L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 2019 www.italoamericano.org 16 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE A laska, a former US territory, was pro- claimed our 49th State in 1959 and is now the largest state in the Union. As many readers recall, the discovery of gold in California in 1848 signaled the start of the first gold rush in the world and as the word got out, within the first year,the new America territory's population swelled by over 80.000 men from all over the world and due to the mild climate many of the early 49ers were Italian. In Alaska, they had a Gold Rush too, but due to the cold weather I was surprised to learn that Alaska's first Fairbanks Gold mining District claim was made by an Italian immigrant named Felice Pedroni, born April 16, 1858 in Trignano di Fanano, province of Modena, who dis- covered gold in 1902. *** The climate in Trignano di Fanano is typical of mountain regions, with cold winters, short seasons and rapid transition from the bitter cold of winter to the mild warmth of summer. The landscape is dominated by Mount Cimone, the highest peak of that segment of the Apennines. During the coldest season, the young and the hardy abandoned the village to seek work in the matches of Tuscany, Greece or Algeria where in addition to ex- hausting and ill paid labors, they often found Malaria. Felice Pedroni was the last of six children in a peasant home. He knew all the sufferings of the poor and the rigor of a life by the mountainous terrain of his native village. His father, Joseph, who eked out a bare existence for his large family by making charcoal of the wood he gathered in the mountains, was obliged to descend to the plains where he sought employment among the shepherds. Joseph Pedroni unex- pectedly died, leaving his widow, Caterina Lolli, with six children, age from 17 to 8. The eldest child and two other sons followed the example of many of their countrymen and immigrated to the United States of America. Felice, inspired by the exam- ple of his brothers left his native Trignano in 1881 and boarded a ship for America when he was 23. When he landed in America, his first job was in Peoria, Illi- nois. He worked for two years as a section hand and lived with a relative. He left Peoria and headed west in late 1883. As he traveled, he earned his own way and did not hesitate to accept any kind of employment. In the Indian Territory he worked in the fields from 6 in the morn- ing until 8 at night, for half a dollar a day plus board and room; and he worked in the sil- ver and coal mines of Colorado and Utah. In the Northwest he stayed in Jacksonville, Oregon, then he moved in to Washington, where he worked for some time in the coal mines of Franklin in Car- bonado. He remained and found friends, among them August Hanot Sr, who was  to help him so much in the realization of his great undertaking. He also made the acquittance of several coun- trymen, who were later to be his companions in Alaska; the broth- ers Giovanni and Francesco Costa, Giovanni Valio, Stefano Absenna. In 1888, Pedroni went to the Caribou Country, Canada, where he remained until the au- tumn of 1893. His first explo- ration for gold failed and in 1883 Felice Pedroni was again work- ing in the mines in Carbonado. But he did not do so for long. There came to Carbonado a certain Espalmer, an Italian whom he had met in the Hanot home. Espalmer, some years past reached the Fortymile zone in the Yukon. The tales he told com- pletely converted the moun- taineer from Trignano. By the end of February 1894, a group led by Espalmer headed for the Yukon. Among the men who composed it were the broth- ers Costa, Absenna and Felice Pedroni, financed by Hanot. Pedroni, frequently alone ex- cept for his giggle and faithful dogs, ventured into the desolate vastness of central Alaska. In summer 1895, Pedroni with four hardy companions set out to prospect along a tributary of Chicken Creek. When their supplies were ex- hausted, after a month or so, they decided to return to their base for more. Left once more alone, except for his faithful dogs, Felice con- ducts his searches along one bank of the creek that now bears his name. After he had gone about half a mile he crossed over to the opposite bank. At a certain depth he found gold. It was July 2, 1902. *** In two or three weeks, the word got out that gold had been discovered in Alaska. A large steam ship ventured into the in- terior, by following the Yukon and Tanana, owned by a couple of enterprisers who had estab- lished a trading post in anticipa- tion of the opportunities that would be provided by the con- struction of a military telegraph line in Alaska, which Congress had authorized in 1899, and which by 1902 was barely initi- ated. Felice Pedroni walked toward the smoke he saw rising from the steam ship stacks. The "gold fever" spread among the members of the crew who went immediately to the site of the discovery and staked out their claims. The ship's cook, a Japanese by the name of Jujira Wada, also went to seek his for- tune. When the Costa brothers, and others who had worked with Pe- droni in activities antecedent to the discovery of gold, arrived, they gathered in the cabin of Fe- lice Pedroni to organize the Fairbanks Mining District. They agreed, at the suggestion of Judge Wickersham, on the name "Fairbanks" being used, to honor Senator Fairbanks of Indi- ana, later Vice President of the United States. The Fairbanks Mining District was established under the presidency of Felice Pedroni. The first request for the Fairbanks claims was made in July 22, 1902 in the name of Fe- lice Pedroni. Felice Pedroni died in Fair- banks, July 22. 1910, at the age of 52. His death provoked the profound compassion of his com- panions. They flocked to his fu- neral in such numbers that scores were unable to gain admittance to the church.

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