Hanging out at Al’s Cafe
At Al’s Cafe everyone knew your name.
And the known and not so well-known were frequent visitors.
Some of th em were: Sigh Kobayashi (electrician), Henry Redecopp (I.O.F), Ed Patterson (Chevron), Mike Koonstar (orchardist), Cecile Metcalfe and Gilbert Arnold (trucking), Les Clement (postmaster), as well as Pat McCoubray and Eleanor Seltenrich (Women's Institute and original publishers of the Winfield Calendar).
One of the regulars, Alex Seltenrich, recalled in a 1993 article that Vecchios democratic manner was the reason the morning ritual of the “bull session” instilled itself in the collective conscious of the town because everyone got their say.
In 1960, Ida stayed at home in Rutland raising their daughters, so Al was on his own in the kitchen with one waitress. Spaghetti and meatballs were no longer on the menu.
Joey, his daughter, started working with him on the weekends and summers when she was 14 years old. He paid her $1.50 an hour, the minimum wage at the time.
Joey remembers the most interesting customer to patronize the café. He looked like a hermit with long grey hair and a beard. He would only appear in the summers. He wore shorts, often bare-chested, sandals with no socks, and carried a small cloth bag. His skin was like dark leather. He rarely spoke.
He walked everywhere in the and would refuse all offers of a ride.
Everyone called him “Nature Boy” but nobody really knew anything about him; there were various rumours about his past. Nature Boy would always order the same thing: a glass of water and a bowl of vanilla ice-cream.
Al Vecchio was always involved in his community. From 1965 to 1975, he was director of the Winfield Chamber of Commerce. He was a member of the Independent Order of Foresters and was recognized in 1970 for his outstanding services to Court Winfield.
Al was honoured for his early contribution to the start-up of the Winfield Volunteer Fire Department. Al's Café was the headquarters of the 30-member “bucket brigade”.
Al was the fire chief and the first dispatcher. He would man a special fire phone (mounted on the wall) and sound the alarm with the siren which was installed on the roof of his café.
From 1960 until 1975, Al commuted to the café from his home in Rutland, then he sold the café and focused on land development and building rental units in the Rutland community.
After a short retirement, Al built a commercial building where the whole family pitched in to operate Café Bella Bimba.
This was an Italian restaurant and had an upstairs banquet room. Albert again ran the grill and brought back his homemade burgers, fries and pies from Al's Café days, and continued to give customers credit. Bella Bimba was famous for its unique panzerotti (deep fried calzone).
The Vecchios operated Café Bella Bimba from 1981 to 1989. Finally retired from the kitchen, Albert and Ida enjoyed their hobbies of bocce, curling, and travelling by motor home every year to California and Mexico.
After Al's Café sold, Albert and Ida were actively involved in the Kelowna
Canadian Italian Club. Albert served as its president from 1978-1980 and was instrumental in opening the bocce courts at Kelowna’s Parkinson Recreational Centre.
Ida was very proud of her Italian heritage and was an organizer and teacher of the Italian school, director of the Italian dancers and organized the club's participation in many cultural events such as the Christmas Mosaic and Kelowna’s Folkfest.
In 1979, they spearheaded the Italian group which was chosen to represent the Okanagan in B.C.'s provincial Folkfest celebration in Vancouver. There, the Canadian Folk Art Council selected them to represent B.C. in the National Heritage Folkfest in Nova Scotia.
Al's Café continued to operate without the Vecchios. For several years in the early 1980s, a radio talk show was broadcast from the café.
Radio personality John Michaels and lawyer Jim McClelland (alias Axel Cruikshank) had an early morning show, tapping into Al's legendary “bull sessions” and got customers’ views on everyday life.
In 1991, the Highway 97 widening project closed down Al's Café after 41 years of operation.
In 1993, Al and Ida sold the property and the building was bulldozed, to make room for a modern three-storey professional building.
Al and Ida's daughter, Joey, shared their love of culture and joined their involvement in the Italian Club.
She was crowned the very first “Miss Italian Club” in 1975 for Kelowna's
“Lady of the Lake'”contest. Her sister, Julie, became “Miss Italian Club” four years later.
All five of Joey's children attended the Italian language school and participated in Italian dancing for the annual July 1 (Canada Day) Folkfest celebration.
Just as Al and Ida enjoyed and cared for the young people at Al's Café, they enjoyed and cared for their children and grandchildren, who were fortunate to live right next door to Nana and Papa. Al and Ida’s primary focus was to protect and provide for their family. They were devoted and dedicated parents.
They played an involved, loving, supportive and significant role in the lives of all their grandchildren: Vanessa, Leticia, Marlisa, Michele and Serena Vecchio, and Gordon and Rebecca Carson.
Al passed away in 2006, following Ida's passing in 1999. They are both laid to rest at the Lakeview mausoleum in Kelowna.
They left a legacy of love for family and community. They were both happy, positive, honest, generous people who taught the value of hard work and the importance of faith and family.
This article is part of a series, submitted by the Kelowna Branch, Okanagan Historical Society. Additional information is always welcome at P.O Box 22105 Capri P.O., Kelowna, BC, V1Y 9N9.