Order Sons of Italy in America, Massachusetts Grand Lodge records

The Massachusetts Grand Lodge was founded on January 25, 1914, the fifth state lodge chartered by OSIA. The original local lodge in the state, Ettore Fieramosca #60, was organized in 1910, the first of 231 lodges.

The Fondo Unico Mortuario, or Mortuary Fund, was organized in 1918 and offered a death benefit of $200. In 1935 this amount was increased to $500. By 1924 over 7,000 people were enrolled in this program. In addition, many of the local lodges offered sick benefits for breadwinners. In 1959 the Benefit Insurance plan was established as the grand lodge's own insurance company to replace the Mortuary Fund. It offers a variety of life insurance plans and is not based on the per capita assessment that characterized the older program.

During the 1930s the grand ldge raised funds for the Home for Italian Children and the Italian Red Cross. The Junior Division was organized in 1931 and over the next half a century founded 132 youth lodgesthroughout the state, most of them during the 1930s. This represened the most successful effort of any OSIA grand lodge. The total number of youth or junior lodges organized including those in Massachusetts, is approximately 366. Scholarships for college students have also been a long-standing activity of the Massachusetts OSIA.

During World War II the state lodge was active in the War Bonds program, and purchased $140,000 worth of bonds by mid-1942. The grand lodge was involved in the Supreme Lodge's successful effort to have the classification of "Enemy Aliens" removed from Italian aliens. OSIA members in the armed forced were exempted from dues and assessments of the grand lodges and the $500 death benefit was paid to the beneficiaries of those who died serving the country. Following the war the Order in massachusetts donated tons of food and clothing and over $75,000 for war-torn Italy.

In 1956 the grand lodge's membership reached its highest point with 22,000 members. The Order during the 1950s assumed a leadership role in raising funds for the Don Orione Home for the Aged and the Madonna Queen Shrine in Boston. Active in Charity work of all kinds, the Order in Massachusetts also provided relief to OSIA members who were victims of tornados, floods and fires. The establishment of the Charitable and Education Trust has provided an ongoing vehicle for funding charity causes.

The Massachusetts Grand Lodge office was located for many years in Boston's North End and is currently situated in Cambridge. With a membership of 18,000 it is now the second largest state lodge. Since 1928 the Grand Lodge has produced its own monthly publication. Il gazzettino was published from 1929 to 1931 when its title was changed to the Sons of Italy Magazine. Since 1966 the journal has been called the Sons of Italy News. Most issues of these publications are included in the Sons of Italy Archives, and they represent a rich source of detailed information about grand and local lodge activities.

Boston, Massachusetts has been the location of OSIA National Conventions in 1935, 1945, 1951, 1959 and 1973. Among the twenty-two men who have served as Supreme Venerable of the Order are four Massachusetts natives: Felix Forte (1940-1947), Joseph Gorrasi (1957-1961), Peter Gay (1973-197), and Aldo Caira (1981-1985).