DENVER — In an old brick building in what used to be Denver’s Little Italy, Italian traditions are still very much alive at the Potenza Lodge.
“The 3 F’s of Italian culture are family, faith and food,” said Geraldine Pergola, the lodge’s historian.
“I was born into the Potenza Lodge. My parents were both lifelong members,” she said. “The Potenza Lodge, out of all the 37 Italian organizations in the state of Colorado, is the oldest continuous existing Italian organization.”
Starting in the 1850s, Italian immigrants came to Colorado – drawn by the mining boom and opportunities tied to the construction of a railroad.
Then, 125 years ago, immigrants from the southern Italian Province of Potenza started what was then called the “Societa Nativi di Potenza Basilicata” or Society of Natives from Potenza Basilicata. Today, it’s known simply as the Potenza Lodge.
“This lodge was a safe haven for those early immigrants. Some of them were destitute. They came over here with five or $10 in their pocket,” Pergola said.
At the time, newly arrived immigrants coming to the United States “had to have a sponsor,” Pergola said. “After they left Ellis Island, [they would] take the train all the way to Denver, after they'd been bouncing on the ocean for two weeks, to their sponsor's home.”
From the group's founding in 1899, immigrants whose lineage traced back to Potenza could seek help from the lodge.
“It was a haven. It was a source of comfort,” Pergola said. A place where they could find “help in learning the language, interpreting documents, housing, employment and a very important area: Mushada. Mushada means 'matchmaking.'”
As the group grew, from four founders to hundreds of members, they needed a brick and mortar.
Angelo Stone “gave a big loan” and after two years of construction from 1939 to 1941, the group built their current lodge, Pergola said.
Over the years, the lodge’s purpose shifted from providing services to newly arrived immigrants, to preserving cultural traditions by bringing community together for events, like the annual St. Rocco’s Feast and Carnivale.
But one early practice is no longer welcome: “Male chauvinism,” Pergola said. “The early Italians, they did not even allow women to become members until 50 years after they organized.”
The Women’s Auxiliary has since become a key part of the lodge’s leadership, working with the men to plan events and keep the building in good shape.
“It really fills my heart to be here,” said Lisa Lokken, who’s been the Women’s Auxiliary President for four years. “I am actually the third generation in my family [to be a] member here,” Lokken said. She currently serves on the board with her mom and her daughter.
In the entrance to the lodge, Lokken’s photo hangs beneath that of her grandmother, Carol Perito, who also served as the Women’s Auxiliary President.
“As much as the Italian is in our blood, the lodge is,” she said.
But keeping younger generations engaged is becoming a bigger challenge every year.
Frank James Percy, the Potenza Lodge President, said as times are changing, “everybody has their own thing to do” outside of the lodge, and fewer people are willing to take on the responsibilities of running the organization.
Percy said the job of president is usually a one-year obligation. But he’s been doing it for 11 years. He takes the responsibility seriously.
“Without this building, there would be no heritage,” he said.
The Potenza Lodge is leaning on some of its younger members to reach out on social media in the hopes they can keep the organization going for another 125 years.
“We would welcome anyone who wants to join us,” Pergola said. While their bylaws still state that members must have a lineage tracing back to Potenza, she said the lodge invites honorary members of any ancestry to take part.
“We are joyful people. Italians like to eat and drink, sing and dance. They laugh easily, they support each other. They're there for each other in times of crisis. And I personally am very proud to be an Italian,” she said.
As long as you share those values, “everybody's welcome,” she said.
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