July 2018

President’s Message

Brothers and Sisters,

At the time I am writing this, I am in Boca Raton at the quarterly Grand Lodge meeting. This is my second time attending, and I look forward to learning information to share with you all, as well as sharing our successes with other lodges in the state.

The summer months are always an interesting time with Buona Fortuna. It is normal to see a change in attendance, as many folks take advantage of the opportunity to vacation, but we always come back in the late summer months with preparations for the Festa. Everyone puts in so much hard work for many months in advance to make sure our Festa each year is bigger and better than the last. Central to our efforts is one of the three principles of our order: fraternity. Without this fraternal bond, we are simply a group of people that “do stuff” together. Instead, each one of us has made a pledge to be a part of this big “chosen” family. And while it is normal for any family to have its disagreements and quarrels, a family sticks together above all else. We should all be open and honest with each other—with our ideas and opinions, our struggles and our successes—but we should always be lifting each other up. I, personally, want all of you to feel comfortable talking with me directly about anything. While we may not be able to undertake every idea and project, I can promise you that it can at least be considered and discussed.

With that being said, I want you all to know that the Council meetings are not closed-door. Any of you are welcome to attend, especially if you have an idea you would like to present to the Council. They occur the first Thursday of every month at Franco’s Italian Restaurant at 6:00 PM. While attending guests are not permitted to vote or partake in the discussion of motions on the floor, you are certainly allowed to contact any member of the Council to have an item added to the agenda for discussion. The more formal business that we can take care of at the Council level, the more efficient our general meetings can be. In other words, we can make room for more fun. I look forward to doing new and interesting things with you all.

Fraternally,

President Brooke

Membership Information

General Membership Meetings are held the second Thursday of every month at 6:00 p.m. at St. Joseph’s Parish Hall, 140 W. Government St. Pensacola.

Our next General Membership Meeting is:

Thursday, July 12, 2018, at 6 p.m. at St. Joseph’s Parish Center. A business meeting will follow at 7:00 p.m. We will be hosting a special dinner for the community Teen Art Camp. We ask members to bring extra potluck dishes to share with our guests. 

Council Meetings

Grand Lodge Quarterly Meetings

Friday / Saturday, September 28th, 29th, 2018, Four Points Sheraton, Punta Gorda, hosted by Port Charlotte Lodge.

Meeting Set Up/Clean Up Committee:

We need all the members attending a meeting to help clean up after the meeting. 

Charities

If you have a charity that you would like supported by Buona Fortuna, please contact Michele Ledoux at ledouxmichele@yahoo.com by the end of July.

Lodge Committees

The current list of committees is located in this newsletter, just under the council, state & national list of officers. 

Buona Fortuna needs your participation. If you would like to join a committee, please contact President Hardy.

OSDIA Buona Fortuna Lodge #2835 2018 Scholarship Award Winners were presented with their awards at a special dinner that included lodge members, the scholarship winners, and their families.
Congratulations to:
Buona Fortuna Scholarship winner Mollie Anderson (Tate HS) (Second from left.)
Russo Scholarship winner Jescie Roberts (Jay HS) (Fourth from left.)
La Famiglia Scholarship winner Zain Kleist (Great Grandson of Pete & Nancy Colalillo (Vancleave HS, MS) (Seventh from left.)
Each student received a $2000.00 scholarship award.

Letter To The Membership From The Commission for Social Justice

From:               Kevin A. Caira, President, Commission for Social Justice
Date:               June 27, 2018
Subject:           CSJ Fundraising Campaign

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

We need your help!
The CSJ is looking to raise substantial funds to help support its mission. Attached is a letter that I would like all Lodge Presidents to distribute to their members. The letter has my CSJ column that will be appearing in the summer issue of Italian America magazine, and at the bottom, is a portion of the letter that can be cut out and returned with the donation.

Thank you for your effort to make this a successful campaign. We need everyone’s help to make it happen!
Kevin A. Caira

June 27, 2018

Dear OSDIA Member:

It would seem that every column I write for CSJ’s page in Italian America magazine touches upon the issues that face the existence of Columbus Day. Unfortunately, it will be an ongoing issue. And while there are defeats from time to time, there are also victories.

I’m proud to report that Colorado’s bill attempting to repeal Columbus Day and designate Election Day as an official state holiday was struck down by its Appropriations Committee by a vote of 13-0! Additionally, California’s bill to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous People’s Day—proposed by State Senator Henry Stern—was withdrawn.

These successes were due in large part to the efforts of OSDIA members and the coalitions we have formed. Please continue to inform your CSJ State Chair or CSJ National when Columbus Day comes under attack. That way, the information can be relayed to others across the country, and together, we can work to preserve and protect our culture and heritage.       

On June 8th and 9th I attended the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian-American Organizations held in New York. First and foremost on the agenda were the issues and strategies regarding Columbus Day. On this note, I would like to mention that the CSJ has recently designed promotional flyers and talking point cards to help combat the attack on Columbus Day. If you are interested in receiving these materials, please send your request to CSJ National (csj@osia.org).

Lastly, while the CSJ’s primary focus has been preserving Columbus Day, it is important to remember that the CSJ’s mission extends far beyond that reach. The CSJ stands against the stereotyping of Italian Americans by the entertainment, advertising, and news industries. In order for the CSJ to continue fighting Italian-American stereotyping, please consider sending a donation to help fund CSJ’s overall mission!

Sincerely,

Kevin A. Caira

President, Commission for Social Justice

Order Sons of Italy in America

YES! I would like to fight Italian-American stereotyping.

Please accept my tax-deductible donation to support the Commission for Social Justice’s mission.

If you would like to donate by phone, please call the National Office at (202) 547-2900

My check for the total amount of $  ________ is enclosed.

             (Please make check payable to the “Commission for Social Justice”)

Charge my credit card for the total amount of: $10 $25 $50 $100 $ ______                           

       Type:  AMEX / MC / VISA    Expiration  ________   CVV  _______                     

       Card number                                                                                                              

       Name on card  

       Billing Address  

Mail to: Commission for Social Justice, 219 E Street NE, Washington, D.C. 20002.

OUR ITALIAN AMERICAN HERITAGE

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

The Tower’s lean has puzzled engineers for centuries.
Partially constructed on soft soil, the ancient bell tower began to lean before it was even finished, a blunder that went on to become one of the world’s historical oddities.

How can something so obviously structurally unsound endure in an earthquake-prone region for hundreds of years? The tower has managed to survive two world wars, millions of tourist visits and at least four strong earthquakes that have hit the region since 1280.

Professor George Mylonakis wanted to know why.

Mylonakis, an engineering professor who studies geotechnics and soil-structure interaction, along with more than a dozen researchers came up with an answer that involves “dynamic soil-structure interaction. According to the engineers the tower’s height and stiffness, “combined with the softness of the foundation soil, causes the vibrational characteristics of the structure to be modified substantially, in such a way that the Tower does not resonate with earthquake ground motion.” So during a quake, the tower doesn’t shake as much as the earth beneath it, a further defiance of gravity.

“Ironically, the very same soil that caused the leaning instability and brought the tower to the verge of collapse can be credited for helping it survive these seismic events,” Mylonakis said. The researchers have released some of their findings. They expect to release the rest at the upcoming European Conference on Earthquake Engineering in Greece.

The tower has continued to settle throughout its history and by the early part of the 20th century, was in real danger of falling. In 1990, the Italian government closed the tower to visitors and began a decade-long restoration project. Restorers put 900 tons of lead counterweights on the north side of the tower while they came up with a better plan to slow its descent.

The plan involved erecting a stationary A-frame structure on the north side and extending the cables from it to form a sling or harness around the midsection, so the crew could gradually remove small amounts of soil from the high north side. Engineers also installed equipment that allows them to make adjustments to the water pressure beneath the tower, further controlling the tilt.

The restoration fixed the tilt a bit — from 5.5 degrees to 3.9 degrees — while still helping the building maintain its namesake lean. But more importantly, it meant the tower wasn’t in danger of toppling from the effects of gravity alone.

“It is extremely unlikely that the foundations of the tower will fail,” John Burland, one of the leaders of the restoration project said. If anything causes the tower to collapse “it is much more likely that it would be due to a very large earthquake”, he said. Then again, maybe not.

Source: Washington Post, June 2018

Italian American Theater & Arts

The Italian American Theatre of Chicago announced a tie for first place in its First Annual Playwriting Competition: Passaggio Oscuro (Dark Passage) by Rosemary Frisino Toohey and The Diagonal Trilogy by Vita Patrick Morales.

Passaggio Oscuro explores the little-known fact of the internment of Italian Americans on the West Coast after the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. Tracing its impact on three families from different walks of life, the play evokes a time when being Italian American was grounds for suspicion and “blending in” seemed a practical alternative. Ms. Frisino Toohey is a multiple-award-winning playwright whose plays (and musical) have been produced across the globe from New York to New Zealand. She brings a background as a radio news anchor to her dramatic toolkit, as well as television acting experience, including appearances on The Wire, Veep, and House of Cards. 

The Diagonal Trilogy traces the impact of an accident on New Jersey’s “Diagonal Highway” (aka the Pulaski Skyway) that takes the life of an Italian American boy, devastating his companions and exposing a dangerous family secret. Spanning several generations, the story reveals not only a long-concealed truth but also the fierce love and courage of two family matriarchs. Ms. Patrick Morales is an award-winning playwright and librettist whose work has been performed by theatre companies throughout New York and New Jersey. She has directed several of her plays for the Alpha and Omega Theatre Company’s Children’s Division in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood where she lived and taught. She has also been a member of the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater Professional Playwrights Unit. 

New Film Tells Oral History Of Wooster Square

A new documentary about New Haven’s Little Italy that is part recollection, part Ken Burns, and part the stories of everyday neighborhood residents was produced by local filmmaker and reporter Steve Hamm. The Village: Life in New Haven’s Little Italy made its world premiere at the New Haven Documentary Film Festival in June.

A native of Western Pennsylvania, Hamm admits that he is not Italian-American and his ancestors came from Germany, Scotland, Ireland, and England. But, he said, when he moved back to the area a few years ago, he got an apartment in Wooster Square that looks out over St. Michael’s Church. The idea for this movie, he said, came from his sitting at his work desk, looking out his window, and watching funeral processions depart from the historic church.

“Every funeral is the loss of a life full of stories,” he recalled thinking from his desk. “These stories have to be captured.” The movie includes interviews with nearly 40 people ranging from local politicians like former Mayor John DeStefano and U.S. Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro to local businesspeople like Claire Criscuolo and John Cavaliere to a host of 70-, 80-, and 90-year-old men and women who grew up in the neighborhood and reflect fondly upon living in a primarily first-generation Italian enclave of the city.

“I think the stories of regular people are often fascinating, exciting, dramatic, moving,” Hamm said. “I wanted to do an oral history about this place.”

In its telling of the 100-plus year history of Wooster Square as an Italian-American neighborhood, The Village loosely follows four key organizing principles that Hamm said he heard about from nearly every person he spoke with: hard work, family, faith, and fraternity.

He describes festivals and parades organized by the St. Andrew’s Society and the Society of Saint Mary Magdalene. They were social service agencies,” Hamm said about the Italian fraternal and sororal organizations. “They weren’t just people playing dominoes. They were places to find a job, learn English, register to vote, and get a line of credit.”

Hamm said popular culture too often focuses on the history and allure of the Mafia when telling the history of Italian Americans. He said he wanted to focus on the aspects of the Italian-American society that brought residents together and helped sustain a thriving immigrant community.

“It’s a very important reminder of the roots of the country,” Hamm said about the immigrant story featured in The Village and in the neighborhood’s history. And more broadly, “Of how important immigration is to the country, and how important immigrants were and are today.”

Trailer for “The Village: Life in New Haven’s Little Italy” 

Be sure to click the sound icon at the bottom of the video after you start the video to enable the sound.

Buona Fortuna 2835 Lodge Officers

Guard Shirley Cotita

Mistress of Ceremonies Dawn Wilson

Master of Ceremonies Andy Fricano

Past Presidents Gene Valentino, Mark De Nunzio, Pete Resedean

Herald  Tod Wilson

Public Relations/Webmaster/Newsletter Editor: Jovina Coughlin

Lodge Chaplain  Giovanni Mirra

Lodge Photographers: Al Lombardi/Shirley Cotita

State & National Officers

Contact Information:

Sons & Daughters of Italy in America – Buona Fortuna Lodge #2835. P.O. Box 12351, Pensacola, FL 32591

Webmaster/Editor – Jovina Coughlin – jovinacoughlin@gmail.com

Website Address: https://soibuonafortuna.org/

The first page (Home) has all the pages on the website listed across the top. Some of the pages have a drop-down menu. If you hold the cursor over the page name, you will see the other pages that are in that menu. 

Buona Fortuna Email System

Our email address is buona-fortuna@googlegroups.com

Please check your spam filter and make sure Buona Fortuna sent emails are not going there. Add us to your address book and that will not happen.

Visit Us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/sonsofitalybuonafortuna 

Twitter:   https://twitter.com/BuonaFortunaSon

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buona.f/

Remember Those Who Are Ill

Rita Somma  

 

July Birthdays

Ginny Barberi
Rick Blake
Ingrid Candelaria
Albert Hargis
Pete Resedean
Judith Seward

Italian Cookbook For Sale

Preserving Our Italian Heritage. Cost per book $15.00. Great gift for Birthdays, Weddings, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Easter and Christmas. 

Grand Lodge 2018 Calendar For Sale

Calendars are available to purchase and cost $25 from July until the end of the year. The calendar program is part of the Cash Three-Evening Florida Lottery Program. Prizes range from $100.00 to Special Holiday prizes for up to $1000.00. Dates for the Special Prizes are:

9/3-$100. 9/11-$200, 9/19-$100. 10/8-$1000, 10/31-$100. 11/11-$100, 11/22-$500,12/7-$100 and 12/25-$1000.

The calendars make great gifts for relatives and friends. You may purchase a calendar at the General Membership Meeting. Checks should be made out to the Grand Lodge of Florida.

Newsletter Article Deadline

The newsletter is published monthly on the first day of the month. The deadline to submit information is the 30th or 31st day of the previous month. Submit all information to Editor:  jovinacoughlin@gmail.com

Newsletter Ads

Members’ Personal Ads for Selling Consumer Goods cost $3.00 per month. Business Ads cost $36.00 for 12 months and are payable each January. Email a copy of your business card information or your personal ad information and a photo of the item you are selling to jovinacoughlin@gmail.com. Please make the check payable to Buona Fortuna Lodge and mail it to Buona Fortuna Lodge #2835. P.O. Box 12351, Pensacola, FL 32591.

Community Business Ads