LNC: THIS JUST IN FROM LIDO NEW TIME AND DATE:
FEB 6 AT 10PM.
Dear Family and Friends,
Having learned at the very last minute that the schedule for the second of my two appearances on The History Channel has been changed, I wanted to immediately let you know. This is the program in which I played Enzo Ferrari (It’s called “Enzo Ferrari & The Historic Race”, and is part of the series of programs called “Man, Moment, Machine”.Instead of tonight (January 30, 2007) at 10:00 p.m., I have now been advised it will be broadcast next Tuesday, February 6, 2007 at the same time, on The History Channel, of course. Sorry about the inconvenience, but I just found out.Hope you will still plan to watch, and that you will enjoy the program.
Regards,Lido
Dear Family and Friends:
I just wanted to provide you with the information on what I have been advised is "... the final air date" for the two programs in which I took part for the History Channel: the one in which I played the part of Pope Urban VIII (the program title references Galileo), and the one in which I played Enzo Ferrari.The latest and "final" information I have from the producers (and they from the network) is that the show in which I play the Pope will be aired Tuesday, January 9, 2007 at 10:00 p.m. on (in Marin County) Channel 62; and the Enzo Ferrari program will be aired on Tuesday, January 30, 2007, again at 10:00 p.m. On (in Marin County) Channel 62.
In case you would like to take a look! Also, please keep in mind that you should check your local listings for the History Channel, to be sure of your local channel outlet, etc.Taking part in this project was a real adventure, and certainly one which was a lot of fun! I hope you enjoy it
Regards, Lido
Dear Ivano,
Thank you very much for your posting. I really appreciate it!And as far as repeating the programs, yes, I have been advised by the Associate Producer as follows: “ . . . the History Channel is scheduled to repeat all of this season’s episodes through the spring. The best place to find an accurate schedule is to regularly check History Channel’s mini-site for Man, Moment, Machine [the name of the series of which my appearances were a part]”:http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=mini_home&mini_id=51673 Hope that helps, and I hope everyone enjoys the program.
Regards,Lido
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Saturday, January 27, 2007
JANET'S ELOQUENCE
AT MY BOOK SIGNING AT THE CAPITOLA CAFE BOOK STORE ON JANUARY 17, I WAS VERY FORTUNE TO HAVE JANET LEIMEISTER, THE EVENTS COORDINATOR FOR THE STORE, INTRODUCE ME TO THE AUDIENCE. FOR THOSE WHO WERE UNABLE TO ATTEND AND ALSO FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO REMEMBER THAT SPECIAL NIGHT, I NOW PUBLISH JANET'S ELOQUENT INTRODUCTION BELOW.
Capitola Book Café
Janet Leimeister
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Introduction:
IVANO COMELLI, author of
LA NOSTRA COSTA: OUR COAST—A FAMILY’S JOURNEY TO AND FROM THE NORTH COAST OF SANTA CRUZ CALIFORNIA (1923-1983)
Family stories—and thus entire cultural and personal histories—can be lost so easily, connections to the past slipping away while we look steadily towards our future. Ivano Comelli has saved a story, captured a history, and recreated both a time and a place just a bit removed from us here tonight.
In his memoir La Nostra Costa, he tells the tales of his family, beginning with their immigration to our own Central Coast from Italy in the early 1900s.
From armies of Mussolini in the homeland to brussel sprouts in America, the change was a dramatic one. The Comelli’s were hardworking farmhands in their new home along Santa Cruz’s rugged coast line, but they were also fathers, mothers, potential enemy aliens, school children, lovers, mourners, and always Italians at heart.
The Comelli family had joys and fears all their own, but when brought together and written down, their lives become another thread of local history that is woven into our community fabric.
Ivano Comelli has given his family a great gift with the publishing of La Nostra Costa. He has also delivered to all of us an important connection to the greater history of our beloved hometown.
Capitola Book Cafe
1475 41st Ave, Capitola CA
831-462-4415 www.capitolabookcafe.com
Capitola Book Café
Janet Leimeister
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Introduction:
IVANO COMELLI, author of
LA NOSTRA COSTA: OUR COAST—A FAMILY’S JOURNEY TO AND FROM THE NORTH COAST OF SANTA CRUZ CALIFORNIA (1923-1983)
Family stories—and thus entire cultural and personal histories—can be lost so easily, connections to the past slipping away while we look steadily towards our future. Ivano Comelli has saved a story, captured a history, and recreated both a time and a place just a bit removed from us here tonight.
In his memoir La Nostra Costa, he tells the tales of his family, beginning with their immigration to our own Central Coast from Italy in the early 1900s.
From armies of Mussolini in the homeland to brussel sprouts in America, the change was a dramatic one. The Comelli’s were hardworking farmhands in their new home along Santa Cruz’s rugged coast line, but they were also fathers, mothers, potential enemy aliens, school children, lovers, mourners, and always Italians at heart.
The Comelli family had joys and fears all their own, but when brought together and written down, their lives become another thread of local history that is woven into our community fabric.
Ivano Comelli has given his family a great gift with the publishing of La Nostra Costa. He has also delivered to all of us an important connection to the greater history of our beloved hometown.
Capitola Book Cafe
1475 41st Ave, Capitola CA
831-462-4415 www.capitolabookcafe.com
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
FALLEN POLICE OFFICERS
IN 'LA NOSTRA COSTA' (CHAPTER 28, 'IL PONTE E LA POLIZIA' (THE BRIDGE AND THE POLICE), I WRITE ABOUT THE KILLING OF RICHARD EUGENE HUERTA, AGE 36, OF THE SAN JOSE POLICE DEPARTMENT. THIS BRUTAL ACT OCCURRED DURING THE TURBULENT TIMES OF THE 1970s, WHEN IT WAS COMMON FOR RADICALS ADVOCATING BLACK POWER TO EXTOL THE VIRUTES OF KILLING A "PIG".
THE ARTICLE BELOW BY SAN FRANCISCO STAFF WRITER
MICHAEL TAYLOR DOES AN EXCELLENT JOB IN DESCRIBING THE HISTORY OF THAT PERIOD. IVNO
'70s in the Bay Area -- era of radical violence
Michael Taylor, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
'71 SFPD Slaying
San Francisco police Sgt. John Young's death in August 1971 was the second time in as many years that a San Francisco officer was killed in a radically tinged attack.
A few years later, an FBI terrorism expert would describe the Bay Area as "the Belfast of North America," comparing local bombings and shootings to the violence in Northern Ireland.
Before Young became a casualty, it was police Sgt. Brian McDonnell. He died in a bombing at the Park Station that authorities have always suspected was part of the era's home-grown terrorism.
The Young killing was the Black Liberation Army's response to the death just eight days earlier of Black Panther leader George Jackson, who was killed in a failed escape attempt from San Quentin State Prison. A year before, Jackson's brother, Jonathan, had died in a bloody shootout with authorities at the Marin County courthouse after he and others tried to kidnap a judge, jurors and a prosecutor.
In a letter to The Chronicle a couple of days after Young's death, the "George L. Jackson Assault Squad of the Black Liberation Army" claimed responsibility for the killing, arguing that it was an act of "revolutionary violence" because of the "recent intolerable political assassination of Comrade George L. Jackson."
The fact that the Young case allegedly involved members of the Black Liberation Army doesn't surprise many of the people who have written or taught about black radicalism in America.
The group emerged from a split in the Black Panther Party in spring 1971, said Charles Jones, chairman of the Department of African-American Studies at Georgia State University in Atlanta.
One faction followed founder Huey Newton and felt that community activism -- not armed struggle -- was the best direction for the group. The other side, led by Eldridge Cleaver, wanted a "more radical approach" to fight what they felt was "massive repression being levied against the party," Jones said.
But the Black Liberation Army didn't spring suddenly from a fractious meeting at Panther headquarters in Oakland.
"Some argue there was always an underground shadow group in the Black Panther Party," Jones said.
San Francisco attorney David Bancroft, who led the anti-terrorism office for the U.S. attorney's office in San Francisco from 1971 to 1978, is convinced the BLA never left the Panthers.
"It was our sense, because of the kinds of cases we had, that the BLA was the military or paramilitary affiliate of the Black Panthers," said Bancroft, now in private practice.
"We'd get cases where (the BLA) would have significant amounts of guns, ammunition, explosives, passports, birth certificates and false identity material, and this permitted the Panthers to posture as a political or social movement while the paramilitary affiliate unabashedly did the dirty work."
Bancroft said the BLA was an important adversary because, as with modern terrorists, the government never knew what the next target might be.
"There was that awful sinking feeling of the indeterminacy of it all, and so much of the BLA was a way for people to rationalize their own criminal instincts. These were killers, robbers and arsonists," he said.
Others see the Black Liberation Army as an example of the larger turmoil then consuming the country: President John Kennedy's assassination (1963); the assassination of U.S. Sen. Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. (1968); the Vietnam War; and ongoing racial turmoil that, despite passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, was eating up the country in flaming, caustic and frequently fatal demonstrations.
"The turn to violence, bombings and arson grows out of the frustration that the left felt, in particular after 1968, with the (Democratic National) convention and presidential politics," said Kirkpatrick Sale, 69, who wrote "SDS," a book about Students for a Democratic Society, one of the major anti-war groups of the 1960s.
In December 1969, when Black Panther leader Fred Hampton was shot to death by police in his Illinois apartment, it was one more spark for an already agitated bunch of young people.
"The reaction is: 'The pigs are killing us. Look at Fred Hampton!,' " Sale said. "It makes the establishment seem truly evil, that it will go to any attempt to put down protest."
Then in May 1970, four Kent State students in Ohio were fatally shot by the National Guard during a demonstration protesting the U.S. invasion of Cambodia.
"That gave a strong kick to the idea of violence and the rhetoric of revolution. Protest hadn't worked, now is the time to kick it up a notch," Sale said.
Mark Rudd, one of the SDS leaders, said Tuesday from his New Mexico home that the tenor of the times back then, was that "the U.S. government was murdering millions of people in Vietnam and was murdering black militants here. There was a war going on in this country. Mass riots in the streets, ghetto uprisings, the FBI targeting black militants. At some point, it seemed like kill or be killed. That was the tenor of the times."
Yet Jim Lassart, who spent more than 10 years as a San Francisco prosecutor, said there is another way to think of the BLA. If they were operating today, they would simply be branded as "classic domestic terrorists. They were just another set of killers," he said.
E-mail Michael Taylor at mtaylor@sfchronicle.com.
THE ARTICLE BELOW BY SAN FRANCISCO STAFF WRITER
MICHAEL TAYLOR DOES AN EXCELLENT JOB IN DESCRIBING THE HISTORY OF THAT PERIOD. IVNO
'70s in the Bay Area -- era of radical violence
Michael Taylor, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
'71 SFPD Slaying
San Francisco police Sgt. John Young's death in August 1971 was the second time in as many years that a San Francisco officer was killed in a radically tinged attack.
A few years later, an FBI terrorism expert would describe the Bay Area as "the Belfast of North America," comparing local bombings and shootings to the violence in Northern Ireland.
Before Young became a casualty, it was police Sgt. Brian McDonnell. He died in a bombing at the Park Station that authorities have always suspected was part of the era's home-grown terrorism.
The Young killing was the Black Liberation Army's response to the death just eight days earlier of Black Panther leader George Jackson, who was killed in a failed escape attempt from San Quentin State Prison. A year before, Jackson's brother, Jonathan, had died in a bloody shootout with authorities at the Marin County courthouse after he and others tried to kidnap a judge, jurors and a prosecutor.
In a letter to The Chronicle a couple of days after Young's death, the "George L. Jackson Assault Squad of the Black Liberation Army" claimed responsibility for the killing, arguing that it was an act of "revolutionary violence" because of the "recent intolerable political assassination of Comrade George L. Jackson."
The fact that the Young case allegedly involved members of the Black Liberation Army doesn't surprise many of the people who have written or taught about black radicalism in America.
The group emerged from a split in the Black Panther Party in spring 1971, said Charles Jones, chairman of the Department of African-American Studies at Georgia State University in Atlanta.
One faction followed founder Huey Newton and felt that community activism -- not armed struggle -- was the best direction for the group. The other side, led by Eldridge Cleaver, wanted a "more radical approach" to fight what they felt was "massive repression being levied against the party," Jones said.
But the Black Liberation Army didn't spring suddenly from a fractious meeting at Panther headquarters in Oakland.
"Some argue there was always an underground shadow group in the Black Panther Party," Jones said.
San Francisco attorney David Bancroft, who led the anti-terrorism office for the U.S. attorney's office in San Francisco from 1971 to 1978, is convinced the BLA never left the Panthers.
"It was our sense, because of the kinds of cases we had, that the BLA was the military or paramilitary affiliate of the Black Panthers," said Bancroft, now in private practice.
"We'd get cases where (the BLA) would have significant amounts of guns, ammunition, explosives, passports, birth certificates and false identity material, and this permitted the Panthers to posture as a political or social movement while the paramilitary affiliate unabashedly did the dirty work."
Bancroft said the BLA was an important adversary because, as with modern terrorists, the government never knew what the next target might be.
"There was that awful sinking feeling of the indeterminacy of it all, and so much of the BLA was a way for people to rationalize their own criminal instincts. These were killers, robbers and arsonists," he said.
Others see the Black Liberation Army as an example of the larger turmoil then consuming the country: President John Kennedy's assassination (1963); the assassination of U.S. Sen. Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. (1968); the Vietnam War; and ongoing racial turmoil that, despite passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, was eating up the country in flaming, caustic and frequently fatal demonstrations.
"The turn to violence, bombings and arson grows out of the frustration that the left felt, in particular after 1968, with the (Democratic National) convention and presidential politics," said Kirkpatrick Sale, 69, who wrote "SDS," a book about Students for a Democratic Society, one of the major anti-war groups of the 1960s.
In December 1969, when Black Panther leader Fred Hampton was shot to death by police in his Illinois apartment, it was one more spark for an already agitated bunch of young people.
"The reaction is: 'The pigs are killing us. Look at Fred Hampton!,' " Sale said. "It makes the establishment seem truly evil, that it will go to any attempt to put down protest."
Then in May 1970, four Kent State students in Ohio were fatally shot by the National Guard during a demonstration protesting the U.S. invasion of Cambodia.
"That gave a strong kick to the idea of violence and the rhetoric of revolution. Protest hadn't worked, now is the time to kick it up a notch," Sale said.
Mark Rudd, one of the SDS leaders, said Tuesday from his New Mexico home that the tenor of the times back then, was that "the U.S. government was murdering millions of people in Vietnam and was murdering black militants here. There was a war going on in this country. Mass riots in the streets, ghetto uprisings, the FBI targeting black militants. At some point, it seemed like kill or be killed. That was the tenor of the times."
Yet Jim Lassart, who spent more than 10 years as a San Francisco prosecutor, said there is another way to think of the BLA. If they were operating today, they would simply be branded as "classic domestic terrorists. They were just another set of killers," he said.
E-mail Michael Taylor at mtaylor@sfchronicle.com.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
FIGLIO DI DAVENPORT- ALVIN GREGORY REMEMBERED
Photo above: Alvin Gregory. Photo below: Francis Gregory (left); Alvin on the right. [Photocourtesy of Terri Paterni Gregory]
IN "LA NOSTRA COSTA" I WRITE ABOUT THE GREGORY BROTHERS, ALVIN AND FRANCIS AND GREGORY'S STORE AND SERVICE STATION IN DAVENPORT. FRANCIS PASSED AWAY SEVERAL YEARS AGO. NOW ALVIN HAS ALSO CROSSED OVER "IL ULIMO PONTE". TO US WHO WERE PARTICIPANTS IN DAVENPORT AND "LA COSTA" HISTROY, IT IS AS IF A PART OF US HAS ALSO GONE WITH ALVIN. ADIO ALVIN. UNTIL WE ALL MEET AGAIN ACROSS "IL PONTE"
The below article appeared in the Santa Cruz Sentinel:
January 14, 2007
ALVIN V. GREGORY
Services will be Tuesday and Wednesday for Alvin V. Gregory who passed away January 10, 2007 at his Santa Cruz home surrounded by his loving family. He was 89.
Alvin was born in Santa Cruz, CA on February 24, 1917, the son of Albert and Elvetzia Rosselli Gregory. He grew up in Davenport where his family founded the first service station and general store. He attended and was a graduate of Pacific School and later of Santa Cruz High School. As a youth he was very involved in the 4-H Club, eventually becoming club president and junior summer camp director. During his teenage years he joined Future Farmers of America where he held many offices and was awarded the State Farmers Key by the Governor of California at the State Fair in 1934. He also helped organize the first volunteer fire department in Davenport and was a special correspondent to the Santa Cruz Sentinel. Following his high school graduation he entered the California Maritime Academy, graduating in 1938 with a Third Mates License.
He was selected from the top 10 in his class by the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company in San Francisco as a Cadet Officer on the S.S. Dakotan. His first trip was to the Pacific Northwest. He later served on 12 different ships including the Flag Ship, M. S. Californian. He was promoted to Jr. Third Officer in 1939 to the S.S. Washingtonian on the inter-coastal run, going through the Panama Canal every two months. His journeys took him around the world twice, once in each direction. He later became Chief Mate on the Liberty Ship Benjamin Lundy. The ship traveled from Port Chicago to the South Pacific loaded with 6,000 tons of ammunition where it remained docked as a floating ammunition depot.
On December 1, 1940 while on a one month vacation, he married Dolly Demos of Davenport. The couple was married in the town's only church, Saint Vincent DePaul Catholic Church.
In 1943 he was transferred to the S.S. Sea Devil as Chief Mate. The first voyage transported 2200 Sea Bees to New Guinea where it remained anchored for three months as a floating hotel. In another trip it transported 2200 troops from Hollandia to Leyte in the invasion of the Philippines.
In 1945 Alvin was promoted to Master of the Liberty Ship Wm. B. Leeds. At the time of his promotion he was the youngest Captain in the United States Merchant Marines. On his first trip as Master he took a ship load of general cargo from Long Beach to Manila. Still at war with Japan, the voyage to 30 days, zig-zaging all the way under a black out at night and with no air or sea protection. While in Manila he witnessed the Japanese delegation arrive to work out the surrender details with General Douglas McArthur.
His second and last voyage was from Port Arthur, Texas to Casablanca. Upon his return he was instructed to take the ship to Norfolk, Virginia where the ship was put in "laid up fleet".
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In 1945, Alvin was appointed Lieutenant Commander in the United States Maritime Service and was honorably discharged that year.
Following his retirement from the Maritime Service, Alvin returned to Santa Cruz and joined his brother Francis to run the Gregory's Store in Davenport. He and his brother ran the store for thirty years prior to their retirement, making it 54 years since it was founded by their father in 1924.
In 1946 Alvin ran and was elected for two terms as County Supervisor of the 3rd District. On his second term he served as board chairman. At the time of his election he was the youngest Supervisor in the State of California. He also served on the site committees for Dominican Hospital and Cabrillo College.
After returning to Santa Cruz, Alvin was very active in the Santa Cruz Elks Lodge, Italian Catholic Federation, Marconi Club and for many years was the chairman of the Davenport/Coast Road Reunion Committee. He was also an active member of the California Maritime Academy Alumni Assoc.
He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Dolly Gregory of Santa Cruz; son, Leon D. Gregory of Santa Cruz and daughter, Eleanor A. O'Connor and her husband Jack of Petaluma. He is also survived by one grandson, Matthew Schmitka of Petaluma.
The funeral procession will leave Benito & Azzaro Pacific Gardens Chapel 1050 Cayuga St, Santa Cruz, CA Wednesday, January 17, 2007 at 9:30 am for Holy Cross Catholic Church, 126 High St, Santa Cruz, CA where a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated beginning at 10:00 am. A vigil service will be held at Pacific Gardens Chapel, Tuesday evening at 7:00 pm. Friends are invited to call at Pacific Gardens Chapel, Tuesday from 3:00 pm until the vigil. Interment will be in Holy Cross Cemetery, Santa Cruz, CA.
The family would like to express their deep gratitude for the loving care shown to Alvin by his caregivers; Beth, Lin, Visitation and Wilma, the nurses and staff at Dominican Hospital 2 East and Hospice Caring Project during his illness and final days of his life.
www.legacy.com/santacruzsentinel
The below article appeared in the Santa Cruz Sentinel:
January 14, 2007
ALVIN V. GREGORY
Services will be Tuesday and Wednesday for Alvin V. Gregory who passed away January 10, 2007 at his Santa Cruz home surrounded by his loving family. He was 89.
Alvin was born in Santa Cruz, CA on February 24, 1917, the son of Albert and Elvetzia Rosselli Gregory. He grew up in Davenport where his family founded the first service station and general store. He attended and was a graduate of Pacific School and later of Santa Cruz High School. As a youth he was very involved in the 4-H Club, eventually becoming club president and junior summer camp director. During his teenage years he joined Future Farmers of America where he held many offices and was awarded the State Farmers Key by the Governor of California at the State Fair in 1934. He also helped organize the first volunteer fire department in Davenport and was a special correspondent to the Santa Cruz Sentinel. Following his high school graduation he entered the California Maritime Academy, graduating in 1938 with a Third Mates License.
He was selected from the top 10 in his class by the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company in San Francisco as a Cadet Officer on the S.S. Dakotan. His first trip was to the Pacific Northwest. He later served on 12 different ships including the Flag Ship, M. S. Californian. He was promoted to Jr. Third Officer in 1939 to the S.S. Washingtonian on the inter-coastal run, going through the Panama Canal every two months. His journeys took him around the world twice, once in each direction. He later became Chief Mate on the Liberty Ship Benjamin Lundy. The ship traveled from Port Chicago to the South Pacific loaded with 6,000 tons of ammunition where it remained docked as a floating ammunition depot.
On December 1, 1940 while on a one month vacation, he married Dolly Demos of Davenport. The couple was married in the town's only church, Saint Vincent DePaul Catholic Church.
In 1943 he was transferred to the S.S. Sea Devil as Chief Mate. The first voyage transported 2200 Sea Bees to New Guinea where it remained anchored for three months as a floating hotel. In another trip it transported 2200 troops from Hollandia to Leyte in the invasion of the Philippines.
In 1945 Alvin was promoted to Master of the Liberty Ship Wm. B. Leeds. At the time of his promotion he was the youngest Captain in the United States Merchant Marines. On his first trip as Master he took a ship load of general cargo from Long Beach to Manila. Still at war with Japan, the voyage to 30 days, zig-zaging all the way under a black out at night and with no air or sea protection. While in Manila he witnessed the Japanese delegation arrive to work out the surrender details with General Douglas McArthur.
His second and last voyage was from Port Arthur, Texas to Casablanca. Upon his return he was instructed to take the ship to Norfolk, Virginia where the ship was put in "laid up fleet".
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In 1945, Alvin was appointed Lieutenant Commander in the United States Maritime Service and was honorably discharged that year.
Following his retirement from the Maritime Service, Alvin returned to Santa Cruz and joined his brother Francis to run the Gregory's Store in Davenport. He and his brother ran the store for thirty years prior to their retirement, making it 54 years since it was founded by their father in 1924.
In 1946 Alvin ran and was elected for two terms as County Supervisor of the 3rd District. On his second term he served as board chairman. At the time of his election he was the youngest Supervisor in the State of California. He also served on the site committees for Dominican Hospital and Cabrillo College.
After returning to Santa Cruz, Alvin was very active in the Santa Cruz Elks Lodge, Italian Catholic Federation, Marconi Club and for many years was the chairman of the Davenport/Coast Road Reunion Committee. He was also an active member of the California Maritime Academy Alumni Assoc.
He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Dolly Gregory of Santa Cruz; son, Leon D. Gregory of Santa Cruz and daughter, Eleanor A. O'Connor and her husband Jack of Petaluma. He is also survived by one grandson, Matthew Schmitka of Petaluma.
The funeral procession will leave Benito & Azzaro Pacific Gardens Chapel 1050 Cayuga St, Santa Cruz, CA Wednesday, January 17, 2007 at 9:30 am for Holy Cross Catholic Church, 126 High St, Santa Cruz, CA where a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated beginning at 10:00 am. A vigil service will be held at Pacific Gardens Chapel, Tuesday evening at 7:00 pm. Friends are invited to call at Pacific Gardens Chapel, Tuesday from 3:00 pm until the vigil. Interment will be in Holy Cross Cemetery, Santa Cruz, CA.
The family would like to express their deep gratitude for the loving care shown to Alvin by his caregivers; Beth, Lin, Visitation and Wilma, the nurses and staff at Dominican Hospital 2 East and Hospice Caring Project during his illness and final days of his life.
www.legacy.com/santacruzsentinel
Monday, January 15, 2007
CAPITOLA BOOK CAFE BOOK SIGNING EVENT A GREAT SUCCESS
THE CAPITOLA BOOK CAFE SIGNING EVENT WAS A GREAT SUCCESS. THE 'OLD RANCERE' WANTS TO THANK ALL OF YOU WHO ATTENDED AND/OR SUPPORTED THE EVENT. I AM TOLD THAT THE CAPITOLA CAFE BOOK STORE IS GOING TO TRY AND MATCH OUR ATTENDANCE BY BRINGING IN JERRY RICE THIS WEEK. THE 'OLD RANCERE' THINKS THAT IT MIGHT PROVE TO BE A BIT DIFFICULT FOR JERRY. HE KNOWS THAT JERRY CAN DANCE, BUT CAN HE SING?
AND THIS JUST IN FROM JANET LEIMEISTER, EVENTS CORDINATOR FOR THE BOOK STORE:
Dear Ivano,
I wanted to thank you for really coming through on your promises to assist Book Café in promoting your Author Event in specific and your book in general. I wish all our local authors were as dedicated to making their events such a success. It makes Book Café an eager partner.
Good luck with whatever comes next—be it in the literary world or not.
Sincerely,
Janet
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2007 AT 7:30 PM
CAPITOLA BOOK CAFE
1475 41ST AVE
CAPITOLA, CA 95010
A BOOK SIGNING EVENT BY IVANO FRANCO COMELLI
LOCAL AUTHOR OF “LA NOSTRA COSTA” (OUR COAST)
A FAMILY’S JOURNEY TO AND FROM THE NORTH COAST
OF SANTA CRUZ (1923 – 1983)
Featuring his colorful tales of ‘Old’ Santa Cruz, Davenport and
The North Coast
WEBSITE: www.capitolabookcafe.com
TEL: 831-462-4415
Directions; Take 41st Ave (off of Hwy I) West towards the Ocean; go pass the Capitola Shopping Mall and across Capitola Road. The Capitola Cafe Book Store is located in the middle of the shopping center on your immediate right.
AND THIS JUST IN FROM JANET LEIMEISTER, EVENTS CORDINATOR FOR THE BOOK STORE:
Dear Ivano,
I wanted to thank you for really coming through on your promises to assist Book Café in promoting your Author Event in specific and your book in general. I wish all our local authors were as dedicated to making their events such a success. It makes Book Café an eager partner.
Good luck with whatever comes next—be it in the literary world or not.
Sincerely,
Janet
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2007 AT 7:30 PM
CAPITOLA BOOK CAFE
1475 41ST AVE
CAPITOLA, CA 95010
A BOOK SIGNING EVENT BY IVANO FRANCO COMELLI
LOCAL AUTHOR OF “LA NOSTRA COSTA” (OUR COAST)
A FAMILY’S JOURNEY TO AND FROM THE NORTH COAST
OF SANTA CRUZ (1923 – 1983)
Featuring his colorful tales of ‘Old’ Santa Cruz, Davenport and
The North Coast
WEBSITE: www.capitolabookcafe.com
TEL: 831-462-4415
Directions; Take 41st Ave (off of Hwy I) West towards the Ocean; go pass the Capitola Shopping Mall and across Capitola Road. The Capitola Cafe Book Store is located in the middle of the shopping center on your immediate right.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
THE PASSING OF JAY DEBENEDETTI - FIGLIO DELLA COSTA
IT IS NOT EASY TO ANNOUNCE THE PASSING OF A FRIEND AND CLASSMATE. JAY DEBENEDETTI WAS A MEMBER OF SANTA CRUZ HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 1955. THE E-MAIL FROM BRUCE HANSEN SR. TO HIS CLASSMATES OF 1955 ANNOUNCED THE SAD NEWS.
-----Original Message-----From: Bruce Hansen Sr. Sent: Monday, January 08, 2007 2:28 PM Subject: Jay
Dear Friends,
Jay died last night about midnight. Please pray for peace and comfort for his family and close friends. There will be a private family funeral this week and a celebration of Jay's life later in January. Jay would have been 70 on January 26.
Bruce
LNC: Jay was the son of John DeBenedetti a prominent and much respected rancere "su per la costa". Adio, Jay. Until we all meet again
across "Il Ultimo Ponte". Ivan0
LNC: The below Remembrance of Jay's life appeared in the Santa Cruz Sentinel :
January 12, 2007
Capitola Mall developer dies at age 68
Developer John L. "Jay" deBenedetti III, who built the Capitola Mall and Gateway Plaza in Santa Cruz, died Sunday in Atherton after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 68.
DeBenedetti was born in San Francisco and grew up in coastal Santa Cruz. He came from a pioneering family of growers and shippers.
He graduated from Santa Cruz High School, and in 1959, he graduated from UC Berkeley, where he was a member of the golf team and the Zeta Psi fraternity. He was honored to be a member of "The Builders of Berkeley" and supported many Cal programs over the years.
He broke with the family's agricultural roots and pursued a career as a commercial real estate developer. The beginning of his career was spent with Coldwell Banker and Sutter Hill Development.
In 1976, he co-founded Cypress Properties where he engaged in shopping center and suburban office acquisitions and development.
For several years, he was president of the Lake Tahoe lakefront homeowners association.
He served on the board of high-tech and medical technology companies as well as philanthropic interests including The Vista Center for the Blind. "Beyond being a successful businessman," said his son John F. deBenedetti, who is blind, "people respected him as a person with integrity"
DeBenedetti's son lost his eyesight when he was 11, which got him interested in helping organizations for the blind, his son said.
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"He was real generous to UC Berkeley and to a number of blindness organizations," his son said.
He was a giving man, his son added, personally and philanthropically.
"He was just a larger-than-life leader of our family," he said.
DeBenedetti enjoyed golfing, business and philanthropy. He was a member of the San Francisco Golf Club, Bohemian Club and Menlo Country Club.
DeBenedetti is survived by his wife Marti DeBenedetti of Atherton; daughter Ann Levis of St. Louis; son John deBenedetti of San Francisco; daughter Mary Newman of Lafayette; sister Jane McInnis of Atherton; eight grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
A celebration of his life will be at the San Francisco Golf Club at a future date.
Contributions are preferred to That Man May See, a public charity supporting UC San Francisco ophthalmology, 10 Koret Way Box 0352, San Francisco, CA 94143-0352 or the UC Berkeley Foundation in support of the Memorial Stadium Building Fund, UC Regents/Gift Administration 2080 Addison St., Berkeley, CA 94720.
-----Original Message-----From: Bruce Hansen Sr. Sent: Monday, January 08, 2007 2:28 PM Subject: Jay
Dear Friends,
Jay died last night about midnight. Please pray for peace and comfort for his family and close friends. There will be a private family funeral this week and a celebration of Jay's life later in January. Jay would have been 70 on January 26.
Bruce
LNC: Jay was the son of John DeBenedetti a prominent and much respected rancere "su per la costa". Adio, Jay. Until we all meet again
across "Il Ultimo Ponte". Ivan0
LNC: The below Remembrance of Jay's life appeared in the Santa Cruz Sentinel :
January 12, 2007
Capitola Mall developer dies at age 68
Developer John L. "Jay" deBenedetti III, who built the Capitola Mall and Gateway Plaza in Santa Cruz, died Sunday in Atherton after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 68.
DeBenedetti was born in San Francisco and grew up in coastal Santa Cruz. He came from a pioneering family of growers and shippers.
He graduated from Santa Cruz High School, and in 1959, he graduated from UC Berkeley, where he was a member of the golf team and the Zeta Psi fraternity. He was honored to be a member of "The Builders of Berkeley" and supported many Cal programs over the years.
He broke with the family's agricultural roots and pursued a career as a commercial real estate developer. The beginning of his career was spent with Coldwell Banker and Sutter Hill Development.
In 1976, he co-founded Cypress Properties where he engaged in shopping center and suburban office acquisitions and development.
For several years, he was president of the Lake Tahoe lakefront homeowners association.
He served on the board of high-tech and medical technology companies as well as philanthropic interests including The Vista Center for the Blind. "Beyond being a successful businessman," said his son John F. deBenedetti, who is blind, "people respected him as a person with integrity"
DeBenedetti's son lost his eyesight when he was 11, which got him interested in helping organizations for the blind, his son said.
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"He was real generous to UC Berkeley and to a number of blindness organizations," his son said.
He was a giving man, his son added, personally and philanthropically.
"He was just a larger-than-life leader of our family," he said.
DeBenedetti enjoyed golfing, business and philanthropy. He was a member of the San Francisco Golf Club, Bohemian Club and Menlo Country Club.
DeBenedetti is survived by his wife Marti DeBenedetti of Atherton; daughter Ann Levis of St. Louis; son John deBenedetti of San Francisco; daughter Mary Newman of Lafayette; sister Jane McInnis of Atherton; eight grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
A celebration of his life will be at the San Francisco Golf Club at a future date.
Contributions are preferred to That Man May See, a public charity supporting UC San Francisco ophthalmology, 10 Koret Way Box 0352, San Francisco, CA 94143-0352 or the UC Berkeley Foundation in support of the Memorial Stadium Building Fund, UC Regents/Gift Administration 2080 Addison St., Berkeley, CA 94720.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
FIGLIO DELLA COSTA- DAVE FERRARI REMEMBERED
AS WE START THE NEW YEAR WE ARE REMINDED THAT SOME FIGLIO E FIGLIA DELLA COSTA ARE NO LONGER WITH US. Dave Ferrari died late last year. He was a giant of man--both in appearance and personality. I first heard Dave play his accordion circa 1952-53. He made a guest appearance at the Santa Cruz High School Auditorium. After that I would frequently run into him at Ray and Zelda Ceragioli's home on Escalona Drive. On one particular occasion, he told a very funny story. It seems that on one of his frequent cross country trips he was driving across the desert behind a very large cattle truck. It was hot and the sun was shining brightly without a cloud in the sky. All of a sudden a cloud burst inundated his vehicle with rain. Unable to understand the phenomenon, Dave pulled to the side of the road, got out of his car and looked up at the sky. Not a drop of rain in sight. It was then that he figured out that the "rain" was bovine in nature. So much for following too close.
The below article describing Dave's life was written by Jondi Gumzs and appeared in the Santa Cruz Sentinel. (Also read the obituary written by Dave Ferrari for Irene Terrini Bianconi. Click on comments at the end of the Sentinel article.)
December 7, 2006
Well-known florist Dave Ferrari served the community and the stars
By JONDI GUMZSentinel staff writer
The announcement for Dave Ferrari's memorial service said "Flowers only, please" — not surprising for the founder of Ferrari the Florist — who died in his Santa Cruz home on Friday. He was 92.
Mr. Ferrari opened the floral shop in 1946. It was a bold career switch.
He had played the accordion since he was 12, and after graduating from Santa Cruz High School in 1931, he turned his talent into a career. He taught the accordion and led an orchestra, performing at barbecues, weddings and dances from Half Moon Bay to King City.
In 1936, he chaired the Santa Cruz Fiesta, a birthday party for the city, persuading local merchants to don Spanish outfits and wearing a mariachi costume for a photo with Oscar-winner Claudette Colbert. She was in Bonny Doon with Fred MacMurray to make the film, "Maid of Salem."
Mr. Ferrari entertained at the San Francisco World Fair in 1939 and 1940, and served as the accompanist for the famed Fisherman's Chorus during the popular "Day on the Bay" celebrations.
During World War II, he was drafted into the U.S. Army. He took his accordion with him, entertaining the troops and creating lifelong friendships.
Mr. Ferrari earned a promotion to 1st sergeant with the 54th Signal Battalion, spent two years in Iceland, then two more in Europe with the 18th Airborne Corps. He took part in the Battle of the Bulge, the crossing of the Rhine River at Wesel, the Battle of the Ruhr pocket, and joined forces with the Russian troops at the Elbe River.
Returning home after four years, he took a nine-month apprenticeship with a florist in San Francisco. He told a Sentinel reporter that going into business "scared the hell out of me." But he proved to be astute. He catered to such luminaries as Alfred Hitchcock, who had a home in Scotts Valley, and his "Festival of Trees" at Christmas became a tradition.
The store, which moved to Pacific Avenue in 1954, became known for its extravagant holiday window displays. When Mr. Ferrari retired in 1978, the store was rated among the top florists in the country.
The 1989 earthquake forced the floral shop to relocate. It returned downtown and celebrated its 60th anniversary in September this year, with Mr. Ferrari, 92, sharing memories with Sharon Richardson, the current owner, and her staff.
In his younger days, Mr. Ferrari was an avid river runner. He rafted the Colorado through the Grand Canyon several times before the dam was built in Page in 1963 and several other rivers.
During his retirement, he traveled to 67 countries, including Iceland, visiting relatives and friends. His home in Santa Cruz became known as the "Ferrari Hilton" because visitors from all over the world were always welcome.
He never married, explaining to an interviewer in 1994 that "the accordion was my wife." To four generations of family, he was affectionately known as Uncle "D." He outlived his sister Leda, who died in 1993, and his sister Sylvia, who died in 2004.
He was proud to say he slept in the same bedroom where he was born.
Contact Jondi Gumz at mailto:jgumz@santacruzsentinel.com?
David H. Ferrari
BORN: April 15, 1914.
DIED: Dec. 1, 2006.
HOME: Santa Cruz.
OCCUPATION: Accordion player and orchestra leader, founder of Ferrari the Florist.
EDUCATION: Graduate of Santa Cruz High School.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Responsible for live entertainment at the Beach Boardwalk during the 1930s; chaired the Santa Cruz Birthday Party celebration; named outstanding citizen of Santa Cruz, 1941.
Reminder "La Nostra Costa Book Signing at the Capitola Cafe-Bookstore, on Weds. Jan 17 @ 7:30 PM. Location: 1475 41st Ave Capitola, 831-462-4415.
The below article describing Dave's life was written by Jondi Gumzs and appeared in the Santa Cruz Sentinel. (Also read the obituary written by Dave Ferrari for Irene Terrini Bianconi. Click on comments at the end of the Sentinel article.)
December 7, 2006
Well-known florist Dave Ferrari served the community and the stars
By JONDI GUMZSentinel staff writer
The announcement for Dave Ferrari's memorial service said "Flowers only, please" — not surprising for the founder of Ferrari the Florist — who died in his Santa Cruz home on Friday. He was 92.
Mr. Ferrari opened the floral shop in 1946. It was a bold career switch.
He had played the accordion since he was 12, and after graduating from Santa Cruz High School in 1931, he turned his talent into a career. He taught the accordion and led an orchestra, performing at barbecues, weddings and dances from Half Moon Bay to King City.
In 1936, he chaired the Santa Cruz Fiesta, a birthday party for the city, persuading local merchants to don Spanish outfits and wearing a mariachi costume for a photo with Oscar-winner Claudette Colbert. She was in Bonny Doon with Fred MacMurray to make the film, "Maid of Salem."
Mr. Ferrari entertained at the San Francisco World Fair in 1939 and 1940, and served as the accompanist for the famed Fisherman's Chorus during the popular "Day on the Bay" celebrations.
During World War II, he was drafted into the U.S. Army. He took his accordion with him, entertaining the troops and creating lifelong friendships.
Mr. Ferrari earned a promotion to 1st sergeant with the 54th Signal Battalion, spent two years in Iceland, then two more in Europe with the 18th Airborne Corps. He took part in the Battle of the Bulge, the crossing of the Rhine River at Wesel, the Battle of the Ruhr pocket, and joined forces with the Russian troops at the Elbe River.
Returning home after four years, he took a nine-month apprenticeship with a florist in San Francisco. He told a Sentinel reporter that going into business "scared the hell out of me." But he proved to be astute. He catered to such luminaries as Alfred Hitchcock, who had a home in Scotts Valley, and his "Festival of Trees" at Christmas became a tradition.
The store, which moved to Pacific Avenue in 1954, became known for its extravagant holiday window displays. When Mr. Ferrari retired in 1978, the store was rated among the top florists in the country.
The 1989 earthquake forced the floral shop to relocate. It returned downtown and celebrated its 60th anniversary in September this year, with Mr. Ferrari, 92, sharing memories with Sharon Richardson, the current owner, and her staff.
In his younger days, Mr. Ferrari was an avid river runner. He rafted the Colorado through the Grand Canyon several times before the dam was built in Page in 1963 and several other rivers.
During his retirement, he traveled to 67 countries, including Iceland, visiting relatives and friends. His home in Santa Cruz became known as the "Ferrari Hilton" because visitors from all over the world were always welcome.
He never married, explaining to an interviewer in 1994 that "the accordion was my wife." To four generations of family, he was affectionately known as Uncle "D." He outlived his sister Leda, who died in 1993, and his sister Sylvia, who died in 2004.
He was proud to say he slept in the same bedroom where he was born.
Contact Jondi Gumz at mailto:jgumz@santacruzsentinel.com?
David H. Ferrari
BORN: April 15, 1914.
DIED: Dec. 1, 2006.
HOME: Santa Cruz.
OCCUPATION: Accordion player and orchestra leader, founder of Ferrari the Florist.
EDUCATION: Graduate of Santa Cruz High School.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Responsible for live entertainment at the Beach Boardwalk during the 1930s; chaired the Santa Cruz Birthday Party celebration; named outstanding citizen of Santa Cruz, 1941.
Reminder "La Nostra Costa Book Signing at the Capitola Cafe-Bookstore, on Weds. Jan 17 @ 7:30 PM. Location: 1475 41st Ave Capitola, 831-462-4415.
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