Antonio Sartor and Luigia (nee Alloro) Sartor were
both born in Italy, but they each other for the first time in
Edmonton, Alberta, many years later. Antonio was born in the
province of Udine in 1898. Antonio emigrated in his mid teens
to Canada where two brothers were already working as miners in
the Crowsnest Pass area of Alberta. He also worked the mines in
Nordegg, Brule, and Pocahontas before becoming a baker at the
MacDonald Hotel in Edmonton.
Luigia was born in the small village of Mornano di Milano, in
the northern province of Varese, in 1907. She emigrated with
her mother and her brothers to Canada, where her father was
working as at the Brule mine in Alberta. She met her future
husband, Antonio, while on a visit to Edmonton with one of her
brothers, who, coincidentally, had worked with Antonio in the
mines. After a secret engagement they had a small, but
unforgettable, wedding. They settled in Edmonton where they had
a daughter and a son, who both grew up to have occupations in
the medical profession. Once the children were in school, Luiga
went to work outside the home. One of the places she worked was
the Storyland Valley Zoo where the elephant, Lucy, was named
after her!
The interview was conducted by Carmela Marino and Rita
Cavaliere for the
Italians Settle in Edmonton Project in 1983 resulting in the
commemorative booklet of the same name.
This was a 25th anniversary project of the Santa Maria
Goretti Parish. A Society was set up and a committee struck to
undertake the research. The President was Frank Sdao and the
research was led by Dr. Adriana Albi Davies.
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Mr. and Mrs.
Sartor: Oral History Excerpts
Mrs. Sartor (nee Alloro) talks about her brothers and what
they did shortly after emigrating to Canada.
Click here to listen! |
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