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Working in Paterson
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Item Title
"To me that was the greatest compliment I've ever received."
Author/Creator
Interviewer: Taylor, David Alan, 1951-
Created/Published
August 07, 1994
Notes
Interview with Sam Balistrieri (aka Sam Balister) at the Paterson Museum, 2 Market St., Paterson, NJ. Balistrieri works at the museum as a docent/textile expert.
Summary of audio segment: Story about meeting old twister Joe Bromilow. "I was working with Ronatex one time on Paterson Street. They used to have a place on Paterson Street. And the looms were like, they were in a row like this [indicating looms in museum], you know, alongside the windows. And you get in back of the looms, and I'm right alongside the window. And in the summertime they had the windows open and, ah, anybody that walked by could look in, you know, and watch you, and they'd walk away. And this old man used to come around once in a while. He used to limp at the time. He'd look through the window and watch me and he'd go away. This happened about maybe five or six times, you know. He always had some kind of bag in his hand, went shopping, I guess. So, one day he happened to come by and he says to me, ah, "I've been watching you for a long time." I says, "Yes, I'm getting to know you," I says. "What's your name?" He says, "My name is Joe Bromilow." "Oh," I says, "you're Joe Bromilow. You're the guy that [my old boss] Charlie Simmoni used to brag about how fast you were [at twisting]." He said, he says, [laughs] "I can't compare with you." He says, "I couldn't, I couldn't compete with you. I was fast, but not like that." He says, "You really got it," he says to me. "You're really fast." To me that was the greatest compliment I've ever received. Joe Bromilow. Charlie Simmoni, the guy, remember, the guy I told you about? He was always bragging about Joe Bromilow, how fast he was and everything. I said, "Well, someday I hope I see this Joe Bromilow." And, sure enough, by accident, [I see him] and I says, "What's your name?" He says, "I'm Joe Bromilow." I said, "Oh, my god!" I says, "So, you're the guy Charlie Simmoni's always bragging about how fast you are." He shook his head and says, "Son, I can't compete with you." [laughs] Now that's a [one word unclear], you know. Even now I, I get goosebumps when I think about it because that was a great honor for me to hear it from him, you know.
Subjects
Interviews
Italian Americans
Oral history
Retirees
Sound recordings
Silk industry
Textile industry
Weaving
Ethnography
Interviews
United States--New Jersey--Paterson
The Paterson Museum
Object Type
Related Names
Narrator: Balistrieri, Sam
Medium
Analog Audio Cassette
Language
English
Call Number
AFC 1995/028: WIP-DT-A004; A: 00:14:05
Reproduction Number
AFC 1995/028: WIP-DT-A004
Part of
Working in Paterson Folklife Project
Repository
Library of Congress, Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife Center, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Digital ID
afcwip dta00401
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/afcwip.dta00401
Related Items
"I was known as the fastest twister in Paterson at that time."