Extraordinary Stories of Ordinary Life
Graphic
Portraits ›

Pasquale Spensieri, Grinder

Pasquale Spensieri spends his days driving around Brooklyn looking for dull blades. When he rings the bell on his truck, the owners of upholstery shops, restaurants and pizza parlors come out with knives and scissors to sharpen. Pasquale’s father first started sharpening knives during the Depression, with a pedal-operated grinding machine strapped to his back. At that time, there were hundreds of door-to-door grinders in New York. Today, at the age of 71, Pasquale is one of the last. This story originally aired on NPR’s All Things Considered.

Comments are closed.

You may also like ...

Graphic

Selma Koch, Bra Saleswoman

94-year old Selma Koch runs the Town Shop, one of New York’s last old-style bra fitting shops.

Listen
Graphic

Frank Sabatino, Fisherman

Frank Sabatino is one of the last fishermen left in Brooklyn.

Listen
css.php