Louis (Luigi) Biamonte Mike Biollo Father Giovanni Bonelli Camillo Bridarolli Mr. & Mrs. Henry Butti John Camarta Domenico Chiarello Joe Fabbri Mario Grassi Victor Losa Filomena Michetti Mrs. Mamie Meardi Tony Nimis Giorgio W. & Norma Pocaterra Mr. & Mrs. John Segatti Romano Tedesco & Mrs. Irma Giacobbo Angelo Toppano

Mrs. Irma Giacobbo, the daughter of Romano Tedesco, came to Canada from Italy with her family when she was a young girl.  Her family was among the original group of pioneers to settle in the Venice-Hylo agricultural area in 1915.  She remembers her early years as hard-working, but happy, where family and neighbours helped one another and shared both the good and bad times.  Her early married life took her to Fort McMurray where her husband worked in railway construction.  Unlike the predominantly Italian community of Venice-Hylo, there was very limited opportunity for her in Fort McMurray to use her native tongue.  She learned English quickly out of necessity.  She and her husband returned to Venice to farm and raise a family.  Her relatives in Italy have a difficult time relating to the isolation, distances involved, and pioneer farm life that she experienced.

The interview was conducted by Sab Roncucci for the Dante Alighieri Oral History Project in 1973.

This oral history project was 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.

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