Isadore “Izzy”SorcePeter & Kathy Sorce and family

In memory of Joseph DavoliMike & Karen Iannelli

In memory of Anthony “Tony”BalistreriAngela Prochazka

In memory of Nicole CianciAnthony T. Machi

In memory of Lucille LoCiceroAnthony T. Machi

In memory of Donald KruckMarie Lore

In honor of Joe Campagna’s70th birthdayJoe & Sheeda D’Amato


Thanks for your donations to the ItalianCommunity Center building fund

and Rossella Rago are coming toour Cucina Showcase. Our cannoli-eating contest and children’s pizza-making contest are returning to theCucina.

I hope you’re planning to partici-pate in our 50/50 raffle. The moretickets we sell, the larger the prizefor the winner. Raffle tickets are$10 each and are now available.Look for the raffle story in thisissue to find out where and howyou can order your tickets.

We’re expanding our children’sand family-oriented programs thisyear. The BP Olympic Experienceis coming to Festa. Look for detailsin the next issue of The ItalianTimes.

We’re going to have an excep-tional parade on the Saturdaynight of Festa. We’re inviting theother ethnic festivals to join us aswe salute our 35 years and the late

Milwaukee Mayor Henry Maier,who laid the groundwork forMilwaukee’s summer ethnic cele-brations.

As always, our focus this year ison delivering an outstanding FAM-ILY event and the best value in theMidwest.

Italian American Heritage Dayat Miller Park

The Milwaukee Brewers haveannounced that they will be cele-brating Italian American HeritageDay at Miller Park on Sundayafternoon, July 1 when the Brewersplay the Arizona Diamondbacks.

We want to have our ICC wellrepresented and have purchased500 game tickets. The ICC is offer-ing a special package, whichincludes a tailgate party at theICC, free bus transportation to andfrom the game, and a seat in theshade-covered right field loge. The

cost is $55 per person. Get yourtickets at the ICC. Look for detailsin a story appearing in this issue.

All fans attending the game willreceive a bobblehead of Guido, theItalian sausage, courtesy ofKlement’s Sausage.

This is going to be a great time.I hope you will join us.

Courtyard Music SeriesThe 12th season of free

Courtyard Music Series gets underway the week of June 4. I want tocongratulate Joe Campagna, Jr.,Sal Quarino, Tom Sorce and KaySparling for all the effort they’veput in to making this year’s lineupquite possibly our best ever!

Look for details on the series inthis issue, and please attend asoften as you can.

WisItaliaI had the opportunity to repre-

sent the ICC at the annualWisItalia “Teacher of the Year”awards banquet on Saturday, May12. I congratulate Dr. RobinPickering-Iazzi, who won the“teacher” award, and the ItalianImmersion staff of Milwaukee’sVictory School, who were honored.

WisItalia is doing a tremendousjob promoting and encouraging theteaching of the Italian languageand the culture of Italy.

The ICC will stand behindWisItalia as they seek to keepfunding for Victory’s ItalianImmersion Program fromMilwaukee Public Schools.

Congratulations toSam Purpero and Rose

EmanueleTwo of our longtime ICC mem-

bers, Sam Purpero and RoseEmanuele, were honored at theMay 15 scholarship and awardsbanquet sponsored by theMilwaukee Chapter UNICONational and the MilwaukeeLadies of UNICO.

Sam Purpero, our current treas-urer and a past president, receivedthe Milwaukee Chapter of UNICONational’s “Citizen of the Year”award. Rose Emanuele, a dedicatedvolunteer, was honored with theUNICO Ladies’ “Star Award.”

On behalf of our members, offi-cers and directors, I extend our con-gratulations to both of thesedeserving individuals.

– Dave SpanoICC President

from page 1

A message from Dave Spano,Italian Community Center President

Having dinner for up to 300 guests?

Entertain them at the Italian ConferenceCenter’s

FESTA BALLROOM.A gorgeous setting in which to enjoy great food!

The Italian Conference Centerin the Italian Community Center

631 E. Chicago St. (a block west of Summerfest)

Call SanDee or David at 414/223-2800 toreserve your party or meeting space at the ICC.

Visit: www.ItalianConference.com

Dear David Stachowiak,Catering Sales Representative:

I do not think we have ever offi-cially thanked you for all of thework you and the staff at theItalian Conference Center havedone for us over the years with theMessmer High SchoolJunior/Senior Prom. So, I send thisletter to make our gratitude offi-cial. For five years now, you allhave made our work easier, ourproms better.

Not only do you provide a beau-tiful setting for the prom, but youhave catered – and more than justdelicious food – to our needs, yoursuggestions over the years helpingto make our proms the successesthey have been. The commitmentof all there has truly made ourwork with the prom easier, and ithas also made the proms them-selves wonderful.

Our entire Prom Committee andall of our students attending thankyou heartily for your work and hos-pitality. Please extend our grati-tude to everyone there. We lookforward to continuing our relation-ship with the ICC for years tocome.

Timothy GallagherMessmer High School

Milwaukee

School officialpraises Conference

Center staff

What is the mostpopular seafood

in Italy?As with any country with a

lengthy coastline, the answer isdependent on what part of Italyyou are in. In general, the localfresh fish is usually the most popu-lar.

The main fish caught areanchovy, rainbow trout, Europeanhake, and sardines. In recentyears, more delicate white marinefish have been preferred andimported (Italy is the 5th largestimporter of seafood) as well asshrimp, salmon, and cepholapods(squid, octopus, etc).


A new dance class for toddlers,ages 2 to 5, is off to a grand start atthe Italian Community Center.Called “Balliamo, Bambini!,” theclass meets on Saturdays from 10to 11 a.m. in the Bocce Court Roomthrough May 26 and is under theinstruction of Sophia Gatti Taylor,with the assistance of her mother,Marisa Gatti-Taylor. Children

learn simple steps like the polka,mazurka, rumba and waltz. Thereis also a strong element of Italianculture to the instruction and chil-dren learn to count the dancerhythms in Italian. In the photo onleft, Sophia Gatti Taylor dances themazurka with Angeline Surges.“These dances are great for the lit-tle kids because of the 1-2-3 count,”

Gatti Taylor said. “It gets their eartrained and helps them get therhythm, establishing that connec-tion early on.” Gatti Taylor is theowner of Wisdom Wellness, a holis-tic lifestyle-focused training cen-ter. In the center photo, AngelinaSurges is seen dancing with hermother, Laura. Parents, grandpar-ents or an adult guardian are

asked to accompany the toddlersfor the class. Angelina is the grand-daughter of ICC member Liz DiStefano and the late John DiStefano. In the photo on the right,Skylrae Riccio, granddaughter ofICC member Rosella Riccio, twirlsat the Apr. 28 session of Balliamo,Bambini! (Times photos by ColleenJurkiewicz)

Balliamo, Bambini!Toddlers’ dance class

under way at ICC

Victory School’s Italian Immersion CornerCiao, Benvenuti. Let’s get started with all of our

novità. May 3rd brought about amazing

experiments ranging for our chil-dren from the four-year kinder-garteners (K4) all the way to the8th graders. Maestra Kleczewski’sK5 explored volcanoes made out ofPlay Doh, while MaestraRobertson’s K4 discovered how thestudents are all different by theirfingerprint. Maestra Zizzo’s 1stgrade discovered the best popcornfor maximum pop to buy, andMaestra Laurenzi’s 2nd grade dis-covered that since water and oil donot mix, why not add some food col-oring and make a homemade lavalamp. The 3rd and 4th graders alsohad wonderful individual projectsthat were judged and prized with ablue ribbon.

During the science fair, MaestraZizzo put together an amazingITALIAN book fair. Thank you forgiving the students and familiesthe opportunity to buy authenticbooks from Italy. Che bello!

A huge thank you to the schoolscience committee and ParentTeacher Organization for makingthis such a successful and welcom-ing event!

With only a few weeks of school

left, Victory’s Italian Immersionprogram is planning some awesomeend-of-the-year activities.

The book, “Diary of a Worm, aSpider, and a Fly,” came to life forthe 1st and 2nd graders when theyattended the play at First Stage onMay 17. Grazie to Maestra Zizzo formaking this happen for the stu-dents.

On June 1, the MilwaukeePublic Museum will come alive forthe K4, 1st grade, and 2nd grade asthey explore butterflies and space.Maestra Robertson’s K4 willexplore the life cycle of butterflies,farfalle. They will experience theirhabitat and have the opportunity totouch the butterflies as well.Maestra Zizzo and Laurenzi’s class-

es will explore colors in space, lospazio. The students will learn howa rainbow gets its colors and whyMars is red, rosso. After the educa-tional adventures, the students willthen be able to explore the museumto their liking.

Of course the school year couldnever come to an end without theend-of-the-year Italian Immersionpicnic. On June 11, students andparents will enjoy a day of play,relaxation, food and Italian atWilson Park.

Please, take part in our events

and help us continue to beMilwaukee’s only ItalianImmersion program. Join us at ourfundraisers, volunteer at ourschool, and support our efforts ineducating our youth in a beautifuland rich heritage.

As always, visit us via Facebook,or in person at the school. Ourdoors are always open.

If you are set on joining our pro-gram or know of someone who is,please come to Victory and sign up!

A presto! – The Italian Immersion Crew


Conversazione with Bob RuggieriJoe Glorioso, who’s as well

known on Brady Street as is theItalian grocery store bearing theGlorioso name, recently celebratedhis birthday … twice. And whynot? 90 years is certainly deservingof special attention.

The first celebration was onSunday, Apr. 22, at the new andmuch larger Glorioso’s that openedin December 2010 across the streetfrom the original store that becamepart of the lower east side land-scape in 1946. Joining in the cele-bration in the store were neighbors,customers and employees.

A special cake was ordered forthe in-store celebration. It wassquare and imbedded into the frost-ing on all four sides were photostracing Joe’s life, from infancy tonow. Photos included Joe with hislate wife, Mary; other family mem-bers; and even the storefront of theoriginal Glorioso’s on the north sideof Brady Street.

Speaking of family, that’s whoassembled for Joe’s second birthdaycelebration a week later on Sunday,Apr. 29. In all, about 35 peoplewere gathered at nearby Pitch’srestaurant.

# # # # #Nick and Dominic Russo,

who’ve been performing at ourFesta Italiana since 1996 and willbe there again this year, were inFlorida on Apr. 1. Vacation? No,they were working. To be moreprecise, they were performing.

They made their first appear-ance at Festa Italiana Tampa, astreet festival staged for the 15thyear in Tampa’s historic Ybor Cityby L’Unione Italiano, The ItalianClub of Tampa. Most of the festivi-ties took place on Sunday.Included were a Mass and theavailability of lots of Italian food.There’s one stage for entertainmentand the crowd usually numbers inthe thousands.

Nick and Dominic deliveredwhat an unbiased observer (theirmother, Linda Russo), describedas “a killer show.” The crowdresponded enthusiastically when asked if the Russo Brothers should be invited back in 2013.

The brothers were booked byAndrew Arena, who sponsors FestaTampa’s entertainment stage.Andrew and his brother, Sammy,were also entertainers and arecredited with having been the firstrecording artists from Tampa. Youmay remember the Arena Brothershaving performed at Festa inMilwaukee several years ago.They’re big fans of and frequentattendees at our festival.

Andrew Arena enjoyed theRusso Brothers show so much thathe got up on stage to join them in arendition of “O Sole Mio.”

It would appear that the RussoBrothers are starting to be recog-nized by planners of other Italianfestivals across the nation. Lastyear, they performed in St. Paul,Minn.

By the way, there’s a websitethat may be of interest to you.Check out therussobrothers.com.

# # # # #The current (May 14 – 27) issue

of BizTimes Milwaukee pays hom-age to a number of area businesseswith what the publication calls its“Bravo! Entrepreneur Awards.”This year’s “Regional Spirit Award”goes to Sendik’s Food Markets.That’s the growing chain (they’reup to 10 stores now in southeastWisconsin) operated by theBalistreri family that’s competingsuccessfully against some large gro-cers.

According to the BizTimes arti-

cle, “The company continues tohave the feel of a neighborhood gro-cer, but has managed to stay inno-vative.”

Note that Sendik’s received theRegional Spirit Award. That’sdemonstrated by the company’ssponsorship of local events and itscontributions to a number of chari-ties.

# # # # #Is there anything interesting,

unusual or humorous going on inyour world? If so, let’s tell others.Drop me a note, and be sure toinclude your phone number. Youcan leave that note with TimesEditor Tom Hemman at the ICCoffice or send it to me directly at9049 N. 86th St., Milwaukee, WI,53224-1805 or via e-mail at [email protected]. Grazie!

Joe Glorioso is seen here with a special cake created for the celebration ofhis 90th birthday. Photos tracing Joe’s life were featured on the foursides of the cake.

That’s Joe Glorioso as an infant in this photo that was one of several grac-ing the four sides of his birthday cake.

Singing brothers posed for the photographer at Festa Italiana Tampa onApr. 1. Pictured are (clockwise from top) Andrew Arena, Dominic Russo,Sammy Arena and Nick Russo. The Arena Twins were a long popular per-forming duo based in Tampa. The Russo Brothers performed for the firsttime at the Florida Italian festival.

Looking for greatItalian food in acasual setting?

Pasta, pizza, dailyspecials and a

whole lot more?

Youʼll find it all at

CafeLa

ScalaAnd every Fridaynight, an all-you-can eat fish fryfrom 4:30 pm

631 E. Chicago St.Milwaukee

A block west of Summerfest

Dine-in or Carry-out414/223-2185


Italian Society and Club NewsSam Purpero receives Milwaukee Chapter

UNICO National’s ‘Citizen of the Year’ awardBy Thomas Hemman

Times EditorSam Purpero, a past president of

the Italian Community Center andthe Pompeii Men’s Club and a long-time contributor to the ItalianAmerican community, was present-ed with the Milwaukee ChapterUNICO National “Citizen of theYear” award at the organization’sannual scholarship and awardsbanquet on Tuesday, May 15 at theICC.

He has long been active inMilwaukee’s Festa Italiana. “I wasinvolved from the initial planningstages for our first Festa, startingin 1977,” Purpero said. The firstFesta was held Aug. 4-6, 1978 onthe Summerfest grounds.

Since then, Purpero has beenheavily involved in the festivalfrom a managerial standpoint, fromserving as general chairman to gatecontrol manager and bank chair-man. “This year, I’m serving on thesteering committee, the advisoryboard and as chairman of the FoodCommittee,” he said. The 35thannual Festa is set for July 19-22.

Since the inception of the ItalianCommunity Center in 1978,Purpero has served on the ICCBoard for all but two years, holdingthe positions of president (1982-83),president-elect, first vice president,treasurer and director-at-large. Heis currently serving the organiza-

tion as treasurer. He is a long-standing member of the ICC’sFinance and Personnel Committee.

Purpero also is a longtime mem-ber of the board of the ItalianConference Center, Inc. and is cur-rently serving as treasurer of thatcorporation.

An original member of thePompeii Men’s Club, Purpero wasthe third president of that organi-zation, which evolved from the HolyName Society of Our Lady ofPompeii Church after the church’sdemolition in October of 1967. He isalso a longtime member of theMilwaukee Chapter UNICONational.

Born and raised at 210 N.Jefferson St. in Milwaukee’s oldThird Ward, Purpero graduatedfrom Lincoln High School in 1953.His parents were the late CharlesW. and Rosalia (Emanuele)Purpero. Sam has two brothers,Phillip, also a past president of theICC, and Anthony and two sisters,Caroline Besasie and Rose Spang.

After graduating from Lincoln,Sam went to work at C.W. Purpero,initially a trucking business startedin 1919 by his father. In 1948, thecompany added residential andbusiness excavation services.

Sam spent 55 years in the busi-ness. He became certified as anoperating engineer and went on to

become the president and chairmanof the board of C.W. Purpero, Inc.

After Sam’s retirement, his son,Phillip, succeeded him as president.Sam is still the chairman of theboard. Over the years, the companyhas further evolved, becoming well-known grading, sewer and waterand demolition contractors. Thecompany has received recognitionfrom the Wisconsin Department ofNatural Resources for its commit-ment to safe environmental prac-

tices.In 1984, Sam bought King Juice

Company, Inc., which is run by hisson-in-law Tim Kezman and hisdaughter Margaret. King Juice is amid-size packager of non-carbonat-ed liquids based in Milwaukee. Thecompany also produces its own lineof Calypso branded juices and fruitdrinks.

Although he’s officially retired,Sam remains actively involved inboth C.W. Purpero, Inc. and KingJuice.

Through his personal commit-ment and his businesses, Purperohas long been a dedicated support-er and contributor to charitable andcivic causes in the Italian Americancommunity. Possibly his largestcommitment has been to the ItalianCommunity Center and its four-dayfestival, Festa Italiana, for whichhe has given of his time, talent andfinancial resources. He has had apivotal role in virtually every majordevelopment of the ICC and Festasince the inception of both.

Sam and his wife, Lucille(Vehar), have been married since1956. They have six children,Catherine Rose, Susan Carol,Margaret Ann, Phillip Anthony,Mary Lucille and ChristinaTherese. They also have 13 grand-children and one great-grandchild.

As for his selection as theMilwaukee Chapter UNICONational “Citizen of the Year”awardee, Purpero said. “It’s anhonor to be acknowledged for myservice and contributions to theItalian community. I’m very proudand humbled to be receiving thisaward.”

Sam Purpero

By Colleen JurkiewiczTen Milwaukee-area students

of Italian descent were honoredwith $1,000 scholarships at the81st annual Scholarship andAwards Dinner sponsored by theMilwaukee Chapter UNICONational and the MilwaukeeLadies of UNICO. The event washeld on May 15 at the ItalianCommunity Center.

To receive the award, the stu-dents underwent a rigorous appli-cation process. They were judgedby a panel of non-Italian repre-sentatives from the Milwaukeearea chosen by UNICO.Qualifications taken into consid-eration were financial need, com-munity and school involvement,and personal character.

All recipients had achieved anacademic standing in the top 15%of their graduation high schoolclasses. They also attended aninterview day with the committeeat the Italian Community Centeron Apr. 13.

“UNICO is very pleased to sup-port the Italian-American stu-dents of Milwaukee in this way,”said Rose Anne Fritchie, presi-dent of Milwaukee ChapterUNICO National. “These studentsare exemplary in many ways andgreat representatives of our com-munity.”

The Ladies of UNICO awarded$1,000 scholarships to the follow-ing students:

• Hannah Ruth Alfredson ofKenosha Tremper High School.

• Genna Catherine Bonfiglio ofDivine Savior Holy Angels HighSchool.

• Rachell Caniza of Rufus KingInternational High School.

• Elizabeth Rose Lucy Mazza,homeschooled through Mother ofDivine Grace School.

The Milwaukee ChapterUNICO National awarded $1,000scholarships to the following stu-dents:

• Mandi Lynn Ayala of WestAllis Central High School.

• Elizabeth Mary Bersch ofPius XI High School.

• Kristen Louise Bonfiglio ofDivine Savior Holy Angels HighSchool.

• Vince Cupertino of Wauwa-tosa East High School.

• Leah Rose Mott of Wauwa-tosa West High School.

• Michael David Saggio ofMarquette University HighSchool.

At the dinner the MilwaukeeLadies of UNICO recognized RoseEmanuele their annual StarAward, based on her long historyof volunteerism and involvementwith the community. (An articleappeared on this award presenta-tion in the May issue of TheItalian Times.)

The Milwaukee ChapterUNICO National presented itsprestigious Citizen of the YearAward to former ICC presidentand current treasurer SamPurpero (see separate article).

UNICO honorsstudents, volunteers

The Milwaukee ChapterUNICO National hosted a boccetournament to raise funds for itscharitable giving on Tuesday,Apr. 24 at the Italian CommunityCenter.

Seven teams competed in thetournament. The tourney champi-on team was captained by LizCeraso. Joining her on the teamwere Dean and Joe Cannestra andEddy Ciano. All these players aremembers of the ICC’sMembership Committee. Theywere awarded a Cafe La Scala giftcertificate.

To win the championship,Ceraso’s team defeated a team

captained by Ryan BalistreriGustafson, treasurer of theMilwaukee Chapter UNICONational. His teammates includedRenee St. Pierre, Katherine Eddyand Marguerite BalistreriGustafson. Players on theGustafson team received gift cer-tificates from Eddie Glorioso forGlorioso’s Italian Market.

Other teams were captained byMilwaukee Chapter PresidentRose Anne Ceraso-Fritchie, BeaCeraso, Tom Falsetti, MichaelSaggio and Mary Winard.

Cafe La Scala pizza and subsandwiches were served beforethe tournament.

Milwaukee UNICO Chapterhosts fund-raising bocce

tournament

Cass Street Softball Reunionscheduled for Sunday, July 15

The fifth annual Cass StreetSoftball Reunion is set for Sunday,July 15 at the Cass Street SchoolPlayground, 1647 N. Cass St.,Milwaukee. This event, whichincludes a softball game, lunch andrenewing of old friendships, is opento anyone who grew up on theLower East Side of Milwaukee.

Sign-up time for the softball

game is 12:30 p.m. with the gameat 1 p.m. Afterward, anyone isinvited to come to Pitch’s Lounge &Restaurant, 1801 N. HumboldtAve., for lunch. A $20 donation isrequested.

This year, the event is spon-sored by the Sons of Sicily. Formore information, contact FelixGlorioso at 414/272-1311.


Suzanne Wypiszewski toreceive Pompeii Women’s‘Angel of the Year’ award

The members of the PompeiiWomen’s Club are proud toannounce that Suzanne

Wypiszewki will be presented withtheir “Angel of the Year” award attheir annual May Crowning dinneron Wednesday, May 30 at theItalian Community Center.

Wypiszewki has been a memberof the club for about five years andis currently serving as sergeant-at-arms. An alumnus of St. JoanAntida High School, she is a verydedicated member who deliversknitted and crocheted baby itemsmade by club members to theChrist Child Society monthly. Shealso is a very active volunteer forthe club’s Palm Sunday BreakfastBuffet, especially in procuring helpfor bussing of the tables and otherchores.

Wypiszewki is employed by U.S.Bank.

“Suzanne has a very cheerful,upbeat personality and is a creditto our club,” said Carla AnnSanfelippo, Pompeii Women’s ClubPresident.

– Submitted by Mary WinardPublicity ChairpersonSuzanne Wypiszewki

OSIA Mazzei Lodge membersmake two donations toPalermo Soccer Club

The Filippo Mazzei Lodge of the Order Sons of Italy in America recentlymade two monetary donations to the Palermo Soccer Club, which hasteams competing in leagues in the Wisconsin Soccer Association. Onedonation came from the lodge; the other from individual members. Thedonations will help the soccer club purchase jackets for the upcoming sea-son. OSIA Mazzei Lodge President Bill Jennaro (right) presented thechecks to Sal Carini of the Palermo Soccer Club. (Photo provided by OSIAMazzei Lodge)

Pompeii Women Club’s Palm SundayBreakfast Buffet was a success

The Pompeii Women’s Clubreports that its Palm SundayBreakfast Buffet was very success-ful. The club extends its apprecia-tion to all those who were in atten-dance and supported the club bypurchasing bakery and raffle tick-ets.

The club also wishes to acknowl-edge the students from St. JoanAntida High School and MountMary College and the PompeiiMen’s Club and their wives whovolunteered their time to assistthat day.

The officers and members of thePompeii Women’s Club also thankthe Italian Conference Center’s

kitchen and wait staffs for all theirefforts on the club’s behalf and thevarious restaurants, groceries andsport teams and all of other busi-nesses and individuals who madecontributions to this event.

“This event is our one and onlyfund-raiser and provides our clubwith the means to make monetarydonations to worthy charitableorganizations,” said Carla AnnSanfelippo, club president. “Theclub is also going to resume makingdonations to various schools forscholarships in the coming year.”

– Submitted by Mary WinardPublicity Chairperson

OSIA Mazzei Lodge sets Aug.19 for annual golf outing

The Filippo Mazzei Lodge of theOrder Sons of Italy in America hasannounced that its annual golf out-ing will take place Sunday, Aug. 19at The River Club of Mequon,12400 N. Ville du Parc Dr.,Mequon.

The event, which is open to bothmembers and non-members, willbegin at 10 a.m. The cost is $95 pergolfer, which includes course fee, acart, range balls, a box lunch on thecourse, prizes/gifts and hors d’oeu-vres at the program that follows

golfing. The cost to attend the pro-gram only is $30 per person. Theprogram is expected to start at 4p.m.

Persons interested in participat-ing should send a check (payable tothe Filippo Mazzei Lodge, OrderSons of Italy in America) to JoePalmisano, 5302 S. Hidden Dr.,Greenfield, WI 53221.

For more information, contacteither Palmisano at 414/281-5556or Joe Campagna, Jr. at 262/783-6161.

The Pompeii Men’s Club andthe Badgerland Striders will teamup once again to stage their 30thannual 5K (3.1 mile) Run/Walk.This year’s event will be held onWednesday, June 27 in LakePark.

Pre-registration forms areavailable at several Milwaukeearea running stores or you candownload a registration form athttp://www.badgerlandstriders.org/home.htm Race day registrationwill begin at 5 p.m. in the Park’spavilion and will continue until6:30 p.m.

An entry fee of $25 ($30 raceday), $15 for seniors, age 60 orolder, will entitle each participantto receive the following: entry inthe event, a shirt, trophies for topfinishers, fruit juice, fresh fruit,beer and a drawing for prizes.

As always, there will be Italiansausage available for sale at anominal cost. “You can join thefun by either running or walkingthe 3.1 mile course. It will begood for you, and at the sametime, you will be helping localMilwaukee charities,” saidCharles Lazzaro, Pompeii Men’sClub President.

The event has averagedapproximately 800 participantsand has become known as one ofMilwaukee’s premier run/walks.

The race’s image and loyal fol-lowing have been solidifiedbecause of the beautiful location,superb post race refreshments,and the committed efforts of over100 volunteers who make the raceday activities proceed smoothlyand efficiently.

Pompeii Men sponsoringSuper Run/Walk on June 27

The members of SocietàMaschile Maria S.S. Del Lume areplanning to take their annual tripto Chicago for the feast of MariaS.S. Lauretana on Sunday, Sept. 2.

They invite all who might beinterested in attending to jointhem.

A bus will leave from St. RitaChurch, 1600 N. Cass St.,Milwaukee, at 8 a.m. and willreturn at 7:30 p.m. The cost of thebus is $25 per person.

For more information, pleasecall Mario or Rose Carini at414/964-1161.

Madonna del Lume Society planstrip to Chicago feast

One Italian Community Centermember has replaced another onthe WisItalia Board of Directors.Gina Jorgensen, chairperson of theICC’s Culture Committee, hasassumed the Milwaukee area rep-resentative position from TomBalistreri, a director on the ICCBoard.

Balistreri, who is also directoron the Italian Community Center

Board, has filled the WisItalia postthe last few years.

WisItalia is a non-profit organi-zation that promotes and encour-ages the teaching of the Italian lan-guage, and the culture of Italy, inWisconsin’s primary and secondaryschools as well as post secondarycolleges and universities. It alsostrives to educate the public aboutthe Italian language and culture.

Gina Jorgensen replaces TomBalistreri as Milwaukee rep on

WisItalia Board

The Sons of Italy Foundation’s 24thannual National Education &Leadership Awards gala, a tribute toachievement, sacrifice and patriotism,takes place Wednesday, May 23 inWashington, D.C.

Gala honorees include U.S.Secretary of State Hillary RodhamClinton; retired U.S. General andChairman of the Joint Chiefs of StaffPeter Pace; Claudio Bozzo, President,Mediterranean Shipping Company,Inc.; and Armand E. Sabationi, GeneralSecretary/Treasurer of LaborersInternational Union of North America.

SIF, the philanthropic arm of theOrder Sons of Italy in America, willalso present awards to its scholarshiprecipients.

The NELA gala is the SIF’s mostimportant fund-raising and publicaffairs event, highlighting the founda-tion’s commitment to educational excel-lence, leadership and the betterment ofsociety. To date, the NELA gala hashelped the SIF raise $119 million foreducation, medical research, disasterrelief, cultural preservation, and otherspecial projects, with $50 million inscholarships awarded.

SIF hosting 24thNELA gala on May 23


Atty. Henry Pianohonored for work on

real estate projectBy Bob Ruggieri

Attorney Henry G. Piano, a pastpresident of the Italian CommunityCenter, was named a co-winner of areal estate project award from TheMilwaukee Business Journal for hiswork on the sale of the ShorecrestHotel Apartments.

The project was named the “bestdeal/lease of the year.“ Pianoshared the honor with WilliamBonifas, executive vice presidentand head of global corporate servic-es for CBRE Milwaukee, a commer-cial real estate brokerage firm.They were recognized at an Apr. 20awards luncheon at which 17 realestate projects were honored.

The 116-unit Shorecrest is locat-ed near the corner of N. ProspectAve. and E. Lafayette Pl. Pianorepresented the seller, JohnBalistrieri, who was present at theawards luncheon. Piano noted thathe represented the Balistrieri fami-ly when they purchased theShorecrest in 1971.

“The Balistrieris deserve a greatdeal of credit for what they accom-plished during their ownership ofthe property,” said Piano. “The

building was in terrible shapewhen they took ownership. Today,it’s an art deco jewel.”

Noting that the Shorecrest is apermanent home for many people,Piano said, “The Balistrieris alsoare to be commended for their rela-tionships with their tenants. Theytreated them with dignity and com-passion, and many have gone on tobecome friends and, in some cases– in true Italian fashion – almostlike family.”

Piano said that this marked thefirst time The Milwaukee BusinessJournal had honored the sale of anexisting property. “This was a com-plex deal to close, and the workthat Bill Bonifas did was phenome-nal.”

The nine-story Shorecrest, at1962 N. Prospect Ave., was built in1925. It was later named to theNational Register of Historic Placesas a significant example ofMoroccan/Art Deco architecturalstyle. Its new owner is WatercrestInvestment Group, which ownsMilwaukee’s Astor Hotel and high-end residential properties.

The two winners of the “Best Deal/Lease of the Year” award, attorneyHenry Piano (left) and broker William Bonifas (center), posed with MarkKass, editor of The Milwaukee Business Journal, which held its annualReal Estate Project Awards program on Apr. 20.

Bob Trotalli scholarshipestablished at UWM

By Colleen JurkiewiczLongtime Italian Community

Center member Bob Trotalliworked for over 30 years to helpthe students of the University ofWisconsin-Milwaukee as the pro-gram director for the UWM Union,director of Disabled StudentServices, and eventually AssistantDean of Students.

He retired in 1990, but he is stillmaking a difference in the lives ofUWM students who need it most.

Two years ago, Trotalli donatedhis retirement assets back to theuniversity, establishing the RobertJ. Trotalli Scholarship fund to ben-efit undergraduate students withdisabilities.

“My personal satisfaction in myyears at UWM was in assisting stu-dents in reaching their educationalgoals,” Trotalli told UWMTomorrow, the planned-giving pub-lication of the university. “I sin-cerely hope my scholarship fundwill continue to contribute to thesegoals.”

Throughout his career at UWM,Trotalli worked tirelessly to estab-lish a center for specialized servic-es, which he coordinated for severalyears. In the 1970s, he became thedirector of Disabled StudentServices and dedicated himself tohelping students with challengesmeet the rigorous demands of anundergraduate career. Both a men-tor and an advocate, he spearhead-ed the campaign to establish theUWM Student Accessiblity Center(SAC), which now serves more than700 students at the university.

“Many (SAC students) take lessthan a full load of classes persemester as a result of their dis-abilities, extending the time neededto finish college,” said LauriePeterson, current director of theStudent Accessibility Center.“Because other sources of financialaid may expire after four years,scholarship support provides a cru-cial means for students to completetheir degree and realize their fullpotential.”

The SAC provides a wide rangeof accommodations to studentswith many different kinds of chal-lenges, including but not limited tophysical disabilities, mental dis-abilities, learning disabilities, andeven emotional disorders.

Bob Trotalli is seen here in a phototaken on the UWM campus.

Sam Schiera announces birthof twin granddaughters

Italian Community Centermember Sam Schiera announcedthat he recently became grandfa-ther to twin girls named AnielaMia and Sofia Grace.

They were born on Wednesday,Feb. 1 to Sally Schiera and KyleMayhugh.

The twins have two older broth-ers, Giuseppe Matera, 11, andSalvatore Matera, 8. At birth, Sofiaweighed 5 lbs. and Aniela was 4lbs., 12 oz. Sam Schiera’s late wife,Judy, was also an ICC member.Sam is the president of La Societàdi San Giuseppe.

Sofia Grace and Aniela Mia

Larry Baldassaro honoredwith OSIA award for

Excellence in LiteratureBy Colleen Jurkiewicz

On May 6, Larry Baldassaro,Professor Emeritus of Italian atUW-Milwaukee, received theLeonardo da Vinci Award forExcellence in Literature from theIllinois and Wisconsin Grand Lodgeof the Order Sons of Italy inAmerica.

The award was for Baldassaro’slatest publication, “BeyondDiMaggio: Italian Americans inBaseball” (U. of Nebraska Press,2011).

The Leonardo da Vinci Awardsare presented at a gala every May,which was held this year at theBeauJolie Banquet Hall in SchillerPark, Ill.

“I was particularly honored toreceive the da Vinci Award fromthe Sons of Italy because of my twoprimary motives for writing thebook,” said Baldassaro. “I wrote‘Beyond DiMaggio’ to preserve thelegacy of those who not only madegreat contributions to baseball, ournational pastime, but whose suc-cess and dignity did so much tocounter negative stereotypes andenhance the public perception ofItalian-Americans.”

Baldassaro has been writingabout baseball for over 30 years,and since 1990 has been writing forthe official magazine of theMilwaukee Brewers. “At somepoint,” he said, “I realized thatalmost nothing had been writtenabout the long and distinguishedhistory of Italian Americans inbaseball. It was a story waiting tobe written.”

Baldassaro has been research-ing the topic since 1999, when hebegan by spending two weeks atthe Baseball Hall of Fame Libraryin Cooperstown, N.Y.. “It turnedout to be a much bigger projectthan I anticipated,” he said.

“Beyond DiMaggio” was also alabor of love for Baldassaro.

“It was my small way of honor-ing the memory of my four Italianimmigrant grandparents, to whomI dedicated the book, and of thank-ing them for their courage in com-ing to this country and the gift ofopportunity they gave me by doingso.”

Baldassaro is a longtime mem-ber of the Italian CommunityCenter.

Larry Baldassaro


Balistreri siblings academicachievements announced

Christina and MichaelBalistreri, children of ItalianCommunity Center members Tomand Barbara Balistreri, achievedmajor academic goals in May.

Christina received her juris doc-torate from the University ofWisconsin Law School on May 18.She will be admitted into the StateBar of Wisconsin on June 7.

She completed her undergradu-ate degree at the University ofWisconsin-Madison in 2008, with adouble-major in CommunicationArts and Political Science. Aftercollege, Christina worked as a long-term substitute teacher atMilwaukee’s Victory School in theItalian Immersion program in thefour-year-old kindergarten class-room. She began law school in thefall of 2009 and has focused prima-rily on the areas of family law andcriminal law.

Throughout law school,Christina was active in a number ofstudent organizations includingserving as the publicity coordinator

for the Wisconsin Association ofCriminal Defense Lawyers-StudentChapter and as the Vice President

of Academic Affairs for the LatinoLaw Students Association. She hasalso remained involved in hersorority, Sigma Lambda GammaNational Sorority, Inc. and plans tojoin the Alumnae Association upongraduation.

Christina also served as a con-tracts law study group leader forfirst year law students and as a lawschool tour guide. When Christinagraduated, she received recognitionfrom the Pro Bono Society for hervolunteer service at the DodgeCounty Immigration DetentionCenter and in the UnemploymentAppeals Clinic.

Christina also gained invaluableexperiences through various intern-ships and clinics, including a judi-cial internship with Judge John J.DiMotto in the Milwaukee CircuitCourt; as a student attorney in theCriminal Appeals Clinic: an internat the Juvenile Division at theState Public Defender’s Office inWaukesha County; and an externin the Criminal Litigation Unit atthe Wisconsin Department ofJustice.

Christina plans to begin herlegal career in either Milwaukee orMadison. She is also an ICC mem-ber and a Festa Italiana volunteer.

Michael, after four eventfulyears as a Midshipman at theUnited States Naval Academy inAnnapolis, Md., will be commis-sioned as an Ensign in the U.S.Navy on May 29. He was one of 27from the Class of 2012 to be select-ed as a Surface Warfare NuclearOfficer

In July, he will report aboardthe USS Carney (DDG 64) for a 21-month tour, then attend NuclearPower School in Charleston, S.C.As a senior, he achieved the rank ofMidshipman LieutenantCommander as the First BattalionCommander. He was a foundingmember and later President of theItalian-American MidshipmenClub. His fluency in Italian allowedhim to be selected to visit theItalian Naval Academy in Livorno,Tuscany three times and two weeksaboard an Italian Navy vessel.

He will graduate with a bachelorof science degree in HonorsEnglish. Michael graduated asvaledictorian from Rufus KingInternational Baccalaureate HighSchool in 2008. Michael is a mem-ber of the ICC, the Order Sons ofItaly in America and La Società diSan Giuseppe. He also has volun-teered at Festa Italiana and as aFesta Mass usher. Michael is proudof his Sicilian heritage and is hon-ored to be able to serve the UnitedStates of America as a navalofficer.

Nancy Sinatra Michael Balistreri

It’s not often that people from halfway around theworld stop in for lunch at Cafe La Scala, the ItalianCommunity Center’s public restaurant. However, ithappened on Thursday, May 3 when the Castrovincisisters – Carmen Schlotthauer, Nancy Oberleitner andMary Castrovinci – brought their cousins from Perth,Australia to the ICC for a tour and lunch. “We wantedto show them our beautiful Italian CommunityCenter,” said Carmen Schlotthauer. From the left:

Nancy Aliota, Rosalinda Schaapveld, MaryCastrovinci, Pina Lenzo, Joe Lenzo, Maria LouisaPollard, Teresa Miszewski, Carmen Schlotthauer andNancy Oberleitner. Aliota, the Lenzos, Pollard andMiszewski are all from Perth, which is the capital ofand largest city in Western Australia and fourthlargest city in Australia. The visitors said they were ona four-week stay in the United States. (Times photo byTom Hemman)

Castrovinci sisters bring Australiancousins to ICC for tour and lunch

The following people became members of the Italian CommunityCenter between Apr. 9 and May 8, 2012. Benvenuti! (Welcome!)

Vincent N. & Catherine Ciccolini of Brookfield

Vincent A. Ciccolini of Brookfield

James & Mary Jane Perkins of Milwaukee

Matt & Theresa Talluto andchildren Alessandro and Alyssa of New Berlin

Susan Maglio-Peltonen of Muskego

Ronald & Susan Matty of New Berlin

Karen Campbell of Pewaukee

Welcome, new ItalianCommunity

Center members!

Baldassaro tospeak at Italian

Cultural Institutein Chicago

Author Lawrence Baldassaro,an Italian Community Centermember, will do a presentationof his book, “Beyond DiMaggio:Italian Americans in Baseball,”on Thursday, June 7 at 6 p.m. atthe Italian Cultural Institute,500 N. Michigan Ave., Suite1450, Chicago.

“Beyond DiMaggio,” which isa social history of baseball, is thefirst comprehensive study of therole Italian Americans haveplayed in American baseball,tracing the evolution ofAmerican perceptions towardthose of Italian descent as itchronicles the baseball exploitsthat influenced those percep-tions.

Baldassaro will talk about theItalian Americans’ contributionsto the game, from Joe DiMaggio,who transcended his ethnic iden-tity to become an American icon,to A. Bartlett Giamatti, whoserved as commissioner of base-ball, to Mike Piazza, consideredthe greatest hitting catcher ever.

Baldassaro is a professoremeritus of Italian at theUniversity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is the author ofnumerous articles on baseball,co-editor of “The AmericanGame: Baseball and Ethnicity,”and editor of “Ted Williams:Reflections on a Splendid Life. “

“Beyond DiMaggio: ItalianAmericans in Baseball” is avail-able locally at Boswell Books andonline at amazon.com and barne-sandnoble.com.

La Festa della Repubblica Italianaviene celebrata il 2 giugno a ricordodella nascita della Repubblica.

Il 2 e il 3 giugno 1946 si tenne,infatti, il referendum istituzionaleindetto a suffragio universale con ilquale gli italiani venivano chiamati alleurne per esprimersi su quale forma digoverno, monarchia o repubblica, dareal Paese, in seguito alla caduta del fas-cismo. Dopo 85 anni di regno, con

12.718.641 voti contro 10.718.502l’Italia diventava repubblica e i monar-chi di casa Savoia venivano esiliati.

Il 2 giugno celebra la nascita dellanazione, in maniera simile al 14 lugliofrancese (anniversario della Presa dellaBastiglia) e al 4 luglio statunitense(giorno in cui nel 1776 venne firmata ladichiarazione d’indipendenza).

In tutto il mondo le ambasciate ital-iane tengono un festeggiamento cui

sono invitati i Capi di Stato del Paeseospitante. Da tutto il mondo arrivano alPresidente della Repubblica Italiana gliauguri degli altri capi di Stato e spe-ciali cerimonie ufficiali si tengono inItalia.

Prima della fondazione dellaRepubblica, la festa nazionale italianaera la prima domenica di giugno, festadello Statuto albertino.

Con la legge 5 marzo 1977, n.54,soprattutto a causa della congiunturaeconomica sfavorevole, la Festa dellaRepubblica fu spostata alla primadomenica di giugno. Solamente nel2001 su impulso dell’allora Presidentedella Repubblica, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi,il secondo governo Amato, con la leggen. 336 del 20 novembre 2000, riportò lecelebrazioni al 2 giugno, che quinditornò ad essere un giorno festivo.

La parataIl Presidente della Repubblica

Giorgio Napolitano alla parata del 2giugno 2006.Nel giugno del 1948 per la prima voltain Via dei Fori Imperiali a Roma ospitòla parata militare in onore dellaRepubblica. L’anno seguente, con l’in-gresso dell’Italia nella NATO, se nesvolsero dieci in contemporanea intutto il Paese mentre nel 1950 la para-ta fu inserita per la prima volta nelprotocollo delle celebrazioni ufficiali.

Attualmente il cerimoniale prevedela deposizione di una corona d’alloro alMilite Ignoto presso l’Altare dellaPatria e una parata militare alla pre-senza delle più alte cariche dello Stato.

Alla parata militare e durante ladeposizione della corona d’alloro pressoil Milite Ignoto, prendono parte tutte leForze Armate, tutte le Forze di Poliziadella Repubblica ed il Corpo Nazionaledei Vigili del Fuoco e della Croce RossaItaliana. Nel 2005, l’allora Presidentedella Repubblica Carlo Azeglio Ciampiordinò che sfilassero anche il Corpo di

Polizia Municipale di Roma in rappre-sentanza di tutte le Polizie Localid’Italia ed il personale civile dellaProtezione Civile. Prendono inoltreparte alla parata militare alcune del-egazioni militari dell’ONU, dellaNATO, dell’Unione Europea e rappre-sentanze di reparti multinazionali chepresentano una componente italiana.

Dalla sua istituzione sino alla suatemporanea abolizione, la parata mil-itare poteva contare sulla sfilata dimaggiore personale. Dopo la re-intro-duzione l’organico defilante fu ridottonotevolmente e nel 2006 venne pratica-mente eliminata la presenza di mezziterrestri ed aerei per ragioni di bilan-cio.

La cerimonia prosegue nel pomerig-gio con l’apertura al pubblico dei giardi-ni del palazzo del Quirinale, sede dellaPresidenza della Repubblica Italiana,con esecuzioni musicali da parte deicomplessi bandistici dell’EsercitoItaliano, della Marina MilitareItaliana, dell’Aeronautica MilitareItaliana, dell’Arma dei Carabinieri,della Polizia di Stato, della Guardia diFinanza, del Corpo di PoliziaPenitenziaria e del Corpo Forestaledello Stato.

TematicheLe Frecce Tricolori durante la para-

ta del 2 giugno.La parata ha ogni anno una temati-

ca differente:• 2003, 57º anniversario: “Le Forze

Armate nel sistema di sicurezza inter-nazionale per il progresso pacifico edemocratico dei popoli.”

• 2004, 58º anniversario: “Le ForzeArmate per la Patria.”

• 2010, 64º anniversario : “LaRepubblica e le sue Forze Armateimpegnate in missioni di pace.”• 2011, 65º anniversario: “150º anniver-sario dell’Unità d’Italia.”

THE ITALIAN TIMES

LA PAGINA ITALIANAa cura di Enrica Tarantino-Woytal

PAGINA 22 – GIUGNO 2012

Marco Mengoni e Laura Pausinisono i ‘supereroi’ del Trl Awards 2012di MTV. In base al voto web (oltre 12milioni le preferenze espresse) i dueartisti si sono aggiudicati il primo postonelle categorie della “SupermanAward” e “Wonder Woman Award”

della kermesse pop tenuta nel piazzaleMichelangelo di Firenze di fronte a25mila giovanissimi. Tra gli altrivincitori, Emma, per “Italians do itbetter,” i Modà per “Best Band”; nellasezione emergenti, ha trionfato ilrapper teenager Emis Killa.

Mengoni e Pausini eroi Trl Music AwardsTra gli altri vincitori Emma, Moda’,

e il rapper Emis Killa

Questo è “un momento di fortipreoccupazioni per l ’andamentodell’economia e le prospettivedell’occupazione, in particolare deigiovani e delle donne.” Lo affermaGiorgio Napolitano, in un messaggioall’Assemblea annuale di R.E.T.E.

Imprese Italia auspicando che le piccolee medie imprese potranno offrire “unnotevole contributo che consenta dialleviare tale stato di sofferenza econtribuisca a restituire fiducia aglioperatori in una prospettiva di ripresadell’economia”.

Napolitano, preoccupanoeconomia e lavoro

Bisogna restituire fiducia in prospettiva di una ripresa

Biagio Antonacci ancora al top con ilsuo nuovo cd Sapessi dire no, VascoRossi secondo con L’altra metà del cieloe Norah Jones che irrompe al terzoposto con il suo nuovo album “LittleBroken Hearts”: questo il podio dellaclassifica dei dischi più venduti della

settimana. Primo dei download deisingoli resta il fenomeno Gotye feat.Kimbra con “Somebody that I used toknow,” mentre Ligabue resiste alvertice della classifica dei dvd musicalipiù venduti con Campovolo 2.0.

Hit parade: Antonacci resta al top

Auguri a tutti ìpapa!

“Paese che vai,Usanze che trovi.”

La festa dei papà in Italia si festeggia a Marzo, giorno 19 Festa di San Giuseppe. InAmerica, la festa di papà ricorre a Giugno.

La mamma è la persone più importante per un bambino però anche il papà.Auguri, auguri, auguri!Happy Father’s Day!

Festa della Repubblica Italiana

THE ITALIAN TIMES GIUGNO 2012 – PAGINA 23

Helen Porter Mitchell was herreal name, but the world came toknow her as Nellie Melba, one ofthe greatest sopranos of her day.She was born May 19, 1859, nearMelbourne, Australia,

She studied with one of theprominent teachers of the time,Mathilde Marchesi, and was even-tually considered the greatest ofMarchesi’s students, among whomwere Emma Calve, Emma Eames,Sybil Sanderson and Frances Alda.

Melba was talented as a musi-cian as well, becoming proficient onthe piano, organ and violin. Shewas considered to be “the” sopranoafter Adelina Patti, who manycalled the “most phenomenallyflawless technician before the pub-lic.”

And Melba completely agreedwith that assessment. She oncetold a reporter she had the voice ofa genius. She was always confi-dent, but she was also outspokenand jealous of other singers andthose around her knew her to be a“holy terror.”

One of her marked habits washer bluntness as when sheappeared in a joint concert withMary Garden at a command per-formance at Windsor Castle andreportedly turned to the LordChamberlain and said, “What adreadful concert this would havebeen if I hadn’t come.”

She knew she was admired bymany well-known composersincluding Charles Gounod,Ambroise Thomas and Jules

Massenet. The writer GeorgeBernard Shaw marveled at Melba’saccuracy of intonation, noting thewide gap that exists between theordinary singer who sings avoidingbeing out of tune, and the singerwho really sings in tune.

Some considered Melba to be asinging machine, but there was theoccasional detractor as well andsome modern day observers notethat she never sang as though themusic had much meaning.

Still, her rivals and colleaguespraised her. Tenor Jean de Reszketold her nature had given her a“voice of gold.” And even MaryGarden was ecstatic about Melba’sperformance in “La Boheme.”Garden enthused, “My God! Howshe sang it.”

The amazing soprano concen-trated on a handful of operaticroles, although she knew approxi-mately 25. Among her mostfamous were Juliet, Lucia, Gildaand Mimi. The singer who madeeverything easy died on Feb. 23,1931.

Last month, I talked aboutunusual career accomplishmentsand spoke about a tenor, HughesCuenod, who made his Met debutat the unusual age of 84 and hislast performance at age 91. Therewas a typographical error in oneline which read “suspicious.” Itshould have read “auspicious,”which it certainly was.

Quotable Quote: Our life is madeby the death of others. – Leonardoda Vinci

June – the month when rosesbloom. Speaking of roses, RainerMaria Rilke, Austrian poet (1875 -1926), wrote, “Other flowers mere-ly decorate the table that youtransfigure” and “Summer: to befor a few days the contemporaryof roses”. Such a concept – to bethe contemporary of roses – bothembraces the ephemeral nature ofroses and hints at our mortality.

“A Serenata de’ Rose,” one ofthe most popular and well loved ofNeapolitan songs, was written bycomposer Eduardo di Capua (Mar.12, 1865 – Oct. 3, 1917) and poetVincenzo Russo (1876-1904).Here it is in the Neapolitandialect and an English version.

È mezzanotte e cu stu mandulino I’ canto a stu barcone chin’ ‘e

rrose, Saglie n’addorre arance d’ ’o cia-

rdino E a st’aria doce vene a profumà. ’A luna janca me pare d’argiento

Sbattute songh’ ’e rrose da stuviente.

Oi rose meje! Si dorme chesta fata,

Scetatela!Cu chesta serenata.

– Lyrics by Vincenzo Russo

My love, I sing to you beneath yourwindow,

I strum a mandolin and sing mylove song.

The roses grow and orange treesare blooming,

Sweet perfume fills the air, as Ideclare:

Ah! Love! My serenade among theroses,

Brings you the love that now mysong discloses.

The rose will fade and die whensnowflakes fall, dear,

But love will grow and live beyondit all.

(English lyrics from Italian Music,Songs, Dances and Arias, AshleyPublications Inc., copyright 1968)

Love, like the fragrance ofroses, is in the air in June but oneis also reminded of the exhilarat-ing feeling of joy, of new life andresurrection that the seasonbrings. Here’s a poem inspired bythe roses that bloom in June.

Resurrection

The garden, in a state of grace,now awakes, now revives.

The rose again, beside the fence,now grows and newly thrives.

Repentant now, the earth’s hardheart

to new shoots gently yields.Contrite, the hovering clouds dis-

perseand weep no more upon the fields.

The garden has forgiven the frost,forgiven the freezing rain.

Dark nights have been convertedand long bright days now reign.

Resurrected roses climb,inspire poets verse to rhyme,beam beatitudes and praise,

steal the breath of all who gaze.

Blessed be the morningsand blessed be the afternoons.

Blessed be the songbirds,their hymns and twilight tunes.

Blessed be the bumble bees,the butterflies ascending.Blessed be this paradise,

this rose the world transcending.

– By Barbara Collignon

Resurrezione

Il giardino, in stato di grazia,ora rivive, si sveglia.

Torna la rosa, di fianco al recinto,che cresce e di nuovo germoglia.

Ormai pentito, il cuore duro dellaterra,

ai nuovi germogli si arrende dol-cemente.

Contrite, le nuvole in alto, si dis-perdono

e mai più piangeranno sullasemente.

Il giardino ha perdonato il freddo, ha perdonato le piogge ghiacciate.

Le notti oscure son trasformateed ora regnano lunghe e luminose

giornate.

Le rose risorte si levano,ai versi dei poeti suggeriscono la

rimaIrradiano beatitudini e lodi,rubano il fiato a coloro che

guardano.

Sia benedetto il mattinoe sian benedetti i meriggi.

Benedetto il canto degli uccellii suoi inni e i vespertini arpeggi.

Benedette siano le api,la farfalla che ascende.

Benedetto sia questo paradiso,e questa rosa che il mondo

trascende.

– Translated by Roberto Ciampi

L’Angolo del Poeta

Barbara Collignon Roberto Ciampi

Spotlight onCultural ArtsOpera Topics

by Angelo Castronovo

Nellie Melba

The Center for CulturalInterchange (CCI) is now acceptingapplications from families interest-ed in hosting high school studentsfrom Italy. The likely time commit-ment is from August of 2012through June of 2013.

The foreign students typicallyspeak English and come withhealth insurance.

Host families are expected toinclude their foreign guests in fam-ily activities as much as possible.

Persons interested in learning

more about the program areadvised to contact CCI local coordi-nator Jennifer King at 262/834-8063 or visit www.cci-exchange.com. King recommendedthat interested visitors to the web-site fill out the inquiry form.

Established in 1985, the Centerfor Cultural Interchange (CCI) is anon-profit international education-al exchange organization dedicatedto the promotion of cultural under-standing, academic develop-ment, environmental consciousnessand world peace.

Host families sought for highschool students from Italy


Italian American baseball triviaBy Larry Baldassaro

For more than 100 years, ItalianAmericans have been making sig-nificant contributions to big leaguebaseball, as players, coaches, man-agers and executives. In this, thesecond in our series, we examinesome of the records they haveestablished.

RecordsVince DiMaggio (Boston Bees)

set the single-season major leaguestrikeout record (134) in 1938, arecord that stood until 1956.

Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hittingstreak in 1941 is considered bymany the greatest feat in baseballhistory.

In 1949, Dom DiMaggio, theyoungest of the three DiMaggiobrothers in the Major Leagues, setthe still-standing Red Sox record byhitting in 34 straight games.

On Sept. 13, 1942, Len Merullo(Cubs) tied the record for mosterrors in one inning by a shortstop(4). In “tribute” to Merullo’s per-

formance, his son, Len, Jr., bornthat same day, was given the nick-name “Boots.”

Yogi Berra and Roy Campanellaare two of 11 catchers since 1900 tocatch three no-hitters in a singleseason (1956), but they are the onlyplayers to have caught two by thesame pitcher: Berra and AllieReynolds, Campanella and CarlErskine. Berra’s third no-hitter wasDon Larsen’s perfect game in theWorld Series.

In 2000, Jason and JeremyGiambi (Oakland A’s) hit a com-bined 60 homers, breaking the pre-vious single-season record of mosthome runs by brothers (59) set in1937 by Joe and Vince DiMaggio.Tony and Billy Conigliaro (Red Sox)are fourth, with 54 homers in 1970.

On May 5, 2004, Mike Piazza(then with the New York Mets) hithome run number 352 to establisha new career record for home runsby a catcher. Widely considered tobe the greatest hitting catcher of all

time, the 12-time All-Star endedhis career with 396 homers.

Craig Biggio (who spent all 20years of his career, 1988-2007, withthe Astros) is the only player inmajor league history to achieve allof these milestones: 600 doubles,250 home runs, 2,700 hits and 400stolen bases. He also holds thepost-1900 record for most times hitby a pitch (285) and the NationalLeague record for most leadoffhome runs (53).

Left-handed pitcher AndyPettitte (Yankees and Astros) holdsthe record for most wins in theplayoffs and World Series with 19.In 16 years (1995-2010), he neverhad a losing season.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia (Red Soxcatcher) holds the record for thelongest surname in major leaguehistory.

Editor’s note: LarryBaldassaro, Professor Emeritus ofItalian at UW-Milwaukee, is theauthor of Beyond DiMaggio: Italian

Americans in Baseball (U. ofNebraska Press, 2011). In May, hereceived the Leonardo da VinciAward for Excellence in Literaturefrom the Illinois and WisconsinGrand Lodge of the Order Sons ofItaly in America.

Italians married in MilwaukeeCounty: 1830 to 1895

Compiled by Mario A. Carini,Italian Community Center Historian

Official records of marriages performed in the City of Milwaukee prior to 1897are located at the Milwaukee County Courthouse, Register of Deeds Office. TheCity of Milwaukee began its official recording of marriages performed in the city in1897.

Names in this listing appear as written in the County records.Source: Index Marriages – Name of Husband, 1830 to 1897, Vols, A-L and M-Z.

Date of Marriage Groom’s Name Bride’s NameAug. 22, 1895 Charles Alfonso Catherine BoyleNov. 23, 1876 Dominick Baroni Madalina CarraraSept. 11, 1890 Ubaldo Bartolomasi Louise KruegerFeb. 2, 1895 Henry Boggiano Rosie EngelbrechtJan. 26, 1895 Christopher Buscalio Angelina MercurioNov. 25, 1890 John Cavano Mary NobletApr. 26, 1892 Albert Clarisso Agnes AndersonMay 2, 1893 Raphael Cincci Getsemina DapratoMay 13, 1878 Peter Coralini Rosa GaramonaSept. 2, 1893 Ferdinand Magli Rosa FelberSept. 19, 1894 Filiberto Marchetti Josephine RoeschJan. 6, 1894 Giuseppe Mercurio Providensa GatavistaJune 19, 1895 Salvatore Quartano Josephine SoianoJuly 4, 1859 George Raggio Mariam Prondfit

First off, I’d like to thank every-one who came out in support of thesixth annual Milwaukee ItalianFilm Festival in May at the UWMUnion Cinema.

Next, Paul Salsini, veteranMilwaukee journalist and writingteacher at Marquette Universityand one of my collaborators on theFilm Festival, has a new book out.Fortunately for us, Paul just can’tshake the Tuscan blood that runsthrough his veins and, it seems,straight into his pen.

Following on the success of histrio of novels set in the centralItalian region (“The Cielo,”“Sparrow’s Revenge” and “Dino’sStory”), Salsini – the son of Italianimmigrants – returns with “TheTemptation of Father Lorenzo: TenStories of 1970s Tuscany.“

The 400-page paperback fea-tures stories that continue the sto-ries of characters from the Tuscantrilogy: Father Lorenzo, stillexhausted from the 1966 flood thatdevastated Florence, is tempted bya woman; Tomasso searches for his

estranged son; Father Sangrettostrikes back when another priestconjures a “miracle”; Donna andEzio open an agriturismo; thewomen of Sant’Antonio worktogether to help the ailingAnnabella; Anna leaves the con-vent; and Dino chooses betweenSophia and Francesca.

Engrossing as these tales is thestory of how Salsini came to fictionlater in life – “The Cielo” was hisfirst novel – and so quickly found avoice. Remarkable stuff.

In sort of a mirror image ofSalsini’s American journalist writ-ing about Italy, Udinese journalistGuido Mattoni, who lives in Milanand has long been a frequent visi-tor to the United States, also has anew novel out. His “WhisperingTides” is set in Savannah, Ga. Thatcity has honored Mattoni with anhonorary citizenship award. Thebook is also available in Italian as“Ascoltavo le maree.”

You can find it online atAmazon, Apple, Diesel, Sony,Smashwords, Kobo and Barnes and

Noble, and it is also available inpaperback from Amazon.com.

Some of our more senior readerswill likely remember 1950s and‘60s rock and roll singer Freddy“Boom Boom” Cannon, who struckwith hits like “Palisades Park” and“Tallahassee Lassie.” A few monthsago, Cannon – born FrederickAnthony Picariello, Jr. – pennedhis autobiography – with MarkBego and an introduction by thelate Dick Clark. “Where The ActionIs” charts Cannon’s rise as ateenage star in rock’s nascentyears, including his escapades withno less than Elvis Presley andEddie Cochran. You can find it atbookshops everywhere.

L’angolo culturaleBy Bobby Tanzilo

For yourWeddingRecept ion

andRehearsal

Dinner

The ItalianConference Center

located at theItalian Community Center631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee

You'll welcome our attention to detailand the way our staff goes out of itsway to meet your every need. Yourguests will love the setting, the food,and easy access and parking.

Our wedding specialists will workclosely with you to make certain thatyour day is everything you dreamed itwould be. They'll even assist with flo-ral arrangements, music, photography,ordering the wedding cake and otherextras.

Call SanDee or David now for avail-able dates and a tour.

(414) 223-2800www.italianconference.com

Italy’s ‘Festadella

Repubblica’ isJune 2

The Festa della Repubblica iscelebrated in Italy each year onJune 2. It commemorates theinstitutional referendum of 1946when the Italian population wascalled upon to decide what formof government – monarchy orrepublic – to give to the countryafter World War II and the fallof Fascism.

After 85 years of monarchy,with 12,717,923 votes for and10,719,284 votes against, Italybecame a republic, and the mon-archs of the House of Savoy weredeposed and exiled. It becameillegal for any male member ofthe family to set foot on Italiansoil.

Monarchists argued that thevote was miscounted. These alle-gations were never proven.

This is one of the most impor-tant Italian public holidayswhich, like July 4 in the UnitedStates, celebrates the birth ofthe modern nation.

A grand military parade isheld in central Rome. Manycities mark the holiday withparades and fireworks. Manybusinesses and venues, evenmajor attractions, are closed inobservance of this day.

Find out how inexpensive andeffective newspaper advertising can

be. Contact The Italian Times fordetails. Phone: (414) 223-2180Email: [email protected]

Documents

Italian Times - June 2012 issue