They came from Tuscany and Rome, Abruzzo and Calabria, but in Cortland they were all Italians, and they were a tight-knit cultural group when they arrived between the 1890s and 1930s.
Their Mass was in Italian; they largely all lived on the same few streets.
With the passage of time, and the increased connectivity from social media, that has changed, but the Stella D’Oro Lodge meetings bring them back to their roots.
On Oct. 12, the Stella D’Oro Lodge, which is affiliated with Sons and Daughters of Italy in America, will host a 90th anniversary dinner-dance at Tinelli’s Hathaway House in Solon.
Hundreds of Italian immigrants came to Cortland between the 1890s and 1930s, seeking jobs on railroad, Wickwire Wireworks, Cortland Line Co., and Brockway Motor Co., said Stephanie Passeri-Densmore, immediate past president of the Stella D’Oro Lodge.
The Italian men who immigrated found community by establishing the San Rocco Lodge, and the women found it shortly after via the Stella D’Oro women’s lodge, established Oct. 8, 1934, Passeri-Densmore said.
At the 90th anniversary dinner, members Josephine Mironti and Francesca Sciaruto will be honored for being longtime members, at ages 90 and 91. Sciaruto came to Cortland after her husband came, and she ran a grocery store.
The first president of the lodge, Josephine Fabrizio, was the first Italian-American woman to be awarded a degree from Cortland Normal School, which is now SUNY Cortland. She then became the first Italian-American teacher in the area. Other members owned small businesses or worked at factories.
Five generations of Passeri-Densmore’s family have been in the lodge.
“We have a lot of grandmother, mother and daughters,” said member Adrienne Passeri-Bruno.
When Italians first arrived in America, their lives revolved around the St. Anthony’s Church. The Stella D’Oro Lodge served as a place for activities outside of church, Passeri-Densmore said.
“I see a lot of similarities between the new Ukrainian community that came here in the ‘90s and the Italian community,” she said. “I have friends at the Ukrainian church and I said to myself, ‘Oh, this is what it must’ve been like when my grandparents came, because everything was in Ukrainian and the church is the center of their life. The church, for me, is still the center of my life, but a lot of us are in other things, like being in other organizations.”
Italian food is still a major tie to their heritage, lodge members say. Passeri-Densmore still cooks the seven fishes for Christmas Eve. The lodge secretary, Mika Pizzola, still enjoys the traditional baking.
Over the years, the lodge expanded from only being for Italian women to having members of diverse backgrounds. The group raises money for charities, including the Alzheimer’s Association, Loaves and Fishes, the American Cancer Society, and the Wounded Warrior Project, Passeri-Densmore said.
Mayor Scott Steve will issue a proclamation at City Hall, declaring Oct. 8 Stella D’Oro Day, said President Linda Riccardi
The lodge meets the third Thursday of each month at St. Anthony’s Church, 50 Pomeroy St. in Cortland.
