Neighborhood News from Little Italy, Baltimore

April 2024

Around the neighborhood

Archdiocese of Baltimore proposes church closures as

part of City-wide merger plan

On the tentative list of proposed mergers ... St. Patrick and St. Vincent de Paul parishes would close and merge with St. Leo the Great.

These are drafts, not decisions.

For St. Leo's Church, it is not a 100% done deal. Although it looks promising, the final decision will be made in early June after public 'Seek the City' forums will be held to discuss future plans. (See dates listed ➡️ on the right.)

"No one can show complacency thinking St. Leo's is saved from the chopping block," says St. Leo's parish office. "We can bet parishioners from the other parishes facing closures will attend the forums in droves to try to persuade the Archdiocese differently."

A final plan will be released in June, at which time pastoral leadership decisions also will be considered.

View list of proposed mergers.

Read story on Catholic Review >>>

It is strongly suggested St. Leo's parishioners attend at least one or both of these public forums to show our support of the present decision!

6:30-8:30pm, Thursday, April 25, Archbishop Curley High School, 3701 Sinclair Lane, Baltimore
6:30-8:30pm, Tuesday, April 30, Our Lady of Victory Church, 4414 Wilkens Avenue (online option – TBA)
SPANISH ONLY: 7-8:30pm, Monday, April 29, Our Lady of Fatima, 6400 E. Pratt Street, Baltimore
Look for directional signage on campus.

Little Italy Lodge Scholarship Foundation

welcomes new major donor for 2024

Gearing up for this month's Taste of Italy dinner at the Little Italy Lodge, the Lodge Foundation welcomes and thanks Dr. Thomas Scalea who donated a generous amount to the scholarship fund to be spread over two years. Scalea joins three other scholarships named after families in the Italian American community.

High school & college students of Italian descent have opportunity to earn scholarships

Little Italy Lodge Foundation's La Famiglia Scholarship is still open for the 2024-2025 school year. Last year, $38,000 was awarded to seven recipients, and the Foundation hopes to far exceed that amount this year. The application and instructions (extended deadline will be announced soon) can be found on littleitalyfoundation.org/application.

SCHOLARSHIP ESSAY QUESTION

“With the changing demographics of our society, what unique challenges does your generation face in preserving and continuing the Italian traditions that your parents and grandparents cherish and have passed on to you? How would you address those challenges?”

LINA's monthly meeting

Tuesday, May 21

7 PM

Little Italy Lodge

905 E. Pratt Street

Neighborhood residents and business owners are welcome from Little Italy, Avalon, Scarlett Place, Trinity Apartments, and Canal Street Malt House.

Doors open 6:30 PM
Italian food for purchase
Cash Bar
Free parking in Lodge lot and along streets

Blast from the past

Submitted by

Denise & Tony Cellinese

"Our Uncle Gaetano "Guy" Sardella was a fixture in Baltimore's Italian American community. Known primarily for his Italian hour radio program, he and his wife, Mary, arranged visits to Italy through their travel agency, Roma Travel. He was a friend to Baltimore Mayor Thomas D'Alessandro. During the war, he taught Italian at the Berlitz School of Languages. In the 1960s, he also taught Italian at the Peabody Conservatory of Music and Baltimore City College. Before joining WCBM in 1940, he was a radio announcer for WPEN in Philadelphia. This Baltimore Sun newspaper article was published after his death in 1993."

More about Guy Sardella excerpted from the book,

Baltimore's Little Italy: Heritage and History of The Neighborhood

During World War II (1941–45), the U.S. Army had captured and shipped to the states almost 500,000 Italian, German and Japanese prisoners of war and housed them in 650 camps across the 48 states. Camp Meade (now Fort Meade) in Maryland was both a training center and headquarters for the Enemy Prisoner of War Information Bureau; it first hosted POWs in September 1943 — 1,632 Italians and 58 Germans — and kept records on all POWs throughout the United States.

The POWs worked locally, building stone bridges on post and laboring on area farms. Because Italy had surrendered to the Allies, the Italian POWs were given privileges and treated better than the Germans, such as being allowed to shop in the post exchange and allowed to leave the compound with Italian visitors. Their fatigues were stamped on the back with large ‘PW’ lettering.

After learning of the POWs’ privileges, WCBM radioman Guy Sardella, a native of Little Italy, prompted folks on air to visit the prisoners. Soon, lines of cars containing hundreds of people motored weekly to Camp Meade, laden with picnic food, cheerfulness and the prisoners’ native language. Baltimore Italians prepared picnic food for the soldiers - meals the prisoners were accustomed to eating at home in Italy: veal cutlets, roasted chicken and peppers, macaroni, potatoes, salads, greens, cakes, and homemade wine.

Sardella became a liaison between the prisoners and the people of Little Italy. He organized a musical band with them, introduced them to local Italians, arranged for Catholic Masses at the outdoor chapel, organized a soccer team, and took Baltimore mayor Thomas D’Alesandro to the barracks to deliver a speech in Italian. D'Alesandro fielded angry letters from men complaining their wives were spending every Sunday afternoon socializing with POWs! Some marriages ensued between girls in Little Italy and the Italian prisoners of war. The group photo below shows a gathering between Baltimore Italians and the Italian prisoners of war.

Although it was a memorable time, Camp Meade prisoners were gone by the fall of 1944. Laid to rest in its cemetery, marked with simple white headstones, are 33 German POWs and two Italians: Agostine Maffeis and Pasquino Savigini.

submit your vintage photo >>>

Include caption, people ID, location, approximate year, and your name.

Photos must be Little Italy or Italian immigrant-related.

Offering a piece of Little Italy history

This original 1965 framed Wine List from Velleggia's Restaurant was autographed by a handful of Baltimore Colts during a group dinner: Johnny Unitas, Ray Berry, Tom Matte, Jon Boyd, Bob Welch, and others, with some adding personal notes of well wishes.

"The Colts, especially Unitas, were the kings of this town!" said Michael McGinnis. "They had a close relationship with the Velleggia family and Little Italy," This amazing piece of history is available from McGinnis who will donate partial proceeds to Promotion Center for Little Italy and St. Leo's Church. Call or email Michael at 410-409-8248 with interest.

Little Italy events

Italian-related events elsewhere

from our e-mailbox

"Great update! Packed full for everyone. Brava!"

~ Donna DiPalo

"Thank you for the newsletter. I always enjoy reading about the happenings in Little Italy. I plan on attending as many of the events that I can during 2024. Enjoyed your book, too. Great newsletter. Very informative! Thank you."

~ Best regards, Patrick DiCarlo

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