Visitors from Trentino – Summer 2015

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Michael Job sharing chocolates with students and teachers from Cles
Michael Job sharing chocolates with students and teachers from Cles

For 3 weeks in June, 17 high school students from Liceo Bertrand Russell of Cles in the Val di Non visited San Francisco. This was not your typical sightseeing adventure. This group came to  volunteer in the community. They assisted the homeless at Glide Memorial Church, supported  recycling efforts at Recology and SCRAP, and lent a hand at  Alemany Farms, a community garden project. Michael Job, our club’s “ambassador” in San Francisco, assisted the group in finding lodging and volunteer opportunities. He shared some chocolates with them just prior to their departure along with a note on behalf of our club:
Circolo Trentino di San Francisco would like to thank you for coming to San Francisco and leaving your hearts here, working with our homeless at Glide and helping to beautify Buena Vista Park. Your journey has been a true labor of love. Grazie mille! Keep peace in your hearts. A big thank you to Michael, and of course, a big thank you to the students and teachers  from Cles

Seattle Trentino Club

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Screen shot 2016-02-23 at 10.31.23 AMThe Seattle Trentino Club is the newest of the 21 that exist in the US. It was founded less than 10 years ago, primarily by descendants from the town of Revò in the Val di Non. They are a very active group, and this summer they sent to Trentino one of the five Americans that participated in the youth exchange program. Her name is Emily Kalstad, and the family is from Dambel in the Val di Non. Next year the group hopes to host the Coro (Chorus) San Romedio of the Val di Non. Perhaps we can convince the group to come to California as well!

To follow the Seattle Trentino Club, we invite you to join them on Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/seattletrentinoclub/.

Zanonis

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ZanoniBob (Robert Angelo) and Ruby (Franch) Zanoni are longtime parishioners at Presentation Catholic Church in Stockton, a place they refer to as their “home away from home”. On June 12, 1954 they were the first couple to be wed at the church. In April of this year, Presentation dedicated 2 pages of their newsletter to Bob and Ruby and their history in the community.

Bob’s father, Serafino Zanoni, was from Cloz in the Val di Non, and his mother, Pia Panizza, was from Vermiglio in the Val di Sole. During WWI Vermiglio was on the battle line and suffered from massive bombardment. The town was evacuated. Bob’s mother was 9 or 10 at the time, and she was relocated to a refugee camp in Mittendorff, Austria along with her family. She had an uncle in Cloz, and after the war the family settled there until Vermiglio could be rebuilt. It was then that Bob’s parents met. Ruby’s parents, Giovanni
Franch and Felicita Flor, were also from Cloz. Her father was a coal miner in Illinois and Missouri, and her parents married in St. Louis. They later moved to Stockton where Ruby’s father practiced carpentry. In 1950, 19-year-old Ruby accompanied her parents on a trip to Italy. In transit they stopped in Chicago to visit Bob’s grandmother, who they knew from their time in Cloz. During the visit Bob and Ruby met and established a long distance friendship. That led to a lifetime of bliss plus 6 children, 12 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren.

In Chicago Bob delivered groceries for his family’s store. In Stockton he started in the
grocery business but then ran a car wash till retiring. Bob and Ruby are active members of their local branch of the Italian Catholic Federation (ICF) and Bob served as president. Bob’s uncle, Father Silvio Zanoni, was instrumental in forming ICF clubs in California and Las Vegas. Bob is also our club’s representative in the Central Valley. We are not alone in thanking Bob and Ruby for their dedicated service to the community.