Sons Of Italy

It should be noted that, on the day the Sons of Italy barge sank, Mike Girolamo had planned to make crab soup. He had all the ingredients in his hands when he arrived at the foot of Central Avenue and found the clubhouse slipping into the harbor.That was a sad day.All around the old neighborhood, you could hear a wise guy say: "The barge sleeps with the crabs."All of a sudden, the boys from the Little Italy lodge of the Sons of Italy ("Sunzitlee," as they say in East Baltimore) were without a home.

Annual Sons of Italy Columbus Day Mass - Wed., Oct. 12, 7:30 p.m., St. Mary of the Mills Church, 114 St. Mary's Place. Mass will be said in Italian and music provided by the Antonio Gatto Lodge's choir. Reception with dessert and coffee follows Mass. Antonio Gatto Lodge was founded in 1980 in Laurel to continue Italian American culture and traditions. Anthony DeBella, 301-725-4133.

The death of one Inner Harbor apartment project may be the salvation for another -- one being developed in part by Baltimore's politically well-connected bakery king, John Paterakis.Under a proposal approved in principle yesterday by the Baltimore Board of Estimates, a $1.485 million federal grant earmarked for the ill-fated Sons of Italy Center would be used by developers of the massive Inner Harbor East project.The grant money originally was approved in 1986 by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for a 99-unit apartment complex to be developed by the Order of the Sons of Italy in Maryland on the southeast corner of President Street and Eastern Avenue.

Mary R. Terzi, whose handmade green salad earned her the nickname of "The Salad Lady" and the undying affection of members of the Little Italy Lodge of the Sons of Italy, died Sept. 8 in her sleep at Future Care in Canton. She was 104. Mary Rita Presti was born in Enna, Sicily. She was 6 months old when she and her family boarded the Anchor Line steamer Algeria in Naples for a voyage that would land them at Ellis Island in New York Harbor in the spring of 1907. After a brief visit to family members in Albany, N.Y., the immigrant family settled in 1908 in Little Italy, where Mrs. Terzi would spend the rest of her life.

A Mass of Christian burial for Rose Marie Venere, a retired secretary who was active in the local, state and national organizations of the Order of the Sons of Italy, will be offered at 9 a.m. today at Holy Family Roman Catholic Church, 9533 Liberty Road in Randallstown.Miss Venere, a Randallstown resident, died Saturday at Good Samaritan Hospital after a heart attack. She was 61.She retired about five years ago as an executive secretary in the offices of Fair Lanes Inc., where she worked about 10 years.

Anthony Piccinini, who founded a real estate business, died Saturday of a respiratory ailment at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. He was 80 and lived in Towson. He was president and chief executive officer of Leader Realty in Baltimore, a home sales and rental and land development business that he established in 1947. "He was firm, fair and responsive," said a friend, Stanley Sugarman of Northwest Baltimore. "In racial matters, he was colorblind. He helped many black Korean War veterans, who were being denied decent housing but who qualified financially to buy homes.

IN BALTIMORE COUNTY Italian Festival slated for tomorrow and Sunday The Baltimore County Italian Festival is scheduled for this weekend. The free festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. tomorrow and from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday in and around the Towson Courthouse Plaza, which stretches out from the county courthouse at 401 Bosley Ave. The event will include art and craft exhibits, food vendors and entertainment. Proceeds from the festival will support a college scholarship fund and other charitable endeavors of the Towson Dulaney Lodge of the Sons of Italy.

Rose Marie Venere, a retired secretary who was active in the local, state and national organizations of the Order of the Sons of Italy, died Saturday at Good Samaritan Hospital after a heart attack. She was 61 and lived in Randallstown.A Mass of Christian burial for Miss Venere was being offered today at Holy Family Roman Catholic Church, 9533 Liberty Road in Randallstown.She retired about five years ago as an executive secretary in the offices of Fair Lanes Inc., where she worked about 10 years.

On September 18, 2003, JOSEPH VINCENT CERRO, SR.; beloved husband of Felicia Cerro (nee Celano); devoted father of Joseph V. Cerro Jr. and his wife, Lorrie; loving grandfather of Melody Rose Cerro; dear brother of Nancy Petrella, Helen Mirabile, Alberta Stein, Dolores Maganaterra and her husband, Paul, and the late John Cerro; beloved brother-in-law of Eleanor Cotsoradis, and Ann Cerro; loving son of the late Vincent and Carmella Cerro. Also survived by many beloved nieces and nephews. He was a loyal member of Sons of Italy, Little Italy Lodge, St. Gabriel's Society, St. Anthony's Society, Vincent Pallotti, St. Leo's Outreach Program, Sodality of Our Lady and an honorable veteran of World War II. Relatives and friends may gather at Charles S. Zeiler & Son Inc., 6224 Eastern Ave. on Saturday and Sunday from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M., where a Vigil Service will be held on Sunday at 3:30 P.M. and a Sons of Italy Service will be held on Saturday at 7:30 P.M. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Leo's Church on Monday at 10 A.M. Interment Gardens of Faith Cemetery.

The death of one Inner Harbor apartment project may be the salvation for another.Under a proposal approved in principle yesterday by the Baltimore Board of Estimates, a $1.485 million federal grant earmarked for the ill-fated Sons of Italy Center would be used by developers of the massive Inner Harbor East project.The grant money originally was approved in 1986 by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for a 99-unit apartment complex to be developed by the Order of the Sons of Italy in Maryland on the southeast corner of President Street and Eastern Avenue.

Elmer Marshall Feete, former owner of the Warfield-Rohr Casket Co., died Sunday of complications from an infection at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. The Parkville resident was 95. After World War II, Mr. Feete joined the business, which had been established in 1870. In 1907, the business, which also sold funeral supplies and was in the 300 block of N. Calvert St., was purchased by the Feete family. In the late 1980s, the family-owned business moved to new headquarters on West Patapsco Avenue.

Two people who've made great careers out of Baltimore's dark side - best-selling mystery novelist Laura Lippman and Wire creator David Simon - chose a third for their preacher when they tied the knot. The Rev. John Waters presided. It wasn't the first time that the director, who stars as The Groom Reaper in a Court TV show about marriages gone murderously wrong, has officiated at a wedding. "I've done it 13 times, and only one couple's been divorced," Waters said. Pretty good track record, considering that so many marriages end in divorce - and that Waters got into the wedding biz for one that never even happened.

James "Jim" Henry Thomas, a Westinghouse Electric Corp. employee for 30 years who was active in the Order of the Sons of Italy, died in his sleep Wednesday at his Ocean Pines home. He was 77 and had colon cancer. Born in Baltimore, he was the fifth child of Carl and Caroline Thomas, who ran Thomas' Bakery on Pratt Street. He grew up in Highlandtown and graduated from Patterson High School in the mid-1940s. Mr. Thomas reached the rank of lance corporal in the Marine Corps during the Korean War. He later earned an associate's degree in business and computer programming at Catonsville Community College.

Thomas B. Heyman, a casket salesman, died of a heart attack Saturday at Franklin Square Hospital Center. The Nottingham resident was 71. Born in Baltimore and raised in Little Italy, he was a 1951 graduate of Patterson Park High School and was captain of its varsity basketball team. He served in the Army and earned a degree from the University of Baltimore. In 1956, he began selling caskets for the old Baltimore-based National Casket Co. at Lombard and President streets. Since 1980, he had worked for Warfield Rohr Co. He was a member of Little Italy Lodge of the Order of Sons of Italy.

Despite being a grape-stomping novice, Marco Reabe displayed so much enthusiasm -- and sent so much juice flying -- that he took first place in a contest at yesterday's Columbus Day festival in Little Italy. His strategy: "To stomp my feet as fast as possible," said Reabe, a customer account manager for MBNA and North Baltimore resident. "Everyone else was a little nervous," he said. "They were afraid to get into it." Yesterday, there was lots to get into in celebration of Christopher Columbus' 1492 landing in the new world.

IN BALTIMORE COUNTY Italian Festival slated for tomorrow and Sunday The Baltimore County Italian Festival is scheduled for this weekend. The free festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. tomorrow and from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday in and around the Towson Courthouse Plaza, which stretches out from the county courthouse at 401 Bosley Ave. The event will include art and craft exhibits, food vendors and entertainment. Proceeds from the festival will support a college scholarship fund and other charitable endeavors of the Towson Dulaney Lodge of the Sons of Italy.

James "Jim" Henry Thomas, a Westinghouse Electric Corp. employee for 30 years who was active in the Order of the Sons of Italy, died in his sleep Wednesday at his Ocean Pines home. He was 77 and had colon cancer. Born in Baltimore, he was the fifth child of Carl and Caroline Thomas, who ran Thomas' Bakery on Pratt Street. He grew up in Highlandtown and graduated from Patterson High School in the mid-1940s. Mr. Thomas reached the rank of lance corporal in the Marine Corps during the Korean War. He later earned an associate's degree in business and computer programming at Catonsville Community College.

Despite being a grape-stomping novice, Marco Reabe displayed so much enthusiasm -- and sent so much juice flying -- that he took first place in a contest at yesterday's Columbus Day festival in Little Italy. His strategy: "To stomp my feet as fast as possible," said Reabe, a customer account manager for MBNA and North Baltimore resident. "Everyone else was a little nervous," he said. "They were afraid to get into it." Yesterday, there was lots to get into in celebration of Christopher Columbus' 1492 landing in the new world.

On Saturday, October 25, 2003, CHARLES THOMAS HIRD, of Randallstown; beloved husband of Marie J. Hird (nee Mu); devoted father of Dannie "Biff" and Sharon Hird; Robert and Patricia Hird, Patricia and the late Robert Dillon, William "Bud" and Maggie Hird. Mr. Hird was one of 13 children. Surviving him are sister Lela Epley and brother Wesley Hird. Also survived by nine grandchildren with a special bond to granddaughter Gina Regalbuto and three great-grandchildren. Also survived by best friend and neighbor Harry and LaRue Schafer.