Name/Title
Interview, Cookie ArroyoEntry/Object ID
R2021.38.03Scope and Content
Oral History Interview for Vine Avenue with Cookie Arroyo
Elizabeth “Cookie” Arroyo, 70, was born in Lorain to Puerto Rican parents who came in 1948 as the result of a U.S. Steel job fair. She remembers Vine Street as a downtown hub where residents could buy everything from handmade clothes to food as well as unwind and socialize, especially at the Puerto Rican Home. For Cookie, urban renewal was the beginning of the breakdown of her community and when her life started to change. “Now that I look back, I was like, oh my God, it was like culture shock to us because that’s all I ever knew was Vine Avenue and 31st Court, and now these businesses were gone, and the church was changing and everything was changing.”Collection
Latino Lorain History ProjectAcquisition
Accession
2021.38Source or Donor
Tober, BethanyAcquisition Method
Collected by StaffCredit Line
Latino Lorain History ProjectOral History Details
Interview Date
May 4, 2021Oral History Notes
A full transcription is available at the Lorain Historical Society. Please contact us for research inquiries.