About Us
There was a time when Bay View had a neighborhood within it known as ‘Little Italy.’ The hub of that neighborhood was Groppi’s Market and Club Garibaldi, and its residents were 1st and 2nd generation Italian-Americans, many of whom arrived during the Great Immigration years between 1900 and 1920.
Eager to become Americans and demonstrate self-reliance, a tenet of their new country, in 1908 they formed the Garibaldi Mutual-Aid Society. It provided support to destitute, sick and needy members and gave aid to the families of deceased members. Sick pay and pay to those out of work due to injuries were all part of the mutual-aid of the Garibaldi Society.
The Honor Roll, says something else about the Italians of Little Italy and the Garibaldi Society. When their new home, America, was attacked and about to enter the biggest global war in history, the men on this Honor Roll stepped forward to provide a different kind of mutual aid— serving their country. To a man, they all knew they owed something to the land that gave them what their old country could not — freedom and a new life. The Garibaldi Society Honor Roll is not only testimony to the patriotism of the Italian-Americans of Little Italy, but a proud and endearing legacy to the Italian heritage that once thrived in Bay View.
