Focusing on the community at large and not on oneself has been the motto for one Rotterdam resident throughout her life.
The Gabriele D’Annunzio Lodge No. 321 of the Sons of Italy is honoring Frances Suraci White, a longtime member of the organization, at its 96th Columbus Day Banquet on Friday, Oct. 14, at Mallozzi’s in Rotterdam. Lodge Spokeswoman Dolores Scalise said White is very deserving of the honor for her many years of dedication to the Sons of Italy. Also, her character stands out as being caring and generous.
“I’ve known her since I was a young child … and I used to spend my summers out at her home. She has done so well as a person … she is really one in a million,” said Scalise. “She is so knowledgeable that when people are looking for their hometown in Italy they call her, our historian, for our hometown in Italy.”
Ever since White was a child she was interested in being a part of a group and community.
“When I was kid, a young girl, my father belonged to a society and once a month on a Sunday morning he would take me with him to the meetings,” White said.
Being able to meet new people and get to know her community is why she has enjoyed being a part of the Sons of Italy for as long as she has. Also, her large group of friends supports her during times of need.
“Two weeks ago today I had surgery, and I have all my cards there,” she said, pointing to her television cabinet. “I’ve got about 80 cards and a lot of them are from our own city here, but then because I’ve got involved with the Sons of Italy so much statewide, I’ve gotten a lot of cards from people throughout New York State.”
White started out in an auxiliary in Schenectady, but in 1947, two gentlemen from the Sons of Italy said they were interested in having a “ladies lodge.” White and her friend ended up helping organize the new lodge. The Sons of Italy formerly didn’t integrate male and female lodges.
“I got more involved than she did, because she was married at the time and I was single,” she said.
In 1948, she helped establish the Cornelia Lodge and White became the first president of the lodge. She held that position for two years. In 1982, the Cornelia Lodge merged with the Gabriele D’Annunzio Lodge, which marked the lodges becoming one coed group.
She is the longest active member of the lodge — but quick to point out not the oldest — but she said being honored at the dinner came as a complete surprise. She didn’t even know until she received the lodge’s formal newsletter.
“I really was surprised, because nobody called me or told me that I was going to be on it, but then all of a sudden I got the newsletter from the lodge and it says there is going to be a Columbus Day Dinner and it is going to be honoring me,” she said. “I looked at it twice and I said, ‘Are they kidding me?’ I felt humbled, because I never expected that.”
Over the years she said the organization has “changed an awful lot.” She said the lodge used to have monthly “dinner dances” with live music. She also served as the first female president of the merged lodge in 1989. Then she moved on to become a state trustee for the Sons of Italy and she also has been a part of the Scholarship Committee.
“[The Scholarship Committee] was interesting, because you get all applications for students in District 6, but then we meet with the eight districts in the state … and would go over all the applications and as a group give out the scholarships,” she said. “I got to know a lot about how scholarships work and how it pertains to the students.”
Most of the scholarships given are for $1,200 and last year 59 were given out. She said the number was lowered a little because a difficult economy has made raising funds harder. Even with generous amount given out, she said students often don’t touch back with the Sons of Italy to inform them where they are in life after college.
“The sad thing of it all is a lot of students don’t get back to us to tell us where they are at this time in their life,” White said. “It is sad, because it would be nice.”
Getting to meet and form many friendships, both new and old, is what stands out to her about the Sons of Italy.
“It is just nice knowing that I have met so many nice people and became friends with them and some of them I am still friends with if they are here and the new friends who are here … I have made a lot of friends over the years,” she said. “It is one of the best ways you can meet … other people who have the same background.”
There are around 460 members of Gabriele D’Annunzio Lodge and White said it is a very active community. She said the group tries to connect with the outside community, too.
“If you are going to be in an organization you should be active,” she said.
To purchase tickets for the dinner, which are $45 per person, call Lodge President Louis Fazzone at 505-6461. For information on the Lodge visit its website at www.osiagdannunzio321.org. Friends of White are encouraged to attend.
“It just means so much when not just the members of the organization come but when your friends throughout the town come to support you as well,” said Scalise.
