OPINION

REX NELSON: The Catholic Point Italians

When I was a boy, trips to Conway meant a meal at Tommy's Restaurant. My father's passion was quail hunting, and restaurant proprietors Tommy Paladino and Johnny DeSalvo would set him up with bird hunts near their hometown of Center Ridge.

Paladino was 91 when he died in 2008. He had spent 38 years in the restaurant business at Conway. DeSalvo was 79 when he died in 1990.

The DeSalvo and Paladino names remain common in northern Conway County. I remember winter nights when my father would come home and say, "Help me clean these birds. We tore 'em up at Center Ridge today."

Knowing of my father's love of hunting here, I pay particular attention on the drive along Arkansas 9. The trip north from Morrilton takes travelers close to Lake Overcup and Brewer Lake, outstanding fishing lakes. Overcup, which covers 1,025 acres, was built in 1963 by the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission.

The AG&FC website notes: "This large impoundment produced a 1-pound, 14-ounce state record bluegill and two 3-pound, 6-ounce state record white crappie. Panfishing remains extraordinary, and Overcup has also forged a place in the hearts of bass and catfish enthusiasts. Lunker largemouths frequently anchor the stringers of visiting anglers, and Overcup also doles out fast-paced action for channel and flathead catfish. Other popular fish inhabiting this fertile lake include white bass, chain pickerels, warmouths and blue catfish."

Area residents raised $10,000, which was a huge amount at the time, to help the commission purchase the site on Overcup Creek. Wooded creek bottoms and farmland were covered once the dam was completed.

Brewer Lake provides drinking water for about 20,000 people in Conway County and another 65,000 residents of the city of Conway in neighboring Faulkner County. The lake was created in 1983 by damming Cypress Creek. The Conway Corporation operates the lake, which is surrounded by the AG&FC's Cypress Creek Wildlife Management Area.

Just north of Brewer Lake, I pass through the community of Birdtown on Arkansas 9 and then notice the turn to Catholic Point.

A number of German and Italian immigrants settled in this area. Many of the Italians lived near Catholic Point, which began in 1878. The Catholic Point Picnic, which has been held since 1929 on the third Saturday in June at the parish hall of St. Joseph's Catholic Church, attracts more than 2,500 people each year.

"From the mid-1870s until 1890, Bishop Edward M. Fitzgerald, the second prelate of the Diocese of Little Rock, promoted and successfully attracted Roman Catholic families from Europe, many of whom were facing difficult economic conditions," Larry Taylor writes for the Central Arkansas Library System's Encyclopedia of Arkansas. "While not necessarily identified as a part of the St. Joseph Colony, which was developed by Father Joseph Strub and located in the Arkansas River Valley, these Italian immigrants profited from railroad land arrangements that were negotiated by Father Strub.

"By 1881, several families had settled in the hill country about 18 to 20 miles north of Morrilton. The higher elevation, [sloping] hillsides and abundant water sources provided the conditions desired for their crops, which included corn, various grains and especially grapes. Many of the early family names--such as DeSalvo, Paladino, Hart, Malik and Rossi--are still prevalent in the community. Other settlers who either relocated or lost their names after marriage include Zarlingo, Lanni and Lombardo. Some non-Italian-sounding names became part of the community as settlers Americanized. For example, Andrews came from the original Mastrandrea."

The settlers were known by area Protestants simply as "the Italians." They kept to themselves during those first years in Arkansas. A Catholic church was erected in 1883. A resident priest arrived in 1924. A parochial school opened in 1929 and operated until 1967. Students now attend the Nemo Vista School District at Center Ridge.

"They were said to order their wives from a catalog, a reference to the practice of bringing young women from the old country," Taylor writes. "While some anti-Catholic sentiment was evident during the 1920s, it never reached serious proportions locally. The community picnic was, in part, designed to promote positive relationships with neighboring communities. Not only did the Catholic Point community become part of the Conway County culture, it came to play a valuable role in county and statewide politics."

A man known as Uncle Tony DeSalvo hosted legislators each year during the 1950s and 1960s at his winery, serving them homemade Italian sausage and spaghetti. Back when the Democratic primary (tantamount to election in those days) was in the summer, the Catholic Point Picnic was a must-attend event for politicians.

Tragedy struck in January 1962 when 10 members of the Andrew and Melba Paladino family died in a fire.

"Beef cattle operations and hay production replaced a once-vibrant dairy industry," Taylor writes. "In 2004, Southwestern Energy began development of the Fayetteville Shale, an extensive and productive natural gas-bearing rock formation. The Catholic Point community, located in a favorable position for development, saw a significant economic impact. By 2016, however, the industry had dwindled."

St. Joseph Parish remains active with almost 150 member families. The wild quail are mostly gone, but the Center Point Picnic, which I've never attended, is on my Arkansas bucket list.

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Senior Editor Rex Nelson's column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He's also the author of the Southern Fried blog at rexnelsonsouthernfried.com.

Editorial on 10/16/2019

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