A little over a century ago, two southern Italian men, like thousands of their impoverished brethren, moved to the Boston area to work as shoemakers, settling in the then-leather capital of the New World.

One was trained in the art of handcrafting leather in Italy; the other learned the piecemeal production-line technique of edge-trimming. Both reacted similarly to the dehumanizing conditions of the early 20th century factory: They were appalled, their spirits crushed.

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Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/