Camillo Bridarolli Mr. and Mrs. Henry Butti John Carmata Gus and Assunta Dotto Giovanni Paron Louie Protti Mr. and Mrs. Sartor Mr. and Mrs. John Segatti Silvio Tona Angelo Toppano

Enrico Butti was born in a small farming village on the River Piave in the province of Milan in November, 1904 and came to Canada when he was 12 years old in 1917 with his Mother and an older sister who died shortly after their arrival. Mr. Butti senior had come to Canada in 1912. He was a trained steam engineer who had worked in the silk mills in northern Italy and had been involved in electrifying them. In the Crowsnest Pass, he also was involved in mine electrification. He was senior electrician at the Bellevue Mine when the Hillcrest Mine explosion happened and was among the first to arrive at the scene and provide assistance. After being injured as a result of the collapse of a scaffold, he moved his family to Edmonton where he set up an electrical business. Enrico worked initially in the mines in the Crowsnest Pass but moved to Edmonton with his Father, owned his own electrical business as well as working for Palm Dairies throughout the Province. He was involved in the creation of several Italian societies including the Italo-Canadian Society prior to W.W. II and the Cristofero Colombo Soccer Club in the 1950s. He was also involved with the fraternal society Fiori d'Italia [Flowers of Italy] in Trail as well as the Grand Lodge.

This oral history draws from two sources: the Dante Alighieri Oral History Project, initiated by Sabatino Roncucci, a founder of the Dante Alighieri Society, for the purpose of documenting immigration history so that it could be shared not only with the Italian community but also the community at large, and Tony Falcone and Tony Caria for the Italians Settle in Edmonton Project in 1983, resulting in the commemorative booklet of the same name.

Mr. and Mrs. Henry Butti: Oral History Excerpts Henry (Enrico) describes the harrowing 24 day Atlantic crossing from Genoa to New York during World War I and his arrival in his new Alberta home. Click here to listen!

Mr. and Mrs. Henry Butti: Oral History Excerpts In the following excerpt, Mr. Butti talks about beginning of his own working history at age 16 running a boiler and hoist in the mines in Nordegg; his Father was injured when he fell from a scaffold and with monies received from the Compensation Board decided to come to Edmonton and set up an electrical shop. Click here to listen!

Mr. and Mrs. Henry Butti: Oral History Excerpts In the following excerpt, Mr. Butti speaks of the Hillcrest Mine explosion in 1914, one of the biggest in Canada; his Father was the electrician at the Bellevue Mine and was one of the first to arrive to help. In about 1980, he and his wife Myra went to visit friends in Kelowna and stopped to visit the cemetery, which he found in a state of disrepair. On his return, he wrote a letter to The Edmonton Journal and spoke to someone at the Provincial Museum about doing some work on the cemetery. He also contacted the Crowsnest Historical Society. Click here to listen!