ANGELO IBLETO
“JERKY KING,” meat processor and master smoker
Petaluma, California

I was lucky when I came to this country: I already knew what good food tastes like. The flavors — they should explode in your mouth. Flavor from any food does not come out by accident. If you want the flavors to come out, you have to put them in first. I came to this country in ’62, to help my brother. I never aspired to be successful by getting involved in business; the only thing I knew was that whatever I did, I had to be the best, and that would be enough. Then I stepped into this community, and it doesn’t matter where I go, they know who I am. So I’m happy. I really enjoy it. I like to go back to Italy, but my heart is here, to be honest! 

We welcome reader letters. Email High Country News at editor@hcn.org or submit a letter to the editor. See our letters to the editor policy.

This article appeared in the October 2025 print edition of the magazine with the headline “#IAMTHEWEST.”

Close window X

Republish this article

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Our articles are available for republishing, but images are only available on a case-by-case basis. You can’t republish photographs or illustrations without written permission from High Country News and/or the photographer. Please reach out to syndication@hcn.org to request illustrations and photography for specific stories. Republishing guidelines

• Credit the author and High Country News - We prefer Author Name, High Country News at the byline.  At the top of the story, if on the web, please include this text and link: “This story was originally published by High Country News.”
• Check the image requirements - Images that are clearly marked CC or from federal agencies are in the creative commons and are available for republishing. Outside of this, you can’t republish photographs or illustrations without written permission from High Country News and/or the photographer. Please reach out to syndication@hcn.org to request more information.
• Don’t change anything significant - Articles must be republished in their entirety. Revisions for house style or references to time (“yesterday” to “today”) are allowed. If larger revisions are necessary, including significant trims or an editor’s note, contact us at syndication@hcn.org to get approval for the change ahead of republishing.
• Share on social media - When sharing on social tag High Country News in your post and note the story is from @highcountrynews
  • Twitter: @highcountrynews 
  • Instagram: @highcountrynews
  • TikTok: @highcountrynews
  • Facebook: @highcountrynews
  • LinkedIn: High Country News
• Stay in touch - Let us know you republished the story. Send a link to syndication@hcn.org once you’ve republished the story and let us know how it’s resonating with your readers.

‘I was lucky when I came to this country’

by Tash Kimmell, High Country News
October 9, 2025

<h1>‘I was lucky when I came to this country’</h1> <p class="byline">by Tash Kimmell, High Country News <br />October 9, 2025</p> <p><strong>ANGELO IBLETO </strong><br /><em>“JERKY KING,” meat processor and master smoker<br />Petaluma, California</em></p> <p>I was lucky when I came to this country: I already knew what good food tastes like. The flavors — they should explode in your mouth. Flavor from any food does not come out by accident. If you want the flavors to come out, you have to put them in first. I came to this country in ’62, to help my brother. I never aspired to be successful by getting involved in business; the only thing I knew was that whatever I did, I had to be the best, and that would be enough. Then I stepped into this community, and it doesn’t matter where I go, they know who I am. So I’m happy. I really enjoy it. I like to go back to Italy, but my heart is here, to be honest!&nbsp;</p> <p><em>We welcome reader letters. Email&nbsp;</em>High Country News<em>&nbsp;at&nbsp;</em><a href="mailto:editor@hcn.org"><em>editor@hcn.org</em></a><em>&nbsp;or submit a&nbsp;</em><a href="https://country-survey-collabs.info/feedback/contact-us"><em>letter to the editor</em></a><em>. See our&nbsp;</em><a href="https://country-survey-collabs.info/policies/lte"><em>letters to the editor policy</em></a><em>.</em></p> <p><em>This article appeared in the&nbsp;<a href="https://country-survey-collabs.info/issues/57-10/">October 2025&nbsp;print edition of the magazine</a>&nbsp;with the headline&nbsp;“#IAMTHEWEST.”</em></p></p> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://country-survey-collabs.info/issues/57-10/i-was-lucky-when-i-came-to-this-country/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://country-survey-collabs.info Country News&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/cropped-HCN_Logo-Monogram_White_Sq-2.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;quality=100&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;&lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://country-survey-collabs.info/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=337557&amp;amp;ga4=G-0NS3WVPPTN&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://country-survey-collabs.info/issues/57-10/i-was-lucky-when-i-came-to-this-country/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/hcn.org/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;</p> Copy to Clipboard

1