January 2011

The Roma Lodge Newsletter
Order Sons of Italy in America
Roma Lodge #254
3097 Magic Hollow Boulevard
Virginia Beach, Virginia 23453
(757) 468-2029
January 2011
PRESIDET'S CORER
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Do you believe in New Year’s resolutions? I do -- sometimes. Some are harder to keep than others. Since
the Ford administration, I don’t think any of my resolutions lasted past Groundhog Day. But you can be sure
that after New Year’s Day when all of the holiday commercialism appears to have subsided; ‘resolution’ season
will arrive on the scene in all its glory. It’s just another commercialized ploy as evidenced by the abundant
‘stop smoking’ and ‘health club memberships’ ad gimmicks that clog the airwaves.
This past Thanksgiving as my family and I enjoyed the feast at hand, we all started discussing the
commercial excesses that the end-of-year holidays have come to represent, and just like that we all agreed to
forego gifts for this Christmas (except of course for our new grandson).
For the first time in a long time, I realize that it is easier to focus on more of the true meaning of Christmas.
(And to think that we all made this agreement on a day of thanks!). I guess if we didn’t reject the
‘Commercialism of Christmas 2010’, we could’ve always made it one of our New Year’s resolutions for 2011.
=== MILESTOES ===
On New Year’s Day, Anthony De Rosa will celebrate his 85th birthday, and Isabel Amante also celebrates
January 1st (Ne’erday) with her 75th birthday. On January 3rd, John Lohndorf ushers in his 75th birthday.
Frank Robinson celebrates his 85th birthday on January 9th and
Peter Langlands will welcome his 50th birthday on January 23rd.
_______________________________________________________________________________
In memory of Roma Lodge member Elsie Peroni.
Elsie was one of the very rare ‘30-year’ members at Roma Lodge. To Elsie and her family: May
God bless you and keep you in His arms and may the memory of our beloved Elsie live on in all of us.
_______________________________________________________________________________
In memory of Roma Lodge member Patrizia Graves.
Patrizia was a member of Roma Lodge since 2000 and will be sadly missed. May the memory of
Patrizia live on through her family and friends and may God bless and embrace Patrizia and her family in this
time of sorrow.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Thank you for your trust and may God bless.
John William Del Russo, Sr.
President, Roma Lodge 254
Website: www.roma254.org
LIBERTY
E-Mail: [email protected]
EQUALITY
FRATER4ITY
Get well card was sent to Arthur Roscoe.
Roma Lodge Council 2010 - 2011
President
Vice President
Past President
Orator
Recording Sec.
Financial Sec.
Treasurer
Trustees
John William Del Russo, Sr.
Albert Marra
Bruno Cardo
Anthony Alfano
John Luizzi
Mario Canu
Mark Zito
479-0240
301-8797
495-6711
424-9546
490-6448
575-8714
495-7802
Russell Cerro Mary Del Russo Joseph Casto
624-9189
479-0240
481-3860
James ovelli
426-1970
Peter Langlands
428-0938
Mistress of Ceremony
Diane Gossett
Bonnie Ostrander
368-3632
435-8244
Guard
Jose Rodriguez
Sympathy cards were sent to the Family of John Aragona
upon John's passing; to the Family of Elsie Peroni upon Elsie's
passing; to the Family of Patrizia Graves upon Patrizia's
passing; and to the Orsino Family upon the passing of Frank
Orsino's brother, Dominic.
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January - Friday ight Menus
07
Roast Beef
14
Manicotti
21
Baked Chicken
28(Birthday night)
Spaghetti & Meatballs
(Talent Show)
340-8536
Lodge Chaplain
Gerald Hyatt
436-0477
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STATE OFFICERS
State President - Marie F. Siebeking
Immediate Past State President - Paul Siebeking
Trustees: John Gossner
Mario Minervini
OSIA FOUDATIO
Recording Secretary - Lorraine Gossner
Ex-officio - Marie & Paul Siebeking
Salad - 6:00
Soup – 6:15 (When Served)
Entrée - 6:30 - 7:30
OTE: Menu is subject to last minute changes.
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Birthdays
and
ational Delegate - Paul Siebeking
Arbitration Commission: Bruno Cardo
Anniversaries
******************************************
OTICE
If anyone learns of the passing of one of our Roma
Lodge members, please promptly notify any Council
Member shown above. The Lodge President will then
decide when to activate the ‘Phone Tree’ with
information that the surviving family member(s) want
announced. It is very important that the wishes of the
surviving family member(s) are followed to the letter.
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EWSWORTHY OTE
If any member hears of another Roma Lodge member being
sick or going into the hospital or any other significant event
that may befall any of our members or a member of their
family, please call our Sick & Welfare Chairwomen Florence
Alfano (424-9546) or Adrienne Marra at 301-8797. They will
ensure that these members get rendered the proper respect
and/or visitation from other lodge members who might
otherwise be unaware of their situation. Thank you.
BIRTHDAYS
Anthony Alfano
Isabel Amante (75th)
Don Bove
Molly Carr
Anthony De Rosa (85th)
Sarah Galante
Genevieve Kelly
Noreen Kresenske
John Lohndorf (75th)
Frank Robinson (85th)
Zelia Schmidt
Eileen Teator
Tiffany Wilder
Florence Alfano
Melissa Armitage
Ellie Bove
Raymond De Cecco
Maria Di Sisto
Karen Ireland
James Klingensmith
Peter Langlands (50th)
Frederick Napolitano
Mary Ann Sandfort
Bruce Shackleford
Ann Wild
Sal Zappia
AIVERSARIES
Bob & Dee Clark (46th)
Bernie & Sarah Galante (5th)
Sal & Lola Musarra (49th)
James & Helen Novelli (51st)
Help us to celebrate
your special day
by President John William Del Russo, Sr.
If you have noticed that your birthday or anniversary was
missed in our newsletters, we extend our apologies. For quite
some time, several members' birthdays and anniversaries went
unnoticed in our monthly newsletters. Over the past year, we
have been trying to fix this problem by cross-checking these
monthly newsletter listings with our master roster and have
begun the task of ensuring that all birthdays and anniversaries
are henceforth honored. However, we have found that many
birthdays or anniversaries are not even listed in our lodge's
master roster to begin with. This makes it difficult to properly
list all of these dates in our monthly newsletter.
Having these dates will help us to honor you and your
family on your special day in our newsletters. Again, if you
have noticed that your birthday or anniversary was missing
from being mentioned in our newsletter listings over the past
year or so, we extend our apologies and we further urge you to
call John (479-0240) or Al (301-8797) so that we can continue
to fix this problem. Thank you.
**************************************************
MEMBERSHIP
As of October 31, 2010: 295
We are up 46 members from one year ago
(October 31, 2009: 249)
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Roma Lodge Initiation Ceremony
scheduled for January
There will be an initiation ceremony for all Roma Lodge
members on Monday evening January 24th at 7:00pm.
Dress for initiates is casual or better. Any Roma Lodge
members who have not been initiated but desire to do so
should be at Roma Lodge by 6:45pm. Our organization is
a proud one and this ceremony, although short (about 10
minutes), is one way in which we share our distinct pride
and heritage with all members.
**************************************************
Cultural Corner
Italy in January
by Jessica on December 7, 2007
For people with less of a travel budget, traveling to Italy in
January is going to save you bucket loads of cash. Airfare and
hotels in Italy will cost less than in the high season, and it’s
likely that some tourist sights will also have reduced rates – at
the very least, you won’t be fighting the same crowds and long
lines that people who visit in the height of summer are faced
with each year. Will it be cold? Yes. Can you handle that?
Sure you can – especially if it’s cheaper to visit, right?
Consult the Italy weather page for more information about
temperature averages in different parts of the country, but in
general you can be assured that it will be cold and, quite
possibly, damp. If you’re into skiing and other winter sports,
you’ll head up into the mountains and be delighted by snow. If
you just want to hit museum after museum, you’ll be pleased
that you aren’t waiting in long lines or looking at art behind
big crowds of tourists. Now, if you’re dead set on a gondola
ride in Venice, you’re going to be pretty disappointed – they
aren’t really cold-weather vessels. (Besides, sometimes the
canals get icy!) For anyone who’s content to duck in and out
of museums and churches all day, with breaks for coffee or
wine to warm you up, Italy in January can be a great
experience.
There are Italian festivals and celebrations going on nearly all
year long in different parts of the country, and January is no
exception. Epiphany, which is celebrated on January 6th, is
actually more important than Christmas – this is, in fact, when
people exchange gifts. La Befana is an old woman who rides
around on a broom and delivers presents, so you may see her
image around. Carnevale begins at the end of January, and is
an enormous party (especially famous in Venice). Some of the
festivals around Italy in January are just the kinds of things
that would make a unique and memorable travel story – and
others would put you right in the middle of the crowds you’re
avoiding by visiting in January. So you’ve got to decide which
you’re in the mood for. Use this great festival finder to see
what’s on when you’re there. Just choose “January” from the
menu and then choose the region you’ll be visiting and you’ll
get a list of the festivals and events happening.
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SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEES
4EED YOUR HELP
Please contact the Roma Lodge scholarship committee chair,
Albert Marra, at 757-301-8797, if you can serve as a reviewer
of applications for the next competitive cycle, to begin April
1, 2011. The committee also is seeking contributions for
scholarship funding. Also, we need one representative from
Roma Lodge to review scholarship applicants for the Grand
Lodge of Virginia Scholarship Program. Anyone interested
please contact President Del Russo at 479-0240 as soon as
possible. Thank you!
http://www.italylogue.com/
**************************************************
A CAMPOBASSO CHRISTMAS
The author recalls how he and his wife celebrated the
Holidays with his Italian family 40 years ago.
By Dr.. Albert F. Marra
An unforgettable Christmas morning
Christmas 1970 dawned cloudy and frosty as a deep
cold front gripped Campobasso, un freddo polare, as my
relatives called it. As soon as we awoke we looked out the
window from Zi’ Mimi’s guest bedroom and noticed the
whole town wearing its new white coat in such a grand style
that it could have easily been designed by the house of Armani
or Versace. It appeared to us that nobody had dared to disturb
the fresh covering of winter white. Not a footprint or tire track
could be seen up and down Via Tiberio. In the distance one
could barely discern the outline of the railroad station through
the cold haze and the multiple plumes of rising grey-white
chimney smoke. The back side of the condominium, with a
vista uphill towards Monfort Castle, showed similar
conditions. It looked like nobody had gotten up yet to greet
the newborn Christ child. Or so we thought.
Little did we know at the time that Zi’ Mimi had beat
us by about an hour. He had already been up and about before
we first looked outside. While we were tending to personal
needs and marveling at the pretty as a picture post card display
outside the windows, my uncle had already gone out to buy us
the makings of a breakfast feast, Italian style. He came back
decked out in his Christmas finery (vested three piece suit, top
coat and matching fedora, starched white shirt, and silk tie and
scarf) and laden with freshly baked, still warm pane
campobassano (the world’s crustiest, tastiest round bread);
fresh unflavored yogurt; fresh, non-homogenized milk (the
kind with its cream topping just waiting to be scooped off);
fresh mozzarella di bufala; fresh brown eggs, and that
specialty cheese of the Molise, fresh scamorza.
Madonna mia, and praise the Lord, I thought to myself.
After last night, I know nobody could possibly be hungry, but
looking at all that good fresh food still made my mouth water.
I took one look at all the food our uncle had spread on the
table and another at Adrienne. We shared a similar unspoken
reaction: let the feasting begin anew!
We sat down to sample a little bit of every one of those
fresh dairy treats, not sure where to start. Zi’ Mimi and Zia
Giovanna had it all under control and soon they poured out
freshly brewed coffee (with heated milk for us) and the
feasting did begin anew. We both looked at each other again
and agreed that all that incredibly good food did without a
doubt constitute the best breakfast we had yet experienced in
our young lives.
4ot a creature was stirring?
Everything that morning, especially the food, had been
proceeding well as far as our physical needs were concerned.
But something was wrong. No, we didn’t feel chilled any
more. The neighbors remained quiet and we enjoyed plenty of
good steam heat coursing through the pipes and hissing out
from the old fashioned radiators. Curiously enough, we did
not feel all that tired either. Certainly we were not hungry.
That’s rarely possible in Italy.
But we kept hearing a strange and increasingly
annoying, scratching noise in the kitchen. It sounded irregular
and erratic and we concluded that it was coming from under
the kitchen table, very close to where we were eating our
magnificent colazione. I moved my foot a little and
intentionally bumped into what seemed like a large cardboard
box under the table. That move caused a crescendo of
scratching which morphed into that harshest of harsh sounds,
you know, kind of like a teacher raking finger nails across the
blackboard. I just had to ask and I did, hoping against hope
that it was not something truly horrendous.
”Scusa, Zio, ma che cosa …?”
My diminutive great uncle broke out in a big toothy
grin and started to chuckle a little before answering my
question. He began to explain to us that last week he had
started shopping for turkey, knowing about American customs
and our fondness for eating turkey that Christmas Day. But
our uncle’s search had unfortunately ended without success.
“Purtroppo, Alberto, non c’e tacchino oggi.”
Understandably, Zi’ Mimi told us that nobody had
any turkeys to sell at that time of year in Campobasso, not
even by special order. Not wanting to disappoint his special
North American, semi-Anglicized relatives, my enterprising
uncle had gone out to the local fresh meat market two days
ago and bought what he thought would be the next best thing
for us: Italy’s biggest (well, the biggest I’d ever seen) capon, a
roasting type bird big enough to feed our whole family and
which approximated the size and looks of a small American
turkey. Good job, Zio, I thought.
So a creature really was stirring that night before
Christmas. Adrienne and I affectionately named him “Carlo
the Capone,” but we came to know him more simply as
Christmas dinner. Carlo had taken up temporary residence in
a box under our kitchen table in Zio’s apartment on Via
Tiberio. He beat us there by 48 hours or so. That was all well
and good, but now Adrienne and I had another horrible
thought. Just how had they planned to get our honored guest,
our fine feathered friend, from inside the box to that big
roasting platter on the Christmas table? I should have known
that Zi’ Mimi also had the solution for that well in hand.
Before we were to leave for mass at the Cathedral, my uncle
and I would dispatch the bird and Zia Giovanna would then
clean the feathers and prepare it for the roasting oven. Swell.
Calling to mind the traditions of my Jewish and Muslim
friends, before washing and dressing for church services, I had
to prep myself mentally for what I was about to do. I prayed
for courage and divine intervention to help me with my first
and only ritual slaughter. Fortunately, without having to argue
or draw straws, Zi’ Mimi had already decided that he would
reserve the highest honor for himself. In one swift move, my
soft spoken, mild mannered uncle slit the creature’s throat
with a fine piece of the famous locally produced cutlery. All I
had to do (“all,” mind you!) was to hold the capon steady and
help drain the blood out neatly. I leave that next scene to the
reader’s imagination.
High mass at the cathedral
It seemed like everyone knew my uncle. I take that back.
Everyone really did know our Zi’ Mimi. No sooner had we
begun our six block trek through the snow to the cathedral for
our “White Christmas” morning mass, than the holiday wishes
from neighbors, friends and just plain passersby, began in
earnest. After all, we were in the company of my uncle, who
was chief clerk for the municipal elections board. And in
Italy, that post confers on its office holder the status of a local
VIP of sorts. That much seemed certain. What also seemed
certain was that everyone we saw on the snowy streets seemed
possessed of something truly joyous, almost like a Dickensian
type of Christmas spirit. Of course the snow and cold helped
perpetuate that notion for us.
We had barely survived running the gauntlet of Buon
%atale greeters when the relatively early (for us) 9:30 a.m.
mass began. No sooner had we sat down to savor the many
splendid sights of this medium sized Italian cathedral, decked
out in its holiday best, when the six piece ensemble, replete
with strings and brass, began to tune up with their organist and
a 10 person choir. How easy they made it for us to drift off
mentally to some place just this side of the gates of heaven.
From the beginning until the end of the mass, the conductor
and his enthusiastic orchestra and choir treated us to an out of
this world musical show, ending with their rousing rendition
of Adeste fideles, with all verses completely in Latin of course.
And to think, this huge spectacle occurred in a small,
relatively unknown provincial capital. How grand would
Christmas be like in Rome, Florence or Siena or any number
of the larger and more famous Renaissance cathedrals? One
could only imagine. I could not help but think about the many
times back home when I was sitting at Sunday mass,
nervously looking at my watch, hoping that nobody would
notice. Here I also sat looking towards my watch, only now I
was hoping instead that time would stand still to allow the
service to go on without end. The mass did end, but
fortunately I still carry clear memories of that wonderfully
unique Christmas service.
As we exited the cathedral, amidst the hustle and bustle of
the crowd and the renewed saluti to us and our uncle, the very
gentlest of a passing snow squall began to dust old town
Campobasso and envelop the lofty Monfort Castle in a white
mist. It was as if the heavens had so enjoyed the musical
celebration that the Almighty had decided to gift the town
with freshly whitened snow for its streets and sidewalks. The
newer, cleaner and more pristine covering helped remind us of
the special place this Italian White Christmas would forever
occupy in our memories. But it was Christmas, and we were
Italians in Italy, so we had some more feasting on the agenda!
Christmas dinner (and poncia abruzzese)
When we returned to Zi Mimi’s apartment complex, a
broad array of savory aromas seemed to hit us squarely in our
cold faces. We knew as soon as we entered their apartment
that we were in for a rare treat that day. Cousin Renato and
his wife, Angela, who lived in a flat in the same building with
their two young toddlers, Gabriella and Giovanna, had already
reported to Zia for kitchen duty. By the looks of things, they
pretty much had the entire cooking and food preparation plan
well under control. With not a trace of the previous night’s
Christmas Eve extravaganza visible, the table was now
elegantly prepared for a Christmas Day feast to rival anything
the culinary greats of the world could offer. What am I saying,
as far as I am concerned, there never was and never will be
any real competition for this Colitti Christmas.
Laid out before us was a new and possibly more elaborate
cornucopia than that of the night before. The table overflowed
with abundant specialty foods to delight anyone’s Christmas
palate. There was a selection of three different kinds of
freshly baked breads next to the salted and cured olives and
other pickled vegetables and crudités of very possible cut and
color. We noticed a huge platter of salumi: mortadella,
prosciutto, prosciutto cotto, capicola, salame, soppressata,
and some special treats which had obviously come directly
from local contadini (farmers) which to this day for me remain
unidentified. There was a platter of so many cheeses I might
forget some, but I do remember those I heartily enjoyed, like
caciocavallo, scamorza molisana ,mozzarella di bufala,
parmigiano, provolone,and gorgonzola.. And to think, all this
was just for our antipasto!
The serving table was already laden with assorted colorful
displays of several contorni (side dishes), including two dishes
of potatoes, two types of risotto, a minestra of various greens,
and other steaming little sides. A huge serving platter awaited
the triumphant arrival of our dearly departed fine feathered
friend, who now had to share the oven with a slowly baking
deep dish of cannelloni. Carlo the Capon certainly looked
much better turning brown in his own gravy than scratching in
his box under the kitchen table. Well, that’s the way I
rationalized each tasty slice of our Christmas roast. Desserts
were not really in sight, but I knew that they too would follow
the main courses in grand style and customary abundance.
With each new course we savored, we also drank,
and then we toasted to each other’s health and welfare and to
our children, born or yet to be born. We repeated the drill two
or three more times as we shared two or three courses of dolci,
the assorted cakes and pastries, fresh and dried fruits and nuts,
all of which comprised our desserts. Later the two brothers
brought out an unusually rich display of after dinner drinks,
many of which were uniquely regional in nature. I had always
enjoyed an after dinner drink or two, especially at Christmas
and most other holiday gatherings. So we were no strangers to
anisette, amaretto, cognac, and other cordials. But there were
now several bottles with labels I had never seen before and
due to their local or regional origin, one would have little to no
likelihood of ever finding them imported into the United
States.
I soon learned about not only the taste, but the
alleged health benefits of several of these unique drinks from
this part of Italy. These were the herbal concoctions Italians
call digestivi, or after dinner digestive drinks, for which the
Molisani and several other communities of Central Italy had
become justifiably famous. But even that was not enough, for
the two Colitti brothers in attendance, Renato and Tonino,
now challenged each other to a duel. They would compete for
the coveted honor of preparing the best Christmas poncia
abruzzese (or, to be more precise, in this case, poncia
molisana). Renato and Tonino would create right before our
eyes new drinks, potions of unequaled taste and potency,
related in name only to the many digestivi which were
commercially bottled and sold in the local specialty stores in
Campobasso. This time the drinks would be their own special
creations, comprised of their favorite individual essences.
Was I up for judging? Sure, why not, I thought, I had
a moral obligation to at least try to keep the peace within the
family.
My two cousins mixed and blended one drink after
another. Some of these they insisted would exhibit their
optimal taste only if they were served flambéed. So we
obliged. Then I went on to taste a bit of each one of their
drinks and I tried desperately to keep them all down.
Somehow by the grace of God I did. Ever the diplomat, I
went on to declare a virtual tie, again, to keep the peace within
the family. Keeping the peace in my belly that night would
prove to be another challenge.
To be continued next month This is Part 2 of 3
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OMIATIO COMMITTEE SET
Ellie Bove was voted in as this year's Roma Lodge
Nominating Committee Chairperson. In the next few weeks,
she and her committee will be making calls to all regular
members and will note those who wish to run for any Roma
Lodge offices for next years "Roma Lodge Council of 20112012". Prospective nominees desiring to support Roma Lodge
in this capacity will be added to the ballot on election night.
The Roma Lodge elections will be held at the General
Assembly Meeting at 7pm on February 28, 2011.
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ROMA LODGE ELECTIOS OT TO
BE COFUSED WITH OSIA of
TW ELECTIOS
As stated in the previous article, the Roma Lodge elections
will be held on the last Monday in February. The date to elect
officers for our corporate arm of our lodge (OSIA of
Tidewater, Inc.) occurs in March, usually on the last Monday
in the month as well. The date, time, and further details for
the election of officers for OSIA of Tidewater, Inc. will be
published next month in our February 2011 newsletter.
Talent Show II
scheduled for
Friday, January 28th
For those of you who are familiar with our Roma Lodge
Talent Show procedures, it's simple: Bring your talent and
show us what you've got! Juggling, joke telling, famous
impersonations, playing the guitar, banjo, saxophone, trumpet,
singing solo, singing along with karaoke, etc. etc. ..... there is
no limit!
This event will be held immediately following our 'birthday
night' celebrations where we will be honoring all members
whose birthdays fall in December and January. (Note: there is
no Friday "Birthday Night" in December). If you are
interested in performing, no booking is necessary, just show
up and be ready to go at 7:00 pm. See you on stage!
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Lodge stage production proves
to be new entertainment venue
by President Del Russo
Who knew that getting a half dozen Roma Lodge
members-turned-actors onto one stage could be such fun and
enjoyment? If you missed the stage performance on Friday
November 12th of The Honeymooners Italian Style, then you
most certainly missed a great show. But hold on, there will be
recordings of this 'mini-play' soon available on DVD with all
proceeds going to our main charities Alzheimer’s Disease and
Cooley’s Anemia. In the meantime, thanks are in order for the
cast of characters who managed to brave the footlights and
played their parts so well.
Since 2008, it was a dream of mine to write a short play
based on my favorite TV show and to apply it to the Roma
Lodge stage. And it was my distinct pleasure to be involved
with the acting talents of Roma Lodge members Dan &
Catherine Senisi (Ralph & Alice Kramden), Clay and Nancy
Lee Gooch (Ed & Trixie Norton), Pat Cotturone (Ralph's boss
Mr. Monahan), and Mario Minervini (as 'Mario upstairs'). For
20 minutes, the Roma Lodge audience was captivated with
their antics of attempted wine-making. This cast has truly
made a lot of people happy. Thanks gang! PS: Now that we
know that a short stage production is possible, what play can
we do next? Any ideas? The sky's the limit folks. Let's get
those ideas and that imagination rolling. What good is a stage
if we don't use it?
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--
Lodge otes
Lodge ews via E-Mail
To better keep you informed of emergent Lodge news, we
continue to assemble an e-mail list of participating Roma
Lodge members. Since April 2009, we have amassed 169
email recipients! Join in and send your e-mail along with your
name to:
[email protected]
Your email address will be added to the Roma Lodge ‘e-mail
roster’ and will be kept strictly confidential via ‘bcc’ mailings.
We will not give your email address out to anyone else and we
promise not to send you any unnecessary emails. What we
will send you is an informative “e-weekly” we call the ROMA
LODGE WEEKLY NEWS which contains among other things
the detailed menu (right down to the side dishes) for the
upcoming Friday Night Meal. It is emailed every Tuesday,
Wednesday or Thursday.
Just a reminder, Even though the Council Meeting is now
held on the same night as the General Assembly, the
deadline for any newsletter articles will still be on the 2nd
Monday of the month. This will be strictly enforced.
Please submit it with time to spare.
been happening at our lodge.... Since there was no 'Friday
Birthday Night' in December, the Roma Lodge birthday night
that is scheduled for January 28th shall honor all members'
birthdays from both January AND December ... When is 12
better than 24?: Much to the delight of the Roma Lodge
Council Members, there are now only 12 meeting days a year.
That's because a motion was passed several months ago to
hold the Council meeting at 6pm on the same night as our
General Assembly Meetings. Now instead of both meetings
being held on separate nights, Roma Lodge Council members
now save time, gas, and lots of unnecessary driving back and
forth...
THAK YOU!
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Roma Lodge Memorial Mass
January 16, 2011
_____________________________
Mark Your Calendars
To honor our deceased Roma Lodge
members, you are cordially invited to
attend our Roma Lodge Memorial
Mass on
Sunday, January 16, 2011
at 2:00pm.
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Don’t forget to attend our General Assembly Meetings. All
members are invited. Unless otherwise noted, they are
regularly scheduled at 7:00pm on the fourth Monday in each
month. Come see your lodge at work and learn to be a part of
what makes it tick by voicing your opinions and ideas in this
monthly forum … Another way to voice your opinion is to use
the “Suggestion Box” on Friday nights located on the bar
nearest to Magic Hollow Blvd (thanks to Mary Guernic for
making the suggestion box - very creative)! ... If anyone has
any ideas or suggestions regarding our building or our food
service, call Bruno Cardo, the OSIA of Tidewater Inc.
president at 288-9544. He will listen to all ideas and
suggestions that you may have. Anyone interested in
exploring the possibility of getting Roma Lodge involved in
‘Facebook’, ‘MySpace’, or “Twitter”, contact our webmaster
Sonja Konlande at 233-1980… Plans were approved at our
October General Assembly Meeting to pursue a yearbookstyle hardcover book to commemorate our fast-approaching
Roma Lodge Centennial. For details of how you can
participate in any facet of this memorable event, please
contact committee chairman Pete Amante at 430-8473 ...
There's always room for musicians: If anyone during the
course of our Friday night meals would like to play the piano
located adjacent to the stage, please help yourself! As a
matter of fact, if you have any instruments you'd like to bring
and play, you and your instruments are always welcome!...
See our latest Roma Lodge newsletter posted IN LIVING
COLOR at www.roma254.org. Also, did you know that you
can view past Roma Lodge newsletters back to 2007? So curl
up with your laptop and have a nice historical read of what's
Father Jim Parke will celebrate this
Mass and our cantor & pianist will be
Diane Nestor. A meal will be served
after the Mass for a nominal fee.
Donations of desserts for this
occasion are needed and will be
greatly appreciated. . God Bless!
For details, call
For details call Angie Hughes at 499-8667
or Charlie & Genevieve Kelly at 471-7666
Please plan to attend
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SUPER BOWL AT ROMA LODGE
O SUDAY FEBRUARY 6th
Super Bowl XLV Pot Luck Sunday at the Cerino Room Doors
open at 4pm to ???
Sporting grids available along with plenty pot luck. Various
types of cheer also available at bar.
For details call Pete Amante at 430-8473.
See you there!
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Roma Lodge is not responsible for any typographical errors
or omissions in the newsletter
EDITOR-I-CHARGE : John V. Luizzi
My E-Mail - [email protected]