Among those who had their early schooling at St. Anthony’s Grade School are Leno and Mary Santacaterina. Their parents, Vincenzo (Cenzo) and Amabile, were very active in our parish community. Both were members of the Chiuppanese Roseland Operetta Club and took part in many of their operas. As a matter of fact, the tall and handsome Cenzo was the director for a number of the ROC productions.

By 1936, Amabile and Cenzo had arrived in America in January or February of 1928 and moved to Roseland’s Kensington neighborhood. While they lived there, Leno and Mary attended St. Anthony’s grade school with many of their neighborhood friends. Leno even began caddying at Olympia Field’s Country Club with his friends.

Amabile had begun working on a radio program and had quite an audience of Italian Americans that listened in order to to maintain contact with the land and culture they had left behind. As time went on, her audience grew along with her radio skills. It was at this time that the family moved from Kensington to be closer to the radio station for ease of transportation. Leno was 10 years old and Mary was 8 when the family moved to Belmont and Harlem. Despite the distance and his young age, Leno took public transportation to visit his Kensington friends every weekend and to continue caddying with them.

Amabile and Cenzo were such a part of Kensington and the Roseland Operetta Club that they would visit the neighborhood every other weekend and stay at Cenzo’s sister’s house. To this very day, Kensington’s former residents still remember seeing the family around the neighborhood and at all the Roseland Operetta Club functions.

By the time World War II came along, Amabile had been involved in an Italian radio program for four or five years. When Mussolini entered the war on the side of Germany, Amabile and Cenzo, who were always staunch anti-fascists, were able to express their sentiments more freely. Amabile was given more radio time for a program of her own, which eventually grew to an hour long.

It was while working on this program that she began a segment during which she read letters from mothers to their boys in service or letters from service members to their families. This led to Amabile beginning a relief effort of sending “care” packages to Italian towns ravaged by war.

When Amabile began her program of reading letters from mothers to their sons, it was a joy for her to be able to help those mothers, who missed their sons and prayed for their wellbeing. However, when her son Leno joined the military and was assigned overseas, the effort took on new meaning in her heart.

The reality shook Amabile and she spent the entire night writing a letter to her son. Cenzo had to force her to go to sleep, she was so heartbroken and troubled by the fact that her son was overseas. She had spent many months reading of the sorrows other mothers expressed in having their sons taking part in the active war fronts and now, all those feelings and fears she had read for those mother arose within her. The next day, she read her letter on the air even though she thought it was of little consequence. However, everyone in the studio told her how beautiful it was and her listeners told her how they had cried when they heard her words and each word touched their hearts.

Amabile’s relationship with Mary and Leno was such that she always did her best to place them first, no matter what obligations she had. When she and Cenzo were advised to help Mary by sending her to a boarding school in LaGrange, they made the necessary sacrifices for her. After a year and a half, Mary returned as a refined young woman, appreciative of their sacrifices.

When Leno went into the service and Cenzo and Amabile made the sacrifice of separation that so many Italian-American parents had to make, their sacrifice was remembered. After many months of Leno being in the service, as Amabile was finishing one of her broadcasts, the announcer ended with “Listen again tomorrow to the Community Hour Women Club, with Amabile Santacaterina, who is now getting a big surprise.”

As she turned toward the door, Amabile could see Mrs. Pucenski who had the next program at 11 a.m. and behind her was Amabile’s son Leno, home on leave. Leno showed is appreciation for his mother’s sacrifice by surprising her and returning to her safe and sound. Amabile was so happy and proud of Leno’s return that she and a number of ladies from her Italian relief project joined them as they went for coffee to celebrate.

Leno and Mary remember their mother, Amabile, and have shown their appreciation throughout their lives for the wonderful and inspiring woman she was to the members of Chicago’s Italian-American community at a time when they needed strength and courage to carry on through the war years.

After the war, Amabile continued working at the radio station until 1960, at which time she and her children started to package the Italian delicacies she created as a gourmet cook. She labeled her foods, “Mrs. Belgo” — from “belgodere,” meaning “beautiful enjoyment.”

Mrs. Santacaterina published her autobiography in 1992 in Vicenza, Italy. Information for this article also came from a thesis paper done by her granddaughter Judy Santacaterina and from the book “Italian Women in Chicago Madonna mia! QUI debbo vivere?” published by the Italian Cultural Center at Casa Italia. All of the materials are available at The Florence Roselli Library at Casa Italia.

Contact me at 11403 S. St. Lawrence Ave., Chicago, IL 60628, 773-701-6756, or cjfranoi@yahoo.com

Let me say that many of us have left Roseland but we’ve never left behind the people, places or good times that Roseland gave us. The rich history and connection that we have carried with us these many years is borne out in the respect we have for many of those we knew in our youth who are now elderly. Among these “precious gems” from our youth that have always shined brightly when we recall them is the late Anne Ronzani.

Anne Ronzani (nee Lavarda), passed away June 5, one day before her 97th birthday. She was the wife for 61 years of the late Carl Ronzani, and mother of Richard C. Ronzani. She was the daughter of Elvira (nee Catto) and John B. Lavarda, and sister of Louis (Louise) Lavarda.

I first met Anne when she left me a voicemail about my column and a mention I had made of the Roseland Operetta Club. It turned out that Anne’s family played a big part in the successful transitioning of the club from a sports centered organization into a neighborhood opera company.

Anne was very proud of her father having been a founder of the organization and of the fact that whenever an opera was being rehearsed, many of the performers would assemble in the family basement to rehearse. In Anne’s honor, I’d like to dedicate much of this column to her beloved Roseland Operetta Club and its profound effect on those it touched with class and culture.

In the 1930s, the sports-oriented Roma soccer team was created as a source of camaraderie for the paesani of the Kensington / Roseland / Pullman neighborhoods. This group was very successful and at the end of many matches, the players and their friends and families would gather. These impromptu gatherings would eventually turn into a songfest featuring tunes from their early lives in Italy and eventually opera songs that many of the members knew.

With so much obvious talent, the members soon decided to expand into the music oriented Roseland Operetta Club. For a number of years, they rented the Venetian Hall at 139 Kensington until the member’s contributions covered the purchase of a building at 372 Kensington, which they converted into their clubhouse and performance center, complete with bocce courts with a phone number of CO4-9865 (just to bring back some memories).

The founders were Battista DalSanto, Louis Frigo, Felix Stella, Joseph Stella, Anthony Stella, William Carollo, Anthony Carollo, Joseph Bortoli, Frank Bortoli, Valentine Brazzale, Dominic DeVito, Charles Sola, Narciso DeMure, Emillio Valente and John Lavarda (Anne’s father).

The ROC presented many operas throughout the years. Through the generosity of Beverly Angio Carli, I have 11 of the original librettos. These include “La Bohemè,” “Carmen,” “La traviata,” “I pagliacci and “Rigoletto.” It’s obvious that the ROC wasn’t a mere group of amateurs but a talented troupe that never let the difficulties of an opera keeps them from creating a sophisticated presentation for their paesani.

There is a great photo from the ’30 or ’40s of the women members of the ROC dressed as men, I’m sure for a performance of some sort. They are very bold as they are holding drinks and cigarettes in a photo that was taken in someone’s living room. I hope that some of my readers might recall their parents taking part in some of the ROC events and performances.

Friend’s of Pullman Family Picnic

I’m sure you all recall the song line that goes, “It’s now or never, tomorrow may be too late.” Well, that definitely holds true for this event, which I’ve been writing about for months — It is finally here! For all of you who haven’t been able to find sufficient reason to come back to the area, for all of you are afraid to come back for a look-see, and for all of you who have come back and enjoyed yourselves: this is an opportunity not to be missed.

It has finally become a Pullman tradition that has evolved into a full-blown family event. Many families come down early and claim a two or three table wide space along the edges of Arcade Park to accommodate all of their friends and family. They will show up with their tables, chairs and food and drink just like the old St. Anthony Holy Name Picnics or the picnics the other Roseland parishes and organizations had. This ‘get there early to save a space’ attitude began a couple of years ago and is now a necessity.

This allows for a central location two which you can direct friends and family and that will serve as a base for those who wander the park to see who else they know. Many of the picnickers also take the time to tour the neighborhood, recall old haunts, and to see what has changed in Pullman. You’ll find that not much has changed to the front of many of the houses since we’ve long been declared a historic preservation area. In other words, Pullman looks the same and, if I might add personally, it is easy to reminisce to the point of imaging how things were when Pullman was first established in the 1880s.

The seventh annual Friends of Pullman Picnic will take place on Saturday, Aug. 1 from 1 to 8 p.m. in the Pullman National Monument District at Arcade Park. Event agenda: Noon to 1 pm., Kid’s Bike Parade around Arcade Park; games throughout the day; raffle tickets to support the event; food and beverages available for purchase; and live entertainment at the Hotel Florence south porch area. The day is always topped off with a 5 p.m. group photo which is taken in front of the Hotel Florence.

Weather permitting, I will be hosting a display of Roseland memorabilia for viewing, including the Roseland Operetta Club librettos and annual dinner booklets; many Fenger Courier yearbooks; St. Anthony celebration booklets; photos of Roseland/Pullman/Kensington; and some physical memorabilia such as an old Rose Bowl chandelier and a Sports Hall of Fame montage, and signage from the old Landmark Inn.

If you can’t make this event (and you better ahve a really good reason!) the Pullman House Tour which takes place on Oct. 10 and 11 is another great way to step back into the past. You can purchase your tickets in advance online or by mail. Prices are $23 adult, $20 senior, $20 all advance tickets by Oct. 8.

As a National Monument, Pullman has gotten national attention and residents from all of Chicagoland, its suburbs, and neighboring states are interested in its historic and preservation value and wish to personally visit. There are a limited number of tickets so if you think you might attend, you should go ahead and get the tickets now.

Feast of St. Anthony

The annual St. Anthony Feast Day Celebration was able to take place through the good graces of both God and St. Anthony! In between a rainstorm and intermittent rainfall everyone was able to enjoy a breezy day of sunshine, reminiscing and great food and music.

Jack Rossi, Beverly Angio Carli, Kathy Sandona, Mickey, Delia Garcia, Patricia Pinto and Tony Pitttacora did a great job with pasta and meatballs for all the former parishioners that came to enjoy a good time. Those of you who couldn’t make it missed out on receiving some blessed St. Anthony bread. There’s always the second Sunday of next year!

Contact me at 11403 S. St. Lawrence Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60628; 773-701-6756; or cjfranoi@yahoo.com, or visit Roseland Roundtable on Facebook.