
One of the original Fenton slogans - BIG ENOUGH TO SERVE YOU, SMALL ENOUGH TO KNOW YOU
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Fenton Leasing is a third generation business. The Fenton's experience in the automobile industry began in 1909 with the current owner's grandmother selling her first cars over the kitchen table. Catherine Isabel Fenton continued with her car selling , becoming a subsidiary of the Reopell Chevrolet dealership when her business outgrew her kitchen table. In 1922 she became a full-fledged Chevrolet dealer and the first woman car dealer in the United States. By 1930 her dealership was housed in a new building with her husband William H. Fenton as business manager. Her business made it through the depression and continued to flourish. Her accomplishments in the automobile industry won her inclusion in the Automobile Old-timers Club that includes industry pioneers such as Henry Ford. Mrs. Fenton was also inducted into the Automobile Hall of Fame in Lansing, Michigan.
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| Catherine Isabel Fenton retired in the early 1970's leaving the business to be operated by her son and grandson William J. Fenton Sr. and Jr. The Fenton's operated a combined dealership selling Chevrolets and Oldsmobiles until they phased out of the new car business and retained the leasing, rental, and used car divisions. Today, Fenton Leasing still operates at 174 Main Street in Westfield, Massachusetts with William J. Fenton, Jr. as owner. One of the original Fenton slogans - BIG ENOUGH TO SERVE YOU, SMALL ENOUGH TO KNOW YOU - is still applicable and, in fact, embodies the company's philosophy toward service to its customers.
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