Domenico
Chiarello was 15
years old when he left Naples on the 1st of May, 1924. The
next 16 days were spent on the boat before arriving in
Halifax on May 17th. He and his mother then took a train to
Edmonton to meet up with his father. Domenico found work in
the coal mines and eventually operated his own mine for 24
years before opening up the first Italian Grocery store in
Edmonton in 1948.
Nella Anselmo came to Canada when
she was 19 years old. She met Domenico in the Bay and told
him that he should come visit, as a friend, but he thought
otherwise. He showed up and asked her to marry him. They got
married in St. Joseph's Cathedral and had a small breakfast reception.
The interview was conducted by Tony Falcone and Tony Caria 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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