An old sculptor walks along the paths of Hope Cemetery in Barre, Vermont, and stops to talk with the tombs of the stoneworkers who arrived there over a century ago, when the world's largest gray granite quarries were opened. Among the immigrants hoping for better pay and a better life were many from Carrara, noted for their superior craftsmanship and mastery in working granite. Contrary to their hopes and expectations, they fought bitter union battles for better wages and work conditions first, then against silicosis, which ended a little known chapter in immigrant history in America.
