Page 123 - South Mississippi Living - October, 2024

out across the country.
“All Irish descendants have been a big
influence on the Coast,” she said. “Living here is absolutely more interesting because of all the cultural influences we have.”
St. Patrick’s Day events are big for Coast Irish. “On St. Patrick’s Day everyone is Irish including Mayor FoFo O’Gilich,” O’Keefe said. “And we’re trying to get more people involved.”
Another active group is the Mississippi Society of Italian Americans with David Biagini as its leader. “Italians, mostly Sicilians and Southern Italians, came to this country in the late 1800s but we are only 1.7 percent of the population in Mississippi,” he says. “Our organization is spread across the Coast to promote Italian culture.”
One way they’re doing that is with a bocce league using the area’s first facility in Woolmarket. The popular worldwide activity originated in the Roman Empire.
“Obviously we’ve had a big influence in restaurants, but we’ve done well in different fields with bankers, judges, educators, priests and business leaders,” Biagini said.
The Italians have plans to celebrate Columbus Day and hope to be one of the first groups to take Amtrak to New Orleans to join the St. Joseph Society’s celebration there.
In the late 1970s, Vietnamese immigrants came to the Coast. Many became a valuable part of the seafood industry and settled
in East Biloxi. Icons helping to keep the Vietnamese culture and language alive are the Vietnamese Martyrs Catholic Church and the Van Duc Buddhist Temple both
on Oak Street. Gautier also has a Buddhist Temple.
The Fleur de Lis Society, or French Club, has a clear presence with its clubhouse in East Biloxi. Barbara Chathman, a member of the Ladies Auxiliary board, says the club was established in 1934 by a group of Cajun French men. “They were living on Point Cadet and wanted to hold on to French culture,” she says. “Every Friday night we have a dinner and karaoke with people
coming from far and wide to attend.” Chathman, whose grandparents didn’t
speak English, says it’s difficult to keep the language alive but she still says the Hail Mary in French.
“We have the jambalaya cook off coming up for the 90th year,” she said. “We always have a beautiful time and are now seeing an influx of young people.”
The Spanish were early settlers during
the Spanish Colonial Period of 1780 to 1811. The Spanish West Florida flag is one of several that flew over the Coast before Mississippi became a state. Being intrepid explorers, the Spanish settled areas all over Central and South America making their language widely spoken. Their culture remains a part of the diversity here as more recent Hispanic immigrants add to the flavorful restaurants and celebrations.
No story of the Coast as a melting pot would be complete without the Croatians. An early settler was Anthony John Conovich who immigrated to Biloxi in 1903. Many family names reflect this heritage. The Croatian-American Cultural Center, or the Slavonia Lodge as it’s known, was organized in 1913 by Croatian-speaking Slavs to promote the preservation of the heritage and culture of the Croatian people. Their 1938 lodge was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina and the new facility was dedicated in 2010. Members of the community have been instrumental in the seafood industry and have held many leadership roles along the Coast. One of the best known is Biloxi Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich, Jr.
“The Croatians came with no guarantees and did what they had to do,” Gilich said. “They are part of the fabric and soul of Biloxi, and the cultural mix the Coast has is our strength.”
The Gilich family has cousins in Croatia with whom they’re in contact. The mayor says he wishes he’d paid more attention to the language as a boy, but he still knows a few words. “Mostly bad words,” he added with a laugh.
Mississippi Society of Italian Americans bocce league.
Van Duc Buddhist Temple.
St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Hibernia Marching Society.
Blues music inspired by African American culture.
Slavonia Lodge.
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