MAHOPAC – Putnam County’s annual International Heritages Celebration, held on Columbus Day in Mahopac, emphasized that America is a nation of immigrants, regardless of nationality or heritage.
Organized by the Italian American Club of Mahopac, the group’s president Giulio Cefaloni told some 125 people in attendance gathered in Carmel Town Hall, “We may have come from Germany or Ireland, from Italy or Poland, the Ukraine, Hungary, Latin America or Russia; we are all beneficiaries of what our forefathers achieved and what experiment was put into place. We are the result because all of us are immigrants.”
Dignitaries addressed the gathering.
Assemblyman Matt Slater praised generations of Italian Americans “who have helped shape our nation, New York State, and the Hudson Valley. Here in Putnam and Westchester Counties, Italian American families have helped build our communities, grow local businesses, serve our country, and preserve traditions that continue to bring neighbors together.”
State Senator Peter Harkham thanked the many local organizations and community leaders who “work so hard to keep traditions alive by passing them on to future generations.”
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