The Society notes with sadness the passing of longtime members Nisa Nastu in Rumania and Constance Balamaci and Pandely Teja in the USA. Christolu s’la liearta

We welcome with great pleasure the following new members:

We are proud when we see a name like “Caramitru” in a movie credit, but what about Tim Dunigan? Aromanian on his mother’s side, Tim is the star of the new Disney T.V. series about the American folk hero Davey Crockett. Did his own mountain roots help Dunigan understand his mountain-man character better? . . . One of Hollywood’s fast-rising young stars, Elizabeth Perkins, who recently starred with Tom Hanks in Big, is Aromanian on her father’s side and can trace the family’s ancestry to two of our best-known villages, Samarina and Baieasa . . . Both actors are related to members of the Society Farsarotul, Dunigan to fellow thespian Caryn Balamaci and Perkins to Dr. T.Steven Tegu.

Our 85th Anniversary dinner dance, held on Saturday, October 15, 1988 at the Hillandale Country Club in Trumbull, Connecticut, was a huge success; every seat in the house was taken, and the band was forced to play overtime. Special thanks to our President Bill Balamaci, who as usual took overall responsibility for the occasion and who sends us the following message: “Our 85th Anniversary Dinner Dance will provide many fond memories for the 225 members and friends who attended. All were embraced by the warm family atmosphere, similar to the joy and excitement of a family member’s wedding day.

The Social Hour with open bar and hors d’oeuvres provided guests with an opportunity to visit with old and new friends before the full course dinner. It was especially gratifying to welcome guests who had traveled from Canada, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Jack Garabedian and his orchestra performed music that lured us all to the dance floor. The only great disappointment of the evening was that the five hours passed so quickly.

The extremely positive response to the dance has encouraged your officers and directors to schedule similar events for 1989 and 1990. Our 86th Anniversary celebration will be held at Sante’s Manor on November 11, 1989, while the 87th will occur at Liedle’s (both halls are in Connecticut; details will follow in our August Newsletter). Please mark your calendars now.

Copies of the group photograph and video tape can be obtained for $10. check or money order sent to the Society’s P.O. Box address. Contact me at (203) 384-1510 should you have any questions before placing your order.

Also concerning the dance: There was a mix-up with the music. Although we had planned for an equal blend of traditional and modern music, the band played rather many Balkan tunes and few American songs. We’ll try to have it more balanced next time.

Our “Special Bulletin” in the last issue concerning the Vlach background of presidential candidate Michael Dukakis gave our people and the Society some unexpected international publicity. First it was picked up by none other than the New York Times, which on October 17th, 1988, ran a short, positive piece on “the Vlach, or Aromanian, heritage of [Dukakis’s] 85-year-old mother, Euterpe.” Next our own Editor, Nicholas Balamaci, interviewed the elder Mrs. Dukakis and discussed her Vlach background; this interview was published in New York in The GreekAmerican on November 12, 1988, and appeared (translated into Greek) in the periodical of one of our villages in Greece, Avdhella, on November 25, 1988. Good news travels fast!

For millions of baseball fans, the name of sportscaster Harry Caray is a household word. Most of them must find it a lot easier than pronouncing his full name, Haralambie Carabina. Caray grew up in Webster Groves, MO, a suburb of St. Louis, where a fairly large Aromanian community once existed. He started announcing for the St. Louis Cardinals and eventually ended up in Chicago with the White Sox and then finally the Cubs. His name is not only important to sports fans, however: Of the six persons who helped founder Nicola Cican start the Society Farsarotul in 1903, two were named Carabina, and indeed several members of our community still bear this important name. Caray has kept in touch with his cousins throughout the years.

If you know of someone who might like to receive the Newsletter regularly, send us that person’s name and address and we’ll put him or her on our mailing list. Some back issues are still available; write us if you’d like any of these.

True story: As Bob Talabac and Nick Balamaci were walking through Times Square on 1/11/89 they glanced up to see the name Jeffrey Pittu flashed on the electronic billboard. Small world?

Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou, whose government is now threatened by a series of financial scandals, has announced that he will divorce his wife and marry former airline stewardess Dimitra Liani. Ms. Liani is rumored to be a Vlach from the village of Klisoura.

Special Bulletin: Just as we were going to press, we learned that Gowan and Beverlee Dacey are now the proud parents of another pair of twins. This time the twins are a boy and a girl, whereas the first are two boys. If any of our readers is mathematically inclined, please write us and let us know the odds that such a series will occur. In the meantime, congratulations to the happy parents!

Primaveara Cooking Classes: Our “PRIMAVEARA COOKING CLASS” will be held on Saturday, May 13, 1989 from 3 pm to 6 pm at the Theodore Tonna Center of the St. Dimitrie Church, Bridgeport, CT. Reservations for the class must be made by phoning Sylvia Fatse at (203)255-5244. A light supper will be served at the end of the class and a $5.00 per person donation may be paid at the class. The classes are open to everyone. You don’t have to be a member to attend.