Name/Title
Interview, Gladys SantanaEntry/Object ID
R2021.38.14Scope and Content
Oral History Interview for Vine Avenue with Gladys Santana
Born in Puerto Rico in 1942, Gladys moved to Lorain in 1948 with her mother and brother, one year after her father came to work at U.S. Steel. Language barriers created a glitch in the family’s travel plans from New York to Cleveland to Lorain, but the kindness of strangers, whom Gladys calls “angels”, saw that the family reunited. When asked about the sights and sounds of Vine Avenue, Gladys replies, “Oh, my god. It was terrible. U.S. Steel was throwing that junk. It was falling all over our hairs, the car…it was like Christmas silver stuff falling all over the place from there.” Of course, there are also bright spots – her jobs at various Vine Avenue stores, her mother’s entrepreneurial spirit, and her decades-long career helping people.Collection
Latino Lorain History Project, Lorain High School Class of 1961 A&B Story ProjectAcquisition
Accession
2021.38Source or Donor
Tober, BethanyAcquisition Method
Collected by StaffCredit Line
Latino Lorain History ProjectOral History Details
Interview Date
May 25, 2021Oral History Notes
A full transcription is available at the Lorain Historical Society. Please contact us for research inquiries.