About This Item


  • Call NumberOSOS_OH_0084-accs
  • TitleOral history interview with Olga Rose Jones on 2017 January 24.
  • Summary(0:21) Came to Canarsie from Jamaica in 1986, noticing similarities -- (2:24) Having a hard time getting work -- (3:08) Working three different jobs before getting a part-time at a milk factory -- (5:22) Always complained about the cold to her landlord while renting -- (7:16) Volunteered to teach adult literacy at the Brooklyn Public Library -- (8:19) Finding people helpful -- (9:23) Improvements on houses and roads -- (10:04) Fourth of July celebrations overwhelming since the Italian Americans moved in -- (11:08) Stores and supermarkets -- (12:59) Going to Canarsie Park -- (14:42) Celebrated Mother’s Day with other neighborhood mothers in the park -- (16:22) Calling in orders for the milk factory -- (18:36) Attending church -- (19:42) Having two daughters -- (20:21) Determined to own a house, inspired by her mother’s example -- (23:24) Experiencing Hurricane Sandy.
  • Date2017-01-24
  • Formatsound recording-nonmusical
  • Physical Description1 sound file (27 min.) : digital, MP3
  • GenreinterviewsMP3
  • NoteAudio interview conducted on January 24, 2017, by Taina Evans at Canarsie Library. Collected through Our Streets, Our Stories, an oral history project of Brooklyn Public Library. This project is a partnership with Services for Older Adults and the Brooklyn Collection.
  • CreatorJones, Olga Rose
  • SubjectJamaican Americans ; Emigration and immigration ; Occupations ; Home ownership--United States ; Hurricane Sandy, 2012 ; Electric power failures ; Jamaica ; Fireflies ; Firecrackers ; Church ; Parks ; Stores ; Community development
  • PlaceCanarsie (New York, N.Y.)East New York (New York, N.Y.)
  • Cite AsOur Streets, Our Stories collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
  • RightsThis work is covered by a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Users are free to share and adapt the work for non-commercial purposes as long as appropriate credit is given to the source and new material created with this work is shared under the same conditions.
  • Digital Public Library of AmericaThis item is represented in the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA).