Preserving and celebrating Herrin’s Italian heritage

Nov 03, 2015 677

Linda Jennings, director of the History Room at the Herrin City Library, can trace the lineage of many of the Italian families in Herrin and Energy to the tiny northern Italian village of Cuggiono, just west of Milan. At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, more than 5,000 immigrants left Cuggiono, searching for better lives as coal miners in Herrin.

"We've made many lasting connections to the people there, and while our collection of materials on that region grows, so does their collection on us. We've been told that they're launching their own museum dedicated to their ancestors who immigrated to the United States. Officials on either side of the Atlantic have worked to establish a sister-city relationship. 

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Source: http://thesouthern.com/

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