Janet Panetta

Queen of Coney Island

Interviewer:
Interviewee:
Janet Panetta
Interview Date:
2009

Languages

Janet Panetta's family had a locker at the Steeplechase Park Bathhouse in the 1950's. She and her sister were set loose to play in the pool and around the park. One summer, Janet contracted polio and remembers being called the Queen of Coney Island by the workers at Steeplechase. She was allowed on any ride for free and even had her own horse on the merry-go-round, which she could demand at any time.