Consuela Fenton Interview 08/10/2024

Consuela Fenton Interview Transcription

Hello. I'm Natasha Fearon, and I'm here with what's your name, ma'am? Consuela Fenton  At the Park Slope Old Timers Reunion on Fourth Street and Sixth Avenue. Today is Saturday, August 10th. (Due to the interviewee, Age I did not ask her to spell her name.)

What is your relationship to Park Slope and or Brooklyn? Well, I lived there, and I sold Avon there. I was in the school there, and the people there know me. Okay. May I ask what year you were born?

So you know how old I am. Yes, ma'am. (94)

You look so good. Gonna check. Yeah. Yes. You do.

Thank you. Have a particularly powerful or important memory of Park Slope and or Brooklyn? I was happy there. It was nice. It was good.

I loved it there. Loved it there. I loved it. Well, I mean, like I said, you were safe there. You know, stores and things new to you.

I sold my Avon there. I lived there. No. I have memories there. I'll be happy.

Okay. Why did you decide to come to the old reunion, the old timers reunion today? Well, I was here before because I sold  Avon. And I thought that the people had forgotten me because I hadn't seen them for a long time here because I moved from here. And when I came to everybody, I was so shocked.

I didn't know what to say. They all knew me. They remember that I told you. Avon? I mean, I you know, it it was I didn't know what to say.

Oh, wow. It was it was I was. I really was because I didn't I think that some people didn't remember me, but they they remembered me. I remember me. And they were waiting for me.

Oh, god. That's insane. Right. What are some of the things you think more people should know about Bronx Cove or Brooklyn? I brought my kids down there and I was glad I brought them down there because there was something different for something let me see something different.

No. I was glad. Because there was a place for me to be. It I mean, it had problems like any other places they had, but like I said, I was happy there. And I was very happy with my children.

I was glad I brought them there. What are your hopes for the future of Brooklyn, Park Slope? What yeah. What are your future what are your future hopes? What do you think should be changed or should anything change?

No. What should the state of state? I haven't been able to to to go back over there. I don't I don't know how it is now. Alright.

I don't know. I don't even know how it was when I was there. But I I I would like to hope that that it got better Because even though I've been down there, they did have a little bit reggie there. They had that. Yep.

You know, they did. But I was able to live with that because, it wasn't bad. But, no. I was glad that I came there and brought my kids. And so the last question I have for you was, what what is history to you?

What year? What is history to you? What history? And I lived there and that, a lot of the people grown up rather than saying they they they know me. They know I work there.

And I I just feel like I'm not history. Like, they'll say, well, if you know this lady miss Fenton? Oh, yes. We know. She she was in in the school there.

Yeah. You knew me. That's right. That's right. They thought I was a teacher.

I was not a teacher. But I had to try to tell them, like, you know, don't do this because, you know, that's not good. I tried to tell them little things to help them. I mean And they remembered. And they remembered.

But then when I saw them and they and they thought, oh, we thought you was a teacher. My chest got out like, oh my god. They would thought I was a teacher, but I wasn't a teacher. What were you? Can I ask?

What were you at the school? I was a, god. Food. Card food. Oh, yeah.

Yeah. But they thought they didn't know who I was. On the back. And when they said they thought, oh, we know you was the teacher. That must have inspired so much.

I'm telling you right. Yeah. And when I had to come from there because I had the mini school. I had the whole mini school and, the teachers and the children, the bathrooms, and the places that I was in charge of all that. When I had to leave, they all gave me cards and things and stuff that I still have now.

That'd be nice. Yeah. How long did you work then, Ed? I was young. I was young then, like, in my twenties.

Yeah. Yeah. And I used to wake up the school. The teachers and things weren't even weren't even in there. I was in there walking around the the the the rooms and they're dancing.

I it was happening. That was the best time in my life. It was. I would I could go back to it again. Okay.

And I had I had, 2 principals in that school that gave me a chance to go into that school. Yeah. One of them, I don't know. 2 told me I had to go back to school. Another one, she gave me a chance.

And then the other one, when I couldn't be at the school anymore, she made, a a a part a room for me. She made a job for me so I could come back into school. And I didn't even think that that that lady typed me because she didn't she didn't laugh. I didn't know she liked me. But when I had to, retire, she did.

She came back and made a song for me so I could come back there for a few more years to work. And I thought that was a great thing. And that's Park Slope. Yep. Oh, wow.

Yep. And I don't, you know, I don't remember her name. The other 2, principals, I did know. Miss Aurelie and Russell. But the other one, I don't know I don't know what her name was.

And she gave me the biggest break to let me get back into that school and gave me another name, another Kylo, for me to get back in there to work for a few more years. Wow. That's right. That was nice. That was that was really beautiful.

Mhmm. That's right. That was a good time. Well, that concludes my interview. I wanna thank you so much, miss Benson.

Well, I hope I have time. I I told you enough a little something. You did dig me a lot. I hope so. It did.