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

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• Paolo Morelli-was an original homesteader of the Venice-Hylo area in 1914.  His homestead was T65 R15 NE28.  In 1928, he sold the homestead to Salvatore and Lottie Grandinetti.
   
• Antonio and son Teofilo Piemonte-Antonio Piemonte, born 1867, and his son Teofilo Piamonte, born 1895, were original homesteaders in the Venice-Hylo settlement.  Their homestead was T66 R15 NW1. The name of the town was proposed by Antonio, as he originally came from Buia, Province of Udine, Italy, not far from Venice.  They arrived in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. in 1909.  However, after a short time serving as sextons at Sacred Heart Church, Boston, they traveled to Scranton, PA., and worked in the coal mines.  They then traveled northwest to Edmonton, and again to Mountain Park in the Coal Branch.  It is assumed that  they bought their farm located NW¼ 1-66-15-W4 around 1915 or 1916.  Angela D'Angela, age 20, arrived from Codroipo, Province of Udine, Italy, to marry Teofilo, in March 1920. They married August 27, 1921 in Lac La Biche by a missionary, Chaplin F.T. Okhuysen, and settled on the farm in Venice with Antonio for about a year and a half.  Angela felt it was a desolate place, so they left Canada in 1923.  At that time, Antonio also left Canada, but returned to Italy.  Teofilo and Angela settled in Salem, Massachusetts, U.S.A., where Teofilo completed an elementary education, and with advanced technical education, earned a 1st class stationary engineer's license and worked for the county government.  He passed away in 1968.  In 2000, Angela was 92 years old.  Two uncles of Mrs. Teofilo Piemonte, Lugi D'Angela and Angelo D'Angela worked at Mountain Park in the late 1910s and early 1920s.  They were unmarried and returned to Italy around 1925-27.
   
  
• Luigi and Francesca (nee Cavagna) Rizzoli-Luigi (Louis) Rizzoli came to Canada from Ghiaie, Pavia, Italy, in 1906.  He first found work in Montreal at an aluminum plant.  Returning to Italy in 1913, he got married to Francesca Angela Cavagna of the same village where he came from.  They came back to Montreal, where he continued working for a couple of years.  They traveled west, and were original homesteaders in the Venice-Hylo area in 1914 on T65 R15 NE21. To supplement his income, Luigi took on tie contracts with the Northern Alberta Railways, which was laying track to Waterways at the time.  Luigi farmed in the summer.  In 1931, Luigi purchased a quarter of land NW¼ 4-67-13-W4 where descendants still live.  Luigi passed away on January 22, 1951.  His loving wife followed him nine years later on November 30, 1960.  They had eleven children: Felix, Louise, Rene, Angeline, Dalphine, Eleonora (deceased), Ben (deceased), Marie (deceased), and the other three died at birth.  Son Felix Rizzoli was born on the farm in 1915.  At age 14, he began to help his Father in the tie camps and worked on the farm during the summer.  He married Madeleine Durocher in 1938 and continued to work for his Father as well as building a house on a homestead NE1/4 4-67-13-W4.  He worked at the Abasand Oil plant and joined the Army in 1943.  On his discharge, he worked for Northern Transportation in Fort McMurray.  In 1948, he bought his Father's farm.  The couple had six children:  Raymond, Robert, Paul, Joseph, Denis and Marie.
   
  
• Jean and Catherina (nee Bezani) Rossi-Jean (John) Rossi and Catherina Bezani were born in Saragna in the Province of Parma, Italy.  They were married in Italy.  From this union, Pierre (Peter) was born in Damas-aux-Bois, France on May 10, 1908.  In 1920, Jean decided to come to Canada for a better future for the family.  After many days on the boat, they landed in Quebec.  They traveled by train to Edmonton, where they were met  by Jean's brother Julio Rossi, who had previously emigrated to Canada.  Through Julio, they heard about the Italian colony in Venice.  Jean was an original homesteader in 1914 and bought section T65 R15 SE35 for $10.  Jean and Catherina, along with Peter, moved to Venice, living in a log shack that belonged to Julio.  They began to build their home.  They lived on the homestead until 1942, when they left the farm to their son and daughter-in-law, Liza.  In 1944, because of illness, they moved back to the farm.  Eliza and Peter made an addition on their house.  This is where Jean and Catherina lived until her death in 1946.  After Catherina's death, Jean became very frail.  He needed a lot of care so he went to live in a nursing home in St. Albert.  Jean passed away in 1948. 
  Peter Rossi homesteaded with his Father and worked in the bush camps.  He married Eliza Manca in 1934 and they had five children; Mary, Tony, John, Jean and Victor.  He continued to work on the farm in summer and bush camps in winter.  In 1942, he worked cutting cordwood for Northern Transportation along the Mackenzie River to fuel the barges taking supplies to the Arctic Circle.  About 1945, the Rossi senior house burned down and Mary, their oldest daughter, rescued her Grandfather Jean and was awarded a medal for bravery.  Peter and Eliza sold their farm in 1970 and moved to Lac La Biche.
   
• Antonio R. Roveda-an original homesteader in the Venice-Hylo area.  His homestead was T65 R15 NW28.
   
• Romano and Lucia Tedesco-Romano Tedesco arrived in Venice, Alberta in 1926.  He left his home, brothers and sisters, also his wife and four children in a town in Northern Italy called San Zenone degli Ezzelini, province of Triviza.  The reason his wife and children remained behind was that one child, a girl (Catherine), was ill, therefore she did not pass a medical required to emigrate to Canada. Romano stayed with the Macor family, while he built his log cabin on his homestead.  A year after Romano left Italy, his wife Lucia and her three children, Irma, Mary and Armando, left on a ship that took thirteen days to arrive in Halifax.  Daughter Catherine was left behind due to her illness. The journey from Halifax to Edmonton was made by train, and Edmonton to Hylo, also by train.  They arrived in Venice on January 4, 1927.  Romano, Lucia and family never saw Catherine again.  She died a year later. Romano and Lucia farmed their homestead.  Lucia died in the arms of husband, Romano, from a heart attack in 1958.  At the age of 94, after breaking a hip and being hospitalized, Romano died July 1981.  Irma Tedesco married Celeste Giacobbo.  Mary married Leo Caron.  Armando farmed with his Father but then went to work for Forestry in Fort McMurray, retiring to Edmonton.  
   

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