[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 121 (Wednesday, July 29, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1172]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              AGNES FENTON

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BILL PASCRELL, JR.

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 29, 2015

  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Agnes Fenton, 
who will be turning 110 years old this Saturday, August 1, 2015. Mrs. 
Fenton will be the oldest person living in the City of Englewood, New 
Jersey.
  Mrs. Fenton was born in 1905 on a farm in Mississippi. After her 
father passed away when she was only an infant, her mother raised her 
alone. Upon the age of 14, Mrs. Fenton moved to Memphis, Tennessee.
  It was in Memphis where Mrs. Fenton ran a restaurant called Pal's 
Duck Inn, which specialized in serving southern comfort food. Mrs. 
Fenton would be one of the first African-American women in the city to 
own and operate a restaurant. The days were long and the work was 
tiring, as she would often work from 6 a.m. to midnight on a regular 
basis, but Mrs. Fenton always kept her spirits high.
  During her time running the restaurant, Agnes got married to Vincent 
Fenton. But sadly after contracting pneumonia, Mr. Fenton passed away 
in 1970.
  Following many years of running her successful restaurant, Mrs. 
Fenton decided to get a new job in the kitchen of an Emerson, New 
Jersey company, and eventually worked for the Chapman family in nearby 
Oradell for many years afterwards. It was hard work and self-reliance 
that forged her into the strong person she has been throughout her 
life.
  Mrs. Fenton moved to Englewood in the early 1950's. She has resided 
there ever since, and is known to have a remedy for any health concern 
that you can think of. She is also well-known for her Lemon Ice Box 
Pies and Apple Lattice Pies, which she has given to her family and 
neighbors during the Christmas holiday seasons.
  Mrs. Fenton has always made room for God in her life, as she has been 
a member of the St. Mark's United Methodist Church in New York City 
since moving to Englewood. Mrs. Fenton was honored to be indoctrinated 
into the Centenarian Society, where she is an active participant in the 
New England Centenarian Study being conducted by the Boston School of 
Medicine. Although the study may credit Mrs. Fenton's 110 years to her 
genetics, she partly attributes this to her daily regimen of consuming 
a shot of Johnnie Walker and three Miller High Life's a day.
  Throughout her entire life, Mrs. Fenton has been able to live 
independently, even through hard times. She continues to cook her own 
meals and bake for her family and friends during the holiday season. 
Mrs. Fenton's life is one we can all look upon and recognize as one 
lived through hard work and sacrifice, but most importantly, a life 
filled with so much happiness and love.
  The job of a United States Congressman involves much that is 
rewarding, yet nothing compares to recognizing and commemorating the 
life achievements of individuals such as Mrs. Agnes Fenton.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that you join our colleagues, Mrs. Fenton's family 
and friends, all those whose lives she has touched, and me, in 
recognizing the 110th birthday of Mrs. Agnes Fenton.

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