by Nando Amabile

My mother's father, Antonio Scola, left Montecorice, Salerno in 1881, a seventeen year old seeking his fortune as a silk dyer in Paterson, New Jersey. Blessed with an unerring eye for color and a strong work ethic, he early on became the boss dyer at one of Paterson's major silk mills, a position he held for fourteen years.

When strikes crippled the silk industry in the early 1900's he quit his job and, recruiting eight striking dyers, opened a silk dying and finishing plant in the nearby borough of Hawthorne. He prospered immediately, the quality of the work he produced making his plant the preferred source for major manufacturers of upper end clothing.

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Source: http://www.festaitalianafrederick.com/