Luigi and Melania Rampone

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.