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ITALA GENTE DALLE MOLTE VITE IL CENACOLO ITALIAN CULTURAL CLUB Founded in 1928 Regular Thursday Meetings, Noon to 2:00 P.M. San Francisco Italian Athletic Club 1630 Stockton Street (3rd floor), San Francisco, CA 94133 www.ilcenacolosf.org “Il Cenacolo is an organization that preserves, enhances and encourages all aspects of Italian arts, language and culture and recognizes the unique contribution of Italian heritage that is intertwined in the history and life of the San Francisco Bay Area.” MAY 2018 THURSDAY, MAY 3, 2018 The Italian Garden Mary Menniti THURSDAY, MAY 10, 2018 The Shameful Treatment of Italians during WWII Laura Smith THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2018 Misfits, Merchants & Mayhem on the San Francisco Waterfront: Focus on Italian Fishermen Lee Bruno THURSDAY, MAY 24, 2018 Plans for the 150th San Francisco Italian Heritage Parade John Parente THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2018 Istituto Italiano di Cultura: Its Mission and History Paolo Barlera, Director This month’s programs arranged by Ron Derenzi. PROGRAM PROFILES THURSDAY, MAY 3, 2018 The Italian Garden Mary Menniti Mary Menniti is from Pittsburg PA, and now resides in Davis, CA. She will tell us how her “Italian Garden Project” was organized to preserve old world food and gardening traditions and demonstrate that the wisdom of the Italian-American gardener is relevant for today and for the future. Mary has documented gardens throughout the country including in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Cleveland, Pittsburg, San Jose and Sac- ramento. Her project is now in the Archives of the American Garden at the Smithsonian Institution. THURSDAY, MAY 10, 2018 The Shameful Treatment of Italians during WWII Laura Smith Laura Smith is a member of “Timeline Members” and has completed extensive research of the Italian-American experience in the United States during WWII. From Monterey, CA to the waterfront areas of San Francisco, to President Roosevelt’s infamous Executive Order 9066, to General DeWitt, to the 10,000 Italian-Americans forced out of their homes and finally to the internment of hun- dreds of Italians at Fort Missoula in Mon- tana. Laura is the Managing Editor of Timeline.com, a history magazine based in San Francisco. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, the Guardian, the Atlantic online, and others. CONTINUED NEXT PAGE PROGRAM PROFILES CONTINUED THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2018 Misfits, Merchants & Mayhem on the San Francisco Waterfront: Focus on Italian Fishermen Lee Bruno Lee Bruno will speak about the San Francisco Barbary Coast with its legendary gold-rushers, gamblers and adventurers galore, and the history of the San Francisco waterfront from 1849 to 1934. Lee will also focus on the Italian-Americans of that time period. Lee holds a Master of Science in science journalism from Boston University, and is the author of Panorama: Tales of the San Francisco 1915 Pan-Pacific International Exposition. He has been writing for over 20 years about business and technology for the Economist, the Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Red Herring Magazine and Wired, among others. He has lived in San Fran- cisco for more than 30 years, raising a family of four boys with his wife, and enjoys long open- water swims with the eccentrics at the South End Rowing Club. THURSDAY, MAY 24, 2018 Plans for the 150th San Francisco Italian Heritage Parade John Parente John Parente is a past President and current Board Member of Columbus Day Celebration, Inc. He is also the Chair of the 150th Anniversary Committee of that organization, and will tell us about the many activities planned for this most important Italian-American event. John is a native San Franciscan, holds a BBA from Gonzaga University and a JD from Lincoln University School of Law. He has been a practic- ing attorney since 1976. THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2018 Istituto Italiano di Cultura: Its Mission and History Paolo Barlera, Director Paolo Barlera asks: Is the Istituto Italiano di Cultura a treatment center? He will tell us of the many things the Istituto does to keep Italy’s history and civilization alive in the 21st century, and discuss its mission and history. After studying philosophy and literature, Paolo has served in the cultural division of the Italian Foreign Office for the past 20 years, and is currently the Director of the Istituto Italiano di Cultura of San Francisco. FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT MAY 2018 Dear Cenacolisti, I hope that this bulletin finds you and your family well. As usual, this bulletin contains current information on our Club’s activities and plans. PEOPLE— Membership activity is improving. We have added several new members—including the first women in our Club’s 90-year existence. Your continued involvement in identifying and recruiting members is starting to pay off and is contributing significantly to our growth. This is a repeat: As before, I encourage you to join one of our committees. These committees are key to our operations and you can make a difference by joining one. Please take the time now to contact one of the team chairmen (they are listed after this message) and get involved! EVENTS & PROGRAMS— Thanks to Alex Kugushev for organizing the April programs. These varied presentations were enjoyed by all. This bulletin highlights our May programs. Please support your Club by at- tending as many of these as possible. Your attendance is much appreciated. Regarding programs—this is a repeat request for each of you to provide our program chairman, Alex Kugushev, with your ideas and suggestions for speakers—his email is [email protected]. He will follow-up and confirm arrangements but your involvement in supplying contact information would be great. Thanks! Another reminder—you are invited to attend and observe a Board meeting. If you would like to come, please email me ([email protected]) and let me know your preferred date (we usually meet at 9:30am on the second Thursday of each month—immediately before the weekly luncheon meeting). We continue to plan for meaningful events during the upcoming year. Check out the calendar following, and please add these dates to your own calendar! CONTINUED NEXT PAGE FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT CONTINUED Thursday, June 28, 2018 is an especially important date—the date of our Annual Meeting. In mid-May, we will send you the meeting agenda and formal notice. At the meeting, we plan to (1) update everyone on our Club—including our financial position, (2) provide a slate of four new proposed directors for your vote, (3) vote on revisions to our by-laws and (4) conduct any other business that is applicable to Il Cenacolo. If you have specific matters that you would like to have covered, please contact me ([email protected]). Also, please note that per our by-laws you may propose additional candidates for consideration as directors. These additional proposed names should be submitted to me in writing together with the signature of five members prior to May 28, 2018. FINALLY— This year we celebrate our 90th anniversary! Stay tuned for how the Board decides to celebrate this special event in our history. Your ideas, too, would be welcomed. One of our distinguished members, Ron Fenolio, sent me the following essay that is a wonder- ful tribute to Italian-Americans. We have been unable to locate the author, Angelo Bianchi, who is a former President of the Order Sons of Italy in America. With best regards, Franz Cristiani President I A M AN ITALIAN -A M ERICAN I am an Italian-American. My roots are deep in ancient soil, drenched by the Mediter- ranean sun and watered by pure streams from snow-capped mountains. I am enriched by thousands of years of culture. My hands are those of the mason, the artist, the man of soil. My thoughts have been recorded in the annals of Rome, the poetry of Virgil, the creations of Dante, and the philosophy of Benedetto Croce. I am an Italian-American, and from my ancient world I first spanned the seas to the New World—I am Christoforo Columbo. I am Giovanni Caboto, known in American history as John Cabot, discoverer of the mainland of North America. I am Amerigo Vespucci, who gave my name to the new world, America. I am Enrico Tonti, first to sail on the Great Lakes in 1679, founder of the territory that became the State of Illinois, colonizer of Louisiana and Arkansas. I am Filippo Mazzei, friend of Thomas Jefferson, and my thesis on the equality of man was written into the bill of rights. I am William Paca, signer of the Declaration of Independence and, yes, an Italian-American. I am an Italian-American. I am Colonel Francesco Virgo—I financed the Northwest expedition of George Rogers Clark and accompanied him through the lands that would become Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan. I am Alessandro Malaspin—I mapped the Pacific from Mexico to Alaska and to the Philippines. I am Giacomo Beltrami, the discoverer of the Mississippi River in 1823. I am Constantino Brumidi. They called me the Michelangelo of America—I created the dome of the United States capitol. I am A. P. Giannini—in 1904 in San Francisco, I founded the Bank of Italy, now known as the Bank of America, the largest financial institution in the world. I am Enrico Fermi, fa- ther of nuclear science in America. I am John Basilone of New Jersey, the first enlisted man to win the medal of honor in World War II. I am an Italian-American. I am the million-strong who served in America’s armies and the tens of thousands whose names are enshrined in military cemeteries from Guadal- canal to the Rhine.