Fonds Add. MSS. 50 - Napolean Peter Casorso fonds

"Napoleon Peter Casorso believed in writing things down, witness all the notes (collected in the fonds) on scraps of paper, envelopes, etc. He was not a man to just sit, he had to have something to do."

Napoleon Peter (Pete) Casorso was born in Kelowna on October 22, 1888. He married Alice Mabel Canty in 1928, who he met at the Pioneer Ranch where she was working in the kitchen. They had three daughters: Velma Patricia (1929), Barbara Joyce (1931), and Norma Joan (1935). In 1938 they adopted Kenneth Edward. In 1947 Pete and Alice divorced. At his death on August 31, 1987 at the age of 98 years, Pete had 18 grandchildren and 26 great grandchildren.

The Casorso legacy is quite remarkable, it began when his father, Giovanni (John) arrived from Italy and met Father Pandosy in New Westminster. He came to live and work on Father Pandosy's Oblate Mission in 1883. Pete's mother, Rosa, and three oldest siblings arrived in 1884. By this time John had pre-empted 480 acres of land alongside the Pandosy Mission. Pete Casorso had seven brothers (Anthony, Joseph, Louis, Felix, Leo, August and Charles) and one sister (Caroline). The family attended the local school on Parent Road and all worked hard on the family farm, raising cattle, horses and crops. By the turn of the century the Casorso's of the Okanagan Mission had formed into a strong, dependable and well known team. John Casorso was known as the "Onion King of the Okanagan."

In 1905 Pete made plans to go to College in California. He was given the task of purchasing cattle for the family before he went. His Albertan cattle deal netted the family $20,000.00 and it went a long way to establishing his reputation as an "investor with an astute sense of business". The cattle money helped to establish the Casorso Brothers Ltd. In 1909 the brothers formed the company, they worked together to focus on farming, buying, selling and raisisng cattle and horses. In 1912 they expanded their business interest with the establishment of a local meat trader, the Casorso Brothers Meat Market. Business was good and in 1913 they decided to build the Casorso Block. Unfortunately they ran into difficulties paying off their loan, bankruptcy loomed but after much discussion between John and his sons they declared Peter as General Manager. In 1919 he officially became manager of the home ranch. It was his idea to subdivide the ranch later, to divide equally between the brothers.

Rosa Casorso died suddenly on Christmas Eve, 1921. Following the death of their mother and the subsequent retirement of their father, the Casorso brothers began to branch out into their own ventures. By 1925 Charlie Casorso had started to grow grapes for commercial sale (table grapes, juice and wine). The first vineyard was planted in Rutland. Pete and Louis planted vines five years (1930) later on the Casorso Road property (as the street was named years later). When Pete retired in 1960, his vineyard was taken over by his daughter Velma and her husband. Pete Casorso was part of the Kelowna wine "Syndicate", a consortium launched in 1931, later to become Calona Wines. Pete paid $1,000.00 to become a shareholder. He remained a shareholder well in to the 1960s.

In 1932 John Casorso died, by this time Pete wanted out of the Meat Market. During the 1930's Pete and his brother Louis experiemented with livestock and vegetables at the Pioneer Ranch. By 1961 the Casorso Block was sold to the Bennett family and the company itself winded down. In 1966 Pete enrolled in Kelowna's Adult Education School to pursue and lifelong interest in mining. Early in life he and his father became interested in mining in the Greenwood area of British Columbia by long time friend, Clement Vacher. Pete has been described as being "obsessed with mining and a real sucker for mining promoters". He also has had a long interest and history in business investments. He joined with his daughter, Velma, in focusing on investment businesses in the late 1960s.

Throughout most of his life and business, Pete Casorso worked with his brothers and then later his children. During all of these years he worked hard and demonstrated a very good sense of business. He pulled his family ranch out of debt and invested in many different ventures that have made an impact on the economic and agricultural history of Kelowna. The Napoleon Peter Casorso fonds reflects his interests and involvement in the areas of finance, business, and legalities, a great deal of information can be found on the Pioneer Ranch, Mountview Sawmills, his farm management and mining interests and practices, as well as the many properties he owned or co-owned with family members. Included in the fonds are also many of his notes, handwritten on all kinds of materials. Also included in the fonds are the personal records: family correspondence and cards kept over the years. The Casorso legacy is remarkable. The Casorso family fortunes were founded upon stock raising (cattle, horses, hogs and sheep), grazing lands, vineyards and orchards, crops, woodlots and mining. Pete Casorso has left his mark on the history of Kelowna as a member of an original pioneering family.