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Audio Recording "To me that was the greatest compliment I've ever received."

"To me that was the greatest compliment I've ever received."

About this Item

Title

  • "To me that was the greatest compliment I've ever received."

Names

  • Balistrieri, Sam (Narrator)
  • Taylor, David Alan, 1951- (Interviewer)

Created / Published

  • 1994-08-07

Headings

  • -  Interviews
  • -  Italian Americans
  • -  Oral history
  • -  Sound recordings
  • -  Retirees
  • -  Textile industry
  • -  Paterson Museum
  • -  Silk industry
  • -  Weaving
  • -  Ethnography
  • -  United States -- New Jersey -- Paterson

Genre

  • Ethnography
  • Interviews

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.

Medium

  • Analog Audio Cassette

Call Number/Physical Location

  • AFC 1995/028: WIP-DT-A004

Source Collection

  • Working in Paterson Project Collection (AFC 1995/028)

Repository

  • American Folklife Center

Digital Id

Online Format

  • audio

Rights & Access

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Credit line

Working in Paterson Project collection, 1993-2002 (AFC 1995/028), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Balistrieri, Sam, and David Alan Taylor. "To me that was the greatest compliment I've ever received.". -08-07, 1994. Audio. https://www.loc.gov/item/afcwip000020/.

APA citation style:

Balistrieri, S. & Taylor, D. A. (1994) "To me that was the greatest compliment I've ever received.". -08-07. [Audio] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afcwip000020/.

MLA citation style:

Balistrieri, Sam, and David Alan Taylor. "To me that was the greatest compliment I've ever received.". -08-07, 1994. Audio. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afcwip000020/>.