COBDEN — For several years, the final Saturday in July would see a bus load of Italians from Ottawa enjoy an early breakfast and a late lunch at Cobden’s municipal park. After lunch, if it was nice weather, they would play bocci ball, cards or just sit, relax and socialize.
Then, the bus stopped coming.
Well, after a four-year hiatus, the Italians returned.
Santina Di Rienzo, who organized the bus trip, said due to health reasons, there were no bus trips for a few years.
She noted they first started coming about nine years ago.
“It’s a nice park,” she said. “We found it by mistake one day.”
They stopped here while travelling to Cormac and decided it was a nice place to stay for a while, she said.
“We asked if we could stay and were told all are welcome to say,” she recalled.
Members of the group, which is called The Colle D’Ancose Club, are people who are from a small town in Italy with the same name.
They come to the park and have breakfast, then attend the St. Anne’s Pilgrimage in Cormac and then return for an afternoon of lunch, fun and relaxation.
“We bring lots of food,” Ms. Di Rienzo said.
She said they always call a few days ahead to let Art Cobb know they are coming. Prior to departing, a donation is made to the park, because she knows they take up almost every picnic table on the east side of the park.
This past Saturday, they played cards, bocci ball and had a great visit, sitting on lawn chairs and at the picnic tables, while enjoying each other’s company.
