LITTLE ITALY NEWS JANUARY 2016 EDITION

www.troylittleitaly.org

troylittleitaly@gmail.com

Our Christmas in Little Italy event which followed the annual Joseph's House Winter Walk for
the Homeless attracted over 200 people who gathered at Troy's Liberty Square. The collage of a
dozen photographs by Rocco DeFazio presents a good representation of the various activities
which included traditional Christmas carols played on bag pipes, the music of a Samba Band,
the reading of the Christmas story, the La Posada procession, and refreshments provided by
staff and residents of Joseph's House. The event grows each year as additional activities are
added and more people participate and attend.

NEW FEATURE
Families of Little Italy
Submitted by Mike Esposito
We are adding a new monthly feature to our newsletter which will acknowledge
many families who were longtime residents of our neighborhood.
If you would like to have your family represented, please email a photo to
troylittleitaly@gmail.com and include the names of those in the photo. If it is a
large group we may have to indicate the family name only but we would like to
honor your parents or grandparents so please include their names even though
they may not be in the photograph.

Pasinella Family. Madelyn and Albert Pasinella (center of photograph) gather with
their children and grandchildren for a family picnic. They were the parents of Jane
Mamone, Mary Cioffi, Albert, Rose, Inez, Louis, Angela Houlihan, Frances Bliss,
and Elizabeth Roehr. Standing next to Madelyn is her sister Lena Campana Bocketti. The Pasinella's operated a grocery store at 321 Fourth Street for several years.

Teta Family. Although born in Watervliet, several of the ten children of Anthony
Sr. and Lucy (LaCivita) Teta were longtime residents of Troy. Pictured are John,
Anthony Sr., Rocco, Robert, Concetto (father of Lucy), Anthony Jr., Lucy, Dorothy, Lucy, Nancy, Philip, Mary, and Nicholas. Their paternal grandparents, Rocco
and Dorothea Teta lived on Washington Street.

Visk (Visco) Family. Members gather in the backyard of their Liberty Street home. Antonio
and Philomena were parents of eight children: Elizabeth, Rose, Vincenzo, Gaetano, Mary, Anthony, Frank, and James. They were among the first families to join St. Anthony of Padua Parish.

DeMaria Family. Left to right, Louis, Celia Church, Lucille Salerno, Theresa
Alber, Mary O'Donnell, Joseph. The family was honored with a ceremony in
October 2015. A bronze plaque will be installed in front of 229 Fourth Street in
the spring, 2016.

Bevevino Family. Longtime residents of Hill Street, Dominic and Elizabeth

Bevevino were parents of ten children, seven sons, Bruno, James, Dominic,
Nicholas, Frank, and Joseph, and four daughters, Rose, Marion, Catherine, and
Mary. Family members were volunteers for decades at the Italian Community
Center and the Ciccarelli-Rea-Agars-Bevevino Veterans Post.

DECEMBER MEETING
January 20, 6 pm
Italian Community Center
1450 Fifth Avenue, Troy N. Y.
Meeting will be held on the second floor

Have a Safe
and Happy New Year
ICC/St. Mary's Soup Kitchen Serve Holiday Meals
The weekly soup kitchen sponsored by the Italian Community Center with support from former St. Mary's parishioners, served over one hundred guests for
Thanksgiving and Christmas meals at the Center's headquarters, 1450 Fifth Avenue. The Soup Kitchen is a continuation of an effort started several dozen years
ago by the former parish church. Over the years volunteers from the parish aided
by students from LaSalle Institute, Catholic Central High School, and Russell
Sage College recognized the need in the community and offered a food pantry and
two meals each week for the less fortunate.
Submitted by Sam Chiappone

SOUP KITCHEN
THURSDAY 4:40 to 5:30
Italian Community Center
1450 Fifth Avenue, Troy, N.Y

Submitted by Andrea Daley

Submitted by Andrea Daley

Fire on Ida Street

A devastating fire destroyed a residence at 114 Ida Street on Christmas Day. The
setting is a densely populated block along the Poestenkill. Thankfully there was
no loss of life although most of the family possessions were lost. Neighbors immediately helped with donations of money, food, and clothing. The Red Cross
came to the aid of the families and a neighbor set up a GoFundMe site for donations. There was also damage to the building at 116 Ida Street, the longtime residence of the Catone family.