Of the Venice colony, she says that they were
brave people who worked hard; initially lived in huts;
not all stayed; her Father was a good farmer and
believed in pure-bred animals; his nephew is still there
and has 200 head of Herfords, which was the stock her
Father bred; he helped others to improve their stock;
used Clydesdales and Percheron horses; he was the best
educated person in the colony; clay soil with very few
pockets of loam; had to be fertilized, crops rotated.
Don Carlo Fabbris, a priest brought from Italy in 1924
built a church but it was never completed (Il Redentore/Holy
Redeemer); torn down and built St. Anne's
On the W.W. II and internment experience, she notes
that Corporal Fielding picked up her Father and he was put
into a "concentration camp"-didn't even allow him to
change clothes; two people had to swear against him; he
went first to Kananaskis and, then, Camp Petawawa in
Ontario; at least four to five men from the Venice/Hylo
area were interned; a Corporal Hanna worked to get her
Father released; this was hard on the family; no-one to
replace him; a cousin from Edmonton came to help; there
was a Fascist Italian Club but the family never discussed
politics; her Father was a member of the Club and played
bocce; she too was investigated because she was teaching
school; taught Italian with books supplied by the Italian
government
Feels that the Consular Agent Felice DeAngelis
belittled her Father; he was arrogant and believed that he
was above everyone and he soon went back to Italy
Notes that her parents separated and that her Father
moved to Edmonton and worked at the St. Regis Hotel as
the Night Clerk (78th Avenue and 106 Street); he also had
a house built
In the 1925 election it appears that Mr. Biollo got
into trouble for vote rigging; Mrs. Doyle believes that
he was too trusting; believed in the candidate Maynard
and sponsored him to run for Parliament in St. Paul; her
Father was Maynard's foreman and she believes that
Maynard turned against him; it would appear that ballots
were falsified and that her Father bore the brunt of
this and was actually sentenced to prison; her Father
was very generous and gave credit to his customers and
even went bankrupt; he ran a sawmill, flour mill,
elevator, post office, livery stable; he could make
money but couldn't manage it
Related Links
Biollo Family History: Read about the Biollo Family as
excerpted from "Harvest of Memories", by the Hylo-Venice
History Book Committee.
Heritage Community Foundation Presents
