Finding Aid for the Orange County American-Italian Renaissance Lodge, Foundation and Italian Heritage Archive
2011.059.r
Finding aid prepared by Rand Boyd
Frank Mt. Pleasant Library of Special Collections and Archives, Leatherby Libraries
Chapman University
One University Drive
Orange, CA, 92866
(714) 532 - 7711
rboyd@chapman.edu
01/31/2012
Title: Orange County American-Italian Renaissance Lodge, Foundation and Italian Heritage Archive.
Identifier/Call Number: 2011.059.r
Contributing Institution:
Frank Mt. Pleasant Library of Special Collections and Archives, Leatherby Libraries
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
6.25 Linear feet
(6 document boxes, 3 carton)
Date (inclusive): 1972-1996
Abstract: This archive is a collection of the records of the Orange County American-Italian Renaissance Foundation Lodge (OCAIRF) and
other related material.
Location note: Leatherby Libraries
Preferred Citation note
[identify item], Orange County American-Italian Renaissance Foundation Archive (2011.059.r)], Frank Mt. Pleasant Library of
Special Collections and Archives, Chapman University, CA.
Conditions Governing Use note
There are no restrictions on the use of this material except where previously copyrighted material is concerned. It is the
responsibility of the researcher to obtain all permissions.
Conditions Governing Access note
This collection is open for research.
Scope and Contents note
This archive contains some of the minutes and other materials related to the Orange County American-Italian Renaissance Foundation
(OCAIRF) as well as the Order of the Sons of Italy in America.
Arrangement note
Unless otherwise noted, the material in this archive is arranged in series.
SERIES 1: Minutes SERIES 2: Newsletters SERIES 3: Photographs SERIES 4: Scrapbooks SERIES 5: Ephemera SERIES 6: Realia
John N. LaCorte
John N. LaCorte, a champion of Italian heritage who won a national holiday honoring Christopher Columbus and got a major bridge
named for a neglected explorer, Giovanni da Verrazano, died on Wednesday at Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn. He was
81 years old and lived in Brooklyn Heights.
He died of complications from a heart attack, his family said.
For more than 50 years he promoted the accomplishments of Italians and Italian-Americans, who he said were often uninformed
about their heritage or ashamed of it.
The campaign for Columbus Day began with a celebration in Brooklyn in 1939. His idea spread in Italian neighborhoods and led
to a parade in Manhattan. Inspired by the green stripe down Fifth Avenue for St. Patrick's Day, he asked the city to paint
a purple stripe, a color Columbus liked, for Columbus Day. When the request was denied, he appealed to Mayor Robert F. Wagner,
who acceded. A Stamp for Garibaldi
Marching in one parade in 1947, Mr. LaCorte passed the office of an Irish historical organization and decided to found the
Italian Historical Society of America, which continues today.
He helped get a postage stamp commemorating the Italian patriot Garibaldi, traced New York's first Italian settler to 1635,
credited the founding of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to Charles J. Bonaparte and claimed that Antonio Meucci, a Staten
Islander, invented the telephone before Alexander Graham Bell patented and commercialized it.
Mr. LaCorte won belated recognition for Verrazano, the first European to explore New York Harbor, which Verrazano did 85 years
before Henry Hudson sailed up the river that bears his name.
Mr. Lacorte's causes included preventing juvenile delinquency, controlling neighborhood crime, slowing the spread of high-rise
apartments and opposing Communism in Italy and San Marino. A Price on Virginity
His ideas were often quixotic. A wealthy man, he announced a plan in 1987 to give $1,000 to teen-age girls who remained virgins
until age 19. The plan drew international attention, criticism from feminists and few if any applicants. Later he tried to
promote the idea of human improvement through an organization called the Better World J L Institute.
Born in Jersey City, Mr. LaCorte moved to Sicily with his parents and grew up there. He returned to the United States at the
age of 19 with 17 cents to his name. He played briefly in a band, then sold refrigerators and vacuum cleaners before a long
career as a salesman for New York Life Insurance and then running his own agency.
He is survived by his son, John J., of Torrence, Calif., and one grandchild.
Credit: New York Times article by Bruce Lambert, Nov. 23, 1991
Biographical/Historical note
The Orange County American Italian Renaissance Foundation Inc.(OCAIRF) was an Italian heritage group founded in the 1970s
to promote and celebrate the contributions of Italian-Americans to the development of Orange County, CA.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
DeSantis, Frank
Italian Americans.
Orange County (Calif.)--Ethnic relations--History--20th century
Orange County Amerian-Italian Renaissance Foundation.
Document-boxes 1, 2
Minutes
1985-1996
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
0.834 Linear feet
(2 document boxes)
Scope and Contents note
This series contains three volumes and one folder of minutes from the meetings of the OCAIRF for the years 1985 to 1996.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Orange County American-Italian Renaissance Foundation (OCAIRF)
Document-boxes 1, 2
Newsletters
1972-1982
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
(2 folders)
Scope and Contents note
This series contains two volumes of newsletters from the OCAIRF for the years 1972 to 1982.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Orange County American-Italian Renaissance Foundation (OCAIRF)
Document-boxes 1, 2
Photographs
mid 20th century
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
(1 folder)
Scope and Contents note
This series contains a binder of slides of various Foundation events and personalities.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Orange County American-Italian Renaissance Foundation (OCAIRF)
Document-boxes 2-5
Scrapbooks
1981-1997
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
1.668 Linear feet
(4 document boxes)
Scope and Contents note
This series contains six scrapbooks of OCAIRF events for the years 1981 to 1997.
Document box 2, scrapbook 1
Document box 3, scrapbooks 2, 3
Document box 4, scrapbooks 4, 5
Document box 5, scrapbooks 7, 8
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Orange County American-Italian Renaissance Foundation (OCAIRF)
Document-box 6
Ephemera
mid 20th century
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
0.417 Linear feet
(1 document box)
Scope and Contents note
This series contains several items of an ephemeral nature relating to the Foundation or the Order of the Sons of Italy in
America:
1 Poster; Columbus meeting natives 500th anniversary; 24” x 18”
1 Medal; gold, Front: “Columbus Day 2007” “Italio Americans”, Back: “Mr. Frank De Santis, 1990"
1 Vial, sand from San Salvador where Columbus landed (display case)
1 Pin, “I Got Mine”, green, Order Sons of Italy in America
1 Medallion, gold; on a gold chain; “Order Sons of Italy in America"
51 Envelopes, “Columbus Monument 500 project, 1492-1992”; various Columbus themed stamps
5 Pins, “Order Sons of Italy”; various colors
1 Coaster, “Renaissance Log & Foundation, Sons of Italy”
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Orange County American-Italian Renaissance Foundation (OCAIRF)
Order Sons of Italy in America
Document-box 1
Dedication of the Italian Heritage Archive
2012
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
(1 folder)
Scope and Contents note
This subseries contains a program from the dedication and a newsletter discussing the dedication.
Document-box 1
Columbus Day celebrations
2012
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
(1 folder)
Scope and Contents note
This subseries contains a program from the 2012 Columbus Day celebration at the Bowers Museum as well as copies of two speeches
delivered at the celebration.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Baldwin, Charlene
Pacchioni, Frederico
Bin 1
Realia
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
3.0 Linear feet
(3 cartons)
Scope and Contents note
This series contains several statues and busts:
1 Statue; Wooden Columbus; gold plaque at the base reads, “In Honor and Appreciation...", 20", September 19, 1996 (display
case)
1 Statue, white bust, plastic, damaged under left ear
1 Statue, lion laying down
1 Statue, white bust, plastic
1 Statue, Columbus seated (display case)
Document-box 1
John N. La Corte
1991
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
(1 folder)
Scope and Contents note
This series contains an obituary for John N. La Corte as well as a documentary on his impact in New York with the Italian-American
movement.
Biographical/Historical note
John N. LaCorte, a champion of Italian heritage who won a national holiday honoring Christopher Columbus and got a major bridge
named for a neglected explorer, Giovanni da Verrazano, died on Wednesday at Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn. He was
81 years old and lived in Brooklyn Heights.
He died of complications from a heart attack, his family said.
For more than 50 years he promoted the accomplishments of Italians and Italian-Americans, who he said were often uninformed
about their heritage or ashamed of it.
The campaign for Columbus Day began with a celebration in Brooklyn in 1939. His idea spread in Italian neighborhoods and led
to a parade in Manhattan. Inspired by the green stripe down Fifth Avenue for St. Patrick's Day, he asked the city to paint
a purple stripe, a color Columbus liked, for Columbus Day. When the request was denied, he appealed to Mayor Robert F. Wagner,
who acceded. A Stamp for Garibaldi
Marching in one parade in 1947, Mr. LaCorte passed the office of an Irish historical organization and decided to found the
Italian Historical Society of America, which continues today.
He helped get a postage stamp commemorating the Italian patriot Garibaldi, traced New York's first Italian settler to 1635,
credited the founding of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to Charles J. Bonaparte and claimed that Antonio Meucci, a Staten
Islander, invented the telephone before Alexander Graham Bell patented and commercialized it.
Mr. LaCorte won belated recognition for Verrazano, the first European to explore New York Harbor, which Verrazano did 85 years
before Henry Hudson sailed up the river that bears his name.
Mr. Lacorte's causes included preventing juvenile delinquency, controlling neighborhood crime, slowing the spread of high-rise
apartments and opposing Communism in Italy and San Marino. A Price on Virginity
His ideas were often quixotic. A wealthy man, he announced a plan in 1987 to give $1,000 to teen-age girls who remained virgins
until age 19. The plan drew international attention, criticism from feminists and few if any applicants. Later he tried to
promote the idea of human improvement through an organization called the Better World J L Institute.
Born in Jersey City, Mr. LaCorte moved to Sicily with his parents and grew up there. He returned to the United States at the
age of 19 with 17 cents to his name. He played briefly in a band, then sold refrigerators and vacuum cleaners before a long
career as a salesman for New York Life Insurance and then running his own agency.
He is survived by his son, John J., of Torrence, Calif., and one grandchild.
Credit: New York Times article by Bruce Lambert, Nov. 23, 1991
Document-box 6
Media/DVD's
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
(1 folder)
Scope and Contents note
DVD and photocopies about the life of John N. LaCorte, especially as it related to the promotion of Italian Heritage.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Italian Historical Society of America..
LaCorte, John N., 1910-1991
Italian Americans.
Italy -- Civilization.