BARRHEAD – There were 400 Properzi relatives at the Family Reunion held on July 4 to July 6 at Naples Hall with a buffet of activities and a rollercoaster of non-stop fun.
There were games, a pop-up store, a silent auction, bouncy castles, bull-riding, fabulous food and drink, laughter, conversations, walks down memory lane, songs and smiles everywhere.
“If you ever want to meet a nice family, it’s the Properzis,” said Les Properzi.
“You won’t find a bad one in the bunch.”
The Properzi family is extremely proud of their history and has honoured the documentation of the generations since time eternal.
Three of the four Properzi brothers came over in 1910 and settled in the County of Barrhead.
Timoteo, Carmine, and Salvatore Properzi made the journey and got three quarters of land together, one quarter per brother.
Peter Properzi is the oldest Properzi at the reunion.
He is second generation Properzi, his father Timoteo (Tony) came over from Lucali, Italy.
Tony was the youngest of the four Properzi brothers and immigrated to Canada with children.
The brothers travelled through Ellis Island and came through Chicago in their travels.
Brother Luigi immigrated in 1925.
Salvatore married a cousin of one of the neighbours.
Carmine went back to Italy to get married and returned in 1923 with his wife Angela ( nee Marrocchi).
The Properzi family has spread out with family members in British Columbia and the United States on the West Coast.
Reunions are held every few years, and everybody attends, said the cousins.
There was money hidden in the sand pile for the kids to find and spend at the pop-up store.
Barbecues sizzled with mouth-watering delights.
Concession tables were arranged near the entrance to get people served as they entered the main area.
Dozens of picnic tables filled with groups chatting and laughing were set-up under tents.
Children were doing crafts or off at the activity’s areas having fun while adults shared stories.
Photo albums were shared, and people reminisced about the family history and connections.
There was one memory book dating the family back to the 1600s, a proud heritage.
Inside the hall, there was a time capsule area with many photos of different parts of the family through the generations.
The Properzi family has their own cookbook, the Mamma Mia Now Thatsa Cookbook with two editions.
The second edition was published for the 100th anniversary of the Properzi brothers’ arrival in Canada in 1910.
Several of the family wore a black Properzi Reunion t-shirt in celebration of the event.
A group of ladies, all cousins, did special t-shirts for the reunion.
The named cousins wore brightly coloured t-shirts that shared their true natures.
Scott Properzi was the family member who travelled the farthest from Denmark.
Marc Scherette and Pam Cook from San Diego were married on June 13 and are the newest married of the Properzi family.
They are on their “minimoon” at the reunion.
They got married in San Diego in a church with the same name as the Naples Church, Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
Barry Properzi was driving the newlyweds up to see part of Northern Alberta.
The newest Properzi is a five-week-old baby.
DeYoung and Freadrich did an amazing job organizing this celebration and the relatives in attendance were making the most of all it had to offer.
Properzi is one of the landmark families in the County of Barrhead.
The Barrhead Leader was there to document the first Properzi reunion in 1982.
