Patty Pizzo

Video and story by Daniel Robison
Download Quicktime

An unparalleled community volunteer
 
Patty Pizzo has been a fixture in Bloomington since 1952. She has volunteered with dozens of organizations throughout her 55 years in southern Indiana. Recently, she sat down to tell her story.
 

Download Quicktime
 
Additional biographical information
 
Hailing from suburban Chicago, Pizzo met her husband, Anthony, while at the University of Chicago in the 1940s. He studied there to become a pathologist. Patty never finished high school but was allowed to enter college because her IQ was more than 100.
 
Once the couple moved to Bloomington, Patty says they were treated badly by some because the University of Chicago was associated with communist groups. In the 1920s, a small group of students flew the flag of the Communist Party. She says the college and its students were stuck with a bad reputation after that incident.
 
But she and her husband stayed despite the grumblings of some their peers. The couple has put down many roots in the community over the years. He practiced medicine in town for almost 50 years. A plaque outside of city hall bears her name and a brick on the sidewalk leading into the Monroe County Historical Society shows their support for local causes.
 
 
One of Patty’s most memorable accomplishments in Bloomington has been the establishment of the Friends of Art Bookstore. She started store after a visiting professor from Oxford complained IU didn’t have the proper art books he needed for his classes. The store stuck and remains on campus in the Fine Arts building to this day.
 
Patty recalls arguing with the architect of the IU Art Museum over the design. She says the winding hallway that connects the museum with the fine arts building was unnecessary and obscured a view from one end of the building to the other. Because of the dispute, she resigned in protest from the Friends of Art.
 
 
Anthony and Patty raised eight children in Bloomington. One of their sons, Angelo, is a well-known screenwriter who wrote "Hoosiers" and "Rudy."
 
Patty found the time between volunteering and raising her flock to earn her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from IU. She still remains active in the community, despite having to resign from many positions over the years. Patty says that her work suffers in some commitments because she is involved with too many organizations.
 
 
Patty is continually active in the Democratic Party. She says he feels personally responsible for the loss of the only Democratic candidate in this November’s municipal election — six votes separated the city council competitors.
 
But Pizzo says that she doesn’t have many regrets from her time in Bloomington. She does lament the fact the city has grown so much, in population and size. The commercial development of Bloomington has gotten out of hand, she says. This has inspired her involvement in the Sycamore Land Trust, an organization dedicated to saving green spaces in Bloomington.
 
Her home is a testament to her love of nature. It has a hidden driveway and sits in the middle of a plot of woods. She is an avid gardener and dozens of plants line the windows of her wooden home. Original pieces of art adorn the walls of the Frank Lloyd Wright-esque interior. Many of the paintings were purchased from IU art students, as she and Anthony try to support the department. Patty received her bachelor’s degree in art history from IU as an adult.
 
She says remains active in art at IU in a few capacities, but can’t remember which boards or committees she is still on.
 
 
 
Patty says she will continue to stay active in Bloomington and enjoys spending time with her retired husband. Recently, her son Angelo moved back to Bloomington from Hollywood. Patty says she enjoys having her son close.
 
 
 
 Video, story and pictures by Daniel Robison.