Plumas
County
Biographies
ANTONE E. PRADELLI
Antone
E. (“Tony”) Pradelli is a splendid example of the industrious and energetic men
from the north of Italy who have come to this country and, by hard work and
intelligent frugality, have been able to achieve worthy success in their
respective callings. He is the owner of
a large dairy farm at Delleker, Plumas County, and his record since locating
thereon eight years ago has won for him the respect of all who know him.
He was born on the 11th
of June, 1889, in Lombardi, in the north of Italy, near the Swiss frontier, and
is a son of Joseph and Marie (Scarinsi) Pradelli. He was reared on his father’s farm at Fusina
and is the oldest of a large family of children. In order to assist in the support of the
family he started to work while a mere youth.
In 1907 he came to the United States and settled in Beckwith, Plumas
County, California, where he started to work on dairy farms in the Sierra
Valley. In 1918 he came to Delleker and
went to work for George Laws, president and manager of the Feather River Lumber
Company. He worked as a milker, at a
wage of forty dollars a month, carefully saved his money and eight years ago
bought a small bunch of cows. At the
same time he took over Mr. Law’s dairy farm, which he has since conducted with
marked success. His land is leased from
the lumber company, and on it he has about one hundred and twenty-five head of
cattle, of which sixty are milch cows, mostly high-grade Durham’s and
Holsteins. He supplies milk to the
boarding houses of the lumber company, as well as to hotels and eating houses
and to residents of Delleker and Portola, including the hotel of the Western
Pacific Railroad at the latter place. He
ships a number of cans of milk daily to Gerlach, Nevada, and supplies fresh
milk to the outlying logging camps of the Feather River Lumber Company. He employs three milkers, one man to look
after the stock and a boy herder. He
raises his calves and steers, as well as heifers, and is thus able to supply meat
as well as milk to Delleker and vicinity.
Mr. Pradelli cuts considerable hay and buys cottonseed oil cake by the
car-load, as well as much hay and grain, thus keeping his stock in excellent
condition. He utilizes one Dodge and two
Ford trucks in the handling of his milk.
Mr. Pradelli was reared in the faith
of the Roman Catholic Church and gives generously to all worthy causes. He is a busy man, gives his close attention
to his business and has well earned the splendid success which is now his.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
Wooldridge, J.W.Major History of Sacramento Valley
California, Vol. 3 Pages 336-337. Pioneer Historical
Publishing Co. Chicago 1931.
© 2010
Gerald Iaquinta.