By Tina Santucci
The American Dream is the reason poor immigrants leave their homelands and come to America to make a better life for themselves and their families. This idea is what inspired the Santucci family to make the long voyage across the Atlantic Ocean from Italy to America. This family of immigrants founded Elite Mushroom Company. It is still owned and operated by my grandfather, Vince Santucci and other members of my large family.
In the early nineteen hundreds, my great-great uncle traveled from Abruzzi, Italy to America in search of a job. After arriving in Philadelphia, he walked the train tracks until he arrived in Avondale, PA, and got a job in a quarry. After he was settled in, my great-great grandfather joined him and then sent for my great grandfather in 1905. Over the next couple of years, other Santucci family members slowly immigrated to the area.
While living in Avondale, my great-great grandfather began noticing that people were growing mushrooms under benches in greenhouses and was interested in doing the same somehow. In 1908 he converted a chicken house to grow mushrooms. It burnt down but was rebuilt shortly thereafter. His interest in cultivating mushrooms kept growing and in1912, he purchased a small piece of ground with a small home east of Avondale. There he built a small mushroom house with benches and grew mushrooms part time. After this, they copied from others and built larger buildings to start growing mushrooms full time.
The mushroom business has helped shape Kennett and its surrounding areas for more than a century and without this industry, this area would probably be just another dot on the map. In fact, the mushroom industry not only stands out in the Kennett area but in larger surroundings because mushrooms are the number one cash crop in all of Pennsylvania. Mushroom farms provide jobs for countless numbers of people all across our area.
Elite Mushroom Company is, to this day, still family owned and operated under my grandfather. Over the years, each generation has expanded and built upon our company. Today we currently ship fresh mushrooms daily to over six states throughout the United States. Three generations of my family currently work at Elite. My grandfather, Vince, my father, Dave, my uncle, Vince Jr., and my cousins, Joe and Sam, run and oversee the mushroom production and daily operations of the business. My aunt, Lana, my mother, Jennifer and I work in our offices while my cousin, Angie is in charge of the finances and marketing of the company. Elite Mushroom Company has come a long way from its humble beginnings and will hopefully have as much success in the future as it has over the last century. I am blessed and honored to come from a family with such a rich history in the mushroom industry and also to be called a Santucci.
The American Dream is the reason poor immigrants leave their homelands and come to America to make a better life for themselves and their families. This idea is what inspired the Santucci family to make the long voyage across the Atlantic Ocean from Italy to America. This family of immigrants founded Elite Mushroom Company. It is still owned and operated by my grandfather, Vince Santucci and other members of my large family.
In the early nineteen hundreds, my great-great uncle traveled from Abruzzi, Italy to America in search of a job. After arriving in Philadelphia, he walked the train tracks until he arrived in Avondale, PA, and got a job in a quarry. After he was settled in, my great-great grandfather joined him and then sent for my great grandfather in 1905. Over the next couple of years, other Santucci family members slowly immigrated to the area.
While living in Avondale, my great-great grandfather began noticing that people were growing mushrooms under benches in greenhouses and was interested in doing the same somehow. In 1908 he converted a chicken house to grow mushrooms. It burnt down but was rebuilt shortly thereafter. His interest in cultivating mushrooms kept growing and in1912, he purchased a small piece of ground with a small home east of Avondale. There he built a small mushroom house with benches and grew mushrooms part time. After this, they copied from others and built larger buildings to start growing mushrooms full time.
The mushroom business has helped shape Kennett and its surrounding areas for more than a century and without this industry, this area would probably be just another dot on the map. In fact, the mushroom industry not only stands out in the Kennett area but in larger surroundings because mushrooms are the number one cash crop in all of Pennsylvania. Mushroom farms provide jobs for countless numbers of people all across our area.
Elite Mushroom Company is, to this day, still family owned and operated under my grandfather. Over the years, each generation has expanded and built upon our company. Today we currently ship fresh mushrooms daily to over six states throughout the United States. Three generations of my family currently work at Elite. My grandfather, Vince, my father, Dave, my uncle, Vince Jr., and my cousins, Joe and Sam, run and oversee the mushroom production and daily operations of the business. My aunt, Lana, my mother, Jennifer and I work in our offices while my cousin, Angie is in charge of the finances and marketing of the company. Elite Mushroom Company has come a long way from its humble beginnings and will hopefully have as much success in the future as it has over the last century. I am blessed and honored to come from a family with such a rich history in the mushroom industry and also to be called a Santucci.
A History of Mushrooms
Overview of Mushroom Farming l Economic Importance
Environmental Importance l Nutritional Importance l Farm Profile
Environmental Importance l Nutritional Importance l Farm Profile
Tina and her Grandfather
Dave, Vince and Vince Jr.
The Santucci Grandchildren
Vince Santucci