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Better Made Manufacturing Company

Posted 08-09-2009 at 12:45 PM by poconoproud
Updated 03-21-2013 at 11:41 AM by poconoproud


For more than thirty four years, Effort, Pa. was home to a very special manufacturing firm that emloyed as many as 60 people in this small, rural community. The Better Made Manufacturing Co., founded in 1949, made blouses that were sold in many stores locally, including K-Mart.

The blouse factory was owned and operated by Lawrence "Larry" C. Liero, Sr., better known to those around the village as "The Mayor of Effort". The son of Italian immigrants, Mr. Liero was a respected member of the community, and his generosity toward his employees was often cited as his best quality as an employer.

The business was seperated in two different locations, in Effort and in Gilbert. Both buildings had been abandoned churches, that Mr. Liero turned into his business spaces. The manufacturing firm itsef was located in Effort on Rt. 115, tucked in a little valley opposite Lynn's Motel. The cutting-room was located on Gilbert Road, in Gilbert, Pa., in an old Lutheran Sunday school that was built in 1886. With it's beautiful stained glass and antique wood - it was a very charming piece of country architecture.

After the death of Lawrence Liero in 1983, his son Lawrence "Carl" Liero, Jr. took over, changing the name of the company to Liero Blouse. The mill closed not too long after, as the demand for local mills dwindled. After the subsequent closing of the manufacturing company, the Church turned cutting-room went unkempt and was vandalized. About sixteen years ago, a nice couple from California bought the church, and took it apart...piece by piece...shipped it to Napa, California and re-assembled it. The lot where it stood is now empty, but the church lives on. The location of the manufacturing firm
now sits abandoned and in disrepair, and has been taken over by weeds..and by time.

The new owner's kept the beautiful stained glass...and added a gorgeous stone tile floor. Through research, I found an image on the website of the stone tile studio that did the work. They were very kind to send me a newspaper clipping from The Press Democrat, a Santa Rosa, California newspaper....that had pictures of the church & a story of the couples adventure to purchase and move the structure. Now this once vandalized and abandoned piece of Pocono History has a home among the vineyards of Napa....it must feel as though it's gone to Heaven...

Thanks for letting me share this Little Known Piece of Pocono History...
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Comments

  1. Old Comment
    That is a wonderful story and well written!! I just wanted to make a few changes/corrections. Lawrence "Larry" C. Liero, Sr. was not an immigrant of Italy. He was born in Wind Gap, PA; however, his parents were immigrants. Also, after he passed away in 1983 the mill changed names to Liero Blouse by his son, Lawrence "Carl" Liero, Jr. It only stayed in business for a short time as business for local blouse mills slowed down and there was no longer a need for the mills in our area as well as surrounding mills that also closed down.
    permalink
    Posted 02-21-2013 at 04:30 PM by CarBear1122 CarBear1122 is offline
  2. Old Comment
    Thank you for your input, I made the correction you mentioned and did not know that Carl changed the name to Liero Blouse afterward. I also removed the link to the Romastone company that showed the interior of the church, as it was a broken link.
    permalink
    Posted 03-02-2013 at 07:23 AM by poconoproud poconoproud is offline
 

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