Introduction Early Years  World War I and Interwar Period World War II and After   Cultural Life Pioneers  Population Statistics

by Adriana Albi Davies, Ph.D.

 Page 1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  |  6  |  7  |  8  |  9

The creation of an inventory of pioneers is very difficult, time consuming and also open to errors not only of omission but also memory being a fallible tool.  The Italians Settle in Edmonton Project oral history interviews began the process.  A volunteer research committee chaired by Adriana Albi Davies began the process.  We consulted Henderson's Directories and also interviewed a number of pioneers.  The following list builds on the names identified through this research and adds some names from the Post-World War II wave of immigration.  This last component is limited to individuals who were community leaders or contributed significantly in other ways. 
 

• Raffaele Albi-Raffaele Albi was born on September 14, 1913, in the town of Grimaldi, in the province of Cosenza, region of Calabria, Italy.  In Italy Raffaele attended school up until grade five (which was the norm) and was apprenticed and became a master carpenter. He was also an excellent amateur musician, playing the mandolin and clarinet. He came to Canada in 1949; worked for New West Construction and Imperial Oil; married to Estera (Potestio) Albi who came to Canada in 1951 with three children, Rosa, Adriana and Giuseppe. Mrs. Albi worked at the GWG plant in Edmonton as well as at Toni Lynn and White Stag. 
    
• Fiore Aloisio-A miner who had retired to Edmonton and married a younger woman, and had two sons. His son Tino worked at the Royal Alexandra Hospital.
    
• August Aloisio-No information available.
    
• Vittorio Alloro-A miner who worked at the Brule Mine near Hinton. when they closed the mine, he moved to Edmonton and worked in the kitchen of the Macdonald Hotel. He was the Father of Lucy Sargus who married Tony Sargus who was boarding at their house.
    
• Carlo and Lina (D'Aquino) Amodio-Carlo and Lina (nee D'Aquino) were born in Naples, in the Italian region of Campania, and were part of the post-war era of immigration. Carlo came from Naples in 1967. Upon arrival in Edmonton, Carlo immediately went to work.  His technical engineering education in Italy, however, did not prepare him for menial jobs, which was all he could get with his limited knowledge of the English language. To overcome the language barrier, Carlo went to night school. He is currently a consultant with Amodio & Associates, and has worked for the City of Edmonton Planning Department as an appraiser and also as a negotiator. Lina got a diploma in language studies in Naples, and since arriving in Canada, has worked as a teacher in the Dante Alighieri School of the Italian language, and also as an adult education cooking instructor. Carlo is also a co-founder of Il Congresso newspaper.
    
• Vincenzo Annicchiarico-He was born in Avellino, Zungoli, in Campania and came to Edmonton in 1952, and worked for the railways in camps in the northern part of the province. Vincenzo eventually got a job in Edmonton, so three years later he sponsored his wife and four children.

[continue>>]

[back] [top]