In 1912 Samuele Turri and six of his friends, Amos, Angelo and Pietro Guidi, Cesare Bertucci, Michele Rossi and Carlo Cavani, steamed into Kelowna aboard the paddle wheeler, the SS Okanagan. By 1916 he had met and married Maria Dapavo. They had five children: Olinto, Hazel, Katie, Caesar and Beatrice. After several unrelated jobs he began work with the City of Kelowna in 1918 and stayed with them until his retirement in 1959.
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Pasquale left Italy in 1905 spending some years in Ohio with his wife’s family before making his way to Spokane, crossing the border in 1910 and arriving in Kelowna in 1912. He established a vegetable farm in Rutland where he was joined by his son Joseph and his two friends Pasquale Barrera and Louis Constantini, both of who soon married into his family. In 1921 he brought over his wife, Domenica Fulvimari, and their two daughters Francesca and Lucia. Domenica passed away in 1923 and Pasquale in 1951.
Gaspar Risso was born in Kelowna in 1908. He attended Mission Creek School and graduated from Kelowna Central Schools. In 1933 he married nurse Inez Hewer. Gaspar ran the family farm, started by his parents, Vincenzo and Annetta Risso. He grew vegetables, which he share cropped with the Tamaki family. He expanded it into a dairy farm, sending his milk to NOCA for over 40 years. Gaspar was a Grand Knight with the Knights of Columbus, a Director with the Minor Hockey Association, and water bailiff for the South Kelowna Water Users Community. Both Gaspar and Vincenzo were founding members of the Italian Community Club, Pendozi District which started in 1930. They helped run the finances, plus took rentals for the Italian Hall until it was sold in 1959.
Tony first made his journey from Italy in 1904. By 1908 he bought a block from the South Kelowna Land and Orchard Company. At the time he paid 50 cents an acre. It was situated on Casorso Road and part of it was on Swamp Road. They farmed for many years when his wife, Anna Maria Ollino took ill and was sent to New Westminster, BC to recover. She died December 22, 1916. Antonio was left to raise his two children, Carlotta Risso born in 1900 and Lorenzo Secondo 'Gundo' Risso born in 1908. Antonio died March 22, 1961 in Kelowna. He entrusted the farm to his son Gundo. Gundo and his family remained on the farm where he died August 17, 1969.
Domenico Rampone was the first of Luigi Rampone’s sons to be brought to Kelowna in 1904. He worked numerous jobs including farming for Archie Hardy, clearing land for Dr Boyce and at the Kelowna Sawmill before being called back to Italy in 1908 where he fought in the Libyan conflict. After recovering from a war injury he married Giuseppina Borgnetta. They moved to Kelowna in 1921. By 1926 they took over Luigi’s Tobacco farm on Benvoulin Road where they raised their three children: Valentino, Albert and Palmina.
Camillo Rampone made his journey to Kelowna in 1908. After working at the Kelowna Sawmill and Keloka Orchards he began farming in 1918 on Gordon Road. He married Marie Emma Antoinette Ducharme in 1920 and soon after started his Springdale Ranch above Spiers Road. Their family includes Irene (Fred Gabel), Louis (Phyllis Holland), Alfred (Cynthia Hotton), Ernest (Shirley Talman), Dora (Roger Simoneau) and Rita (Tim Christie). Daughter Angelina died at age 6 during the polio epidemic. Vincenzo Risso and his wife Annetta Rampone arrived in Kelowna in 1902. They first lived on three acres of land on the south side of Eli Avenue, now part of downtown Harvey Avenue between Pandosy and Water Streets. By 1913 they had purchased farm land on Casorso Road. Their first son, Gaspar John Risso, was born here on June 24, 1908, followed by Chance on January 21, 1912. Unfortunately, Chance passed away at age four. Vincenzo passed away on June 28, 1940 and Annetta lived on her own in a small house, just off Casorso Road, until her passing on March 20, 1965.
Giovachino (Joseph) first came to Kelowna in 1901. Here he met and married Rosa Dapavo who had arrived in Kelowna in 1905. They acquired 120 acres of farm land on Gordon Road where they grew fruit, vegetables, grapes and tobacco. They had a small menagerie of farm animals such as, horses, cows, pigs and chickens. In 1914 Giovachino returned to Italy, bringing back Gabriele Quirico and Pasquale Barrera with him. By 1927 Rosa gave birth to their 10th child. In the 1930s the Lanfranco family became members of the Italian Community Club, “Pendozi District”, where they helped build the first Italian Hall. Rosa died in a tragic car accident on July 29, 1955 and Joe died on January 23, 1957 leaving behind twenty-one grandchildren.
Luigi Rampone arrived in Kelowna in 1893 at the request of his fellow Tonco friend, Giovanni Casorso. Luigi worked on the Casorso farm before launching out on his own renting land on Gordon Road and growing onions, tomatoes and other crops for use by the local canneries and packing houses. By 1909 Luigi’s name is recorded in the local newspaper as being a Fall Fair winner for onions, potatoes, cabbage and horses. In 1913 he bought the farm he had been renting and by 1918 he acquired the tobacco ranch on Benvoulin Road. Each of his three children, Domenico, Camillo and Giuseppina, were brought over in the early 1900s although his wife, Melania, never made the journey. Giuseppina stayed here for a short time only before returning to Italy to join her mother. Luigi passed away in Kelowna in 1933 after spending a couple of years in a Vancouver hospital.
Pasquale (Cap) Capozzi arrived in Nelson in 1907. After three years working numerous jobs he made his way to Kelowna and opened Capozzi’s Cash Groceries on Bernard Avenue. After his store was well established he became involved as an agent for many of the farmers in the area. This led him to join his neighbouring store owner, W A C Bennett, in forming a winery, using apples grown in the area. The switch to grapes proved more successful with the resulting Calona wines established in 1931. One of Cap’s landmark development projects was the Capri Hotel and Shopping Centre. In 1921 he married Maria Mussatto and they raised three sons Joe, Herb and Tom. Pasquale was proud of his fellow Italian countrymen and often sent out customers from his store to meet them.
Giovanni and Rosa Casorso
Giovanni Casorso met Father Pandosy on the docks of New Westminister and worked with his pack train on their trip to the Okanagan Mission in 1883. He worked for the Mission while establishing his own ranch nearby. In 1884 he was joined by his wife Rosa Bevilacqua and three children: Caroline, Antonio and Charles. Giovanni established a well run farm that supplied not only the local area but also many of the Kootenay and Caribou gold rush towns. Rosa and Giovanni’s working relationship with the local first nations peoples was deeply entrenched and played a large role in their survival in early Kelowna. Many of the subsequent Italian immigrants got their start on the Casorso farm. |