A Message from Dean Cannestra, ICC President
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NON-PROFIT US POSTAGE THE PAID MILWAUKEE, WI Permit No. 5716 PubliIshed 1T1 times aAnnually bLy the IAN TIMES Italian Community Center 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee, WI 53202 Become a member of the Italian www.ICCMilwaukee.com Community Center and you will receive MARCH 2018 • VOL. 39, NO. 9 home delivery of this publication. Your address label will placed here. – CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED – Let the ball begin! An appetizer to wet your whistle for ‘A Taste of Italy’ on Apr. 22 by the Taste of Italy Taste of Italy” a great success: Coordinators Patrick Cudahy, Glorioso Brothers, The 23rd annual “A Taste of Suminski Family Funeral Homes, Italy” will take place on Sunday, Joe Reina and European Gelato, Apr. 22 from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saz’s, Alioto’s, Milwaukee Ladies of The event is starting to take shape UNICO and Dean Cannestra. If we with new coordinators, Marie An - missed anyone please forgive us. daloro Lieber, Christina Ziino and If you or your business would Valorie Sanfilippo Schleicher. Tony like to support this event, please Zingale will head our volunteers contact Marie, Christina or Valorie. and Fran Tollefson will be in Their contact information appears charge of the raffle. We are all lean - at the end of this article. There are ing on Ann Romano’s guidance and several ways to help make this years of experience to continue to event successful through monetary make this a successful event. or product donations. Thank you Ann! There will once again be some Our request for donations let - great entertainment in Festa Hall. ters went out in January, and vol - Vocalist/recording artist Jayne unteer sign-up forms will follow Taylor and our own Tradizione soon. If you have not received one, Vivente, Italian Dance Group of please let one of us know and we Milwaukee and I Bei Bambini, the will see that you receive the proper Children’s Italian Dance Group will forms. be performing that afternoon. The We want to acknowledge and Sicilian Serenaders – Peter Bal - thank the donors who have already istrieri, Tom and Ted Pappalardo – generously committed to making “A Please turn to page 7 As the coronation of the 2018 Carnevale Royal Court concluded, Il Re e La Regina (the King and the Queen) Ed and Stephanie Ciano issued their first proclamation: “Let the ball begin!” The 39th annual Carnevale, held Feb. 10, was a celebration of “Music, Masks and Merrymaking.” Many A message from more photos from the event can be found inside this issue. (Times photo by Tom Hemman) Dean Cannestra, Time to join or ICC President I wish all of you who are reading the start of the solemn Lenten sea - rejoin and bring this message could have attended son, our Italian heritage allows us our 2018 celebration of Il Grande an opportunity to pay tribute to St. Carnevale this past Feb. 10. It was Joseph, the foster father of Jesus on others to the ICC spectacular from the start of the Christ, in March. The ICC will, in Did you know thatanyone can the Epiphany evening with the performance by fact, be doing this on Friday, Mar. join the Italian Community Cen - gift-bearing our youngest children, the dancers 16 at noon. Mary Winard is again ter? Even non-Italians. witch of Italian of I Bei Bambini, to the sweet table in charge of our St. Joseph’s Day “Everyone is welcome to be - lore. served towards the close of the celebration. If you can get away come a member. There is so much In addition evening. Everything was great from work for a couple of hours or to share at our Community Cen - to the social from the dinner to the coronation of if you are retired, I encourage you ter that no matter who you are, events, the ICC our 2018 Royalty, all the pageantry to attend. Complete details are in we have a place for you at our cen - offers its mem - and decorations, the mask and cos - this issue. ter.” said Mary Anne Ceraso- bers cultural, tume wearers to the fireworks. We will continue our recognition Alioto, an ICC director-at-large educational and I commend our Carnevale of all things Italian in April with who is the new chairperson of the recreational Chairpersons Rosemary DeRuber - the celebration of our 23rd annual Membership Committee. programs and Mary Anne tis and Joanne Czubek and their “A Taste of Italy” on Sunday, Apr. The ICC Bylaws, in Article III, opportunities. Ceraso-Alioto committee for doing an outstanding 22 from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. I Section 1, state that “Membership There are also bocce leagues to job. Our 39th annual Carnevale know that chairpersons Valorie is open to any person of Italian join on weekdays for seniors and lived up to its theme: “Masks, (Sanfelippo) Schleicher, Christina heritage or other public-spirited weeknights for all adults. We Music and Merrymaking.” Ziino and Marie (Andaloro) Lieber individual supporting the pur - even offer hoop dance fitness While Carnevale is traditionally are doing their best to make this poses and objectives of the Italian classes for those who want to our last chance to celebrate before Please turn to page 12 Community Center.” move a little bit. There are so many benefits to There’s also use of the Mem - being an ICC member. For in - bers Room, where members can Cosa c’è dentro? stance, you get this newspaper play cards, relax and watch TV mailed to your home and an indi - and just watch the activities going What’s inside? vidual receives four Festa Italiana on in the halls of a very active Remembering 102 year-old Frances admission tickets. A family gets building. Mary Hoffman page 2 Maniaci dies page 13 eight tickets. There’s also a dis - By becoming a member, you count for members who advertise will have a say in the direction of Get your children signed up Anthony Busalacchi hosting in The Italian Times. the organization. Each fall, the for ICC’s Easter party page 3 benefit for St. Anthony Project page 13 Members also get special event ICC holds an election of officers Last chance to register for discounts. Among the special and directors. As a member, you St. Joseph’s Day Luneh page 3 Judge John DiMotto retiring after 42 years page 14 events are the Membership will not only have voting privi - Time to apply for UNICO Christmas party and Il Grande leges, but you can be nominated to scholarships page 4 Baldassaro’s new Carnevale, the ICC pre-Lenten run for an officer position or a di - baseball book page 15 Attend Pompeii Men’s Good costume and mask ball, a chil - rector-at-large seat. You can join Friday Fish Buffet page 5 Glorioso’s and other dren’s Easter party and a post- one of the many committees which Italian businesses Christmas party with La Befana, Please turn to page 12 Carnevale highlights pages 8-11 recognized pages 16 & 17 Mary Hoffman, whose life revolved around the ICC and Festa for over 30 years, dies at the age of 86 By Thomas Hemman place of many of Milwaukee’s early Times Editor Italian Americans. The position of Mary C. (Pizzo) Hoffman, one of Operations Manager was created to the people most commonly identi - handle day-to-day operations until fied with the Italian Community the time when the ICC Board hired Center and Festa Italiana from its a paid Executive Director. The late inception in 1978 until the spring of Phillip Purpero, a past president of 2010, died Feb. 12. She was 86 the ICC, had been filling the Exec - years old. utive Director position in a volun - Hoffman, who started out as a tary capacity. volunteer administrative assistant, During the years that followed, held several different titles in her Hoffman held Executive Assistant 32 years with the ICC and Festa in - positions, sometimes holding that cluding Executive Secretary of the position for both the ICC and Festa Italian Community Center, Festa at the same time. Prior to the open - Office Manager, Administrative As - ing of the current ICC facility in sistant to the Executive Director of September 1990, she was in charge Festa Italiana, Operations Man - of virtually every administrative ager and Executive Assistant to the function in the ICC office, including President of the Italian Community bookkeeping and payroll. In the Center. years that followed, she worked For much of her career at the under the direction of the Executive ICC, Mary Hoffman was directly in - Director, then the Business Man - volved in the day-to-day operations ager and along with the account - of the organization. ant. For Festa Italiana, Hoffman “Mary was a hard-working, ded - worked under the volunteer Execu - icated employee, who gave her all to tive Director and was actively in - the ICC and Festa, often going be - volved in virtually every aspect of yond the call of duty to help us ac - the festival. complish our goals,” said Dean As the Festa Office Manager, Cannestra, ICC President. “She Hoffman often arrived at the festi - was profoundly proud of her Italian val grounds during the four-day heritage and what the ICC and event at 7 a.m. and didn’t leave her Festa are doing to positively duties until 1 a.m. or later. demonstrate our culture and the As one of the charter members of Mary Hoffman virtues of the people of our ances - the ICC, Hoffman volunteered for try.” and chaired or co-chaired many her 32 years with the ICC and the Milwaukee Ladies of UNICO.