Big things come in small packages and that is certainly the case with Italian-born Lena Soda. Lena was born in 1932 in Mangone, in the Calabria region of southern Italy.
Lena, her husband Maurino (deceased) and their two children arrived in Canada in 1961 under the sponsorship of Lena's sister Assunta Mauro.
Maurino immediately started working for CN rail; a job that required him to always work out of town. Since Maurino was working out of town all the time and they couldn't afford a house, they made a family decision that Lena and the children would go back to Italy and look after Lena's aged mother until Maurino was established in Prince George.
Lena's trip back to Italy in 1962 along with their two small children, ages six and two, proved to be a huge task for the young woman. Lena spoke very little English but she somehow managed the trip. She gathered up the children and Maurino took them to the train station. They bravely said their goodbyes and Lena started her long journey back to Italy. She traveled four days by train to Halifax then boarded a ship to Naples which took 14 days back then. When she arrived in Naples she took the train to her home town where she was welcomed back home by family and friends.
Lena's mother passed away in 1967 and Maurino was now more established in Prince George. He sent for his family and Lena and the children returned to Prince George in 1967, again by ship and train and she has been here ever since.
During Lena's absence, Maurino continued to work for CN rail and he was now able to welcome his family back to their new home on the corner of Winnipeg and Fourth Avenue, which by the way is now a parking lot. The family later moved to a home on Johnson Street where they lived for many years.
Lena and Maurino raised two children Nella (Charles, deceased) Graham who lives in Prince George and Frank (Natalie) who live in Vancouver; they in turn gave them four grandchildren and one great grandson. Lena thrives on her role as Nonna and spending time with her three-year-old great grandson is one of the bigger pleasures in her life.
Maurino worked for CN Rail and retired in 1989 after 28 years of service. Sadly he passed away in 2004 after losing his battle with cancer.
Lena's first priority has always been her family. After her husband went off to work and the children went off to school she went to work from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the London Hotel in housekeeping. She worked at the hotel for 23 years and retired in 1990.
Lena is the last of eight siblings in her family; she has not been back to Italy since 2006. She attends church every Sunday and if she can not make the service she watches it on TV.
At the age of 83 Lena still maintains her driver's license and lives in the family home; she has no intention of moving out of the family home because of her wonderful garden. Over the years Lena and Maurino could always be found in their garden at the end of a long day.
Maurino loved to compare gardens with his Italian friends. He won awards in gardening for his tall and productive beans.
They were also the recipients of the Community in Bloom Award for their beautiful flowers.
I have to tell you the story about the time they moved the community mail boxes onto the boulevard connecting to Maurino's property. He didn't like the idea at all but the decisions had been made to put the mail boxes at that site and there was nothing he could do about it. Soon people started leaving behind all their unwanted fliers and the spot became a mess. He wasn't happy about this so he mounted his own battle strategy.
His plan was to beautify the area so he planted cedar trees, lilac bushes and flowers all around the mail boxes and soon, and with the help of the neighbours, the littering of the unwanted mail stopped.
Maurino ended up winning first place in the Special Garden Community Minded Citizen Award project sponsored by the Prince George Citizen and the Cariboo Real Estate Association for his beautiful project.
Maurino was one of the original founders of the Prince George Italian Club; a group that wanted to maintain their Italian traditions. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus, a volunteer for the St. Vincent De Paul Society and he also volunteered in security at the Multiplex which is now the CN Centre.
Lena is now the head gardener; she still maintains a huge garden. She is also famous for her homemade bread and her home made pasta and she loves to share it all with family and friends.
Lena who stands at four feet ten inches and who weighs in at 98 pounds still holds the traditional Sunday family dinners at her home and she fully expects the family members to attend. Lena is a small and quiet lady but she is full on tenacity and should never be underestimated because of her size. All excuses or no shows for the all important and traditional family dinner are dealt with individually.
