Friendly Club, 1937
In 1937 a group of Tyrolean immigrants organized the Friendly Club, a social organization that helped the members keep their culture and traditions alive. Tyrol is a region in Northern Italy and western Austria. Those living in the area are of German, Austrian, and Italian descent. Many Tyrolians immigrated to the United States in the early 20th Century, and a community formed in Northern Utah when Tyroleans left the coals mines in Wyoming for the hot springs of Northern Utah.
Many of the Tyrolean immigrants purchased farms in West Weber, while others started businesses in Ogden and the surrounding areas. Once settled they began to feel ostracized from the community because of religious differences—most of the Tyrolian families were Catholic and shared a different heritage from those within the LDS community.
Frank Anselmi led the formation of the Friendly Club, and he sold the old Del Monte Canning Factory in West Weber to the club for their meetings. Club members renovated the building, turning the bottom floor into a dance hall and adding a kitchen. Regular dances were held there and other social events. David Prevedel, a Tyrolean descendant, recalled that the club became “so tied to the Tyrolean social life that between 1937 and 1965, many second generation Tyroleans met their future spouses there.”
Club membership was strongest in the early 1940s, but in the 1980s there was renewed interest in the club. Today the club is affiliated with the International Tyrolean Trentini of North America, a parent organization funded by the Italian government. Members continue to hold their regular Canyon Days, a summer gathering held in Ogden Canyon.
Dorothy Wikstrom (center) and others dancing