L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano PORTLAND ITALIAN COMMUNITY I t's a Tuesday morning and the Clackamas Service Center is already humming. Preparations are well under way for the eleven o'clock lunch hour. People are lining up for free haircuts and medical ser- vices. Located in a former Presbyterian Church just off Southeast 82nd Avenue, the Center is a lifeline for individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness in Multnomah and Clackamas Counties. Tucked away in a small WWII-era building is the Center's Clothing Room. When donations are good, it is stuffed to the ceiling with clothes for men, women and children; every- thing is neatly folded or hung on racks, organized and ready for individuals and families. When donations are down (as they are lately), clients are limited to 10 pounds of clothing each. The Clothing Room serves over 149 people each month. At 91 years of age, Anna Jones is the matriarch of the Clothing Room. She opens it every Tuesday and Thursday, working all day until it closes in the late afternoon. She is famil- iar with every nook and cranny of the place, which is not surpris- ing – Anna co-founded the Center in 1971. "I love this Center," Anna explains. "I look around and I see so many people who need help." She puts a hand to her heart. "I feel it here," she says. It all started with three Italian friends and some Bingo win- nings. Born and raised in Naples, Anna was only a small child when her father died of influenza. Her grandmother Antonietta came from Sannicandro di Bari to live with her and her mother. Anna learned very early how hard life can be be without money and she also understands the importance of helping friends and neighbors. When WWII came to Naples, bombs destroyed the family home. The small fam- ily escaped without injury, but was forced to find shelter in the tunnels beneath the city. Once, when Nazi soldiers came into the tunnels, Anna was hit with shrapnel that had to be removed by a doctor using the family butcher knife. The wound healed but left a deep scar. KERRY-LYNNE DEMARINIS BROWN Even at the 91 years old, Anna Pennino Jones is still serving every week at the Clackamas Service Center Mission to the Impoverished Began with Bingo Money and a Heart of Compassion Her mother, Raffaela eventu- ally remarried to Ciro Solimando. As the war wound down, Raffaela made money by wash- ing GI uniforms. Anna would iron them, often very late into the night, using an old-fashioned iron filled with hot coals. Ciro would tle Bambina. "The Americans would share their rations with us because they knew we didn't have much. We ate bread made with half flour and half sawdust – that is how bad it was. No one had any- thing." they bought their first home with Larry's Army discharge money. "We had to wait a year to cash that check," Anna says. Anna remembers activities in Portland's early Italian communi- ty. She and Larry would go to the regular dances at the Italian Federation Hall. There would be a band and dancing, and fresh homemade ravioli from the Rome Café. At that time, there were 32 Italian clubs in Portland. "We would all pay dues for the Hall, maybe five dollars or so and with the money, we would buy mozzarella and other things," Anna explains. "Everyone would bring something; that's what we did." Tragedy struck a few years later when a mosquito bit 3-year- old Rita, causing encephalitis. The illness left the girl physically and mentally disabled. Raffaela and Ciro moved from Italy to help Anna care for her daughter and growing family. As the years went by, Anna became depressed; Rita's perpetual care meant she was nearly home- bound. Finally, in 1971 a doctor recommended that she find some- thing to do outside the home. "I called my friend Maggie. She knew immediately what we could do." Together with Maggie's sister, Julia, they saw a need in the urban areas of Clackamas County. Many families in the area were living in poverty and in need of basic necessities. The three women decided to pool their Bingo winnings - $1,000 each – and open the Kendall Community Center. They bought food and clothing to hand out. Bingo winnings continued to be the major source of funding along with donations from family and friends. Often, the ladies paid the utility bills out of their own pock- ets. Eventually, they reached an agreement with United Fund to run the center for five years. When the agreement ended, Clackamas County stepped in to fund the facility. Today the Center has become a vital resource for the impover- ished and homeless, where they find not only food and clothing, but also daily hot meals, medical and dental services, training and housing assistance, postal ser- vices, and companionship. All services are free of charge. Brian Ferschweiler has taken over as Executive Director. Maggie and Julia are gone now. Anna's husband, Larry and daughter Rita died in 2014. She feels the advancing years but can't give up her work at the Center. Daughter Suzy drives her to and from the Center every Tuesday and Thursday. "I hope the center keeps going; we want to build a new center," Anna says. "You know, it is home to me. So many people come back to visit me. You know what? One time, a girl came to me and said, 'do you remember me?' and I didn't remember. She said when she was a child she used to come in with her mother for help. Now she is coming to help others." deliver the uniforms back to the soldiers and pick up the next batch. "He wouldn't let the American soldiers come to the house," Anna remembers with a smile. "He didn't want the sol- diers to know his 'Bambina' was really 18 years old." One of the soldiers was Larry Jones or "Jonesy" as her stepfa- ther called him. He wanted to give half his rations to Ciro's lit- Finally, Ciro took pity on the lonely Jonesy and invited him home for Christmas dinner. Anna laughs, "He was very sur- prised when he met me and saw I was not a child. When it was time to leave, he whispered to me 'I'll be back.' We were married in the cathedral in Naples." Anna followed her husband back to Portland where they lived with his family for a time. After the birth of their daughter, Rita,

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