When South Medford was the hub of the Universe, Pt.1
Once upon a time, if you were growing up in South Medford and you lived in walking distance of Main Street, your world was complete. What did you need that wasn’t there? Why would you ever leave? Why would you even need a car? According to Anita D’Antonio, Louise D’Antonio, and Nancy Chito, South Medford from the 1920’s until the 1980’s was a very...
How to Butcher a Beautiful Language
Tuesday, January 7, 2020 at 7:00 pm. New Season's Market, 7703 SW Nyberg Street, Tualatin OR. For the past two decades, Bob Powers and his husband Donald have made dozens of trips to the beautiful walled city of Lucca. For much of the past decade, Bob has been working on a travel memoir, based upon his experience trying to learn the blessed Italian...
Scompare Trent Carlini, l’italo americano che riportò in vita il leggendario Elvis
Se ne è andato in silenzio, come il suo mito, il più grande interprete al mondo dell’icona musicale del Novecento. Un talento straordinario, forse poco conosciuto in Italia, eppure Trent Carlini parlava italiano perché italiani erano i suoi genitori. Nato 57 anni fa a Chicago, nell’Illinois, come Robert Trentacarlini, aveva trascorso l’adolescenza...
When Italian immigrants fueled the coal mining industry
A century ago in Black Diamond, Wash., the freight trains arrived empty twice a day and twice a day they left, loaded with coal. Railroad assistant Amos Ungherini would go down the line each day in a hand-pumped “speeder” to weigh the cars. Back then, the railroad was more than just a way to get coal to market. It was the lifeblood of the town. Ung...
The terrible winter of 1889
About the time my great-grandfather, Pietro Cassinelli, came to Dayton about 1888, one of the most severe winters in recorded history settled upon the land. After leaving the sunny fields of Tuscany, he and a few relatives settled in the Dayton Valley with the intent to grow crops and livestock for the markets of the Comstock. Snowfall was early an...
Proposed Bill Would Change Columbus Day To Indigenous Peoples' Day In Arizona
Arizona observed Native American Day for the first time on June 2 this year. The holiday came from a 2018 bill, and the lawmaker behind that bill is pushing for another change to official state holidays in 2020. State Sen. Jamescita Peshlakai, a member of the Navajo Nation, had bipartisan support in creating Native American Day but putting the holi...
The Leonardo starts unpacking artifacts from Pompeii, for exhibition opening Saturday
With the help of three Italian workmen, Aphrodite made a grand entrance at The Leonardo Museum of Creativity and Innovation on Monday — and she didn’t move an inch. A 1,200-pound, 2,000-year-old statue of the Greek goddess — excavated nearly a century ago from the ruins of the volcano-stricken Italian town of Pompeii — was ceremonially uncrated Mo...
Phil Carlino, a longtime power in Nevada Democratic Party, dies at 93
From the late 1960s throughout the 1970s, few Nevada Democratic office seekers made a serious move without first consulting politico kingmaker Phil Carlino. “It was no big deal — I just liked to work behind the scenes, giving advice to the candidates, trying to help our party,” said Carlino, a rare gold and silver coin dealer for more than half a c...
Petosa Accordions handcrafts instruments for the biggest names in music
The hum of an accordion might transport you to the streets of Paris or a drafty Italian restaurant with red and white checkered tablecloths and candles stuck in Chianti bottles. Maybe polka comes to mind; senior citizens with their socks pulled up to their knees squeezing the bellows in the corner of a Polish community center. But accordions have r...
I più autentici cowboy del Nevada sono italiani. Ecco a voi la famiglia Fallini (since 1868)
La sveglia di Anna suona alle 5 del mattino ogni giorno. Fuori dal ranch, il sole inizia a farsi vedere. Dentro, le faccende da sbrigare sono tante. «A maggio e giugno abbiamo le settimane più lunghe, ma anche il resto dell'anno è dura» dice, mentre prepara uova e bacon a fianco del marito Ty. Durante gli inverni rigidi del Nevada, sono solo loro d...
Casa Italiana Di Las Vegas & La Strega Trattoria Host White Truffle Dinner to Benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® – Nevada
Casa Italiana di Las Vegas, a local non-profit organization and La Strega Trattoria will host a White Truffle Dinner at 6 p.m. on Monday, November 11, 2019, at La Strega, 3555 S. Town Center Dr. Ste., 105, Las Vegas, NV 89135 The evening will include a four-course truffle dinner and wine pairing. The dinner will be followed by “Hopeful Notes”, movi...
Italian Americans in Reno upset at loss of Columbus Day
On Oct. 2, the Reno City Council voted unanimously to recognize Indigenous Peoples Day on the second Monday in October, replacing any official recognition of Columbus Day. Members of American Indian Movement Northern Nevada hailed the move as a show of honor and respect toward Native Americans, but local Italian Americans say they were blindsided b...