Manville, The Early Years: Joe and Stella Utasi First Hand Account and Escape from the Coal Mines of Pennsylvania to the Asbestos factory in Manville, New Jersey

I would like to once again bring history to life through the use of Ellis Island, the Coal Mines, to the Asbestos Capital of the World published by the Manville, NJ Public Library in 1987. The statement by Joe and Stella Utasi covers so many areas including, like many of the other stories in the book, leaving Pennsylvania and its coal mines for Manville, NY. Joe worked at Manville for 43 years, starting at Manville in 1935 when he was sixteen. If you remember a prior blog, Johns-Manville had already been sued and settled its first batch of lawsuits in confidence by that time.

Rather than paraphrase the statement, I am just making it available for you to read below. It is quite something. Please note that many of the workers did not believe the health reports until Dr. Selicoff came to the union hall in 1970 to show them pictures and talk about the cancer.

I know that the story is long. However, it is worthwhile if you want to understand what the workers went through during the early days.

Once again, I appreciate your reading my blog on the history of asbestos. Please leave a comment or email me at TheAsbestosBlog@gmail.com with any questions. Thank you. Marty