Ken Fiore was just four when he started working at the Tanque Verde Swap Meet 40 years ago.
His pay for picking up trash: an ice cream cone.
He never complained. After all, his uncle had just started the swap meet, and his siblings, grandparents and parents helped run it. It only made sense he pitch in, too.
Today, the family still runs the swap meet. And Ken still works there, though his duties are a bit more extensive: He is the general manager.
“Now I get paid with three ice cream cones,” Ken says with a laugh.
His sister, Karen Grazes, does the public relations. He met his wife there and she ran the food concession until last year.
His mother, Linda Fiore, now 72, continues to have a hand in it, too. She is president of the swap meet’s parent company, Tanque Verde Enterprises. His father, Frederick, was involved until he passed away three years ago.
Celebrating 40 years calls for celebration — and a number of festivities are planned. It also calls for a look back:
