Sep
Friday I attended a networking luncheon known as the “Fish Lunch” held at a San Pedro landmark called the “Dalmatian Club.” As we ate lunch and networked with notable political figures and community leaders they stopped to introduce some of the notables and I heard them mention several men from the local Croatian-American community. Now I find this of particular interest due to my Croatian heritage. I learned that the Dalmation Club actually gets its name from the Dalmation region along the Croatian Coast from where most of the locals immigrated. The club was formed back in 1926 when the men saw a need to …
“promote and cultivate good fellowship, higher social, intellectual and economic standards and a true spirit of brotherly love; promote American patriotism and better citizenship by upholding the Constitution and the laws of the United States; promote goodwill and esteem towards all nations, the ethnicity of its members; promote folk art, music, sports and generally carry on as a social organization; support all that is just and lawful for the benefit of all its members and the community, and finally to provide and maintain a Home for social activities and a meeting place for its members.”
Now, you might not find this history lesson very interesting at this point, but what really moved me more than anything during this lunch was how they ended it. A speaker closed the lunch at the podium by saying “let’s all stand a sing God Bless America”, I’m wondering did I hear him correctly? Well sure enough everyone stood and started singing lead by a man singing in broken English every single word of God Bless America! I had tears in my eyes because this man – these Croatian immigrants were so proud to be Americans! Well, I felt at that moment what it must have meant for my grandparents who came to this country and believed anything was possible and how proud they must have been to have opportunity and hope from what America offered. I left that lunch overjoyed at what I had just experienced with my heart filled with pride about what it means to be an American.
Tags: croatian, heritage, patriotism
