Elia Martina-Elia was from Pordenone (Friuli-Venezia
Giulia), Italy. He was the first president of the Fogolâr Furlan.
Mike Palumbo-He played for the Calgary Stampeders of
the Canadian Football League.
George
Pocaterra-George Pocaterra (a rancher and
explorer originally from Vicenza, in the Veneto region) came to
Canada in 1903 and worked as a cowboy on the Bar D Ranch near High
River. In 1905, he established the Buffalo Head Ranch on the
Highwood River. There he developed a strong relationship with the
Stoneys, and explored and mapped much of the Kananaskis area. The
Buffalo Head Ranch was turned into a successful dude ranch before
being sold in 1933. Listen to Oral History
Professor John J. Pompilio-Professor Pompilio was the
proprietor of a music studio bearing his name. He organized a band
which gave open air concerts and played in Stampede parades for 20
years.
Antonio and
Angelina
Rebaudengo-Antonio Rebaudengo became the honorary
Italian consul between
1936 and 1938. Mr. Rebaudengo was appointed to this unpaid
position by the Mussolini government, apparently because he was of
the few educated, fully literate individuals in the Italian
community. However, he had already been assisting fellow
countrymen in an unofficial capacity since the mid-1920s. He also
wrote articles on the activities of the Calgary Italian community
for Italian newspapers in Toronto and Vancouver. The consular
office acted as a contact between Italians in Canada and the
Italian government. Although Mr. Rebaudengo held the official
title, it was his wife Angelina who carried out most of the
duties. She not only handled the necessary consular paperwork, but
she also assisted new immigrants in finding housing and
employment.
Since many of the immigrants spoke no English and were illiterate
in Italian, Mrs. Rebaudengo wrote letters for them to relatives
back home, helped them fill out forms, and acted as translator.
Her services often went beyond the call of duty. She assisted many
women with their marriage preparations and even helped during
pregnancy and childbirth. During the 1920s and the 1930s, there
was also an active Fascist party in Calgary called the Fascio.
The head of the Fascio was Antonio Rebaudengo. After he was
arrested by the RCMP in 1940, his wife destroyed all the documents
relating
to the Fascio, including the names of members. Mr.
Rebaudengo instructed her to do so in order to prevent other
Italians from being interned. Antonio spent three years at the
Kananaskis, Petawawa and Gagetown camps before being released in
1943. When Angelina Rebaudengo was denied the wartime allowance
given to the mothers of servicemen (her son Mario served in the
Canadian Army), she wrote Prime Minister Mackenzi King a letter
calling him a liar. Describing her injustices, she demanded (and
to her surprise, received) the allowance.
5
According to captions of photographs from the
Glenbow Archives, the Redaudengos were also members of the
Piemontese Society in Calgary.
Tony Santo (Santopinto)-Grew up along the north bank of the Bow
River in the 1920s. His father was a ditch digger for the city
water works. Tony's father came in 1910, his mother in 1912. This
information was taken from David Bly's column in the Calgary
Herald on May 3, 2002.
SantopintoFamily-Jean Santopinto was employed by the Hudson's Bay Company at the
outbreak of World War ll. Gisa Santopinto is the sister of Gene
Cioni, owner of La Villa Restaurant.
Jeep Santucci-He grew up along the north bank of the
Bow River. His grandparents, the Gasbari's came to Calgary in 1909
and later opened the Roma Grocery in Riverside, home for the
city's small Italian community. Jeep's mother , describing the
poverty they had to endure in Italy, told him that they once had
to kill a cat in order to eat. Jeep spent a lot of time at Our
Lady of Perpetual Hope while growing up, serving as an alter boy
and member of the choir. He attended school at St. Angela's School
where he remembers the Scottish and Irish teachers as being the
best he had ever seen. This information was taken from David Bly's
column in the Calgary Herald on May 3, 2002.
Italo Sartorio-Italo Sartorio owns and operates
Shaganappi Chevrolet-Oldsmobile.
Serra Family-Known to reside in the area during the
1920s. No other information is available. According to
captions of photographs from the Glenbow Archives, there are
several Serras (Domnick, Jim, John, and M.) in the Crowsnest Pass
area of Alberta in the early part of the 20th century,
but it is not known whether they are related to the Calgary Serras.
Carlo Simonelli-He was an engineer who started Canfer
Rolling Mills.
Tony and Tom Spoletini-The brothers played for the
Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League.