Happy 2022. It has been quite awhile since I have written an article. We, the Mother Lodge, are entering our 100th year. Our Lodge was founded in September of 1922, and since we are the first and oldest Italian fraternal organization in all of California, this is a very big deal. Some of you may remember the time our Lodge nearly folded, twice. We had some very lean times, but we rebounded.

We are planning to have a huge celebration in September and I need everyone to help. There are 100 years of memories, pictures and documents that are in our members archives. I am asking everyone to look into their picture albums, their clippings and send me any highlights you think I should have. I plan to make a special video of the people that have been instrumental in Colombo-Stella’s 100 years.

I need to start this project early, so please check asap. I will give more details of our event as it gets closer. I am trying to coordinate

On Sunday, December 19, members of the Cornelia-Vita Nuova Lodge of San Francisco visited Firehouse #28 in North Beach to drop off toys to the firemen stationed there for their Toys for Tots program. It was a beautiful, brisk day in the City, and it was the first time that we were together as a lodge since March 7, 2020. It felt great to be with our Brothers and Sisters performing an act of kindness for those less fortunate. The firehouse, in the Italian district of San Francisco, has been remodeled but the interior floors still have bricks that hearken back to the days of horse-drawn fire trucks. The edge of the bricks even had the green

December was a busy month for Roma Lodge members. The lodge held their annual Christmas party and a fundraiser drive-thru on the same day. We had over 120 members attend the Christmas party with nearly 30 junior members receiving candy stockings from Santa Claus. The “Dinner for Two” ravioli dinner drive-thru was also very successful with over 300 meals served which included ravioli, BBQ chicken, rigatoni, salad, bread, green beans, and wine. The organization is planning on having their Italian food booth at the World Ag Expo in February.

Roma Lodge lost a 52-year member of the lodge with the passing of Diane Della. She received her bachelor’s degree from the Conservatory of Music at University of Pacific in Stockton, CA. Diane had a 30+ years long career at Fresno Unified where she created curriculum used in many classrooms

On Sunday, December 19, members of the Cornelia-Vita Nuova Lodge of San Francisco visited Firehouse #28 in North Beach to drop off toys to the firemen stationed there for their Toys for Tots program. It was a beautiful, brisk day in the City, and it was the first time that we were together as a lodge since March 7, 2020. It felt great to be with our Brothers and Sisters performing an act of kindness for those less fortunate. The firehouse, in the Italian district of San Francisco, has been remodeled but the interior floors still have bricks that hearken back to the days of horse-drawn fire trucks. The edge of the bricks even had

Hanford Lodge #1543 hosted the Christmas meeting of the United Lodges of the San Joaquin Valley on December 12 in Hanford. President Michael Leoni and Tony Tesoriere cooked a rigatoni & sausage dinner with all the trimmings with help from Jackie Giacomazzi and Louise Tesoriere. Through the generosity of those attending, the United Lodges were able to donate $600 to the St. Brigid Community Outreach Center to give help to those in need at Christmas time. President Michael is also planning to serve his Lodge members polenta & stew at the meeting on January 13. All are welcome to attend with an RSVP to: jackiegiacomazzi@gmail.com. Happy New Year!!