Willow Glen Resident

Cover Story

Photographs by Vicki Thompson

Bingo Caller: Italian Men's Club member Dan Palermo, 52, of Willow Glen calls bingo on Monday nights at the Elks Lodge. He is one of the youngest members of the organization, but says, 'One day, I'm going to be old and not be able to take care of myself. I hope that younger people come and take our place.'

Mangia

Italian Men's Club knows how to serve it up

By Mayra Flores De Marcotte

The room is abuzz. Lighted electronic bingo boards are the backdrop. People come in and purchase their bingo tabs, pick up their cards and find a table. Old-timers sit around and share war stories. A group of senior ladies begin inking their cards. While a sense of anticipation fills the room, the smell of fresh pasta, meatballs and pizza wafts through the air, garnering the desired effect--people quickly surround the tables waiting to be served.

Every Monday night, the Italian Men's Club at the San Jose Elks Lodge in Willow Glen on Alma Avenue hosts bingo and dishes out a homecooked dinner to seniors in the surrounding communities.

"We have been serving the community for 26 years," says the club's acting vice president, Dan Palermo. "It was something we could do for the community, for the senior citizens."

The men's club was founded in 1980 as a response to a disaster in their native Italy. A magnitude 6.9 earthquake hit Southern Italy on Nov. 23, 1980. The quake, the largest in that region of the country in more than 100 years killed about 3,000 people.

The original group of 20 men from the South Bay collected clothes, blankets and other goods and shipped them to the earthquake victims. Along with the supplies, the men raised funds that would go toward the rebuilding of a local elementary school in Italy.

This first effort led to a desire to do more charitable work, and the group decided to help individuals closer to home--the neighborhood's elderly residents.

"The way I was raised, we watch out and take care of our family, especially our senior citizens," Palermo says. "In our organization, this is the same."

Palermo, a Willow Glen resident, has been part of the men's club for six years. The 52-year-old is of Italian descent and also one of the youngest members of the organization. Volunteers range from 60 to 90 years old.

"One day, I'm going to be old and not be able to take care of myself," he says. "I hope that younger people come and take our place. I hope that they will be there to take care of us. There needs to be a younger crowd to set the same example to future generations."

For now, the members are up to the task. The proceeds from senior lunches, bingo night and dinners benefit approximately 200 local charities including Sacred Heart Community Services and HOPE.

"The money is earned within the community, and we want that money to stay and benefit this community," Palermo says.

Originally from Milan, Italy, 81-year-old Franco Gallo says taking care of the community's elderly is almost second nature.

"Our elderly people, they came to this country and started off with a big dream," Gallo says. "It's now our duty to keep going that way. Doing this makes us feel comfortable because, yes, we are doing something for others."

Giving to charity is just a good cause that accompanies good food for most seniors who come to bingo night and dinner, says San Jose resident Anthony Martino.

"The food we serve is as close to homemade food as you're gonna get," Martino says. "We still follow traditional recipes."

He says seniors will come in on Mondays and talk about the food.

"The next time they're here, they bring their own recipes and talk about how they make it," he says.

All the recipes used by the club have been passed down from the old days from the kitchens of the women in the families, says 86-year-old Ralph Perrotti.

"This is just good for the seniors," Perrotti says.

The Willow Glen resident, one of the original members of the club, has been working in and out of the kitchen for 26 years.

He, along with the two main cooks, get up at 4 a.m. to prepare the traditional sauce.

The Monday senior lunch and dinner menus include pork roast, Salisbury steak and, of course, Italian pasta and pizza.

In case anyone forgets, Perrotti says, "I'm the pizza guy."

Along with Perrotti, 88-year-old Sam Pintacura, cook No. 2, also sets up shop in the kitchen.

"This group of cooks have now been cooking together for three years," Pintacura says.

The homemade sauce is special, pasta Milanese, he says. Pintacura says there's one particular ingredient that sets this sauce apart from the mainstream ones.

"We use sweet anise," he says.

The main cook, 70-year-old Joe Rotolo, has been cooking since he was a youngster.

"When I was growing up, my mother and father worked at the canneries," Rotolo says. "So when I would come home, I would boil pasta and make something to eat."

It wasn't until he retired 11 years ago, however, that Rotolo says he refined his cooking.

"I love pasta," Rotolo says. "I'm not a chef. I'm a cook. I like the food that we present to our seniors, so it's fun to do."

A typical Monday for these masters in the traditional kitchen begins at 4 a.m. The men are on their feet for about 6 1/2 hours.

"Usually, we stop two times for a cup of coffee," Rotolo says.

Then, at 8:30 a.m., someone yells out "pasta, pasta" and a pot of sauce is put to boil for a taste test.

"In order to prepare the food and be able to walk away, it takes about an hour, hour and a half, including cutting and browning," he says.

Everything is then brought to a boil and then simmered for 3 1/2 hours. The task is no easy one, since the men are cooking homemade sauce for about 200 seniors. The cooks use 15 to 16 gallons of tomato sauce, 6 pounds of onions, two to three heads of garlic, three bunches of parsley, and different seasonings. Included in the ingredients are 10 pounds of hamburger meat, 5 pounds of ground pork and two tins of mushrooms.

At the end of the night, when the dishes are served and bingo is being called out, it's a sense of family that resonates with all involved in around the tables, kitchen and bingo cards.

"We are, without a doubt, a big family," Gallo says. "If someone is sick or in need of comfort, we are there for them. We are very fortunate to have one another."