Dear Readers,
A May Minestrone, of Italian connections is served:
Alaska's Bishop Kettler, is shepherd to our nation's largest diocese, geographically speaking and it is the invention of Italian born Guglielmo Marconi, the radio, that helps the Bishop communicate with the many villages scattered across the sprawling diocese.A few random missionaries visited the territory in its early years, but the church's sustained presence dates only from the 1870s, when the Jesuits assumed responsibility for missions to Alaska.
They were joined by small communities of religious sisters - initially the Quebec - based Sisters of Saint Ann, but eventually other groups as well.
Parish churches were built in settlements large and small: Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau, of course, but also Nome, Wrangell, Nulato, and even Unalaska in the Aleutians and Diomede in the Bering Strait. Though far removed from the historic centers of Catholicism, the always-small church in Alaska has had a wide impact.
Readers who wish to support the work of Alaska Radio can send donations at CATHOLIC BISHOP OF NORTHERN ALASKA, 1312 PEGER ROAD FAIRBANKS, ALASKA 99709. Phone (907) 374-9532 or www.cbna.info
First class stamp donations are also appreciated....
Andrew Canepa, talented editor of the Piemontesi nel Mondo of Northern California Boletin, recently wrote of Ernest Borgnine in Piemonte.
“We've mentioned Borgnine's Piedmontese roots and childhood in a couple of issues.Now, we learn from Luigi Dellacroce's online Notiziario piemontese that the veteran 90-year-old actor spent 6 days in the region back in November, where he visited Ottiglio in the province of Alessandria, birthplace of his father Camillo Borgnino, and was feted at the Turin Film Festival.
In Ottiglio, Ernest met with long-lost relatives and joined, teary-eyed, in a Piedmontese sing-along.”For Readers with a Piedmontese connection, living in Northern California, THE PIEMONTESI NEL MONDO OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA mailing address is 640 Sacramento Street, San Francisco, CA 94111.
These fine folks also have chapters in Southern California and Chicago....
Buon Tempo News editor and secretary Stan Elam is the man to contact (510-178-1240 or by mail at 17213 Via Del Rey, San Lorenzo, CA 94580) in the East Bay Area if you have an Italian root anywhere in the “Boot” or even an Italian American neighbor who thinks you are a good guy that likes to have a “Buon Tempo” while supporting worthwhile community and national organizations, i.e. The May Buon Tempo Club Ravioli Dinner, held at the Hayward-Castro Valley Moose Lodge was a fund-raiser for the American Cancer Society while “Buon Tempo” efforts following the 2001, “Twin Towers” tragedy focused on helping the five young children of brother Joe and John Vigiano, who were left fatherless because of the tragic September 11th event.
The Buon Tempo Club in addition to monthly dinners, regularly schedules bus trips, fishing trips and even bingo for those who wish to enjoy more good fellowship.
The Buon Tempo Club has an energetic young president, Paul Grazzini, who welcomes new ideas and renewed activity.
From Buon Tempo members Richard Vannucci comes a bit of minutia that sparks interest in the roots of our names. Liguria has some very interesting names.
Unique surnames with translations are: Barbagelata - frozen bear, Schiappacasso - ladle crusher, Vaccamonia - demo cow, Guastavino - winespoiler, Bevalaqua - drink water.
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Cat Scan (Bioimagings) principal designer is Frank A. Di Bianca, Ph.d, a scientist who has devoted the major portion of his career to the research, design and development of bioimaging devices and system.
He is the principal designer of the General Electric 9800 CT scanner (Cat scan) which has examined approximately 100 million patients since its inception in 1981. He holds 21 patents, is the author of more than 140 published articles and is the UNICO National Marconi Science Awardee for 2007.
This prestigious award was established in 1995 and named after Guglielmo Marconi, “Father of the Radio”, and great inventor of the wireless. The award was in celebration of the centennial of Marconi's first successful experiment with wireless telegraphy.
The inventor was to realize the powerful extent of his invention when in 1912 an “SOS” for help was carried from the sinking Titanic to the S.S. Carpathia. The ship rushed to the doomed Titanic in time to rescue passengers, saving 717 lives.
At the UNICO Marconi Science Award Banquet, held this year at the Marriott West Hotel, in St. Louis, Missouri, Frank A. Di Bianca, in his acceptance speech stated that he was happy to have been of some service to his fellowman.
He gave a nostalgic speech about his grandparents and family who emigrated from a small village on the side of a mountaintop in Sicily in 1910.
“Imagine the hardships of leaving your home because you want to give your children a better life,” he said. We are all here because of them.”
UNICO National President Michael Spano was the Honorary Chair of the Marconi Science Award Committee.
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CT Scanning (Computed Tomography) sometimes called CAT scanning of the body, to refresh your memory and mine is a non invasive, painless medical test that helps physicians diagnose and treat medical conditions.
CT imaging uses special x-ray equipment to produce multiple images or pictures of the inside of the body and a computer to join them together in cross-sectional views of the area being studied. The images can then be examined on a computer monitor or printed.
CT scans of internal organs, bone, soft tissue and blood vessels provide greater clarity than conventional x-ray exams.
Using specialized equipment and expertise to create and interpret CT scans of the body, radiologists can more easily diagnose problems such as cancers, cardiovascular disease, infectious disease, trauma and musculoskeletal disorders.
CT imaging is one of the best tools for studying the chest and abdomen because it provides detailed, cross-sectional views of all types of tissue.CT is often the preferred method for diagnosing many different cancers, including lung, liver and pancreatic cancer, since the image allows a physician to confirm the presence of a tumor and measure its size, precise location and the extent of the tumor's involvement with other nearby tissue.
CT is invaluable in diagnosing and treating spinal problems and injuries to the hands, feet and other skeletal structures because it can clearly show even very small bones as well as surrounding tissues such as muscle and blood vessels.
A CT examination plays a significant role in the early detection, diagnosis and treatment of vascular diseases that can lead to stroke, kidney failure or even a finale! CT imaging is sometimes compared to looking into a loaf of bread by cutting the loaf into thin slices.
When the image slices are reassembled by computer software, the result is a very detailed-virtual multidimensional view of the body's interior without an actual cutting open for a medical “look see.”
“Mille Grazie” to UNICO Marconi Science 2007 Awardee, Frank A. Bianca, Ph.d, you have indeed been of service to your fellowman and done us proud.
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Did you know that our 32nd president, Franklin D. Roosevelt's father, James, once enlisted in Garibaldi's Red Shirts and served briefly with him in Naples? “Grazie” to Reader Arturo Criscione who spotted this information in the book Eleanor and Franklin, authored by Joseph P. Lash and published 1971 by W.W. Norton Co. New York. I can share this Italian connection with you:
James Roosevelt (1828-1900), Franklin's father, came from a wealthy New York family. He attended Union College and then for two years did the Grand Tour of Europe.At one point in the turbulent year of 1848 he enlisted in Garibaldi's Red Shirts, who were then besieging Naples. But a siege can be a tedious affair, and James soon returned to the States.
After attending Harvard Law School, he devoted himself to his investments and to cultivating a life of dignified rural amenity on the Hudson in the manor style of the British nobility.
He made several bids for great financial power by putting together mergers in coal and railroads, and even though the mergers failed, his fortune was large enough to enable him to sustain the leisured life of a Hudson River gentleman at his 1,000-acre Hyde Park estate.
James Roosevelt, a widower, married F.D.R's mother, Sara Delano in 1880 and in 1882 their only child, Franklin, our future president, was born.
Franklin married Eleanor Roosevelt, niece of our 26th president (1901-1909) Theodore Roosevelt in 1904. Eleanor attended Allenwood, a private school near London where she studied French, German and Italian.
Her Italian teacher, Signorina Samaia wrote on her 1901-02 report card “excellent student, she speaks and writes Italian easily.”
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