In the upper level of a downtown hall, men with the Christopher Columbus Italian Society gather monthly for business meetings. On the level below, the women's auxiliary do the same.

In the stairway linking the floors are framed portraits of past presidents from these organizations dating back decades to the society's founding in 1890.

Fathers and sons, mothers and daughters volunteered together, worshipped at adjacent San Francesco di Paola Catholic Church and passed on the city's Italian Catholic culture to the next generation.

On Sunday, using a secret recipe handed down through families, dozens of society members sold spaghetti and meatball plates to the public. It is an annual fundraiser for the Italian Catholic group eager to sustain their identity and timed to coincide the day before Columbus Day on Monday.

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Source: http://www.mysanantonio.com