On Saturday, November 8, 2008, a meeting was held at the Italian Community Center, 631 E. Chicago Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin at 10:30 a.m.. Those in attendance included: Members: Larry and Glenna Amateis, Barb Bombaci (5064), Marlene and John Brinn, Bonnie Dompke, Elsie Fucile, Lisa Joecks (5065) and Rosemary Joecks, John and Arlene Jorgensen, Dani Graf, George Koleas (1527), Jim Pignitore (4053), Tana Salvaggio (4835), Steve and Jean Scalzo,. Also in attendance were New Members: Nicola Berte, Gina Picciurro and Tony Tarantino.
Nicola Berte’s family names are: Balistreri, Berte, Foti and Vento. Gina Picciurro’s family names are: Balistreri, Navarra and Picciurro. Tony Tarantino’s family names are: Alioto, Balistreri and Taratino
An exhibition of more than 80 black-and-white and color images of Sicily taken from the 1970s to the present will be on public display at the Italian Community Center (ICC) starting on Wednesday, Nov. 11. “Sicilia: Immaginario Barocco e Feste Religiose” (Sicily: The Baroque Imagination and Religious Celebration) by photographer Giuseppe Leone will be available for public viewing during the ICC’s normal business hours. It will be at the ICC through Saturday, Nov. 29. The ICC is at 631 E. Chicago St. in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward. The exhibit’s appearance in Milwaukee was arranged through the Italian Consulate in Chicago and the Italian Cultural Institute, also in Chicago.
PIP Chapter 27, Chicago North’s next meeting is on Saturday, November 22nd, from, 10am-2pm at the Italian Cultural Center, 1621 N. 39th Ave., Stone Park, IL. The meeting will feature a new film called "5000 Miles From Home" It is the story of the coming of age of Chicago's Italian-American boys who went off to war in Europe and the Pacific. Fra Noi Editor-in-Chief Paul Basile was instrumental in the making of this film The DVD of this film is not yet available but advance orders are keenly encouraged in case the initial order of DVDs runs out. The Chapter will have about an hour of genealogy discussion followed by the film (about 90 minutes) followed by lunch (pizza/pasta/salad/pop) at a cost of around $10 per person. Please RSVP to pipnorth@yahoogroups.com . You can also visit their website at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~itappcnc/
On November 23, 2008 between 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at Schwartz's Book Store at 2559 N. Downer, Milwaukee , WI . Vincenza Scarpaci will appear for a presentation and book signing of her most recent publication, for release in October, by Pelican Publishing, “The Journey of the Italians in America” by Vincenza Scarpaci,. For details about the book go to:. http://www.pelicanpub.com/Press_Release.asp?passval=9781589802452 or http://www.bestsyndication.com/?q=node/15534
Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, also has a section with various maps. To access maps go to : http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page . You can search for the maps you would like. For maps of Italy, go to: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Maps_of_Italy . For a map of southern italy in 1849 go to: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/ItalySouth1849.jpg . For a map showing the different language spoken in Italy, go to: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Languages_spoken_in_Italy.svg#file
Barb Bombaci (5064) reported that there is a 70 min. webinar provided by Ancestry.com on Finding Your Italian Ancestors. To view the webinar go to: http://learn.ancestry.com/LearnMore/WebinarVideoPage.aspx?video=../assets/webinars/110046_07012008.flv . If you do not already have one, you may be prompted to download an Adobe flash player.
Steve Scalzo passed around a comical piece called “Italian Memories” The piece calls itself a Sicilian/Italo/American 101. If you would like a copy please contact me and I will send you a copy.
Bonnie Dompke told us about a storytelling group at Mount Mary College that she belonged to. We discussed the oral tradition of passing on stories from generation to generation and the importance of recording our family stories for future generations. Story Corps was in Milwaukee for a year recording stories. For more information on Story Corps and recording your story, go to: http://www.storycorps.net/ .
Tana Salvaggio (4835), and Barb Bombaci (5064) described their experiences traveling to Italy. Tana and her husband visited Sciacca in Agrigento, Sant’ Agata de Militello in Messinia and Poggioreale in Trapani. Tana and her husband arrived on a weekend and found government buildings closed. She had more luck finding family buildings using pictures her Father gave to her. Tana had trouble finding someone who could speak English. Neither Tana or her husband spoke Italian. She learned that there were great differences between Italian and the Sicilian dialect. However, even with the language problem, when showing a family picture to a group of men, one man recognized something in the picture and took her and her husband by car to meet a new cousin. Barb visited Sortino in Syracuse. Both Tana and Barb described the great natural beauty they saw during their visit.
Wisitalia suggests that if you are thinking about an Italy trip see their Trips page at http://www.wisitalia.org/pages/trips.html. Their website is also worth a visit at: http://www.wisitalia.org,
Remember to mark your calendar for the following 2009 events:
2009 Gene-A-Rama will be held Friday & Saturday, April 3-4, 2009, Madison Marriott West Hotel & Conference Center, For details go to: http://wsgs.wetpaint.com/page/Meetings+&+Conferences
The spring Milwaukee County Genealogical Society’s Biennial Genealogical Workshop is scheduled for April 18, 2009, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Details will be posted on the MCGS website at www.milwaukeegenealogy.org
A Sicilian Family Reunion is being planned for Friday, September 18, 2009 in Milwaukee Wisconsin. A brunch will be held on Saturday, September 19, 2009. Michael Alioto is planning the event. We will pass on more details as they are available.
The 2009 Fall Seminar will be held Friday & Saturday, October 2-3, 2009, Bridgewood Resort Hotel & Conference Center, Neenah, For details go to: http://wsgs.wetpaint.com/page/Meetings+%26+Conferences
Our next meeting will be on Saturday, January 10, 2009, at the Italian Community Center, 631 E. Chicago Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, starting at 10:30 a.m. and concluding at noon. Our remaining meetings in 2009 will be, April 25, September 26 and November 14. We welcome anyone with an interest in Italian Family History. If you have any questions or need additional information, please feel free to contact George Koleas by e-mail or by calling (262) 251-7216 after 7:00 p.m..
Submitted by George Koleas (1527)
