Felix Casorso and Veronica (Ronnie) Reiter

Felix and Veronica Casorso

Felix Humbert Casorso was born in Okanagan Mission, BC, in 1890.  He was the sixth son of Giovanni and Rosa Casorso. Veronica Reiter was born in 1915 in Ireland, to Henry and Veronica Reiter. Felix and Veronica were married on July 2, 1942. He and Ronnie raised five daughters: Kay, Betsy, Diane, Anita and Nadine.
Felix was the penultimate horseman and rancher. By age 13, he was a part of a cattle drive in BC, from Kelowna to the mining camps at Williams Lake. He would also capture wild horses in Wild Horse Canyon, near Naramata.

Felix owned race horses and would take part in the yearly Suicide Race down Knox Mountain. He also participated in the Kelowna Rodeo during the 1940s and 1950s, as ringmaster. Felix proudly took home trophies in local marksman competitions. He also played a role in the development of the Black Mountain Irrigation District.

In 1909, the Belgo-Canadian Fruit Land Company built a hunting/guide lodge on land it had earlier acquired in the hills east of Kelowna (Currently at the corner of Highway 33 East and Loseth Road). The lodge was built with a sitting room and dining area, separated by large sliding doors. Upstairs, there were nine guest rooms. When the First World War broke out in 1914, Company officials returned to Belgium and never came back to Canada. In the early 1920s, Felix and brother, Joe Casorso, bought this land for back taxes. Here, they formed the Black Mountain Cattle Company. The lodge was used as a bunkhouse for farm workers and later became Felix’s home.

The ranch was mostly self-sufficient. Whether it was growing, harvesting, storing or marketing, the Casorso philosophy was to handle all aspects of their farming operation by themselves. There was a blacksmith shop, equipment shed, a shop, a bunkhouse, and the usual farm buildings such as chicken house, tack shop, and stables. There was a smokehouse for smoking sausages, hams and bacon. During its prime, the ranch was home to about 2,000 cattle, 3,000 sheep, 500 horses and 100 pigs. There were a dozen caboose wagons that provided accommodation for the shepherds.

Acres of grapes and tobacco grew on the south slopes of Joe Rich Road. Potatoes were grown on the slopes of Trail Mountain. (now Kirschner Mountain subdivision). 

In January 1973, at age 82, Felix was shovelling snow. He came into the house for supper, did the dishes, went into the bedroom, sat on his bed, and died of a heart attack. Ronnie passed away in 2016, at age 101.

Adapted by D E Rampone, Co-Chair Kelowna Canadian Italian Club Heritage Committee from a Courier Newspaper article by Diane Loseth and Don Rampone, May 2019