Life of military policeman Giovanni Petretta
Giovanni Petretta was born on Feb. 4, 1921 in Santo Stefano Del Sol, Avellino, Campania, Italy, second eldest child of Giuseppe Petretta and Maria Capozzi.
Gina Prioreschi was born March 19, 1920, in Bardalone, San Marcello, Pistoia, Toscana, Italy, ninth of 10 children of Marsilio Prioreschi and Maria Monterastelli.
They met while Giovanni was stationed in Bardalone as a military policeman.
Giovanni and Gina were wed in 1946 and lived in Giovanni’s family home. But life in Italy after the Second World War was hard, in a depressed economy with little opportunity. When there was a chance to go to Canada, they took it.
Giovanni arrived in Kelowna via Halifax in February 1950. Like many post-war immigrants, Giovanni was sponsored by a relative, his uncle, Pasquale “Cap” Capozzi.
He lived in the Capozzi home while working at Capozzi’s Grocery Store. Although Gina was to immigrate the following year, the Capozzis’ need for household help expedited her departure.
Gina and son, Giuseppe “Joe”, age three years, departed from Italy in November 1950.
The rough Atlantic Ocean crossing was difficult for Gina, who suffered with severe seasickness.
Luckily, there was a couple of “paesani” from Santo Stefano who kept an eye on Gina’s energetic son. After eight days of ocean travel, they finally arrived in Quebec City, but the prepaid train tickets that were to be waiting for her were nowhere to be found.
Distressed that she would somehow have to buy tickets, she knew that her limited funds would not cover the total cost for them both.
Without hesitation, the “paesani” chipped in to meet the shortage. That left Gina with $2 to feed her and her son for the four–five-day trip across Canada. The pair was met in Kamloops then made their way to Kelowna by car.
Upon arrival in Kelowna, the family settled with the Capozzis for seven months, before moving to a small home on Water Street, where Rita was born in 1952.
The young family later moved into a suite at the Cacchioni house on Bernard Avenue.
During these years, Giovanni was employed at Sun-Rype and then Calona Wines, while Gina worked at the cannery and cleaned homes. To earn extra money, they also worked on their days off at various farms, mostly harvesting fruit.
In 1953, when an abandoned vineyard and house in the Bankhead area became available, the Petrettas were encouraged by August Cacchioni and Cap Capozzi to buy that property.
Eager to have some land of their own, they took possession on Feb. 4, 1954. Giovanni remained employed at the winery for a few years, but both worked the vineyard and a few acres of “Italian” vegetables that they sold throughout B.C. and Alberta. They also took in Italian lodgers in the first few years, including Giovanni’s brother, Domenico, who arrived in 1954.
In 1958, their third child, Maria Pia, made her appearance.
In the following years, the Petretta family expanded its holdings with a small apple orchard in Glenmore, and later, another vineyard and orchard in the Ellison area.
Giovanni, a proud farmer, along with his biggest asset, Gina, and their son, Joe, laboured in the fields until the day’s chores were complete, sometimes late into the evening.
After supper, Gina would make bread and do canning late into the night.
Joe started helping on the farm when he was just seven and still lives on the farm. Rita and Pia helped out a bit, but more so inside the family home.
Unexpectedly, Giovanni died on Nov. 13, 1982, leaving Gina and Joe to oversee the farm properties. Giovanni had overseen most of the farm’s managerial responsibilities, but suddenly running the family farm fell onto Joe’s shoulders, with his young family’s support and Gina’s immeasurable knowledge and assistance.
Gina continued to work hard, helping on the farms with whatever needed to be done, always without complaint. She lived independently on the original farm until 1996, then in several other homes until 2016.
On Sept. 20, 2018, Gina passed away peacefully at the age of 98 years.
Giovanni, a charter member of the Kelowna Canadian Italian Club, and Gina Petretta are both interred in the Kelowna Memorial Park Cemetery.
NOTE: Giovanni’s father, Giuseppe Petretta, came to North America twice in the early 1900s, via Ellis Island. During his first North American stay, he worked in coal mines in Pennsylvania and on his second trip he worked in the mining industry in the West Kootenay.
This article is part of a series, submitted by the Kelowna Branch, Okanagan Historical Society. Additional information would be welcome at P.O. Box 22105, Capri P.O., Kelowna, B.C., V1Y 9N9.