When South Jersey resident Joe Paglione was inducted into the Italian American National Hall of Fame in 2009, three accom-plishments were cited. They were the Amici Della Lingua Italiana Club, which he formed in 1996 and which is going strong today with 200 members; his work in local Italian-American communities; and his creation of the Monumento All’Emigrante in his home-town of Capracotta, Isernia.

They’re part of his lifelong optimism and goodness. “I want to be remembered as a person who cares who we are,” he said. Paglione was 13 when he started training as a tailor. He was still a teen when his family moved from Italy to Burlington County and stayed with his uncle until they set up their own household.