A well-known Leechburg lodge is set to celebrate a milestone this weekend.
William Marconi Lodge of Mutual Benefit marks 110 years at 135 River Ave.
“We’re trying to give back to the members (and the public) because of the dismal year last year, and we couldn’t really do much with so many restrictions,” said club President Chad Raschiatore. “I just like to see the club thrive. We’re doing well, even after the covid. Hopefully things will change and we can get back to normalcy.”
Festivities begin with a car cruise from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday at Leechburg Riverfront Park.
The first 30 vehicles will receive a dash plaque and goodie bag. Food and beverages will be available for purchase.
The cost is $10 per car. No registration is required. General admission is free.
Signage will be posted to show the way into the park.
A coed, members-only bocce tournament is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday. At least 12 teams of two or four are expected to play.
Raschiatore said teams recently wrapped up their summer bocce league play, and the games continue to be a big draw for the club.
“It’s just part of the heritage,” he said. “We have one lady in her 90s who still comes to play. It’s something we previously did, and it stuck throughout all the generations.”
Public events continue with dancing from 7 to 10 p.m. in the Mirror Room, featuring music by the band G6.
Members will be welcomed back Sunday at noon for a Steelers tailgate party that will last through the end of the game.
There is a kayak and purse raffle as part of the celebration. Tickets are $5 each, with the drawing to occur at halftime of the Steelers game Sunday. It is open to the public and members. Ticket-holders do not need to be present to win.
More information about the celebration is available at the club’s Facebook page.
Club history
The Leechburg Italian social club used to be an all-male group.
It was named after Marchese Guglielmo Marconi, the Nobel Prize winner and inventor of the Marconi wireless telegraph.
The club wrote to Marconi asking his permission to name their lodge after him. Marconi replied, giving them his blessing. And, he almost visited the club when he was in Pittsburgh in 1917. According to club history, “due to his crowded schedule he could not accept the invitation.”
The River Avenue lodge building originally was a blacksmith shop, livery stable and hotel. It is a local historical landmark.
After the lodge was established, labor unions eventually formed and second- and third-generation Italian-Americans used the Marconi Club more for socializing than as a haven. It boomed as a social club. Live music with big bands packed in revelers by the hundreds. Parades, holidays and any big event was matched by a Marconi celebration.
An addition for a new hall was built in 1949 to accommodate the swelling membership. The building was remodeled in 1972 with the lodge’s famous Mirror Room, constructed of five tons of glass.
The most recent upgrades include new HVAC units and a dance floor installed last year. The next big project is replacing a roof more than 40 years old.
