Columns

Dear readers,  November 2nd is All Souls Day. The early Christians, like their pagan ancestors, remembered their dead on certain days of the year. ** An assassin’s bullet ended the life of our 35th President, John F. Kennedy, on November 22, 1963, …

Dear Readers,  The Italian-American Heritage Foundation was established in San Jose on August 5, 1975, as the Italian-American Bicentennial Committee. In 1976, the original 15 founders incorporated a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of the Italian heritage through cultural, educational, and …

Dear Readers,  Buon Compleanno to all you “Big Bambini” delivered by the September stork and Buon Onomastico (Name Day) to all you Michaels and Michelles! The feast day of St. Michael the Archangel is September 29. He is also the protector and patron saint of …

Dear readers,  October, official or not, will always be Italian Heritage Month in the hearts of Italian-Americans throughout the United States. Following is an assortment of Italian connections for you.  *** In 2001, among the honored dead at the World …

Dear Readers,  more July jottings with an Italian connection.  Atlas, the mythological Titan condemned by Zeus to stand and bear the weight of the Heavens and Earth on his shoulders, after he had led the Titans in a war against the gods of …

Dear readers,  November 11th we celebrated Veterans Day, formerly called Armistice Day. Armistice: suspension of military hostilities between warring factions, usually a forerunner of peace, proclaimed by the governments or by the commanders-in-chief of the armies. World War I ended with the signing of …

Dear readers,   October, official or not, will always be Italian Heritage Month in the hearts of Italian-Americans throughout the United States. www.italic.org is where you can make an Italian connection any day of the year: all you need is your …

Dear readers,  As the San Francisco Opera First Nighters, dressed in furs and finery, file into the San Francisco Opera House each September when the new season begins, let me share this bit of early San Francisco history with you.  …

Dear readers,  in July, let me refresh your memory and mine on the Declaration of Independence, signed July 4, 1776, in Philadelphia. Although the colonists declared themselves independent of England and set up the United States of America, a long war …

Dear readers,  The Italian-American-US internment was a quasi-secret. In 1993, at a conference sponsored by the American-Italian Historical Association’s Western Regional Chapter, Una Storia Segreta had its inception. During that half a day, a panel of speakers for the first time bore public witness …