Members of Natick Sons and Daughters of Italy club reflect on the last 100 years

Claudia Rose, financial secretary of Natick Sons and Daughters of Italy, said she remembered attending carnivals the club hosted in the 1960s, when her parents and grandparents were members. 

As local club Natick Sons and Daughters of Italy celebrates its 100th year, some members said they are worried about the generational group’s future. The organization, founded to preserve Italian heritage and serve the community, is struggling to attract younger members.

“The membership has changed, it’s all older people,” Rose said. Because of the prevalence of social media, she thinks “the younger generation is not looking for that sense of community.” 

Diane Piccioli joined the club 29 years ago so that she could substitute in a bocce tournament in Watertown. But soon, she said, it became a central part of her life and she served as a trustee and recording secretary for the club. 

Piccioli said her mother’s parents, who were born in Italy and moved to Fitchburg, Mass., before settling in Natick, were eager to join the club in its beginning. 

“They really wanted to assimilate into the American culture, but they wanted to preserve their Italian traditions — especially food,” Piccioli said of her grandparents.

Though Piccioli has taken a step back from the club to care for her 97-year-old mother, she said she still finds time to bake for events. She said she remembers her days in the club kitchen fondly, staying up late to prepare meatballs and sauce before the annual Natick Days festival. 

Piccioli said her mother was an active member of the club, initiating and organizing events like fashion shows, a flea market and the first Italian music concert at the Morse Institute. In 1997, Piccioli’s parents helped build the club’s beloved bocce courts. 

“When my mother sees a need for things, she was one to just attack it, just like all the people [at the club],” Piccoli said.

What is now known as Natick Sons and Daughters of Italy originated a century ago when three Italian immigrants started the Francesco DeSanctis Lodge #1411 on Washington Avenue in Natick as a place for Italians to gather and settle into their new environment in America.  

President Ross Rodino said it was a social hub for those who might not have been welcome elsewhere because of their nationality. Over the last hundred years, he said, the club’s focus has been on preserving Italian heritage with a “heavy emphasis” on serving the Natick community.

Rodino said in the past 12 years, the club has given about $100,000 in scholarships to local high school students. This year, at their meeting in June, he said they plan to donate an additional $10,000 in scholarships.  

Rose attributes the lack of younger members to a decreased need for culture and belonging that her grandparents once desperately sought. 

“I think the younger generation is not looking for that sense of community,” Rose said.  “It’s all online now.” 

In preparation for the club’s centennial anniversary dinner, Rose collected photos from the club over the years. She pointed to one from the club’s 25th anniversary, where there were more than 200 people in the photograph. At a recent meeting, she said, there were only 60. 

“It doesn’t have the same sense of community,” she said. 

Members said younger recruits would bring fresh eyes to the club’s operations, including social media. 

Rodino said everything the club does, from scholarships to toy drives, is a continuation of the club’s founding principle of community service.

“It’s a tribute to them — to these folks who came before us — who set up this group and started doing all these things and these traditions,” Rodino said. “We’re just trying to carry it on going forward.”

This story was produced through a partnership between Natick Report and Boston University’s Department of Journalism.

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