Pawtucket club gets its own street
PAWTUCKET — A little more than a century ago, 15 men from Portugal united to form Clube Social Portugues – also known as the Portuguese Social Club – thus creating an environment where their Portuguese heritage would be preserved and celebrated more than 1,000 miles away from their homeland.
This club quickly became the epicenter of Portuguese culture in the Blackstone Valley, said current Social Club executive secretary Jorge Ferreira. In the 100 years that have followed, the Portuguese Social Club has fulfilled its founders’ dreams of preserving the language, culture, and heritage.
On Saturday morning, the patriarchs of the Portuguese Social Club were surely smiling as city, state, and federal officials joined together to announce the renaming of Water Street to Portuguese Social Club Way.
“We’ve been able to survive hard times and bask in the glory of good times,” Ferreira said. Perhaps most notable among those good times came in 1994 when President Bill Clinton visited the Social Club – making it the only Portuguese club in the entire state that could boast about such an honor.
“Today is the cherry on top of the cake,” Ferreira said of the street renaming, which celebrated the transformation of the club into a Pawtucket landmark.
The Social Club has been an institution from its home at 131 School St. near the intersection of Water and Division streets just off of Interstate 95. Mayor Donald R. Grebien said that as Pawtucket continues to reinvent itself, the one constant in the city has been its diverse community, which offers a wide range of faiths, cultures, and traditions.
Renaming Water Street to Portuguese Social Club Way, he said, recognized and celebrated the hard work within the community. Grebien last year worked with the City Council to pass a resolution renaming the street in celebration of the club’s 100th anniversary in the community.
“We wanted to recognize the Portuguese community and Social Club and celebrate in a special way that recognizes and changes the street to Portuguese Social Club Way…” Grebien said. “It’s our way of recognizing the Portuguese community and Portuguese culture for all their hard work.”
Joao Pacheco, a government liaison to Portugal, said he was proud to represent Rhode Island’s Portuguese community – which currently stands strong with more than 100,000 residents.
“It’s an honor to celebrate 100 years. I’m very happy to see our state and federal leaders…” he said. “When I go back to Portugal, I’ll share with the president that this was a special occasion.”
Pacheco further said that the Social Club showcases the value of teaching and maintaining the Portuguese language.
U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse noted that he was attending Saturday morning’s street dedication ceremony before traveling one city over to walk in the Providence St. Patrick’s Parade on Saturday afternoon. This showcased the wide ranging cultures and the diversity within Rhode Island, which he said is “about as Rhode Island a thing as we could possibly be doing.”
Whitehouse described the Social Club as an organization that has an outstanding history and solidarity, one that represents an enormous amount of hospitality.
“We’re gathered to celebrate something very important. Most don’t have what we have here,” Whitehouse said of the “pride and respect” seen at the club. He further said that the Portuguese Social Club members have a “fierce pride” in their heritage and a responsibility to keep traditions alive.
General Treasurer Seth Magaziner described the Social Club as far more than just a place to gather, but rather he called it “the capitol of Portugal East.” With a quarter-million Portuguese residents in the entire region, he said the club was an epicenter for Portuguese heritage and traditions.
“This is about not just a street or having a 100th anniversary but a home,” Magaziner said.