By Alex Cornacchia, Contributing Writer
Shrewsbury – On a recent summer night, a few kids were shooting hoops just outside the Italian American Victory Club (IAVC). Dozens of people lined the court, chatting and drinking beer, yet not a single person was watching the basketball game. Instead, all eyes were on a court about 50 feet away, where the night’s real action was taking place.
At the IAVC, Monday night means one thing: bocce. And though the player population trends in a grayer-haired direction, these games are far from quiet.
First, there were the calls to get down to business: “Shut up, sit down, and watch the game!” “Let’s play, already!” Then the unsolicited advice doled out by teammates and spectators alike: “Hit it hard, Karen!” “Go soft down the court.”
Eruptions of cheers were a frequent occurrence with three games going, at any given moment there was always something to celebrate. But people were just as vocal when things weren’t going well: one woman admonished the uneven state of the court she’d just played on while another was convinced that that the balls weren’t all made of the same material.
The quietest moments came when the measuring tapes were brought out, determining which team’s ball came closest to the small white pallino. After a particularly close round, a man with a fish tattooed on his forearm measured the distances with careful precision.
“Red!” He finally shouted back to the scorekeeper. “But only by half an inch,” he added apologetically. And with that, the banter and the laughter were back.
The IAVC, the last club of its kind in Shrewsbury, is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year. For anyone wondering how they’ve made it this far, look no further than the spirited community of those Monday night bocce games.
The club’s unofficial start was in February of 1934, when a group of six Italian men decided that they would pool their money and buy goods wholesale. For the first year they held their meetings in members’ homes – it was the midst of the Depression, and funds were tight. But as membership grew, they upgraded their meeting space – first to the Palais Royale on North Quinsigamond Avenue in 1935 (also the year the club was officially incorporated), then to a lot bought from the town of Shrewsbury for $200 at 26 Dewey Road in 1937. On that site, the members themselves built a place they could finally call their own. The club still stands there to this day.
“The club is a nonprofit social club, really,” explained IAVC’s President Dave Couture.
And so it has been throughout its history, four generations of dances and road races, clambakes and bereavement meals. Though members must be Italian or married to one, many events hosted by IAVC are open to the general public, and anyone is free to rent the hall for functions. That openness has meant that Shrewsbury residents of all kinds are involved with IAVC, a fact that makes club members proud.
Over the course of 80 years, some traditions are bound to be lost. Sometimes it’s painful, like ending the clambakes when it didn’t make sense to fund them anymore. But sometimes it’s for the better: keeping computerized records rather than painstakingly handwriting everything, for example, or allowing women to become full club members a little over a decade ago.
There are some quirky traditions, too. The sheer number of officers the club has, for one: president, vice president, two secretaries, an advocate, councilors, etc., all written into the club’s bylaws.
“Everybody wanted a title, apparently,” laughed Couture.
As for the “victory” in the club’s name, no one knows where it came from. America wasn’t fighting any wars at the time, and none of the records provide an explanation. Perhaps it was a declaration of success in getting the club up and running in the first place. Or maybe it’s what bocce players shout when they’ve won the September championships along with the coveted t-shirt prize. Bocce is one tradition that’s endured, an activity where the club’s character is especially evident people young and old, Italian and not, with strong wills and even stronger laughs.