Celebrating local Italian-Americans

Italian-Americans have constituted the largest ethnic group in Franklin Square for the past several decades, and on April 28, at 6 p.m., local residents observed the 100th anniversary of the area’s Italian-American community.

“Tonight is a reflection of our core values of family, faith, and friendship,” said Arthur Corvese, president of the Sons of Italy America Lodge 2245. “We are completely embedded in the fabric of Franklin Square.”

The Franklin Square Historical Society hosted a full-course dinner at the Plattduetsche Park Restaurant, and presented a Citizen of the Year Award to the Sons of Italy Lodge 2245, which accepted the award on behalf of the entire Franklin Square Italian-American community. The event included a presentation on Franklin Square’s Italian-American history.

“We have been working very hard to put this together and kind of cover this history, which has never been written down. It’s never been fully researched, fully documented, and we are trying to do that now,” said Paul van Wie, director of the Franklin Square Historical Society. Van Wie said the Franklin Square Historical Society continues to gather information about the Italian-American community, and their findings will be preserved in the new Franklin Square Museum in Rath Park.