Colombo Club History
The Columbo Club Charter Members:
C. Merlone, P. Puppione, A. Faldi, C. Maffei, L. Botto, M. Lovisone, D. Graziano, S. Orio, L. Galletti, J. Orio, L. Razzano, J. Parena, F. Graziano, B. Goria, A. Morra, O. Gaia, C. Gentile, M. Gratian, E. Sburlati, T. Basso, G. Ollino, D. Damonte, A. Manacorda, E. Borelo, C. Pastrone, B. Rainero, V. Cafasso, P. Meda, G. Beccio, F. Poletto, L. Ferraris, F. Cafasso, J. Negro, M. Maggiora
Short History of the Colombo Club
The history of the Colombo Club is a story that begins with 22 Italian immigrants and their desire to preserve and celebrate Italian cultural traditions, customs and heritage in the United Sates. From the basement of Maggiorino Lovisone’s house, on Pleasant Valley road in 1920, the club built a building on Broadway in 1922 and finally, in 1951, they built and moved into the club’s current location on Claremont Avenue. Skeptics thought the idea of keeping alive the Italian culture would fail. Some members even thought that building the two structures on the front cover was too expensive and a foolish idea. One guest, at the opening of the club building on Claremont. Avenue, stated, "Tonight, the Colombo Club gets baptized, and a year from now we'll be having a funeral for it." The Colombo Club would prove it skeptics wrong.
Today, the Colombo Club is recognized as one the largest Italian social clubs in the United States. It is firmly committed to the ideals of the charter members, striving to provide families and guests with social activities that honor Italian heritage and preserve traditional Italian customs. The gatherings of the original group of 22 men who longed for companionship and a connection to Italy has grown to a fraternity of 1000 members, dedicated to preserving Italian heritage, customs and culture traditions.
Some Interesting Events in Colombo Club History
How did the club first come about? According to Lucia Puppione, wife of charter member Pietro Puppione, “We kicked them out of the house and told them to find someplace else to play.”
Where was the first location of the club? Maggiorino Lovisone, a charter member of the Colombo Club, lived across the street from the Bilger Quarry at 2037 Pleasant Valley Avenue. He was a dynamite expert and worked on road construction. He offered the use of his basement for Piemontese men to play Pedro and Morra. Families gathered there on special occasions. He had a bocce court in the backyard.
How many men were charter members of the club? 22 men chipped in to purchase the property on Broadway. These men were all Piemontese and shared the same lifestyles, cultural habits, and food preferences. They did not have enough money to buy and build the building, so they added12 more men.
Oakland Tribune Article1922 Today those people would be considered a minority group, stranded in a strange land among people who wouldn’t even try to understand the confused attempts to pronounce strange English words. It was only natural that they joined together for their social activities. Many of them settled in the Temescal district, and from their open-house celebrations of christenings, weddings, feast days, even funerals, came the Italian Club. There are several of them, but the first to erect its own building, a comparatively modest structure at
49th and Broadway, which went up in 1922, was the Colombo Club. If you want to be formal about it, the club is dedicated to the promotion of social fellowship and the perpetuation of Italian customs. Basically, this means have a good time.
Dinner setup at Broadway club In order to accommodate members and their families, planks were put over the bocce courts, and three rows of planks of wood were laid out on saw horses and these served as the tables with benches for seating.”
1st Head Chef Marco “Mike” Roggero, a chef at the Claremont Country Club, was hired as the club’s first head chef and kept that job from 1922 through 1970.
Dinners at Broadway club The Club provided traditional Italian family dinners 6 or 7 times a year, comparable to the dinners served at the club today, for up to 200 people for $1.50 for members and guests.
Drinks at Broadway Club In June of 1924 drinks were free for members; however, guests had to pay 5 cents per drink.
Cigars In November Delfino Damonte ordered 4,000 cigars from Tuscany and 200 cigars from Naples for sale at the club. The total cost was $132. Cigars were sold for 5 cents each and 3 for 10 cents. In 1925 the initiation fee for new members was raised to $35.
Badges In June 1925, all members were issued membership badges. The total cost of purchasing the 200 badges was $80. The badge was reversible. The side shown on the left was green, white and red and worn for club events. The other side of the badge was black (right) and worn for funerals.
1st House Committee On March 9, 1937, the club passed a resolution to form the first house committee made up of Al DeBenedetti, Luis Galletti and Pietro Puppione. One of their duties was to make the wine for the dinners.
The club moved into the Claremont location in December 1951 Even after this wonderful building was built, there were still skeptics who thought that the idea of building this structure was too expensive and a foolish idea. One guest was overheard saying, “Tonight, the Colombo Club gets baptized, and a year from now we’ll be having a
funeral for it.” The Colombo Club would prove the skeptics wrong.
Valentine’s Dinner Dance In February 1952, a Board proposal “to sponsor a banquet and other amorous gathering among married members of the Colombo Club and Colombo Club Auxiliary under the name of ‘Ball & Chain Dance’ did not meet with the approval of the assembly.”
Dinner Ticket Issue One such issue was dealt with by passing the following Board resolution in July of 1952, “Dinner ticket’s color will be different each month to avoid chiselers from getting a free dinner.”
Colombus Painting The Columbus Landing painting located in the Ball Room, was painted in Ohio by Stefano Persoglio’s cousin, shipped to California and gifted to the Colombo Club in honor of his father, charter member Cesare Orio, in the early 1920s.
Beer During these years, members could buy Schlitz beer for $3.00 and Falstaff for $3.50 by the case directly from the club. The practice was stopped in December 1953, because it was hurting local merchants and club members who sold beer commercially.
Fire Marshall The Fire Marshall was a member of the club and after attending a function that numbered over 700 people, he informed the club in October of 1954 that the club would be required to hold the attendance in the dining room to 499 people. He also required the club to install another exit to the room, which was subsequently installed in 1956.
Presidents’ photos 1955 After a much-heated argument during a Board meeting about the removal of Joe Giangoia’s picture (which is now displayed in the Ed Basso Room) from the club room, the Board voted to have a standard sized picture of each past president displayed in the club room.
Rocky Marciano On January 9, 1958, the club held a special sports night to honor local baseball great, Cookie Lavagetto. Rocky Marciano, who was in Oakland to referee a local wrestling match at the Oakland Auditorium, decided to attend the event.
Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio, who signed with the New York Yankees in 1936, visited the club in 1958. He is shown here in the role of a celebrity bartender. When DiMaggio came into the club, he showed up after everyone who had come to see him had already gone downstairs to the dining room. Ed Basso recalled, “Joe walked in the club and the only people in the room were the bartenders. Joe said, ‘What gives, no one is here?’ He was then escorted downstairs where there were 650 guys in the dining room waiting for him.” Ray Fratangelo recalled that when they saw Joe enter the room, there was dead silence followed by loud cheers. Joe then said, “This is my kind of party.”
Driving Range Social chair Aldo Galletti was behind a movement to turn the bocce room (Ed Basso Room) into an indoor golf driving range. To promote the idea, he organized a golf clinic in the main ballroom right after the birthday dinner on October 13 that featured a dozen local golf professionals, including Mark Frye, Dewey Longworth, Bill Corbett, Joe Mozel and Pat Markovich.
Jack Rabbit Shoot There was a jack rabbit hunting trip outing to Tracy. Members had to bring their own shotguns (no other fire arms were allowed), and there was to be no drinking until after the shoot.
Shooting in Isabella Room On November 14, 1965, the club held the first annual “.22 Shoot” in the bocce alleys in the Isabella Room. The cost of the entry and dinner was $2.00. Each contestant paid 25 cents for five shots. The winner won a cup and a turkey. Second place got just the turkey, and third place won a goose. Fourth place won a chicken. The booby prize was a squab. Guns were available for contestants who did not have one. People could bring their own .22, but scopes were not allowed.
Blue Chip Stamps In June 1966, the club was in need of a TV set, so they collected 150 Blue Chip stamp books from the membership and obtained a 21-inch color TV for the club room.
Scholarships On July 18, 1993, the Colombo Club held the first Annual Scholarship Fundraiser Dinner. The dinner raised enough money to fund three scholarships for graduating high school seniors who were sons or daughters of Colombo Club or Colombo Club Auxiliary members.
Wall of Honor Past President John Penna made a motion at the Assembly Meeting on August 21, 2012, to create a “Military Service Wall of Honor” (right) in the Ed Basso/ Isabella Room. The motion was unanimously passed. Shortly after that, Past President Rich Puppione created the wall. Members who had served in the military were asked to send in their names and, if they had one, a photo of themselves during their military service. The wall now displays the members’ names and rank under the branch (Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, Merchant
Marines and Navy) that they served in, along with some pictures of some of the veterans.
