Columns

The beauty of life in Roseland is that, as varied as it was, it had happenings that were so dependable as to be practically traditional. That memory endures even in a pandemic world where everyone’s events have been curtailed, cancelled, downplayed, postponed, simplified and placed in a downward spiral. Roseland’s traditions make reminiscing easy. Since this is my October column, we have plenty of events to recall. The Pullman House Tour, which has take place every year on Columbus Day weekend for the past 46 years, has been cancelled for the first time ever. I recall when I first bought …

Time sure does fly when you’re on a lifelong adventure. I can’t believe it’s been 30 years since I put the finishing touches on my first issue as editor of Fra Noi. I still recall how thrilled and terrified I was. To be honest, I was on pretty shaky ground for the leap I was about to make. All I had to stand on was a journalism degree, some freelance work and brief stints at a pair of community newspapers. But the publisher at the time saw something in me — perhaps a passion for my heritage or a drive …

Sapere  To be “in the know” about how the Italian language works, we must know how to use the verb sapere and be acquainted with the verb conoscere.   Let’s start with sapere. Sapere is an irregular verb that ends in -ere. It means “to know,” as in to know a fact. Since sapere is irregular, the root will be different from the infinitive verb for all forms except the voi form.  Interestingly, the root for the noi form differs by only a single letter from the regular root — with the addition of a second letter p. The irregular conjugations are given …

As I’ve sat with a number of people over the years, discussions have often turned to who the people of Kensington, Pullman and Roseland are. As a child in St. Anthony’s Parish, the answer was clear: We’re all Italian. Of course, then I became more aware of the world around me. I came to realize that some of the last names called for attendance at school weren’t Italian: Knudson, Ramirez, Mrozowski, Clark, Timmerman, Vanderwahl, and a few more. Hitting the playground gave further proof of how diverse the entire community of Roseland was. The playgrounds of summer gave us ample …

With a lockdown that seems to go on forever, it’s safe to say we’ve all spent a lot more time at home than we ever have before. As a result, we’ve all become intimately familiar with the things about our home that we love and the things we’d love to change. If you were planning on buying a new home before COVID-19, spending a lot of time in your current home will help you decide what you want by giving you the opportunity to look closely at what you have and don’t have right now with an eye toward what …

The Chicago-area Italian-American community was dealt a devastating series of blows in the waning days of July. It’s impossible to express the damage done to our collective psyche when Chicago’s three Columbus statues were plucked by the city from their pedestals in the wee hours of the morning and whisked off to storage. According to Mayor Lightfoot, the moves were made in the interest of public safety and are only temporary, but a profound sense of betrayal and loss remains. The question is, how do we most effectively respond? As Fra Noi goes to press, the Joint Civic Committee of …

Ho bisogno di…  When we express our needs, we are also communicating our feelings, and the ability to do this in different ways makes our language skills much more rich.  In Italian, there are several verb phrases that can be chosen if one want to express a need: “ho bisogno di,” “mi serve,” and “averne voglia.”  Many times, these three verb phrases are interchangeable, but there are subtle differences that determine the choice one makes to use each one. The very popular phrase, “ho bisogno di…” means, “I need…”  The verb ho is, of course the first person conjugation of …

Private 1st Class Vincent J. Ferrara was never forgotten by those who loved him. His name would come up at every family gathering, and his siblings would always share fond memories. He was born on July 8, 1925, to Damiano and Giovanna “Jennie” (Nigretto) Ferrara and raised in a strong Catholic family. His uncle, Fr. John Ferrara, was the pastor at St. Callistus Parish in Chicago, and his father was very active in the Maria SS. Lauretana Society. Vince grew up in St. Michael Parish on the Near North Side of Chicago. He had a sunny disposition even though his …

As we grew up in Roseland, we would meet new people and our horizons would expand. When we were little, we would go from playing around our house to playing at our friends’ houses. When we went to grade school and met new friends, we couldn’t wait to go on adventures with them in the schoolyards, parks and prairies in our community. Our horizons really expanded when we went to high school, met a whole new circle of friends and learned to drive. Along the way, we made new discoveries and learned to deal with different situations. Imagine if you …

At a moment in our history when conflict is rampant and emotions are running high, Chicago-area Italian Americans are charting a decidedly different course. They’re building coalitions, employing quiet diplomacy and reaching out across the divide to build support for their causes. The Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans has been at the forefront of this strategic sea change, beginning with a more inclusive approach to the Columbus Day Parade. Historically a celebration of Italian pride, the parade has become increasingly multicultural, with last year’s event boasting nearly a dozen floats representing a variety of African, Hispanic, Asian and white …