L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2016 www.italoamericano.org 15 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Dear Readers, lo oking back are s ome "Italian Connections" from my (1976-2016) archives, that read- ers not born yesterday, may find interesting: Artanis Food International, (Sinatra spelled backwards) is the company that produced, dis- tributed and marketed Frank Sinatra's "Sugo da tavola", pasta sauces, when old "Blue Eyes" in 1990 decided to dip into the food business. Sinatra's products were the sole endeavor of Artamis Foods, a limited partnership formed by Armanino Foods of Distinction, based in South San Francisco, California, a publicly traded (over the counter) company with "Pesto King". Bill Armanino, had guided a small family farming enterprise into an international agribusiness and was a prime mover in initiat- ing the nations love for pesto, the classic "Genovese" Italian green basil herb sauce. A who's who of Italo-Americans rushed to buy the A rtanis over the counter shares and the first stock holders meeting, held in the Bay Area was standing room only. In s outhern California F rank's "Sugo da Tavola" pasta sauces were launched with a private party at Mortons, before being introduced in supermarkets. In keeping with the Italian theme, the fete w as a family affair including daughters Tina and Nancy, son Frank Jr. and grand- daughters Amanda and A.J.. When Nancy Sinatra complained she hadn't had any of her dad's sauce "in a long time", sister Tina consoled her by noting that "now you'll be able to go into a local supermarket and buy it". Sinatra sauce continued in the San Francisco area, chain store buyers were invited by Sinatra to attend one of his concert appear- ances, taste-test the product at a pre-theater dinner, and be pho- tographed with the star back- stage. Promotional support also included full-color Sunday sup- plement ads, radio spots, and the availability of Sinatra memora- bilia – aprons, T-shirts, auto- graphed photos, with proofs of purchase. Frank's pasta sauces were available in three varieties, Tomato Bas il S auce w ith Parmesan, Marinara Sauce with mushroom and Milano – style Marinara Sauce. The sauces, available in 25 oz jars, soon were enjoying superb sales from California to S inatra's old stomping grounds of New York, New Jersey, Chicago and super- markets in between. Although the Sinatra name guaranteed consumer interest, it was the quality of the product that kept bringing cus tomers bade. In addition to the Italian American community and hard-core afi- cionados of Italian cuis ine, health-cons cio us cons umers touted the sauces all natural herbs and spices, no preserva- tives, low salt profile, and blind tastings by consumer focused groups throughout the U.S. all confirmed that Artanis Sinatra Sauces were exceptionally good and sales soared. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and Artanis is no more. It was great fun, but it was just one of those things … *** Bles s ed Pier Giorgio Frassati, with his movie star good looks "coulda been in pic- tures" but he leaned "verso l'al- to" (towards the heights) instead. Pier Giorgio Frassati was born in Turin, Italy in 1901 to a prestigious family. His father was the founder of the Italian newspaper La Stampa and held positions as an Italian Senator and Ambassador. F ras s ati's family w as Catholic, but not particularly devout. Y et s omehow , at an early age, young Pier Giorgio developed a deep spirituality and made his Catholic faith central to his life. He joined Catholic devotional groups (M arian Sodality, Apostleship of Prayer), service groups (St. Vincent de Paul Society), and political/ social justice groups (Catholic Student foundation, Catholic Action, and the People's Party promoting Catholic social teach- ings ). In 1922 he became a member of the Dominican Third Order, inspired in part by the w ritings of S t. Catherine of Siena. His family knew almost nothing about the extent of his charitable work. He dedicated a large portion of his spare time to serving the poor of Turin, caring for orphans and assisting sol- diers returning from WWI. It was through his work with the poor that Frassati contracted a rare form of Polio at the age of 24. He descended from vibrant health to death in the space of five days. It was the poor of Turin that turned out for his funeral and who petitioned the Archbishop of Turin to begin his cause for canonization. Pope Saint John Paul II beatified Frassati in 1990. *** Belated buon compleanno to Gaetano "Guy" Masciotra who was delivered by an italian stork to a small town in the Abruzzi regione of Italy, on January 13, 1922. D ue to immigration restrictions, Gaetano and his family moved first to British Columbia in Canada, where his father operated a fruit and veg- etable stand. In 1942, Guy mar- ried Eva Carrata and after 73 years of marriage I'd say they both took those "till death do us part " vows pretty seriously. In 1952 shortly after moving to the S an F ernando V alley in California, Guy joined I.C.F. Branch and volunteered to serve the I.C.F. in many capacities. In 1969 he was appointed I.C.F. Field Director and traveled up and down the State, helping to open new Branches in California and beyond, including Nevada and Illinois. Guy always volun- teered his time and effort to pro- jects that benefited the Italian community including the cam- paign to build the villa Scalabrini retirement center for seniors. G uy M as ciotra has received many aw ards , both from the Italian Government and Italian organizations through the years, but it is we who have known his kindness and generosity of spirit, who have benefited and been enriched by our friendship with the awardee, who personifies the Abruzzi motto "Forte ma gen- tile" tough but gentle… *** Christopher Columbus voy- age of discovery to the New World in 1492, was sponsored by Queen Isabella of Spain who reportedly sold her jewels and bought three ships for Columbus – the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. Her more mature "marito" King Ferdinand II died on January 23, 1516. Charles of Habsburg, aged only 16, was crowned King of Spain after making a sea voyage around the coast from Brussels. Charles suc- ceeded to the throne on the death of his grandfather, Ferdinand II of Aragon. *** Challenger a U.S. space shut- tle, exploded shortly after lift - off- from Cape Canaveral, Florida and killed all 7 astronauts aboard on January 28, 1986. The disaster was witnessed by thou- sands of spectators in Florida and by millions of television viewers. President Regan spoke of "our seven Challenger heroes" and pledged to honour them with a new national commitment to space exploration. *** Charles Barsotti, founded the first Italian Newspaper in the United States, Il Progresso, in 1880. *** Mario Cuomo (1932 – 2015) was the first Italian American to be elected Governor of the State of New York and was inaugurat- ed on J anuary 1, 1984. The three-term governor of N ew York died at home in Manhattan from heart failure on January 1, 2015, the s ame day his s on Andrew Cuomo was inaugurated for a second term just hours ear- lier. Charles Bassotti, founder of "Il Progresso"

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