Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
COMMUNITY MOURNS LOSS OF A MUSHROOM PIONEER
Mario Basciani’s optimism, determination and love of family endures with strength
AVONDALE » The legacy of one man holds the power to create change for a better world.
And when family is the heart of such an enterprise, there are no limits.
Only legends. Mario Basciani, the founder of Basciani Foods of Avondale, passed away Sept. 13. His family, the community of Chester County and the American mushroom industry remains in mourning.
Loved ones gathered at St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother for Mario’s Mass on Sept. 19with80 people in attendance.
For decades during the last century, Mario grew his generational family business from humble beginnings, first as an independent mushroom grower in the heart of the greater Avondale region.
Then, Mario expanded the family enterprise by becoming a bi coastal distributor of Americangrown mushrooms to North America, selling locally grown products of Chesco farms to restaurants and grocery stores while building lasting partnerships with their customers along the way, too.
“We’ve always grown to accommodate our family, but also to just be together and work together,” said Joseph Basciani, chief financial officer of Basciani Foods Inc. Mario is his grandfather. “We love working together. We love our family. There are no grudges between us here.”
He described his grandfather as “one of the hardest working men in the history of American mushroomfarming.” Joseph said his grandfather died surrounded by his family.
“Dad never wanted to be the biggest. He just wanted to be the best,” Joseph’s dad, Michael Basciani, said Tuesday during an interview with the Daily Local News inside the headquarters of Basciani Foods, established in 1925, on Penn GreenRoad in NewGarden Township.
During the last 70 years in the mushroom business, first as farmers then expanding to include product processing and distribution, family has always come first for the Bascianis.
While reflecting on the legacy of his father, Mario, his youngest son Michael said the greatest win has been the family business’ reputation in the mushroom industry.
Michael’s big present 33 years ago upon graduating from high school was becoming a partner within the family enterprise. On Tuesday, Michael and his son, Joseph, shared that Mario taught his family to work hard every day.
Mario led his family business to not only excel but thrive and expand with key qualities at the helm, his family said, including dedication, work ethic, perseverance, long- standing family roots, respect and ultimately the unyielding and noble power of integrity.
Mario’s favorite song was “I Got You ( I Feel Good)” by James Brown.
His two favorite places to visit were Las Vegas and the Jersey Shore.
Cherished memories for Mario included his daughters’ weddings, as well as his 80th birthday party that his five children threw for him.
Mario was well known for being an inspirational leader to his family, advocate for the mushroom industry, and selfless mentor to fellow farmers seeking to growand expand their businesses.
He inspired people with wisdom, grit and resolve.
Aman of deep moral principles, Mario often told others, “Be honest, tell the truth, and God will reward you.”
As a philanthropist, he gave to charitable causes across the nation and especially here at home in Chester County.
Mario taught his three sons, who began running daily operations three decades ago, quintessential qualities to thrive in business spanning leadership, management, an imperative drive to always keep busy, always seek more help, thrive and expand, his youngest son and grandson said
The mushroom industry loved Mario, too. He became an advocate, mentor and thought leader to farmers growing their small businesses as he concurrently worked with his own sons to expand the Basciani enterprise at home and nationwide.
The mushroom industry is tight knit, Michael said.
Today, Basciani Foods is a fifth- generation enterprise run by Mario and Anna’s descendants. Sisters, daughters, brothers, sons and cousins are all united with a shared promise to work hard, share ideas and deliver results.
Joseph described the Basciani family as “best friends.”
When Mario advanced the business to become a retail seller of mushrooms, from the family’s humble beginnings as local Avon dale mushroom farmers, he ultimately became known, and respected, as one of the industry’s top advocates nationwide.
The family business’ most popular fungi produced, farmed, package and distributed, is the white mushroom then brown.
Basciani Foods also sells an array of other fungi, all grown in southeastern Chester County at various family- owned farms that span the region’s landscape.
For instance, the business also produces and sells portabellas.
Mario enjoyed feeding people freshly farmed foods grown in Chester County, his son said. Michael noted that mushrooms are a good source to boost a person’s immune system and serve as “a great partner on any plate.”
Joseph said his grandfather was well- known for his industry pioneer’s legendary work ethic, tenacity and passion for mushrooms. That trinity of attributes made Mario a role model to farmers throughout the country.
Mario’s loved ones called him “Chuff,” and he was born to a first- generation mushroom farmer.
“The Basciani Group of Companies is one of North America’s largest vertically integrated mushroom conglomerates, all because of one powerful and optimistic man whose legacy will motivate his descendants for generations to come,” Joseph said of his beloved grandfather.
Mario is survived by his wife, Anna, their five children, 18 grandchildren, and 40 great- grandchildren. He was 91.
“We love our family,” Joseph said.
Family roots
Mario was born Jan. 20, 1929, in Toughkenamon to Italian immigrants Emedio and Anna Basciani, Joseph said in a tribute piece written in the wake of his grandfather’s death.
“On May 13, 1950, Mario married the love of his life, Anna Masciantonio,” Joseph said. “Long- time family friends, the two could trace their roots back to the same province of Abruzzo in central Italy. They drove to California for their honeymoon; and within one year, they welcomed their first child.”
During the next decade, the couple welcomed four more children into their family, Mario’s grandson said. “In 1963, the two built a ranch house overlooking the main farm where they raised their five children, Mario ‘ Monnie,’ Joanne, Richard, Susanne, and Michael.”
Mushroom farmers
“His father Emedio started harvesting mushrooms for the Pratt family in 1915, until he established his own farm in 1925,” Joseph said. “Mario began working on the family farm at a young age and fell in love with all aspects of the business, especially the challenging physical work that comes with cultivating mushrooms.
“He played football in the Tuffy’s Football League, and was quickly revered for his strength and toughness, a reputation he held throughout his life. He graduated from Kennett High School in 1947. Immediately after, Mario, his older brother, Flavian, and younger brother, Emedio Jr., entered the business full- time.” In 1967, tragedy struck. “Mario was involved in an auto accident which put him in a coma; it was a miracle that he survived,” his grandson said. “It is believed that Anna’s love and persistent prayers brought himout of the coma.”
Two years later, Mario founded his own company.
“The opportunity to build a business with his young, talented, and determined sons was too great to pass up,” Joseph said. “In 1970, Mario became a partner in The Mushroom Company, which is now the largest mushroom- processing company in North America. During the 1970s, Mario, Monnie, Richard and Michael continued to grow M. D. Basciani & Sons Inc. alongside Mario’s new son inlaw George.”
Industry leader on the national stage
“In addition to his personal success, he also sought to help other aspiring young farmers establish their own operations,” Joseph said.
“He saw the potential in his nephews and helped steer them to success. This is where Mario became known for his generous heart and helping hand. By 1979, Mario and other neighboring farmers created Laurel Valley Farms to solidify a source for consistent, high- quality compost and raw materials,” his grandson said. “Today, Laurel Valley Farms is the largest commercial mushroomcomposting facility in North America.”
By the 1980s, Mario’s three sons were ready to step up and help the family advance to a higher level of production.
“They wanted to go beyond growing; their goal was to begin packaging, selling, and distributing fresh products,” Joseph said.
That’s when Michael set off to travel the nation, looking for customers and overseeing the packing facility. Monnie and Richard mastered the art of mushroom growing and continued to expand the farm at home, Joseph said.
“Around the same time, Mario was involved in a farm accident where he was struck by a dump truck. Against all odds, Mario’s strength endured, and he made a full recovery,” Joseph said.
In the 1990s, Mario became more comfortable turning over the reins when his grandchildren showed interest in the business, and his daughter Joanne teamed up with Michael in the office, his grandson said.
“With the future of his family’s enterprise secure, Mario took a step back. In 1994, Basciani Foods Inc. was formed, and a state- oftheart packing facility was constructed,” Joseph said. “During this time, Mario’s role was purely consulting; however, hewas instrumental in the launch of Basciani Foods’ first satellite locations in Chicago, Illinois and Minneapolis, Minnesota.”
Joseph added of his grandfather, “The highlight of Mario’s career was when he merged his fatherinlaw’s farm and his father’s original farm, where he first learned how to grow mushrooms. A goal he set in his youth, purchasing and uniting those farms with those built by him and his sons was his most rewarding achievement.”
A wonderful life
“Towards the end of the century, Mario learned to enjoy the fruits of his labor. He often traveled to Atlantic City, New Jersey, with Anna, and enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren and great- grandchildren,” Joseph said.
“In the remaining 20 years of his life, Mario’s sons and grandsons enlarged the packing facility several times, even making it multi- level. They have never stopped expanding the production operations or advancing the agricultural process. He assisted in building two more satellite facilities, one in Orlando, Florida and one in Independence, Louisiana.”
Joseph said of his grandfather: “He instilled in his boys the importance of adapting to change and capitalizing on new technologies and innovations. He successfully ingrained his firm beliefs in the following generations: ‘ keep pushing, build more, grow more, do not stop!’”
Until his death, Mario’s sons and grandsons updated him each day via progress reports and news on all fronts, Mario’s grandson said.
Regarding the business, “hewas involved to the end,” Joseph noted. “His most warming comfort before his passing was to witness several of his great- grandsons take positions in the family companies, making the Basciani Farming Family one of very few fifth- generation farms in America.”
The family today owns and manages more than 100 growing houses, mostly in Avon dale and Tough ken am on, located near Pennsylvania’ s borders with Maryland and Delaware in Southeastern Chester County.
Basciani Foods moved to its current headquarters on Penn Green Road in the 1990s, where the family business continues to thrive. The site is home to more than 300 employees working to supply Americans with fresh mushrooms.