Book tells history of local Italians. Hundreds of people queued up Sunday at 
the Italian Cultural and Community Center in the Museum District for a copy 
of the 432-page hardcover book, Houstonians of Italian Descent. 

The book was authored by members of Houston's Italian community, and the
event served as an opportunity for them to share stories and pictures of
their families as well as celebrate their contributions to the city. It is a
compilation of biographies about family members, describing events in their
lives, how and why they came to Houston, their jobs or businesses, and
scenes of a younger Houston. 

Although the book is not an academic study of the community's history, the
personal family stories do trace much of the Italian trek here - and
consequently tell a part of Houston's history, said Lena Mandola, who
spearheaded the effort under the auspices of the Federation of
Italian-American Organizations of Greater Houston. 
There are about 40,000 Italian-Americans in Houston. Italians began
immigrating here before the turn of the 20th century, many becoming involved
in the grocery business. 

The book's main section includes more than 250 stories interspersed with
some 500 family pictures, Mandola said. The family photos include portraits,
wedding pictures and people posing in front of their homes or businesses.
Some were old-style, two-story buildings with a store on the ground level
and living quarters above. 

The book also includes sections on the community's clubs and societies,
their traditions and their clergy and church history in Houston. 
Gathering material for the book took three years of calling for
contributions through the ICCC and the community newspaper, Mandola said.
Monthly workshops were held to encourage and help people to write their
stories. The compilers went from 10 stories to 270, well over the target
number of 150, Mandola said. 

Mandola and her late sister Bernadine Aquilina contributed a story of their
father, Sam Danna, a first-generation Italian- American who they wished to
honor for his devotion to his family and his accomplishments despite his
little education. The two wrote of how Danna supported his mother and five
siblings when his father died. They wrote of his many businesses, including
the Danna Lumber Co., and how he became a civic charity leader, joining or
founding societies and charities. 

In the same story, the two sisters also described their grandmother who
seemed to understand English but spoke only Italian. They describe old
Houston streets like East Montgomery Road, now Fulton. 
Mandola concedes that the write-up on her father was small in contrast to
other lengthier and more detailed contributions. But she was eager to see
the story in print nonetheless. 
" . . . It was precious to me," she said. 
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Speaking out with One Voice against Negative Stereotyping 

Italian-American One Voice Coalition is a national network of activists enabling the Italian American community to act as one united voice when dealing with defamation, discrimination and negative stereotyping.

Member organizations provide a liaison with the IA One Voice Coalition to disseminate information to the Italian American community and protest with one voice against each outrage against our heritage, culture and character. 

Italian American One Voice - Who We Are 

Web Site:

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