Mitchell Leather: The Early Years
My father, Jerry Mitchell, came to the U.S. in 1965 after escaping from Romania via Italy along with his mother and father. Life in Romania was hard in the years after WWII as the country became a communist dictatorship known for imprisoning and killing tens of thousands of its own citizens for 'crimes' such as engaging in capitalism. My grandfather Leo was one of those imprisoned for being a capitalist. So when they had the opportunity to flee to Italy and eventually come to America, they left everything behind and jumped at the chance to escape. They settled in Milwaukee in part because my grandfather was in the leather business in the old country and Milwaukee was the leather capital...