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ROCKFORD'S ETHNIC CLUBS

They've survived for nearly a century

by Jennifer Halperin

When Joseph and Madeline Girardin emigrated to the United States from Venice, Italy, at the beginning of the 20th century, they made their way to the iron ore mines in northern Wisconsin — for the work, as well as for the hilly landscape reminiscent of their former home in northern Italy.

But when the mines closed shortly after they arrived, says their grandson Joe Mioni, the couple moved south to Rockford in search of industrial jobs.

Like many recent immigrants, they had no health insurance or workers compensation, no strong support system in case of illness or accident. "There wasn't all the aid that you have today," says Mioni, who has lived in Rockford all his life. "[Immigrants] really didn't have much of anything, and often left much of their families behind in the old country."

Joseph and Madeline moved into an area of south Rockford populated largely by Italian immigrants who had formed clubs devoted to preserving their culture and helping each other through difficult times. Immigrants from Sicily formed the St. Mary's Club; those from Rome established the St. Ambrogio Society. Immigrants from Italy's Verdi and Lombardi regions formed the Verdi Hall and the American Lombardi Society.

The Girardins joined the local Venetian Club, formed in 1910. Through the group, they joined a network of people in similar circumstances, all of whom had come from the region around Venice. Many, in fact, knew each others' families in their native land.

"Every month, they'd each put a certain amount of money into a pot," says Mioni. "It was meant to be a fund for needy members, so that if someone got sick or needed surgery, they got help from the club's pot. If they were out of work, they could come get paid a certain amount every day until they found a job. It was a way for them to support each other in a place that was far from their families and loved ones."

Appealing to all ages

Today, though the demands of modern society have flung families across continents and rendered many cultural traditions dispensable, the Venetian Club remains remarkably active.

In fact, a dozen ethnic clubs continue to serve as social — and sometimes political and financial — centers for thousands of Rockford-area residents. Besides Italian clubs, there are German, Polish, Mexican, Lithuanian and Swedish organizations.

Many of the clubs host activities that appeal to all ages, including costume parties for children celebrating a group's heritage and free dinners for the elderly. Such activities help keep the clubs' membership relatively high across age groups.

The strongest and oldest of these ethnic clubs is the 600-member Baltic Lodge, founded in 1907 by 34 Swedish immigrants.

"Family ties are the thing that keep it going," says Kay Lester, whose family has been involved in the Baltic Lodge for more than three decades.

"Now the average age of members is 55 to 57 years old, but there are lots of children and young people involved in the club. We've made it so the families feel it's part of their lives."

In many other cities, clubs like these have died out or evolved into other types of organizations — often because their members did not make young people an essential part of club activities, says urban planning professor John-Jairo Betancur of the University of Illinois at Chicago's Great Cities Program.

"In Chicago, some groups of immigrants tried to have these clubs but succeeded only for a very short time," he says. "The common reason they were formed during the early 1900s was to act as insurance for the members, and most helped out with members' funeral costs.

"One reason they died out is that new generations didn't know them," Betancur says. "They were not family- oriented. In the '20s they became social in nature — a way to celebrate different cultures' holidays, like Mexican Independence Day. Eventually many of them became political in nature, advocating different politicians or legislation. Many became the source of today's community-based political organizations."

He speculates that ethnic clubs may have a better chance of surviving in cities and towns smaller than a large metropolis like Chicago, where members of ethnic groups may become quickly integrated into the larger population.

"Where there's a smaller population, the groups may want to stick together more and stay cohesive,"

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Betancur says. "And certainly it's a crucial way to keep their heritage alive."

In Rockford, the clubs also play a significant role in local politics. In fact, membership in a club is seen as an important part of the formula for winning a city or county office, and for keeping it.

"Politically it's good to be in clubs," says Winnebago County Sheriff Don Gasparini, whose Italian grandparents helped found Rockford's Venetian Club in the early 1900s. "In fact, it's good to be in a lot of clubs. I belong to several. In my business you have to know a lot of people, and the ethnic clubs are a good way to access hundreds of people who are members."

Indeed, Tim Simms of the Baltic Lodge is challenging incumbent Mayor Charles Box this November. Lenny Jacobson of Rockford's predominantly Swedish "Triple L" Mutual Benefit Society sits on the city council.

And, just as the clubs have helped individuals gain political clout, they themselves have secured some measure of power in the city. The clubs, for instance, pay half as much for their liquor licenses as do local taverns.

This influence is something to be proud of, members say.

Yet the clubs have not forgotten their original purpose: to preserve a group's ethnic heritage and to help its members.

Until the 1940s, for instance, Swedish was the only language spoken at the Baltic Lodge, so that culture from the "old country" was easily preserved. And Chas Parks, who tends bar at the lodge, says that during the Depression the Swedish club provided a rooming house and showers so members had a place to stay.

In some ways, the ethnic clubs still operate as mutual aid societies. The Venetians, for instance, award death benefits of $500 to a member's family when he dies, says Mioni. They also pay $25 to members who turn in a bill for a visit to the emergency room.

When a baby is born to a member of the Baltic Lodge, the club buys a $1,000 life insurance policy for the child and pays the first three years' premiums. The club also awards college scholarships with money raised through weekly Bingo games and fund-raising dinners.

Louise Heden, a 30-year member of the Swedish club's women's auxiliary, the Baltic Star, and a regular at Bingo, has two grandsons hoping to become doctors who have won college scholarships from the club.

"It's really a case of helping each other out when you can," says Heden. "A lot of people here never had the opportunity to go to college, so when we can help out the young people who do have the chance, it's something we want to do. It's a good use of the dues we've paid in to the club."

On a larger scale, the groups often raise money to donate to charitable causes. At the 600-member Rockford Lithuanian Club, there are frequent fund-raisers for relief efforts in Lithuania, says treasurer Mona Sernas. "If we don't remember and try to help the roots we come from," she says, "there's not much point in trying to preserve and keep the culture going."

Illustration by Mike Cramer
Rockford's dozen ethnic clubs celebrate their members' culture and history. The Baltic
Lodge, for one, is a popular gathering place for social, educational and family activities.

A place to gather

Good works notwithstanding, the clubs' most important role for many members is providing a gathering place. Most have full service bars where members can meet for lunch or dinner, a round of beers and a game of darts.

"Years ago you couldn't drink on Sundays, so the clubs started allowing liquor to be served," says Parks. "The bars became an important part of club culture then. It was a big deal to sign your son up when he came of age, a rite of passage in some ways."

On holidays there are parties. On significant days of members' lives, there are celebrations. The clubs are a place for baptisms, bridal showers, wedding receptions and retirement parties. As a result, they are woven into the fabric of their members' lives.

"I remember as a kid growing up going to picnics and fish fries at the club," Mioni says.

"It just seemed like the Venetian Club was always part of what was going on in our family's lives. My dad was past president, so maybe we were

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especially active. But I remember growing up with the kids of other members, and those kids are members themselves today and still participate in the club events all the time. We really grew up together."

Mioni's sister held her wedding reception at the club. His dad retired at the club. His children were baptized at the club. He says he almost can't imagine life without the club.

While the groups originally had stringent membership policies, allowing only people of particular regional descent to join, they now generally open their doors to anyone who shares a country's heritage. The Venetians, for instance, allow anyone with Italian ancestry to join.

What's more, to keep membership and income strong, most clubs now allow so-called social members to frequent their bars and events. These members can be of any background. At the Venetian Club they pay a $20 annual fee rather than the regular members' $60 yearly dues, but are not privy to any of the club's insurance, health or death benefits.

While social members provide an important source of income, says Gasparini, it is the regular members who have a commitment to preserving their culture that are the lifeblood of the groups.

"In so many areas of the country you're so busy you don't get to see friends and families on a regular basis," he says. "Here, it's almost like going to church. You see the same people week after week at events, and you build a better relationship with your own family if you have social activities with them like we do here.

"A lot of the people who originally founded these clubs came here with nothing," says Gasparini, whose own grandparents helped start the Venetian Club after immigrating from Venice to Salt Lake City, Utah, and then moving to Illinois.

"They built their lives here and have left a legacy for their children that in some ways looks back on their own family history and traditions.

"Everyone's proud of their nationalities," he says. "I think it's the most valuable thing a family can pass on."

34 / November 1996 Illinois Issues