Hello to everyone! On September 22, the Mother Lodge celebrated its 100th anniversary. We began as Cristoforo Colombo 1149, in 1922, added a ladies auxiliary, Stella d’Italia 1498 in 1928, and finally merged the two together in 1962 to become Colombo-Stella 1149.
We held a grand event at the Fresno Fairgrounds for nearly 230 guests. The evening began with cocktails and appetizers, and there was a tour available to the newly renovated Italian Heritage Museum for anyone who wished to see it. Our Master of Ceremonies Steve Barra, welcomed the crowd, introduced President Olivia DeLiddo who wore the same regalia her grandfather wore 100 years ago. Past State President Comm Maria Fasio Pignati honored the Mother Lodge by singing

Roma Lodge holds its Junior Member Night at the August meeting each year. The lodge has about 60 junior members and over 25 attended the meeting. They conducted the opening and closing ceremonies and enjoyed getting a lot of back-to-school supplies. Nearly 80 members of the lodge

Spaghetti & meatballs, so Italian, but not so in Italy. This dish is truly an American development, curtesy of the Italian immigrants of the late 1800s. The meatballs existing in Italy (called polpetta), are smaller than their American cousins, and are usually eaten as a dish of their own. However, when my dad did the cooking during The Great War (now, WWI), his family recipe included meatballs and other meats in the ragu (sauce). The meatballs were golf ball sized and tossed into the sauce raw to cook.

Last month August)) we met at Luna’s with an expanded group. Also,

The secret to walking on water is to know where the stones are.

Last month (June) we met at Luna’s, but illness took its’ toll on who could attend; the folks that did show up, however, had a pretty good time. Meri regaled us with stories of growing up in Sicily, in sight of Mt. Etna spewing away in the distance, as it is now. Her Dad’s experience in the Italian army was very interesting. …Reminder: Our meetings are now on the first Wednesday of the month.

With a sad heart, I report on the passing of Victor DeLuca; though he was not

I used to begin a lot of my articles with a Webster Dictionary definition. Remember those thick books with definitions of words in the English Language. Now, it is much easier to get out your iPhone and use Siri to ask, “What is a vacation?” Just like that, you will get a response indicating a vacation is, “an extended period of leisure and recreation, especially one spent away from home or in traveling!” Sounds like fun!

I must chuckle when I hear members of the Order indicate, “attending the Grand Lodge Convention is like going on vacation.” Yes, the convention is held away from home and yes, there are parts of it with the sole purpose of providing leisure and recreation along with fraternity, the main tenet of the organization. However, to call it a vacation is a stretch.

When I spoke at the convention on