♪ [DOG BARKING] [BELL TOLLING] >> MY FATHER, HE ARRIVED AT ELLIS ISLAND IN 1901 WITH HIS COUSIN, DAVID, FROM ITALY, AND THEY WERE DETAINED THERE FOR PROCESSING FOR A WHILE.

EVENTUALLY, THEY BOTH ARRIVED IN NORTHFIELD AND SETTLED HERE.

THEY HAD STARTED A BUSINESS TOGETHER DOING CARVING.

DAVID DIED AT 1909 AT THE AGE OF 28.

AND MY FATHER CUT THE -- HE WAS ALSO A SCULPTOR, SO THESE ARE THE TOOLS HE USED IN HIS TRADE.

THERE IS A HAMMER, THE SQUARE.

THE CHISEL.

AND THIS IS THE SYMBOLISM OF THE BROKEN LIFE.

LIKE A TREE THAT WAS BROKEN IN MID LIFE.

MY FATHER WAS DEVASTATED BECAUSE THEY WERE IN BUSINESS TOGETHER.

NOT ONLY THAT, BUT THE DEVASTATION OF HAVING LOST HIS COUSIN.

BECAUSE THEY WERE VERY CLOSE.

>> EVERY STONE MONUMENT TELLS A STORY OF THOSE IT HONORS AND OF THOSE WHO CREATED IT.

>> ARRANGEMENT LOW WAS ONE OF THOUSANDS OF IMMIGRANTS WHO CAME TO WORK AROUND BARRE, VERMONT.

THEY WERE ATTRACTED BY THE LARGEST SCULPTOR QUALITY QUARRIES IN AMERICA.

IN THE 1880'S WHEN RAIL LINES LINKED TOGETHER THE QUARRIES CARVING SHEDS AND MARKETS ACROSS AMERICA, BARRE BECAME KNOWN AS THE GRANITE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD.

THE BOOMING INDUSTRY DREW QUARRYMEN AND STONECUTTERS FROM FRENCH CANADA AND ACROSS EUROPE, ESPECIALLY SCOTLAND, SPAIN, SCANDINAVIA, POLAND, AND ITALY.

>> THE GRANITE INDUSTRY WAS GROWING, DEVELOPING, AND OFFERED WORK FOR ANYONE WHO COULD DO ANYTHING WITH GRANITE FROM ITALY.

>> SO THEY ALL CAME FROM ITALY, AND THEY ALL CAME TO BARRE TO FIND JOBS, AND A LOT OF PEOPLE CAME.

THEY TELL THEM, YOU GO TO THE JONES BROTHERS.

THAT'S THE BIGGEST PLACE IN BARRE.

GO THERE AND YOU WILL FIND A JOB.

SO THEY ALL GRAVITATED TO THIS PLACE.

>> THE IMMIGRANTS' IDENTITIES WOULD BE BOUND UP WITH THEIR HOME REGIONS AND CULTURAL AND ARTISTIC AND POLITICAL VALUES.

THEY WOULD RETAIN THEIR ESSENTIAL, DISTINCTIVE CHARACTER, AND TRANSFORM THEIR NEW HOMES LIKE BARRE, AS MUCH AS THEY, THEMSELVES ADAPTED AND CHANGED.

TO THESE IMMIGRANTS, CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN WOULD BE LEFT TO THE TASK OF CARVING OUT NEW IDENTITIES, CHOOSING WHAT TO CUT AWAY AND WHAT TO KEEP.

OF THEIR ITALIAN AND AMERICAN LEGACIES.

BARRE'S ITALIAN IMMIGRANTS CAME FROM THE SWISS CANTON OF CA-C-H-I-N-O AND THE NORTHERN ITALIAN REGIONS.

IT INCLUDES NORTHERN TOSCANO.

THE STONECUTTER'S HOMES AND WORKPLACES IN ITALY WERE GENERALLY LOCATED NEAR QUARRIES TO AVOID TRANSPORTING THE PORTION OF THE HEAVY STONE THAT WOULD EVENTUALLY BE CUT AWAY.

THE MOUNTAINS AROUND THE AREA WERE WORKED SINCE ROMAN TIMES AND CONTINUE EXPORTING MARTIAL E TODAY.

MODERN METHODS MAKE THE WORK SAFER AND LESS WASTEFUL.

THE QUARRY WORK HAS BEEN DIFFICULT AND DANGEROUS.

FARTHER NORTH GRANITE AND OTHER TYPES OF STONE WERE EXCAVATED.

THE ARTISAN WHO CUTS OR CARVES THE STONE IS KNOWN IN ITALIAN AS A SCALPALINO.

THE SCULPTOR CONSISTS OF THE ORIGINAL FORM OF A PIECE, OFTEN IN A CLAY, AND THEN PLASTER MODEL.

MANY ITALIANS PRACTICE BOTH SKILLS.

SCALPALINO WERE THE BACKBONE OF THE ECONOMY IN MANY COMMUNITIES LIKE THIS, A SMALL TOWN LOCATED NEAR QUARRIES OF THE FINEST STONE.

THE POOR SOIL COULD BARELY SUPPORT THE PEOPLE, SO THEY SPECIALIZED IN STONE CARVING.

THE TOWN SCHOOL TRAINED GENERATIONS OF MASTER SCULPTORS, LIKE THIS PERSON AND MANY OF THE STONECUTTERS WHO WORKED IN MILANO DURING THE 500-YEAR LONG CONSTRUCTION.

>> IN THE LATE 1800s, MANY QUARRIES CLOSED DUE TO COMPETITION FROM OTHER AREAS.

AND FROM CHEAPER CONCRETE.

NEW TAXES AND ECONOMIC POLICIES FAVORING THE UPPER AND MIDDLE CLASSES OF A NEWLY UNIFIED ITALY MADE LIFE EVEN MORE DIFFICULT FOR ARTISANS AND PEASANTS.

SOME PROTESTED OR JOINED SOCIALISTS, AN CURIOUSES AND OTHER RADICAL MOVEMENTS.

THEY WERE MET WITH REPRESSION, OFTEN JAIL OR EXILE.

LONG-TERM IMMIGRATION BECAME THE MOST SENSIBLE OPTION, ALTHOUGH A DIFFICULT ONE FOR MANY.

THE SCALPALINO WERE AMONG MANY PEOPLE WHO LEFT BETWEEN 1870 AND 1914, OF THOSE 4 MILLION CAME TO THE UNITED STATES.

FROM JENEVA ITALY, MOST AMERICAN-BOUND PEOPLE SET OFF FOR NEW YORK.

FROM THERE THEY MADE THEIR AWAY ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO MANY TOWNS THROUGHOUT NEW ENGLAND.

THE LARGEST CON TINGANT OF ITALIAN TONIGHT CURTIS CAME TO CENTRAL VERMONT, PRINCIPALLY TO BARRE.

STONECUTTERS WERE ATTRACTED TO BARRE BY THE PROSPECT OF WORK AND THE GROWING COMMUNITY OF OTHER FORMER RESIDENTS OF THEIR OWN LOCAL AREAS IN ITALY.

>> MY GRANDPARENTS CAME FROM NORTHERN ITALY, AND SWITZERLAND.

THEY CAME AS A KIND OF CLAN BECAUSE THERE WERE 12, 13 COUPLES INVOLVED.

THE GRANITE INDUSTRY WAS ALREADY INTO WHAT YOU WOULD CALL NOWADAYS HEAD HUNTING.

THEY WANTED ARTISANS, AND THEY WANTED THE QUALITY OF THE ITALIAN CARVERS WHO HAD A LONG HISTORY OF CARVING, LEARNED FROM THE GREEKS AND SO ON.

>> THE ITALIAN CARVER'S SKILL CAME FROM A CENTURY'S OLD TRADITION OF RIGOROUS TRAINING.

YOUNG CARVERS LEARNED BY WORKING ALONGSIDE FATHERS, GRANDFATHERS AND UNCLES, AS WELL AS THROUGH FORMAL SCHOOLING AND APPRENTICESHIPS WHICH LASTED MANY YEARS.

SOME TOOLS AND STYLES HAVE BEEN ADDED, THIS BASIC EDUCATION GROUNDED IN CLASSICAL TRADITIONS STILL CONTINUES IN ITALIAN SCHOOLS.

>> WHERE I COME FROM, THAT'S ALL YOU SEE, THERE IS MARBLE AND THERE IS ART ALL OVER THE PLACE.

MY DAD LEARNED THIS PROFESSION THROUGH HIS FATHER.

IT WAS MY GRANDFATHER WAS AN ARCHITECTURAL, YOU KNOW, USED TO MAKE FREEZERS, SO NATURALLY, MY FATHER LEARNED THE PROFESSION FROM HIM.

I WORKED WITH MY FATHER NEXT TO EACH OTHER.

SO NATURALLY, I MEAN, THINGS RUBS OFF AFTER FIFTH GRADE, I WENT TO THE ART SCHOOL.

THE FIRST YEAR, THEY ASKED ME WHAT I WANT TO BE, AND I TOLD THEM I WANT TO BE A SCULPTOR.

THEY SAID OH, NO.

IT DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY, YOU HAVE GOT TO START AT THE BOTTOM.

YOU KNOW.

YOU HAVE NOT GOT A PROFESSION YET, YOU HAVE GOT TO START FROM ZERO.

SO FOUR YEARS OF APPRENTICESHIP BEING IN THE SHOP.

AND SIX BEFORE, MAKES TEN YEARS, YOU KNOW.

SO NATURALLY, YOU COME TO BARRE EQUIPPED.

>> THEY KNOW THE WORK WHEN THEY CAME HERE, HE OR SHE THOUGH HE WAS ONLY 21 YEARS OLD, MY FATHER FROM 1903 TO 1906, HE AND THREE OTHERS THAT CUT THESE SIX STATUES THAT ARE ON THE UNION STATION IN WASHINGTON.

THEY WERE 18 FEET TALL, AND TOOK MY FATHER AND BERNASCONI A WHOLE YEAR TO CUT THE SERIES, THE GODDESS OF AGRICULTURE.

>> THEY CONTINUED THEIR MIGRATORY LIFESTYLE AS THEY TRAVELED FROM ONE JOB TO ANOTHER, AND THEN STAYED IN BOARDING HOUSES LIKE THE ONE RUN BY THE GRANDMOTHER OF ITALIAN GEOGRAPHY PROFESSOR.

HIS FAMILY BACKGROUND LED CARLO TO MAKE A CAREER OF STUDYING IMMIGRATION.

>> HE PASSED AWAY, AND WHEN HER PARENTS WERE ABLE TO RECOVER ENOUGH FROM THAT, THEY WENT TO AN ITALIAN CARVER WITH A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE GIRL, AND THE FATHER'S INSTRUCTIONS TO THE CARVER WAS YOU MAKE IT EXACTLY AS THE PHOTOGRAPH.

AND IF IT IS NOT EXACT I WILL NOT PAY YOU ONE CENT.

EVENTUALLY, WHEN IT WAS COMPLETED, THE MOTHER BURST OUT CRYING BECAUSE THE SIMILARITY WAS SO STRIKING.

BUT THE FATHER, WHO HAD TO PAY THE MONEY, BEGAN TO EXAMINE EVERY LITTLE DETAIL.

THE WATCH COULD STILL TELL THE TIME, THE HAIR, EVERYTHING WAS FINE, AND HE GOT DOWN TO HER SHOES, AND THE RIGHT SHOE, EVERYTHING IS FINE AND HE GETS OVER TO THE LEFT AND BECAME VERY UPSET.

THE BOTTOM BUTTON ISN'T BUTTONED.

LOOK, YOU DID NOT BUTTON THE BOTTOM BUTTON, I WON'T PAY YOU, AND AT THIS THE CARVER SHOUTS AT HIM, LOOK AT THE PIC.

THEY HAVE TO GO TO A BIG MAGNIFYING GLASS AND SURE ENOUGH, THE PHOTOGRAPH SHOWS THAT THE LITTLE GIRL HAD NOT BUTTONED THE BOTTOM BUTTON.

AND THE FATHER HAD TO PAY AND THE STATUE IS THERE AT THE CEMETERY TO THIS DAY.

>> WHETHER THIS STORY IS ENTIRELY TRUE IS UNKNOWN, BUT IT DOES HOW THE UNCERTANTY SCALPO-.

STONECUTTERS MADE MORE MONEY THAN MOST IN AMERICA AND SOME BECAME SHED OWNERS.

STILL, THEIR ECONOMIC VULNERABILITY AND POLITICAL LEANINGS LED MANY TO JOIN THE UNIONS AND TAKE OTHER COLLECTIVE ACTIONS.

♪ >> THEY WERE AMONG THE 50% OF ALL ITALIAN IMMIGRANTS TO AMERICA WHO EVENTUALLY RETURNED TO ITALY.

THOSE CARVERS WHO STAYED IN AMERICA SOUGHT TO REESTABLISH THE LIFE THEY MISSED.

ONCE THEY HAD SAVED ENOUGH MONEY, MARRIED MEN SENT FOR THEIR FAMILIES TO JOIN THEM, AND MANY BACHELORS WENT BACK TO ITALY TO FIND WIVES.

>> MY MOTHER WAS BEAUTIFUL.

TWO WEEKS LATER THEY CAME TO THIS COUNTRY, SO I NEVER KNEW PERSONALLY, I NEVER KNEW MY GRANDMOTHER OR MY UNCLES AND AUNTS UNTIL I WENT FOR A VISIT MUCH LATER AND MOST OF MY UNCLES AND MY GRANDMOTHER WERE GONE.

BUT I DID MEET MY COUSINS OVER THERE.

>> BUT YOU NEVER SAW HER FAMILY AGAIN UNTIL 1956 WHEN SHE WENT BACK TO ITALY ON A TRIP.

>> BY 1900, A DISTINCTLY ITALIAN COMMUNITY CONCENTRATED MAINLY ON THE NORTH END WAS THRIVING IN BARRE.

>> THINGS HAVE BECOME FAIRLY WELL SET WITHIN THE ITALIAN COMMUNITY, WHICH WAS REALLY MUCH THE ITALIAN COLONY, THE COLONY, AND IT HAD ITS OWN VALUES, ITS OWN LEADERS, ITS OWN EVERYTHING.

>> I AM STANDING ON THE SPOT THAT MY GRANDFATHER AND THE LITTLE BOY OF ABOUT 2.5 YEARS OF AGE WHO LATER BECAME MY FATHER WERE STANDING IN THE MAYDAY CELEBRATION OF THE SOCIALISTS HERE IN THIS LABOR HALL BACK IN 1903.

>> THIS WAS TO BE THE CENTER OF THEIR WHOLE LIFE.

THEIR MAIN FOCUS WAS STAYING TOGETHER AS A COMMUNITY, NOT JUST SOCIALISTS, BUT THE WHOLE COMMUNITY.

>> THE SOCIALIST HALL WAS A COMMUNITY CENTER.

THAT'S WHERE THEY HELD DANCES.

A GREAT DEAL OF SOCIAL ACTIVITY WENT ON, AND IT WAS NOT JUST HERE.

IT MUSHROOMED INTO ALL KINDS OF THINGS.

THE DANCE AND THE SOCIAL ACTIVITIES, PARLAYED INTO A GROUP CALLED THE ITALIAN PLEASURE CLUB.

AND AT LEAST IN MY DAY, IT WAS AN ANNUAL NEW YEAR'S DAY DANCE THAT WAS HELD IN THE HEAD OF GRANITE STREET.

THERE WAS ALSO STAGE PRODUCTIONS UP TO AND INCLUDING FULL DRESS OPERA, AND PLAYS WHERE MOST OF THE ACTORS AND SO ON CAME FROM THE LOCAL COMMUNITY.

YOU HAD TWO OR THREE BANDS OF TOP QUALITY MUSICIANS AMONG THE ITALIAN COMMUNITY WHO WERE EAGER TO TEACH THEIR CHILDREN.

MY FATHER AND HIS PEERS, HIS COMMUNITY OF THAT AGE LEARNED TO PLAY MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS IN THE CLASSROOM UPSTAIRS.

>> THEY HAD A CONSUMER, COOPERATIVE, A BAKERY.

SO THAT -- IN EVERY WAY, THAT MEANS THESE ACTIVITIES FOCUSED ON THAT CENTER.

>> THE COOPERATIVE ATTACHED TO THE SOCIALIST LABOR HALL WAS EXTENSIVE ENOUGH TO PROVIDE ALL OF THE ITALIAN FOODS, IMPORTED OLIVE OIL AND WHATEVER.

>> THEN AS NOW FOOD WAS A CRITICAL AND SAVORED CONNECTION WITH THE ITALIANS BIRTHPLACES, WAY OF LIFE, AND THEIR IDENTITY.

THE IMMIGRANTS WENT TO GREAT LENGTHS TO IMPORT FOOD FROM THEIR NATIVE REGIONS OR RECREATED IT IN THEIR NEW HOME.

>> MAKING MUSHROOMS, WE USED TO GO OFTEN, MY MOTHER AND FATHER WOULD GET UP EARLY LIKE 4:00 IN THE MORNING AND MUSHROOMS SO THEY COULD COME BACK AND HE WOULD GO TO WORK.

WE WOULD SIT UP HALF THE DAY CLEANING THEM.

>> WINE WAS A VALUED PART OF TRADITIONAL MEALS AND SOCIALIZING.

ESPECIALLY FOR SCALPOLINI, WHO WERE TYPICALLY GIVEN WINE ON THE JOB TO HELP THEIR ENDURANCE >> MAKING WINE AT HOME WAS NOT ONLY PREFERRED, IT WAS THE ONLY WAY TO GET IT LEGALLY IN PROHIBITION ERA VERMONT.

>> THE COOPERATIVE HAD MADE CONTACT WITH ITALIAN GREAT PRODUCERS IN CALIFORNIA AND EVERY YEAR THE HUGE REFRIGERATED RAILROAD CARS WITH GRAPES WOULD COME IN AND THE KIDS WOULD GO DOWN AND TRY TO STEAL SOME WHILE WE UNLOADED AND PARCELED THEM OUT TO INDIVIDUALS AS MY GRANDFATHER WAS, WHO HAD ALL OF THE EQUIPMENT FOR MAKING HIS OWN WINE.

THAT WAS A MAJOR EVENT, AND AFTER THAT THEN WHAT WAS LEFT WAS PUT INTO A COPPER BOILER AND THEY MADE GRAPA.

>> THEY WERE ALWAYS RAIDING ONE AND ANOTHER, AND SOME OF THEM GOT SENT TO JAIL FOR A YEAR, BUT THEY WOULD TAKE-AWAY THEIR WINE, AND THEY WOULD SAY WE ARE GOING TO THROW IT IN THE RIVER, BUT DO YOU THINK THOSE POLICEMEN THREW ALL THAT GOOD, WONDERFUL WINE IN THE RIVER?

I DOUBT IT.

[LAUGHTER] >> THE COOPERATIVE, THE COOPERATIVE IN THE DEPRESSON YEARS WHEN MY FATHER WAS OUT OF WORK FOR THREE YEARS, THEY CARRIED HIM, AND I THINK WITH THE, FOR THE WHOLE COMMUNITY.

>> THERE WERE A LOT OF GROCERS, ITALIAN GROCERS THAT WERE VERY GOOD TO GIVE CREDIT.

I DON'T THINK THAT MAY BE WE COULD HAVE SURVIVED IF WE DID NOT HAVE THEM.

THE UNION HALL THERE, WHEN THEY, AT ONE TIME, THEY WOULD, IF SOMEBODY WAS SICK, THEY WOULD MAKE A BENEFIT DANCE AND GIVE THE MONEY TO THE FAMILY.

>> THE IMMIGRANTS ALSO HELPED ONE ANOTHER THROUGH AN ORANGE ADOPTED FROM AN ITALIAN MODEL, THE WORKERS' MUTUAL AID SOCIETY.

IS THERE THERE WAS NO SOCIAL SECURITY, NO MEDICAL PLANS, NO AID OF ANY NATURE, SO THE CLUBS FORMED SO A FAMILY IN DISTRESS, IF YOU WERE SICK, A SMALL AMOUNT OF MONEY WAS GIVEN OR IF YOU WERE LAID OFF, OR WHATNOT.

>> THERE WAS A CLUB, AND THEY WOULD BUY LIFE INSURANCE, SO THEY WOULD HAVE SOMETHING TO GIVE BARRE, AND THEN IT JUST GREW.

WE, BASICALLY, HAVE A DINNER HERE EVERY FRIDAY NIGHT.

>> OUR PURPOSE IS TO CONTINUE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF ITALIAN HERITAGE BECAUSE IT WAS THE START OF THE CLUB.

>> BARRE EMERGED AS ONE OF THE CENTERS OF FOUGHT ACTIVITY, A PART OF THE DIFFERENT, VARIOUS RADICAL GROUPS, SOCIALISTS AND ANARCHISTS, AND THIS WAS A WAY OF LIFE.

IT WAS TAKEN VERY SERIOUSLY.

>> ANGELO EXPRESSED HIS DEDICATION TO SOCIALIST IDEALS, NOT ONLY THROUGH HIS POLITICAL ACTIVITIES AND UNION ORGANIZING, BUT ALSO, IN THE NAMES THAT HE COSE FOR HIS CHILDREN.

>> MY FATHER LOVED THE COUNTRY.

HE ADMIRED ABRAHAM LINCOLN SO THAT'S WHY HE GAVE ANGELO THE MIDDLE NAME, LINCOLN.

FOR LIBERTY.

AND THE FUTURE, AND MY NAME, AURORA, FOR THE DAWN, SO THEY WERE QUITE IDEALISTIC.

>> THEY WERE BLACKBALLED BY THE MANUFACTURERS WHO WERE OPPOSED TO ANY ORGANIZED LABOR MOVEMENT.

HE WAS TELLING MY MOTHER THAT THEY SCREWED ME.

BUT FRIGAR ALSO MEANS LIKE TO RUB.

SO I REMEMBER RUBBING HIS LEGS LIKE, LIKE THIS, AND HE SAW THAT I HAD OVERHEARD, SO HE PICKED ME UP.

>> IT HAD TO BE ONE OF THE TIMES WHEN HE HAD BEEN DENIED A WORK BECAUSE OF HIS UNION INVOLVEMENT.

>> WELL, SOCIAL I WASES AND AN CURIOUSES BOTH WANTED TO REPLACE THE CURRENT AND ECONOMIC SYSTEM, THEY SPENT AT LEAST AS MUCH TIME ATTACKING EACH OTHER AS THEY DID BATTLING CAPITALISM.

>> SOCIALIST ANACTICUS COULD NOT STAND EACH OTHER, AND THEY WERE AT EACH OTHER'S THROAT.

THEY HAVE LONG RUNNING DOG NIGHTS.

>> FIGHTS BROKE OUT AT THE LABOR HALL WHICH SOME CALLED THE BUCKET OF BLOOD.

IN THE MOST INFAMOUS CONFRONTATION, THE NOTED SCULPTOR WAS ACCIDENTALLY SHOT AND KILLED IN A SCUFFLE AT THE LABOR HALL.

>> WHAT ONE IS IMPRESSED WITH IS THE PASSION WITH WHICH PEOPLE VESTED IN THIS MOVEMENT.

THE COURAGE, THE COMMITMENT OF THE PEOPLE.

>> DESPITE THE DISTANCE, BARRE IMMIGRANTS AFFIRMED THEIR ROOTS BY KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS IN ITALY, AND HELPING TO SUPPORT POLITICAL GROUPS AND COMMUNITIES THAT THEY HAD TO LEAVE BEHIND.

>> MY MOTHER HELPED ME TO WRITE ITALIAN, TO MY GRANDMOTHER, I USED TO WRITE TO HER OFTEN.

>> TRIPS BACK AND FORTH ALSO HELPED TO RENEW THE IMMIGRANT'S SENSE OF CONNECTION TO PEOPLE AND PLACES IN ITALY.

>> BARRE'S ITALIAN COLONY AND THE GRANITE INDUSTRY WERE THRIVING BY 1900.

THE CITY HAD BUILT ASTATING CITY HALL AND MONUMENTS GRACED THE CITIES ALL ACROSS AMERICA.

BUT THE COMMUNITY WAS DEVASTATED AND THREATENED TO SHUT DOWN THE STONE-WORKING INDUSTRY.

IN ITALY THE STONE SHEDS WERE OPEN STRUCTURES, SO YOU WERE OUT IN THE AIR, AND THE DUST WASN'T CONCENTRATED INSIDE OF A BUILDING.

THE WORKERS CAME HERE, THEY WERE WORKING INSIDE MUCH OF THE TIME.

NOMADIC TOOLS GENERATED SO MUCH DUST THAT WORKERS SOMETIMES COULDN'T SEE ACROSS THE CARVING SHED.

>> THEY WERE DYING BEFORE THEY R 50th BIRTHDAY.

>> I ALWAYS HAD TROUBLE TALKING ABOUT MY DAD BECAUSE HE DIED BEFORE I WAS SEVEN.

I WAS STILL SIX YEARS OLD.

HE DIED BECAUSE OF THE SILOCOSIS AND THE DUST IN THE INDUSTRY.

HE WAS IN WHAT THEY CALLED A SANATARIUM IN BARRE.

I WAS NOT ALLOWED TO GO NEAR HIM.

ONE TIME I WENT OVER TO A NEIGHBOR'S HOUSE, WHICH WAS PROBABLY A DISTANCE OF A MILE AND A HALF, DIRECT LINE TO THE PLACE.

HE WAS GOING TO BE WAITING FOR ME TO SPECIFY TIME.

I HAD A HANKER CHIEF THAT WAS, THAT I WAS SUPPOSED TO WAVE AND HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE WATCHING.

AND I ASSUMED THAT HE SAW ME WAVE, BUT IT WAS KIND OF AN EMOTIONAL TIME.

>> IT SOMETIMES LED TO TUBERCULOSIS, WHICH OTHERS COULD CATCH.

>> ONE THING I ALWAYS REMEMBER, I DIDN'T DARE TO HUG AND KISS MY FATHER WE WERE SO AFRAID OF CATCHING THAT DISEASE.

SO I WOULD GO OUT AND SAY HI, PA AND STAND BY THE BEDSIDE, WE COULD TOUCH HIM BUT I WOULD NOT KISS HIM.

>> MY MOTHER ALWAYS MADE SOME GOOD OLD ITALIAN SOUP LIKE THAT, AND MY FATHER DIDN'T LIKE THE FOOD UP THERE THAT THEY GAVE HIM SO WE WOULD GO UP AFTER SCHOOL, AND WE WOULD WALK UP THERE, AND TO GIVE, TO LEAVE FOR HIM, TO EAT FOR A MEAL.

AND THERE WAS QUITE A LONG WALK, BUT WE DID IT ANYWAY.

BUT HE WAS ONLY UP THERE.

HE WENT IN OCTOBER, AND HE DIED THE NEXT APRIL.

WHEN HE KNEW HE WAS GOING, SO HE CAME HOME AND DIED AT HOME.

>> THE INCIDENT OF DEATH CAUSED BY THE SILICOSIS WAS EXTREMELY HIGH, AND IF YOU ADD ALL OF THE OTHER WAYS THAT THEY CHOSE TO END THEIR LIFE RATHER THAN DROWN IN THEIR OWN BLOOD, YOU HAVE AN EXTREMELY HIGH PERCENTAGE OF STONECUTTERS WHO TOOK THEIR OWN LIFE BECAUSE THEY DID NOT WANT TO FACE THAT KIND OF DEATH.

>> IT WAS A TOUGH TIME BUT THIS WAS COMMON IN THOSE TIMES.

ANYONE REACHING THE AGE OF 40 OR 50 HAVING WORKED IN THE GRANITE INDUSTRY WAS RIPE OLD AGE.

SO THERE WERE A LOT OF WIDOWS IN BARRE AT THAT TIME.

>> I LOST MY FATHER, AND MY FATHER WAS 49 YEARS OLD WHEN HE DIED.

HE WAS SICK A WHOLE YEAR WITH THE SILICOSIS THE WIDOWS AT THAT HAVE MEANS OF SUPPORT.

SO THEY REALLY HAD TO GO LIKE MAKE A DIAPING AREA WHERE THEY COULD HAVE BORDERS OR SOME OF THEM RENTED ROOMS, AND SO THEY MADE DUE SOME WAY, SOMEHOW.

>> SOME OF THEM PROBABLY DIDN'T HAVE ANY INSURANCE.

THEY HAD TO MAKE A LIVING.

THAT WAS EASY FOR THEM TO MAKE WINE AND SELL IT, WHICH WAS AGAINST THE LAW.

SO THEY DID NOT RAIDED.

>> IT WAS A HEIGHT OF THE DEPRESSION AND THERE WERE NOT VERY MANY JOBS.

SO WE WOULD FIND ODDS AND ENDS TO DO LIKE I WOULD WORK IN THE STORE, AND WORK IN THE FISHMAN'S WORK IN THE GROCERY STORE AND MY BROTHER WORKED, AND THEY WOULD GO UP TO THE -- THE COUNTRY CLUB AND CADDY AND MAKE A LITTLE MONEY UP THERE.

AS LONG AS WE GOT A QUARTER TO PUT IN THE GAS METER.

THAT WAS ALL THAT MATTERED.

>> THE STONECUTTER'S UNION MADE DUST REDUCTION THE CENTRAL DEMAND AND STRUCK OVER THE ISSUE IN 1903, AND IN 1915.

BUT EMPLOYER PRACTICES REDUCED THE UNION'S RANKS AND LABOR'S ABILITY TO PRESS FOR SAFER WORKPLACES.

>> THE EMPLOYERS LOOKED UPON THE DUST COLLECTION EQUIPMENT AS AN ADDITIONAL COST.

YOU LOOK AT COMPETITION, YOU KNOW, AND IF YOUR NEIGHBOR DOESN'T HAVE TO DO IT, WHY SHOULD YOU HAVE TO DO IT FROM A BUSINESS POINT OF VIEW.

SO THE UNION RECOGNIZED IN THE 1930s THAT THERE HAD TO BE SOMETHING, SOME KIND OF INCENTIVE FOR THE EMPLOYERS TO DO IT, AND 1938 UNION WAS ABLE TO CONVINCE MANAGEMENT THAT EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE THESE SUCTION DEVICES PUT IN.

THE UNION NEGOTIATED A CONTRACT THAT YEAR, AND I BELIEVE THAT THAT WAS THE FIRST YEAR THAT WE HAD 100% UNION CONTRACTS IN THE INDUSTRY.

WE NEGOTIATED A CONTRACT THAT PROVIDED FOR A DOLLAR A DAY LESS WAGES PROVIDING THE EMPLOYERS WOULD ALL PUT IN THE DUST COLLECTING DEVICES, SUCTION DEVICES, WE CALLED THEM.

>> AT THE SAME TIME THE STATE OF VERMONT PASSED LEGISLATION REQUIRING THE USE OF SUCTION EQUIPMENT IN THE STONE SHEDS.

>> SO OUR UNION HAD NO NEW CASES OF SILICOSIS, OF PEOPLE THAT STARTED AFTER 1938.

>> THERE WERE HUGE VACUUM HOSES THAT THEY PLACED NEAR THEIR WORK TO SUCK THE DANGEROUS DUST AWAY FROM THE WORKPLACE.

IT MADE IT SAFE FOR PEOPLE TO WORK IN THE GRANITE PLANT.

>> I STARTED IN THE GRANITE INDUSTRY IN 1953.

MY FATHER WAS VERY MUCH AGAINST IT.

MOST GRANITE CUTTERS DIDN'T WANT THEIR SONS EXPOSED TO THE SILICA DUST THAT THEY HAD BEEN EXPOSED TO.

>> BEFORE HE PASSED AWAY HE DIRECTED MY MOTHER TO NEVER LET ME BROTHER OR MYSELF GET INVOLVED IN THE GRANITE INDUSTRY BECAUSE OF THIS HAZARD.

BUT BY THE TIME THAT I DECIDED TO GET INTO IT IT WAS ALREADY MADE SAFER BY THE ADVENT OF THE SUCTION DEVICES.

SO I WENT AGAINST HIS WISHES, AND TRIED TO CONTINUE HIS SCULPTING, AND I WORKED FOR A TOTAL OF 52 YEARS IN THIS GRANITE, DUST ENVIRONMENT, BUT BOUGHT SUCTIONS, I WAS ABLE TO MAINTAIN A FAIRLY HEALTHY CONDITION.

>> I HAD ALWAYS ANTICIPATED PERHAPS BEING A DESIGNER OR A DRAFTSMEN IN THE GRANITE INDUSTRY.

I DECIDED TO GO TO HIGH SCHOOL IN BARRE.

AND THEN AT THAT POINT I STARTED TO THINK, PERHAPS, MAYBE I SHOULD GET INTO CARVING, AND I GOT A JOB AS AN APPRENTICE AT THE GRANITE COMPANY IN BARRE.

I HAPPENED TO WORK NEXT TO SOME NEWLY IMPORTED CARVERS FROM ITALY, INCLUDING BARDELLI AND ARAZIO.

>> IT LASTED A LONG TIME.

>> I HAD THE PRIVILEGE TO COME HERE.

IT WAS A SPECIAL VISA FROM THE GOVERNOR BECAUSE THE MANUFACTURING IN BARRE, THEY NEEDED SOME PEOPLE.

>> AS THE IMMIGRANT GENERATION OF SCALPOLINI DIED OF SILICOSIS AND THE SECOND GENERATION AVOIDED THE CRAFT, SKILLED CARVERS BECAME HARD TO FIND IN BARRE.

CONGRESS CAME TO THE INDUSTRY'S AID BY PASSING A SPECIAL WAIVER ALLOWING A FEW CARVERS TO COME TO VERMONT FROM ITALY STARTING IN 1948.

THESE ARTISANS AND SCULPTORS MENTORED AMERICAN-BORN CARVERS WHO, IN TURN, HELPED THE NEXT GENERATION.

>> HE WAS A SKILLED SCULPTOR, AND BARDELLI, ALSO, I HAPPENED TO WORK NEXT TO MARCELLI, HE USED TO CALL ME OVER TO SMOOTH OUT THE WORK THAT HE HAD DONNING.

AND THEN HE SAW I HAD INTEREST IN LEARNING SO AS TIME WENT ON HE WOULD LEAVE MORE OF THE WORK FOR ME TO DO.

AND SO SLOWLY I GOT INTO DOING IT MYSELF HE, AND THEN HE SAYS NOW YOU CAN DO IT BY YOURSELF.

>> AS A YOUNG BOY WORKING I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE LIKE ANGELO.

TO ME HE WAS THE BEST SCULPTOR THAT I HAD EVER SEEN.

HE WAS SO KIND AND SO PATIENT WITH ME, TEACHING ME, FOR 30 YEARS WE WORKED TOGETHER.

I WAS BORN HERE AT THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR.

WHICH WAS OWNED BY MY GRANDMOTHER FROM ITALY.

AND MY DAD HAD A STUDIO HERE.

I WANTED TO BE A SCULPTOR, AND I KNEW THAT I WASN'T BUT I KNEW THAT IF I STUDIED, IF I WORKED HARD, THAT I COULD COME BACK HOME AND BE PART OF THE CELESTIAL MEMORIAL AND MAYBE SOME DAY OWN IT.

WITH A LOT OF DISCUSSIONS WITH MY PARENTS AND WITH OTHER ITALIANS IN BARRE, WE ALL DECIDED THAT GOING BACK TO ITALY TO THE ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS WOULD BE A GREAT THING FOR ME TO DO.

SO BACK IN ITALY THE THREE YEARS THAT I WAS THERE I WOULD WALK AROUND AND ADMIRE THE STATUES, ALL THE CORNER CARVINGS OF BUILDINGS, ANYWHERE YOU WENT THERE WAS A REMINDER OF WHY YOU WERE IN ITALY.

OF COURSE AT 19 I WAS IMPRESSED BY ALL OF THE ART WORK.

I THINK I WAS STORING THIS IN MY MIND LIKE A LIBRARY.

SO TO SOME DAY BRING IT HOME AND PUT IT TO GOOD USE.

>> CARVERS HAVE CONTINUED TO MOVE BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES.

A LOT OF SCULPTORS SPENT MANY YEARS IN BARRE AND OCCASIONALLY STILL TRAVEL THERE TO WORK ON SCULPTURE PROJECTS.

>> MY DAD WENT THERE, AND A COMPANY FROM BARRE, VERMONT ASKED HIM TO GO OVER AND WORK FOR THEM, AND HE ACCEPTED, AND HE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A VERY NICE EXPERIENCE.

TO SEE THE DIFFERENCES.

SO WE WENT.

>> LUCIA AND FELLOW STARVE CARVERS ALWAYS THOUGHT OF THEMSELVES AS ITALIAN DURING THEIR YEARS IN AMERICA.

EVEN AFTER YEARS IN BARRE, THEY ALWAYS MADE THE CARVING HAT FROM ITALIAN NEWSPAPERS.

FOR THEIR CHILDREN, THE CHOICE OF CULTURAL IDENTITY WAS NOT SO CLEAR.

MY FATHER SAID WHEN THEY FIRST HAD GOTTEN INTO VERMONT, THEY SAW THE BEAUTIFUL, THE NATURE, AND THEY SAID OH, WHY CAN'T WE SELL THE HOUSE IN ITALY AND STAY HERE FOREVER?

IT'S BEAUTIFUL, THEY SAID.

BUT A PART THAT, WHAT AN ITALIAN -- WHAT'S THE THING THAT BRINGS AN ITALIAN BACK IS THE CULTURE.

MY FIRST LANGUAGE IS ENGLISH, SO >> MY PARENTS REMAINED IN THEIR ITALIAN WAYS, AND I COULDN'T REMEMBER A FEW EPISODES WHERE THEY MADE ME DRESS LIKE THE ITALIANS BECAUSE THAT'S THE WAY THAT THEY WERE, AND IT WAS NOT EASY FITTING IN WITH THE OTHER GIRLS AND THE PEOPLE AT SCHOOL AND I WAS ALWAYS THE LITTLE ITALIAN GIRL, AND SO YOU KIND OF HAD TO ADAPT.

AFTER A WHILE, I KIND OF DID FEEL TOTALLY A VERMONTER.

I FELT 100% VERMONTER.

AND THEN WE MOVED BACK AFTER THAT.

I WAS ALREADY 18.

AND I WAS THE AMERICAN HERE.

I WAS NOT ITALIAN ANY MORE.

I ALREADY KNEW ITALY, BUT IT WAS -- WHEN I CAME UP, IT WAS A BIT TRAUMATIC FOR ME BECAUSE BEGINNING THE SCHOOLS IN THE STATES, AND COMING INTO ITALY WITHOUT KNOWING THE ITALIAN, THAT WAS VERY DIFFICULT FOR A GIRL THAT WAS 11, 12 YEARS OLD.

I WAS ITALIAN FOR ME BECAUSE MY MOTHER HAD BROUGHT US UP THAT WAY BUT I WAS NOT FOR EVERYBODY ELSE.

AND SO INSTEAD OF HAVING FOR NATIONALITIES, AS IT WOULD SEEM, YOU HAVE NONE.

>> ONLY BEING IN ITALY REALLY DID GIVE ME AN EDUCATION THAT I NEVER WOULD HAVE GOTTEN HERE.

I NEEDED TO GO BACK TO MY ANCESTORS' HOMES, STUDY THE CULTURE, SPEAK THE LANGUAGE, AND MY HEART WAS IN ITALY.

I WANTED TO STAY BUT ALSO I HAD A FAMILY HERE AS MUCH AS I LOVED MY SURROUNDINGS IN ITALY.

MY FAMILY MEANT EVERYTHING TO ME.

OF COURSE, WORKING HERE IN THE STUDIO WAS SOMETHING THAT I ALWAYS WANTED TO DO.

I WANTED TO SHOW MY DAD HOW GREAT I WAS GOING TO BE SOME DAY.

COMING HOME, IT CAUGHT BOTH WAYS, FOR THE LONGEST TIME I DIDN'T KNOW IF I WAS -- IF I SHOULD BE IN ITALY OR HERE, AND THAT WAS A SAD TIME FOR ME.

>> WHEN MY DAD DIES, I PICK, YOU KNOW, ITALY SENT A LOT OF MARBLE, AND HERE I AM, SENDING IT TO ITALY.

IT JUST MADE THE WHOLE CIRCLE.

>> EVEN IN ITALY THE CENTURY'S OLD CULTURE OF FAMILY STONE CUTTING WORKSHOPS AND FORMAL EDUCATION IS THREATENED.

AS MANY ART SCHOOLS REJECT TRADITIONAL TRAINING AND TECHNIQUES.

>> AT THE START OF THE 21ST CENTURY, THE NUMBER OF SKILLED STONE CARVERS IN BARRE WAS ON THE DECLINE.

THE INDUSTRY IN BOTH COUNTRIES FACED INCREASING COMPETITION FROM CHEAPER AND INTERNATIONAL PRODUCERS.

IN VERMONT, THERE WERE FEW TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES.

SO HE JOINED OTHERS IN THE COMMUNITY TO START A STONE ART SCHOOL IN A RESTORED GRANITE SHED.

>> FIRST YOU GET THE VOLUME.

>> NOT INCLUDING THE HAIR OR THE HAIR ON TOP OF THAT.

>> WHEN I CAME HERE, THE OLD SCULPTURES OR ARTISTS, THEY WERE DEAD, PRACTICALLY, SO THERE WAS NOBODY TO CARRY THROUGH AND TO TEACH YOU.

IN TRUTH THERE WERE A FEW, THE ONES HERE ALREADY, YOU KNOW, COMING FROM ITALY IN THE 1948.

COME MARCH, 2005, WILL BE 40 YEARS THAT I AM CUTTING STONE.

I AM CUTTING GRANITE.

THAT'S WHAT I OWE THEM.

BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I CAME, AND I GOT THE CREAM.

SO NATURALLY, THAT'S WHAT I AM TRYING TO PAY BACK TO THEM.

THAT'S WHAT I AM TRYING TO GET IN SCHOOL, WHATEVER THEY KNEW, I LEARNED, AND I AM TRYING TO GIVE IT BACK TO THEM.

>> THE ITALIAN COMMUNITY IN BARRE HAS DISPERSED ACROSS VERMONT, NORTH AMERICA, AND BEYOND.

THE REMAINING STONE CARVERS COME FROM MANY NATIONALITIES.

IN ITALY, TOO, ARTISTS AND STUDENTS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD NOW WORK AND STUDY.

THE SCULPTURAL ART, THAT WAS SPROUTED AND NURTURED BY THE SCALPOLINI OF ITALY CONTINUE TO TAKE HOLD INTERNATIONALLY.

WHAT IS COMMON TO ALL CARVERS IS PASSION FOR THEIR CRAFT AND RESPECT FOR THE STONE.

>> GRANITE IS ALL OVER THE SURFACE OR THE EARTH.

IT'S THE OLDEST THING THAT THERE IS, ACTUALLY, AND HERE I AM TRYING TO MOLD STONE, YOU KNOW INTO SOMETHING.

I MEAN, TO ME, THAT'S THE GREATEST THINGS THAT ANYBODY CAN DO.

>> AS MY GRANDMA SAID, THE FORM IS WITHIN THE MARBLE.

IT GUIDES YOU BECAUSE YOU TRY TO DO SOMETHING, IT DOESN'T WORK.

BUT IF YOU GO ALONG WITH THE FLOW AND WELL, WITH THE GRAIN OF THE MARBLE OR WHATEVER, SOME HOW IT WORKS OUT.

IT'S VERY MYSTERIOUS, BUT IT IS TRUE.

>> IT NEVER DISAPPEARED, THIS TRADE.

THE TRADE MOSTLY ANTIQUE.

YOU GO BACK INTO ROMAN TIME, EGYPTIAN TIME, THEY ARE SCALPOLINI, YOU BE WHAT I MEAN.

A TRADE VERY, VERY OLD.

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