Oh! Modena, Don't You Cry For Me (I Come From Pennsylvania With A Dumpster Full Of Grease)

The municipality our company calls home is the borough of Modena (Moe-DEE-Nuh), Pennsylvania. Haven't heard of it? Don't feel too bad. Several that I consider to be learned residents of our beloved Chester County have said the same. Modena, approximate pop. 610, is located next to Coatesville (if you want to get technical, South Coatesville), and shares an industrial heritage with its larger cousin. Up the hill, Lukens Steel (now owned by conglomerate Arcelor-Mittal) once employed as much as 70% of the county's workforce. Down the tracks of the Wilmington & Northern Railroad in Modena, the primary product was paper, made in the mill that was passed down through the Mode family for years. Interestingly, the paper mill is still operated by Sealed Air Corporation, surviving years after the close of many local mills. Other industries sprang up -- one of the nation's largest scrapyards was once here, later followed by towing, transportation, and foundry businesses.

Make no mistake -- Modena has seen some tough times, like Coatesville, and is no doubt viewed by many as a two-bit poor town, not worth a second glance. (In a 1993 Daily Local News article profiling the borough, a young resident spouts "I hate living in Modena!") But in my eyes, Modena can be a beautiful place. There's the ornate old bridge, the West Branch of the Brandywine creek, rowhouses to rival West Chester, and the still rumbling rails -- these sorts of things can hold excitement when you're raised in seemingly endless suburbia. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but one thing's for sure: Modena has been nothing but accommodating to us as a business, answering our questions and even allowing us to take part in naming the dirt road we share with three other industrial parcels, now known as Phoenix Court. Not only do we appreciate the borough, but they appreciate what we and our partner companies bring to the table: a few jobs for residents, an environmentalist ethic, and a sense of vindication that the borough is still viable for fresh industry!