Riki Alexander interviewed Budd & Nanette Mayer on August 12, 2011

I interviewed my parents on the secret to long lasting marriage on the occasion of their 66th wedding anniversary.

Kamau Chandler interviewed Osei Terry Chandler and Arturo Lindsay on August 3, 2011

I recorded an interview with my grandfather and his best friend. They are both 64 years old and met when they were 14 while living in Brooklyn, NY. My Grandfather, Osei Terry Chandler, is a retired college counselor and his friend, Arturo Lindsay, is a professor and artist. They had many great experiences to share about survival, competition and expectations. I asked questions and allowed them to recall the events in their lives that have contributed to their long term friendship and other relevant moments. They were members of a social club that still shapes their commitment to family, community and their contributions to society.

James McLaughlin interviewed RAWTALKLIVE on July 17, 2011

Being gay and bullied in school

Julia Sandidge interviewed Yumiko (Amy) Hoshiko Noriyuki on July 7, 2011

Amy Noriyuki is a Japanese American and was interned in a camp near Lamar, CO during WWII. I interviewed her on her 90th birthday. She is my mother-in-law and has wonderful tales of her life. She described her time in the internment camp as "the best time in my life" because she didn't have to work and could flirt with the boys. She also called it the worst time in her parents life.

Carlos griffin interviewed Carlos on May 24, 2011

Class

Carlos griffin interviewed Carlos on May 24, 2011

Class

Mykaila Ostrom interviewed Linnea Steves on April 3, 2011

Family

Mykaila Ostrom interviewed

Carlos griffin interviewed Me on May 23, 2011

Class

Grace Lacy-Hansell interviewed Tara Lacy-Hansell on May 22, 2011

Priyanka Nadkarni interviewed Shirish Nadkarni on May 22, 2011

Komal Rao interviewed Iris Guzman on May 17, 2011

McKenna McNabb interviewed Duncan Mooney McNabb on May 11, 2011

1. Do you feel that I’m a good sister? Why or why not? 2. What is your first memory of me? 3. What makes us good friends? 4. What do you want to do in life- when you grow up- what is your dream? 5. What is the most challenging thing for you in life right now? 6. What is your best memory of your childhood so far? 7. Are there any words of wisdom you’d like to pass onto me? 8. Is there anything you’ve always wanted to tell me but haven’t? 9. What makes you really angry/ what makes you the happiest? 10. Do you have any questions for me?

Trenton Bankert interviewed Paul Webb on May 12, 2011

Paul Webb discusses memories from growing up, meeting his wife, and raising a family of five.

Jessica McCanse interviewed multiple interviews on April 23, 2011

Memories of our grandparents, recorded by several grandchildren.

Constance Craig interviewed by myself

I've fought for women's and eemployees' rights for decades.

Katie Kirwan interviewed Katie Kirwan on April 26, 2011

Where did you grow up? Central City, Ky its a little coal mining town about 30 miles north of russellville in muhlenberg county what was your childhood like? it was nice i had one little brother who was a pill and we lived on the highest hill in town and we went to church a lot, my dad was the song leader, and we got the first tv in town in 1948 becuase we lived on the highest hill, so we could get reception from a big antenna.. so that was neat to have a tv that early Who were your favorite relatives?well I had an aunt I was really fond of, Aunt Betty I guess she was maybe my favorite aunt, I loved all of my aunts they were even younger than my dad, he was the oldest of his family so the aunts werent marrried and lived the street and took me in as a little protege and I was very fond of them all. One is still alive she's 88 years old. Her neame is jenny and she was also my school teacher and librarian. She lives in Louisville. What kinds of stories would they tell you? well my grandmother grew uo sudirng the great depression adn she was a homemaker, she would tell about they wqere failry close to the railfoad, but I guess you would call hobos road the rails and would come knock on their door and ask if they could work for food. She new they didn't want a handout that they wanted to work for it, and that she would never turn them away. They had no food. What was mom like growing up? she was very pretty, when we took her places people would stop and ohh an awe at her because they took note of that. She was very helpful and the oldest of 3, she was 12 when the last one was born, she helped out a lot with baby sister, I was really proud of her she was a good daughter What was the worst thing she ever did?? Hmm, well I can't really think of anything she did too bad that she ever did. What were your parents like? My mom was a very gentle sweet homemaker lady she never was outgoing at all im not like her a bit. but my dad was a very outgoing type A personality. Mother was such a gentle kind person and I didn't realize until I got older and got a little more sense, of what a treasure she was. I always envied the girls that I went to school with whose mothers were scout leaders and pta officers but my mother was always quiet and worked in the background. She did her work in the background and wouldn't take leadership roles, it just wasn't her nature. When my mother died so many people grieved for her and how sweet of a person she was. I wish I could be half of what she was. How far back can u trace our family tree? Well, with a lot of help from your mom We've gone pretty far back. I am a member of the DAR, and I can trace back through 5 different branches. After learning about people that you trace back to they come alive for you. They aren't just names they are real people and they have interesting personalities just like people today. People through all generations are the same. They make the same mistakes and have interesting personalities. Who has been the most important person in your life? My mother for all of the reasons I have told you, she was a tremendous influence on my life and she's a true example of what a mother should be Happiest moment of your life? Of course having four children was a very happy moment each time, I can't really single out a single most happiest moment, I've had a great life full of happy moments. A lesson you've learned in life? You've got to roll with punches. A lot of good things happen and a lot of bad things happen, Sometimes being okay with the bad isnt so easy. And hopefully everything you've expereinced is a learning expereince What is ur favorite memory of me? Well you were the cutest little thing I'd ever seen, I loved coming to the house to see you, and your mom always dressed u like a doll. And you were a sweetheart and you still are. What do you want to tell your great great great grandchildren when they read this? Oh Gracious. Anything worth trying at is worth doing well. always give your best at any goals you set, give it your best effort, you might not achieve everything u try to but if u give it your best you can feel good about yourself.

Lucille Goyak Rogers interviewed Annelise Kotz (granddaughter) on April 5, 2011

Annelise asked her grandmother about how her great-grandfather who immigrated from Croatia met her grandmother

May Smith interviewed Roger Smith on March 1, 2011

Roger growing up through the 70's in a small Washington town

Monica Strobel interviewed Leo Mark Rojek on November 26, 2010

Leo is my father, who was born on Feb. 4 1924. We talked about his upbringing, his childhood at home and at school, his life as a young adult.

Heidi Shepard interviewed Melissa Presto-Moreno on November 26, 2010

Heidi talked with Nurse Melissa about what it is like having cancer and currently going through treatments.

April Brenneman interviewed Lynette Hardy on November 26, 2010

April and Lynette shared what is it like to be mother of a child with cancer and how it has affected their family as a whole.

Spencer Hardy interviewed Josh Brenneman on November 26, 2010

Spencer and Josh shared what it has been like growing up with cancer and how they have dealt with it in school and among their friends.

Josh Flanery interviewed Carson Stott on November 26, 2010

Josh and Carson are two young adults who shared their experience with having a sarcoma, how it has affected their lives, and how they are moving forward!

Evan Kreeger interviewed Julie Haas Brophy on January 31, 2011

Marlo Thomas & Friends' "Free To Be You And Me" vinyl record album

ann Piasecki interviewed

Tiffany Hulse interviewed Janet Hulse on January 28, 2011

Interview with my Grandmother By: Tiffany Hulse 1. Growing up, how were things different then they are now a days? Everything was a lot slower and a lot simpler. We walked to the movies, stopped for ice cream and soda instead of driving. Everything was cheaper, we used to go to the movies for 12 Cents and the bus fare was 6 cents. 2. What was your favorite memory when you were growing up? The 1st time I went to new york city. Everything was so big and busy compared to a small town that were from, couldn’t believe my eyes. We would go to the Christmas shows and everything there was beautiful, I wasn’t used to things being so fancy. New york was more upgraded then our small town. We would go for the weekends on bus trips with friends and family, by the end I was begging my mother and father not to make me leave. 3. What type of clothing did you and your friends wear, compared to this day and age? We wore very respectful clothing, we didn’t have skin showing. If you wore a low cut shirt, your father wouldn’t let you out of the house, not like now a days. 4. What did you do for fun? We went swimming down the river with friends and our brothers and sisters. We went to rocky glenn on Tuesdays which was nickel day, everything was a nickel but you needed to get a coupon from the corner store for the nickel rides and games, otherwise you would have to pay full price. 5. Did you know what you wanted to do with the rest of your life when you were my age? Yes I really wanted to be a beautician. I used to perm everyone’s hair. My mother used to wake me up at 6AM to do her hair before work because I was very good at it. My parents didn’t have the money though to send me to beautician school, so instead I had to work. 6. What values were instilled in you when you were young? We had to be in the house at 10 o’clock or we would be in big trouble. Respect was a big value, not like today where kids talk to back to their parents. We also had to clean the house on Friday. 7. What things were unacceptable? Going out with boys, and when you did you had to hand all your money in, then I’d go buy myself a outfit before I came home, blouses were 2.99, shirts were 2.99. My mother didn’t want me to go out with any boys. I was almost 21 and my mother was trying to stop me, she didn’t want me to get married. I got married the day before I turned 21 years old and my mother had to sign for me to get married for one day. 8. Are they acceptable today? Yeah they are, things were very different. Every parent wants there kid to be a little kid forever. 9. Was your family very close? Family was very an important value. Your family knew everything about you, and they approved everything.

Tiffany Hulse interviewed Janet Hulse on January 28, 2011

What is was like when she was growing up, things she used to do for fun, what is different now a days.

Alina Sarkissian interviewed Arlen Sarkissian on January 22, 2011

My father's moving from Iran to Seattle, Washington at eighteen years old.

Mariel Norek interviewed Jean Patricia Norek on December 2010

Her life, Iinterviewed my Mom. She has alzheimers, so we did our best, Some things she said I did not knowwhere she was coming from but I tried to go with the flow so she wouldn't become agitated.

John Rumm interviewed Richard Jones on January 7, 2011

Richard discussed his boyhood in rural Indiana, how he acquired a love of nature, and how his formative experiences led to a 30+-year career in wildlife. wilderness management and conservation.

Edith Brown interviewed Snowie Belle Brown on November 26, 2010

We talked about her life and all the things she had experienced in her 95 years.

Heather Martin interviewed Dorothy Martin and Luella Duren on November 26, 2010

I asked my mother and her sister about their move from South Carolina to New Jersey in the 1950s when they were children.

april brenneman interviewed Lynette Hardy on November 26, 2010

We talked about our sons who were both diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma of the spine. We shared our experiences, the impact on ourselves as mothers and the impact on our sons and their siblings. We shared our faith.

Idi Ngendakumana interviewed

I'm so excited to speak to my 2 Brother that I haven't see them in 19 years from Burundi, We have lost all awer Parent when I was at the age of 10 years old and after my 22 years birthday I left Burundi for Good. I have been In State for 20years now and this is my first time see my old Brother in 20Years.

Joshua Flaneru interviewed

Barbara Esrig interviewed Linda Botson on November 14, 2010

Linda talked about memories of big family gatherings during the holidays and their traditions including special foods, hearing stories about the relatives she didn't know, as well as the concept of community parenting in her town where every child was watched over and (if necessary) disciplined by every other parent.

anthony caso interviewed Maria Caso on November 25, 2010

My mothers immigration to America from Italy. Her father and mother had only one suit case and ten children (5 boys and girls) and started a life in Waltham, MA. The women stayed at home, cooked and cleaned while the men work out working construction and landscaping. All contributed to helping out the family and making a successful life for all of the kids.

Kalee Brunelle interviewed Tammy Brunelle on December 4, 2010

I interviewed my mom about what it was like to grow up in a home with a single mom, three siblings, and virtually no income.

Laura Schuldt interviewed Walter Garrett on December 12, 2010

His childhood experiences.

Laura Schuldt interviewed Joan Garrett on December 11, 2010

Her childhood experiences.

Cloe Czepiel interviewed Theresa Czepiel on December 4, 2010

I interviewed my mom about her experience of growing up in a strict Catholic family and how that shaped how she wanted to raise her family.

Xavier Francis interviewed Richard Bastardi on December 11, 2010

Richard and I spoke about the first semester of college. I asked him various questions about his experience and his intentions for next year.

Elizabeth Garabedian interviewed Lisa Duff on December 5, 2010

Me and my cousin Lisa talked about what it was like to open her own clothing business. She told me how she didn't go to college for fashion, but right out of college began working as a shoe buyer for Bloomingdale's. She had always had a knack for designing and fashion, but from working at Bloomingdale's she refined her skill. Lisa opened her store with help from her family and friends without any certainties of success. Today, Lisa's store is thriving and she works hard to maintain the standard her store has.

david eberhardt interviewed me on December 10, 2010

glad to see lennon up there- peace, compassion- yes- do you do justice? struggle? the following is a prose exerpt from The Tree Calendar and my longer prose work on prison, peace movement, etc.: it is amplified elsewhere in movement memoirs Things started well enough for me on the new job in the laundry. For awhile I worked on the "sheet mangler" with a black Muslim who also had a draft "rap" (like "beef" meaning charge). He addressed me sneeringly as "Sir". "Sir" was a very common way that prisoners addressed each other in general, but this had the connotation of blue‑eyed devil and white oppressor. Another co‑ worker was one of the prison's foremost characters, a hashish smuggler from Beirut who was a talented jokester. The legend went that he had once drawn pin stripes on his blue prison suit with a magic marker and walked off the minimum custody job he had held outside the wall. He got as far as downtown Lewisburg but was immediately spotted (by his nose alone) and re-arrested. He told me that he had planned to jump into the Susquehanna River. As if that have carried him out to sea back towards his beloved Lebanon? I moved "up" in the laundry into the position of laundry clerk, "dogged" by my WASP appearance and college degree. I became somewhat isolated from friends in a back room with one white and a few black cons. One day the white approached me in a confidential way in the mess hall. He had overheard two blacks scheming to "take me off" which meant rape! I was alarmed. My confidante wouldn't specify the attackers, following the honored prison code. He just dropped his poison pellet, then withdrew, leaving my imagination to work overtime amidst the steam and the clanking presses. I tensed and the whole atmosphere tensed. These persecutor/victim situations would develop at any time in prison, as they do anywhere, organically, without a word spoken, through glances and gestures alone. Was I really in danger? It isn't easy to "corn hole" an unwilling victims, I reasoned to myself. Easier if a gang is involved, I worried, but ... maybe I'd push them into one of the vats of melting soap. Probably my informer had made the whole thing up just to see how I'd react. That's what persons who were on the scene told me later. "Just prison talk," they said. I had a slight reputation as a poet. One giant frightening black guy wanted to recite a poem to me that he'd written about "reefer" (he was in on a narcotics charge). Another guy asked me to write a "nice" poem he would send to his girlfriend. There was unquestionably more appreciation for poetry inside of prison than there had been outside. It was a society of conversationalists, forced to spend time close to each other. There were less diversions than on the street. Story telling, insult trading, jokes and verbal embellishments were appreciated, as perhaps among some primitive tribes in the rain forest. Also, whether because they had more extreme experiences to describe or were describing them in prison where description was an art, and the prison characters seemed earthier or more dramatic than the white middle class circles in which I'd grown up. The laundry worried me and I tried to get a transfer. It wasn't easy; inmate requests were generally ignored. I tried to get help from the chaplain and got "shot" or arrested for being out of bounds as I went to see his assistant. Prison movement was carefully regulated. Once in the prison "court" I explained my situation and the job change was accomplished. But generally I learned that the "asshole bandits" didn't pick on unwilling victims. If you seemed weak they'd approach you. If you were weak, they might try to rape you. Some cons, after all, would never hold a woman again. Generally, there were enough willing partners to go around. If mast rbation by "Rosy Red Palm and her five calloused daughters" or ole "Miss Fist" got boring, a blow job was fairly readily available for all, draft resisters included, because you could pay to get one or find someone who would do it. My mind had dwelt on homosexuality and violence since we entered prison. See Willard Gaylin's book In the Service of their County where he describes some of the abuses visited upon war objectors who had been at Lewisburg just before me. As with the homosexuality, the violence was nearby just out of the corner of your eye. Fights could flare up over very petty, ridiculous issues, a box of corn flakes on the chow line for example, or choice of television programs. My next job assignment ended on a comic note. I had been transferred to the Warden's office- to clean and help with filing. One day the Warden mused to himself- "Hey, wasn't this guy brought into prison for destroying draft files?" I was moved post haste. There were killers around but if they were after you, you'd probably be aware of it and they would have their reasons. As with the homosexuality, things were complicated, the usual gray, the usual in‑between. There wasn't that much blatant or irrational violence (at least that was true of Lewisburg at that time). The homosexuals I met were the gentlest of inmates. Lewisburg was a gentle place compared to state joints where the inmates were poorer and less educated. There, maybe you would have to carry a razor in your soap when you showered, or be careful how you looked at another inmate. Lewisburg had less of "fools" (a very derisive word of the period), I thought (as if I were proud of the place). Maybe these types were at the worse federal institutions. A documentary on Lewisburg that came out in the 80's (I believe) showed that it had gone way down hill and was then a lot more violent than it had been when I was there. Some of the killers, like Carmine Galente whom I met later at the farm camp, were calculating hit men, but most of the murderers I met were not. R, whom I met later at the farm camp, had entered prison in 1941 just after I was born. He had killed an F.B.I. agent on an army post. He had never given up hope and was a model prisoner. He was a Warden's houseboy and spent spare time attending "Yokefellow" (a religious group active in prisons at that time) meetings or tending sunflowers in a little patch out by the fire engine garage. He was the prison's chief softball umpire. He had already made parole on his life sentence and was now working on another 12 year bit. He hoped to be paroled finally to work at a half way house in Harrisburg. I had not suffered much physical violence for my views. The gas station attendant had pushed me around and the draft clerk at the Customs House had bopped me on the head with a paperback bible. Later, when I got to the farm camp, another inmate gave me a glancing blow on the chin because he disagreed with my choice of T.V. programs. I was on the T.V. committee that decided which programs played on the first floor day room set and which played in the basement. It was no big thing. One ex‑prizefighter's (according to him) playful greeting to me was, "I'll crush Eberhardt's fingers so he won't be able to play the piano anymore." It was his way of saying hello. And at the time of the Kent State killings of four students by national guardsmen, some right wing inmate posted a sign on the bulletin board‑"Guard 4, Hippies O". It occurred to me that more violence came from the feds than from the criminals. The feds were the ones bombing Vietnam back to the Stone Age. They were the ones manufacturing H bombs. Society and its government were the violent ones, their conditions of poverty driving my fellow inmates to their stupid and desperate acts (not to ignore their own responsibility). The government and society, those hallowed abstractions, were inhumane killers in most bureaucratic, corporate and abstract ways. They killed on a larger scale. We met the famed union organizer and leader, Jimmy Hoffa, in the wall while we were there and engaged him on the issues of violence and non‑violence. You might see him most often in the visiting room and it was alleged that he conducted much Teamster business through his lawyer there. I think the prison officials had him tucked out of the way from influencing other prisoners by giving him his job in the bowels of the prison basement stuffing mattresses. He stuffed them so full and hard, how could any one sleep on them; they were rounded like giant culvert pipes. Jimmy had a lot of experience with violence, and to judge by the number of other teamsters at Lewisburg, a lot of experience with organized crime. He would bang his yardstick down on the counter as he made a point: "You pacifists, whadda you know about organizing and picket lines? Goddamn, you're never gonna get anywhere. You need fists and guns!" Looking back I wish I'd talked with him about the Kennedys. Probably would have gotten an earful of bile, but nothing too revealing. Some later conspiracy buffs cited Hoffa as a player in the asassination. My greatest prison story? I thought I'd play a little joke on Jimmy one day and snuck up behind him as he was walking down the main corridor. I grabbed his shoulder from behind and told him to "watch out for that nonviolence, Jimmy." A little later one of his giant goon squad members approached me as delicately as he was able in the dining room and drew me aside, confiding in his best Jersey accent: "Hey kid, Jimmy doan like being touched an, uh, doan do that again." Jimmy had enemies from struggles out on the street who were also doing time at Lewisburg, so the rumor went. Supposedly that was the reason that Vinnie "the Pro" Provenzano was at the farm camp and not inside the wall where Jimmy could get at him. One of Jimmy's union buddies told me later when I got to the farm that he shared Jimmy's poor opinion of Phil. Phil had mentioned Hoffa in his Prison Diary of a Priest Revolutionary, describing the prestige Jimmy enjoyed in prison and the favors he might do friends. "Berrigan was a stool pigeon," this inmate allowed, "you doan go carrying stories outta here; you come in here, you're a convict first!" Not long after his release, Jimmy disappeared, allegedly a mob hit victim. The stocky, short, bull headed man that had lived by the sword- he died by it- two bullets to the head- “My friend didn’t suffer”- according to hit man Frank “The Irishman Schirren (sp?) who had confessed to killing Jimmy for the mob in 1975 to a lawyer, Mr. Brandt who wrote about it in his book You Paint Houses Don’t You, (I think that’s the title) referring to the mob slang for a killing- to “paint a house”. Schirren, a good Catholic boy, had gotten his killing experience from World War II, where he had a job of killing prisoners. He had been Jimmy’s friend- but as he told it, if he hadn’t “hit” Jimmy, Jimmy’ been dead and him too! Carmine Galente, whom I was to meet at the farm, the bona fide mob hit man, later became a "godfather" after he got out. He'd "whacked" many on the streets, to hear the story, and I imagined I could see it in his eyes: they were cold and black. But in the context of the farm camp he seemed harmless enough, mixing up evening cocktails, playing handball or tending cantaloupes and eggplant in his little garden. Galente may have killed the Italian anarchist, Carlo Tresca, in the early days, but at that time I had no knowledge of this part of Galente`s past. I mused on these who lived by the sword as, one by one, they met violent ends on the street, Jimmy, Vinnie and Carmine. Perhaps Jimmy was compacted along with junked automobiles at a mob run junk yard or sunk deep into some bay or buried at the meadowlands or as was popularly believed in the end zone at the Giants football field there. After he got out, Carmine was blown away by a shotgun blast was it as he sat smoking his De Nobili cigar, or at the barber shop? Pace Carlo Tesca. The Farm my brother, Tim, my father, Charles, and me outside the farm visiting room- a fellow inmate takes the picture w a polaroid- I think it was Joey- the mafia guy - he also dug the contraband out of the ice maker- visiting room attendant was an important job- (a mob job?) The din of eventful current that had roared around me for four years subsided as I moved to the Lewisburg Farm Camp. I was able to relax a bit from the landscape of issues into a landscape of interesting human faces, my fellow cons. My first job assignment was an easy one: wiping up tables in the dining room. My co‑worker, Joey, who had also just arrived from the wall, needed light work: he had entered prison with four bullet wounds to the stomach. These weren't draining properly. He was involved with the Mafia and Carmine Galente was showing him around. The two approached me, Carmine fingering the required mafia De Nobili cigar in its holder: "Nowa Joey, dis here's Ebahart and uh Ebahart I want yuse to make it easy for Joey here, uh, he's got bad health and Joey dis here's a good kid and he'll show yuse the ropes, he's one of tha Berrigan gang, you know, da priest and dem nuns and so fort..." "Yeh, da fadder," Joey says devoutly ... "ain't it a shame." Prison letter There were many pheasants on the grounds around the Farm Camp at the Lewisburg Prison where I was doing time for an anti-war protest. Hunters couldn't follow across the fence onto what was euphemistically called our "reservation". Inmates were allowed to trap them and put them in crates for shipment to sparsely pheasanted parts of Pennsylvania or maybe to the banquet tables of federal prison officials. If you were on one of the outdoor crews you might stop to visit the pheasants in the tractor shed and admire them peering glum but fierce from between the slats of their crates. The burningly phosphorescent males looked like freedom as they scooted whistlingly up out of the corn stobs to escape you. Or sexual release with their iridescent vests for courtship displays like those of pidgeons' or the blushings of purple tetra fish- how much I missed Louise. Or they reminded me of beautiful privacy and meditation as they flew up evenings to roost in skeletal trees. Always they were gorgeous with strange autumnal hues: coppery chests with freckles like those in the tubes of iris flowers or like the shimmering markings in an eye's iris. They had white rings round the necks ... which inmates dearly loved to wring. They were delicious cooked between the rungs of our radiators. (Prisons are kept hot; lethargy results.) To feather, gut, joint them, it helped to know someone in the butcher shop. Winters the pheasants would sometimes make the mistake of flying over the main prison wall to look for food on the ground over steam pipes where snow had melted. Supposedly, an inmate had caught one from his cell window by dangling a pin, bent fishhook style, on the end of a line. I imagined the raucous squawking in the clear blue Pocono air (actually Allegheny air- but Pocono sounds better!)! Mornings we dozed toward winter on our work crew in the general farm shed. The work of the year was largely done, the root cellar filled to capacity with apples and potatoes. Zillions of snowflakes blitzed the surrounding fields until they looked covered in flakes of sugar frosted cereal. The snow wiped out our vistas of the far blue mountains. We could only see the minute details of the close black and white land looming bitterly larger and larger. We could feel the full weight of our unjust sentences ... time itself an unjust sentence! Did we deserve this? we were almost tricked to wonder, the slave's terrible question. Had we not chosen to be here? Wasn't this our fault? We would interiorize our sentences and grow to accept them, a final brutality, as the snow came in on a slant over the Alleghenies, beauty and horror together. Luckily, we war protesters were not alone, we had loved ones and vast support systems. Christmas brought us cards from all over the world, even North Vietnam as I remember it. We had belief. We had humor. All these things enabled us to be sarcastic and angry. We would never become "losers" like some of the regular cons for we knew our mission, we knew who we were. Society might despise us, but deep down it knew we were right (or did it?). Some of us chose resistance or organised resistance while in prison. We took our place beside the "common" car thieves and bank robbers. Pheasants are so dumb they will enter a wire cage trap, unable to retrace their steps out of the little hatch to freedom. Society stands behind the prisoner smugly saying, "You have seen this happen to a person also." Undoubtedly many of the inmates would return to crime upon release, as we all return to the ruts in our mind which are familiar. But we not only knew the way back into society, we rejected it. And so, in a way, we were free. Because of his truck‑driving skills Doc was prison fire chief. The fire truck for the main prison was housed at the farm camp and I volunteered to join the six man crew. It was a desirable position since we got to take test drives around the perimeter of the institution and occasionally go outside the prison to train with local fire crews or put out some nearby fires. The local Lewisburg Township Fire Department was a sharp outfit. We did some training with them and I waxed quite poetical about them. Since they were, I believe, unpaid volunteers, I thought of the anarchist societies proposed by Prince Kropotkin which would be based on mutual aid, as I sat and chatted with them amongst the snorkels and oxygen masks, the great yellow hoses and bright shining red trucks. One of the grumpier older inmates on our prison crew questioned my right to take part. What if we got a fire at a draft board or ROTC buildings? I wouldn't try to put it out and might endanger his life, he reasoned. His objections were far fetched to the others however, since they figured we wouldn't be called to many such fires. I got into some interesting discussions with the town firemen about burning draft records. One said he thought it would be O.K. as long as we took the files out of the building! Checking hoses and equipment on the other side of the main prison next to the placid Buffalo River was a treat. You could open the hose nozzle wide and pound the river with a hard jet of water or turn it to its narrowest setting,"spray, curtain, mist" in which case the fine spray would steep Hamp's kinky black hair in silvery dew balls. (Doc's last name was Hampton.) I wrote a poem about it. Prison was great for reading and writing. The crew joked about a possible prison fire and the political issues it would present, i.e. should we help put it out? Often, prison fires were set by our fellow inmates. Luckily we never had a bad prison fire. The only one we were called to inside the wall was a very small one in the Education Department, probably the work of some disgruntled scholar. It was out by the time we got there. As we uncoiled our hoses under the Warden's worried gaze, one of the gas mask boxes fell open and out spilled someone's stash, tins of pate, canned shrimp, vienna sausages and other wonderful delicacies! We jokingly appraised each situation as to possible "good days" or days of credit off our sentence that we might earn. One inmate claimed to have thrown the Warden's dog into the Buffalo River so he might rescue it and make parole. Once we were called to a fire at the Associate Warden's house. Hamp had never liked this particular prison official, so he took a very circuitous back route driving very slowly at about ten miles per hour. Luckily for the Associate, the town crews had already arrived. Once we were called to a brush fire up on Dale's Ridge overlooking the far blue Allegheny mountains. With them in front of us and the institution far behind, in the sweat of the work under heavy yellow slickers and in the pungent cedar and pine smoke, spiritual feelings rushed over me, an experience akin to the Indians in their sweat lodges. I got all mixed up in calm and bliss and sexuality and sadness as I thought of the nearby Susquehanna and Buffalo Rivers, flowing gently like Spenser's Thames. The cedars can burn explosively like an oil fire, a fellow fireman told me; I imagined this happening, to go along with my epiphany. Beyond us, between us and the mountains, the ridge dropped off precipitously and deep and I thought of the long geologic maneuvers which formed it and the valley below. This was about as good as it gets, I now realize, this was the kind of moment we live for: unpredictable, unplannable, the kind of moments which well up inside us making life totally worthwhile, with no assistance from anyone else necessary. They all the wealth we need to survive (besides food and shelter in bad climates). Stories from Catonsville 9 member, Tom Melville re Carmine Galente and Vincente Provenzano and others Tom had had considerably more relation with Tony and Carmine at the farm camp than had I. He shared several fabulous stories: Tom described a committee formed for a memorial day picnic consisting of himself, a Jewish lawyer from Ohio and the mafia mobster Tony Provenzano, "Tony Pro". Tony had a reputation in prison and was accorded respect by the other prisoners. Tom told us that he tried not to look Tony directly in the eye. The feds had allowed the committee some leeway, they were authorized to choose whether it would be hot dogs or hamburgers for the picnic. The Jewish lawyer piped up that he had researched the matter somewhat and that the general feeling among the prisoners was for hamburger. Tony glared at him icily. He then picked up one side of the table where they were meeting and upended it, squashing the lawyer underneath. "We're having hot dogs, and don't you mother‑fu ing forget it!" was his rejoinder to the lawyer and that was that! Once Carmine drew Tom aside to complain, "how come there aren't Italian bishops in the U.S.?, how come it's always Irish? huh? The mother fu king pope is Italian? Where's the Italian bishops?" Tom said that Carmine always criticized at the top of his voice and what he said, went. He kept younger Italian mobster types in strict control. Tom had heard him screaming at one unfortunate fellow con that Italians must never be caught playing handball with the niggers, they must only play with fellow Italians". Tom's best Carmine story he called the story of the "Irish mafia". It seems that Tom had taken on or been assigned the duty of movie picture director. Always the front couple of rows in the movie room were reserved for Carmine and his retinue. But, in a playful mood, Tom had decided to play a little joke on Carmine and, having arrived to the showing of a film before Carmine, who could afford to wait until the last minute, Tom took a seat right up in front in one of the sacred rows. The loud bantering and exchanges that always preceded any gathering of cons stopped immediately and in hushed whispers the other cons debated what might happen to Tom for this transgression. One of Carmines's men came on the scene, a forerunner to the main Carmine group, and seeing Tom in the row, accosted him in shocked tones, "What the f k are you doin here?" Tom told him thoughtfully to tell Carmine that the Irish mafia had arrived. "The Irish mafia," the runner asks and runs off, doubtlessly thinking that Carmine will have to deal with the new challenge ruthlessly. Carmine arrives and comes up to Tom, looks him over and starts to chuckle. "You!? You is the Irish mafia, dis is the Irish mafia?" Carmine pauses for a moment and then addressed the entire gathering. "From now on," he says, "dese front rows are reserved for the Irish and the Italian mafia!" One time mob boss Joe Salerno was observed on the evening television news as he was being interviewed in New York about the very subject of the mafia. Salerno was complaining to the reporter that the term mafia was discriminatory and that the more respectful term of Italian‑American would be correct. Carmine jumped up enraged and poked a finger at the screen. "We're gonna get you when we get out, you cheap no good sob mother fu ker, we're the mafia and we're proud of it!" George Mische of the Catonsville 9 tells a wonderful story how he was invited to dine with Carmine and his cronies- Carmine commonly ate in his own room at the Farm Camp- feasting on various Italian delicacies which had been smuggled in (either through the visiting room- where people would hide stuff in the ice in the ice dispenser or thrown in over the perimeter chain link fence) - pastas, pepperonies- etc. George had earned respect from these mobsters for the way he had organised cons against some repressive prison regs by the feds. George sat down, but told the assembled, shockingly, that he wasn't going to eat with them- "until you invite the rest of the people in the dorm- blacks included." This advise for integration and democracy was too much for the mobsters to handle.

Joey Martens interviewed Mary Avgares on November 27, 2010

I met my grandmother for the first time this past summer. You see, my dad was adopted, and he just found his biological mom this year. So, this interview taught me a lot about Mary since I only recently got to know her. Because she lives in a small town in Colorado, I couldn’t interview her in person. Instead, we called her on the phone and my parents video recorded me asking her the questions and her talking on the speakerphone. Mostly I learned about her growing up in Craig, CO where she had a very happy childhood and liked to bike ride and play hide-and-seek late into the night until she had to go inside. She is still friends with her best friend from childhood who she met when she was 5. She was also a nurse for 50 years. She likes to help other people and her job taught her a lot about how to do that. She became a nurse because she didn’t want to be a secretary or a teacher. She tried to be a secretary but was really bad at it. The person who was most kind to her was her grandmother who made her chocolate pie and pudding. She was most influenced by her father who came to this country from Austria and spoke only German when he arrived in the U.S. as a teenager. He worked as a sheep rancher his whole life. Her hopes for me are that I stay in school, that I obey my parents, and that I find a career that I can really love.

Carson Stott interviewed Josh on November 26, 2010

We talked about, our cancer and how we handled all of it. We talked about our life's before cancer and after and just knowing we fought to stay here and that we have a reason for surviving it.

Laura Cleveland interviewed Thomas Archie Monroe

Early settlement in Columbia County, agriculture, the start up of Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia, The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Early commerce and first school experiences.

Robert Miller interviewed Otto Mueller on December 8, 2010

he is my grandfather, we talked about his time in Austria, his childhood, him growing up in America. His life

Suzi Warden interviewed Brijeet Akula on December 6, 2010

College, and Highschool, Growing up.

Amy Mark interviewed Vicki Mahan on December 2, 2010

True kindness.

Kathryn Buzby interviewed Theresa Koch on November 23, 2010

My Oma is a German immigrant, she came here with her parents when she was very young. So I asked her what it was like moving here and having a family that had different traditions and didn't speak English.

Vicki Richardson interviewed Ellis Rice on November 22, 2010

Ellis Rice is 53 years old and is a good friend of Vicki Richardson. He looks at himself primarily as a community based performing artist. He has an administrative position with the city of Las Vegas as the cultural center coordinator for Charleston Heights Community Center. He also works as a light and sound technician for Clark County Parks and Recreation. He is a performer for the Las Vegas Natural History Museum and has his own company called Blue Soul Arts Continuum, which supports and helps other groups and provides opportunities for them. He also is a singer and piano player for his own group, Blue Soul. Ellis was born in Kenlock, Missouri, in St. Louis County, which had the distinction of being the largest Black community, percentage wise, in the United States. It was all Black, so having been born in 1957 and being a child of the Civil Rights era, he never felt it because everyone was Black, including teachers, store owners, police, and all his neighbors. It was a community where everyone knew their neighbors. He lived in the same house until he went away to college and was always within walking distance of a school. When Ellis started High School, his teachers always compared him to his older brother, Paul, who was “a brainiac” and would give him a hard time about not being like Paul. His mother finally went to the school and then he was free to find his own interests. He purposely chose to do things opposite of his brother, and one of the things that became important was singing in the choir. He said he always wanted to be one of the “Temptations.” The choir had great instruction and would tour the city. It led to doing theater and performing. His senior year, his teachers saw he wasn’t applying to college, so they “applied” for him and got him scholarships. He received a full scholarship for theater to Webster College, so he went for it. Webster provided him with many opportunities to perform. It was a time post Vietnam when a lot of Black 18 and 19 year olds were going to college for the first time with older students just starting college who had returned from the war and were using the GI Bill. They made sure he knew he was not there just for himself, but for others who might have that opportunity. He was not going to waste anyone’s time and he was expected to achieve. He says he also learned discipline while there. The only excuse for not being in class was death! Ellis said that Webster changed him from an undisciplined young boy and made him into a person who could appreciate dance, classical music, as well as other cultures and points of views. He always had the encouragement to do what he had to do; to take what you have and don’t complain about what you don’t have. After he graduated, he wanted to go to Broadway, but he got involved in other things—primarily community based theater and community programs. Once he was hired to direct “A Raisin in the Sun” and afterwards was given a 10 foot bull whip. They told him they had never seen anyone work so hard! He said that Webster had set the standard for him. Ellis works with children in a summer camp for ages 7 through 15. He believes that children are just as good as any adult performer, especially when you expect the best from them. He says not to act like they can’t do something, because then they will believe they can’t do it. You have to give them expectations and push them to be their best. Most of the time they will rise to the top and discover things about themselves. Ellis also talked about how as adults, we give up the things that make us happy and become disconnected from out souls. We stop nurturing that part of our soul and ten to fifteen years later we are a different person. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Ellis talks about his mentor, Dr. Bob Elliot who taught him to take what he had and not to worry about what others were doing; to take care of your finances and you will be fine. But when singing, always add the narrative. Don’t just sing—tell a story. He says he has always had people in his life that encouraged him and believed in him. And if he has anything left to do in life, he wants to do that for others.

Ellis Rice interviewed Vicki Richardson on November 21, 2010

Interview of Vicki Richardson By Ellis Rice Left of Center Art Gallery Nov. 21, 2010 Vicki Richardson is a close friend of Ellis Rice. She is the executive director and owner of Left of Center Art Gallery. She is also an accomplished artist and business woman. She began by telling about her early life. She was born in Wilmington, Delaware. She did all of her schooling there. She lived in an African-American neighborhood at a time when all of the schools were segregated. So all of her elementary and junior high years she was in schools with lots of great teachers. She was selectively chosen to be one of twelve children to integrate into another school. At the time, they chose those they felt could best adapt to the situation and the new environment, which was a poor way to do it because it was siphoning off the cream of the crop of the Black schools. Vicki had a teacher from first grade who inspired her in art. He was a muralist and did a lot of work in the community. Her mother, who passed away six years ago, took pride in Vicki’s work, and still had some of her pieces from first grade. She had other teachers who must have recognized her talent because they would always call her for help with bulletin boards and other projects. She got a feeling of achievement in art at a very early age. Her father was a merchant marine and was a pretty good artist himself. He was gone overseas most of the time so she only saw him once a year. He was an inventor and would make their toys. He was a computer specialist at a time when computers took up a whole room. He was also a radio specialist and would go from base to base setting up computers and security systems. So every summer Vicki and her brother would visit him at a different place. He always wanted them to have an experience, so they would pick cotton, or work in a laundry, etc. She resented it at the time, but feels she learned a lot from it. She came from a neighborhood where there was a nightclub on a corner, The Baby Grand, which she had to pass on the way to school every morning. She would sneak in to listen to the music, and later found out that all the great jazz musicians had played there. She was told by her family that she needed to do well in school because however she did, it would be a reflection on her race. A lot of the teachers had never taught Black children and were looking to see how they learned. She felt if she messed up, the next person would pay for it. So she worked hard to be successful and did well in school. She had a counselor who told Vicki that because her test scores and verbal skills were so good, that she should be a secretary. The counselor was going to recommend that Vicki go to secretarial school. The next visit, Vicki said she wanted to go to college, but the counselor told her no, that it would just frustrate her. Vicki had enough people in her family who had graduated from college and had faith in her, so she knew it was a possibility. After high school, she decided to go to a college that was active in the Civil Rights movement, so she chose Fisk, because they were in the forefront. Her mother did not want her going away, much less to the south. While she was there, she was very involved in marches and meetings where they would learn ways to deal with situations such as derogatory comments or being spat upon. At the time she understood that she was doing something “Bigger than myself”. She was majoring in philosophy and religion, but her parents said she couldn’t get a job, so she switched to education. While doing a paper on religious art, she met the head of the art department, Aaron Douglas, who encouraged her to major in art after seeing her sketches. She felt at home in the art department and eventually switched. She graduated at the time of the Black Revolution and was very, very involved in underground kinds of things. She said every time she went into her neighborhood, her car would be searched. It was a crazy time, but it was a time you were alive, and dedicated to some kind of mission; something to work on and fight for. Eventually she came to Las Vegas because her brother lived here. She was separated from her husband and needed a job that would be compatible with raising two small children. At the time there were lots of jobs in Las Vegas and she ended up teaching for the Clark County School District. She really enjoyed her years of teaching and still enjoys when groups of kids come into the gallery. She sees the gallery as a way to continue the idea of helping others, working with artists and giving back to the community, especially when it comes to public art. She says a lot of what she does at the gallery is not far from what she did with her life as far as nurturing other artists, both old and young. “Making something happen is important. I have had the best of all lives to have had the opportunity to come in contact with as many people and touch as many people as I have.”

Lois Esparza interviewed Mary Alice Esparza on November 13, 2010

Mary Alice Esparza is 67 years old and is the mother of one of Left of Center Gallery’s member artists, Lois Esparza, who conducted the interview. Mary Alice is a story teller who lives in Las Vegas. The interview began with Mary Alice telling about her life, which began in Happy Jack, Arizona at a lumber camp where her father was a lumber jack. She and her family lived in a house with three rooms. One of the rooms was long with three beds. They had no water and no electricity. The light they had came from the windows, a kerosene lamp, or a wood burning stove. They had to bring in buckets of water to bathe in. They also had no bathroom so they had to use the outhouse. Mary Alice says she used to go there to escape and read! She attended school in a one room school house. The students would all bring wood to help them keep warm. On Fridays they would pack their truck and go into the forest of Payson by a lake or creek and helped their father cut trees. At age six, Mary Alice would use a small ax to cut branches. They would pack the truck with wood and their father would take it to Flagstaff to sell. Her mother was artistic and would do embroidery, quilt, and rug making. They were beautiful and colorful. She also canned fruits and vegetables and would sell her crocheting and other home made goods. Sometimes she would make $2,000--$3000 from selling things. Mary Alice says this was one of the happiest times of her life. They had no television or radio so they would improvise when they played. She often cut out paper dolls to play with. She would buy comic books and magazines and trade for other things to read. Her Dad would give her money for the movies but instead she would go to the library. She wanted to know about Hispanics from the community, but was told there were no writings about them and she would have to write something herself. The librarian would let her mail the books back through the local post office. Mary Alice went on to discuss her grandparents and how they helped people in their community. They helped financially as well as interpreting. They also had a band and performed often. Mary Alice’s advice for others is: “Instead of taking, give of yourself. It will come back tenfold.”

Theresa Casciato interviewed Florine and Amerigo Laus on November 29, 2009

Celebrating their lives together for 50 years.

Stuart Derrow interviewed Donald E. Derrow on July 11, 2010

Participant as a U.S. Marine in Nevada atomic bomb tests in 1952

James Ma interviewed Wanting Ruan on November 15, 2010

Queensborough Community College Adult Literacy student Wanting Ruan talks to her classmate James Ma about being a mother and the importance of lovong each child equally. She also discusses the hopes and dreams she has for her children's future.

Gina Barerra interviewed Luz Rodgers on November 5, 2010

Queensborough Community College Adult Literacy student Luz Rodgers tells her classmate Gina Barerra all about her grandfather, who's been the most important person in her life, and who passed away a week before the interview. She remembers his actions, generosity, and words of wisdom. In this emotional interview, Luz explains how " he taught her to be proud of her Colombian roots."

Deborah Chang interviewed Andy Chang on November 5, 2010

Deborah Chang, a Queensborough Community College Adult Literacy student, and her husband Andy, talk about a life-altering decision she made, years before they were married, to leave Tawain and follow him to Switzerland. In this touching interview, they both discuss how deeply committed they are to each other and to God.

Elaine He interviewed I-Heung Lee and Lynn Lin on November 5, 2010

Elaine He, I-Heung Lee, and Lynn Lin, all classmates in the Queensborough Community College Adult Literacy Program, discuss what their childhood and jobs were like in their native countries, and they also talk about what it's like being a parent here in the U.S. now.

Richard Billings interviewed Navy Chhay on November 27, 2010

We covered Navy and her familys journey to the United States and her relationship with her grandfather.

Matt Koopmann interviewed Not Included on November 26, 2010

For the National day of Listening I interviewed an individual I met here in Madison while working several years ago. The gentleman did two tours in Vietnam while serving in the USMC. The old saying of once a Marine always a Marine really held true for this man. The bond between us was instantly formed as we reminissed and chatted about old stories from our time in combat. We kept things pretty simple in terms of comfort, we just went and sat down at a coffee shop and had some breakfast and chatted. The stress level was very low as I could completely relate to his stories and he felt comfortable talking to me about them knowing I knew what he had gone through and could relate. When I started the interview I had several key questions all planned out in the order I wanted to ask them. I have a subliminal goal in mind to see if the Vietnam war effected him on the same level the Iraq war effected me, and to see his opinions on how much alike the two wars were. A few minutes into the interview I set down my pen, I stopped taking notes and just listed. I became entranced in his stories and the things he spoke of were so familiar to things I went through in Iraq it was bewildering. The structured semi- formal interview had turned into a chat session. After an hour or discussion he concluded that he felt the Iraq war to be significantly scarier than Vietnam. He said he would rather serve another year in Vietnam than a year in Iraq. I found this to be utterly shocking as I have always viewed the Vietnam war as the worst possible war to have to serve in. But he remained adamant on his decision.

Jong Park interviewed Hyun Park on November 25, 2010

For the National Day of Listening, I interviewed my brother, Hyun. He’s always been fairly candid with me, but he was a little cautious when I told him it’s for class. He took that mean I would be sharing what I learned; this meant certain topics would be off limits. I started by asking him about the years during which he and I were mostly apart and not communicating. I asked him about his first day of College. That being eight years ago, he couldn’t really remember it. It wasn’t memorable enough. Then I asked him about his first day of Law school, but he didn’t want to talk about that. A bit discouraged at this point, I just asked him for any memory, any strong memory, from sometime college. The first memory he came up with was the one in which he decided on his major. This, apparently, was a turning point in his life. Being Asian, our parents raised us to put math and science before anything else. Naturally, my brother wanted to go into medicine. He decided to go to Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio for biomedical engineering. He had no clue what that meant. He just thought that, as a good Asian son, he needed to go to a good school (Case Western) for a medical concentration (biomedical engineering). He knew within the first month that he did not belong to that world, but, again being a good Asian son, thought he needed to stick it out. Then, he encountered a scheduling problem his second semester of Freshman year where he had to drop one of his classes a week into the term. He didn’t really know what to take because everything was either full or he just wasn’t interested in it. He saw an intro to philosophy class that was empty and figured it wasn’t really worse than his other options, so he took it. As Hyun put it, he knew within the first class that this was what he wanted to study. That class also had a rather animated professor as well. At that point, he decided on his major.

Dawn Gramse interviewed Sandra Podach on November 26, 2010

We talked about my mother's father that passes away when she was 16 yrs old. I never knew him and wanted to know a little more about him.

Mark Dettmann interviewed Bonnie Dettmann

My mother's childhood and having to undergo polio treatments

Natalie Thomas interviewed Marianne

Chris Bond interviewed Phill Bond on November 29, 2010

I spoke with my uncle about his travels around the world as he grew up and his experience in moving to the U.S. from his home country of Wales.

Jim Soley interviewed Jerry Rubenzer on November 24, 2010

Start of his heating and air conditoning business in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin

Jong Park interviewed Hyun Park on November 25, 2010

his choice of college major. a turning point in his life.

Shua Xiong interviewed Linda on November 30, 2010

I decided to interview the most important person in my life, my wife Linda. She is 26 years old, likes to read, cook and spend time with her family. Linda is currently employed with Crawford and Company as an E-Learning Coordinator, designing and editing online courses for insurance adjusters. Linda believes that what stayed the same over the years was her patience, friendliness, and her generosity. Linda strongly believes that she wants to treat people the same way she would want to be treated, and to give to the ones who need it most. She is the oldest of six children and was always a mother figure to all of her siblings. Linda states that she used to enjoy going out with her friends but now just likes to be around her family and in the comfort of her home. She also used to like traveling a lot but now finds it stressful and inconvenient. I guess being married and a full time mom has changed some things. Linda would like to go back to school for Nursing, obtain a degree and hopefully get a job in the Medical field. She would also like to try and find time to lose weight and live healthier. Overall, her goals within the next year or so are obtainable and she is determined to achieve them.

Jong Park interviewed Hyun Park

His choice at a college major.

Jim Soley interviewed Jerry Rubenzer on November 24, 2010

Start of his heating and air conditioning business

Jerry Gillis interviewed Eileen Gillis on November 28, 2010

We talked about her life growing up, having me and marrying my Dad, my grandparent and her brothers and sisters, and her life as Grandma Gillis.

West Blvd Library interviewed WBL Patrons on 11/23/2010

We interviewed people young and old with all types of life experiences! From a patron growing up in Indian Land, SC and the good friend of the mother of an Olympic medalist to an African man's identifying the differences between his home land and the U.S. to a young man sharing his dreams to proud grandmothers sharing their joy through their grandchildren to an emotional statement about the gratefulness of a father to son. These are the stories of the people of the West Blvd. community!

West Blvd Library interviewed M. Adams on November 23, 2010

Growing up in SC

Kathleen Sullivan interviewed Janice F. Carr on November 30, 2010

Janice's childhood experiences in rural Mississippi during the Civil Rights Era.

Michelle Huffman interviewed Phyllis Meyen on November 26, 2010

Jack Lapin interviewed Todd Lapin on November 26, 2010

My dad talked about joining the navy right out of college and going to flight school in Pensacola, Florida in 1987. He graduated and was assigned to be a Radar Intercept Officer in the back seat of an F-14 Tomcat. When Operation Desert Shield started in 1990, he was deployed with his squandron on the USS Kennedy. His job was to protect the ships and also protect the bombers on their way to strike targets.

William Dougan interviewed Stacey Dougan on November 12, 2010

Stacey T. Dougan is the daughter of Dr. William Dougan. She is 34 years young. Dr. Dougan is a member of Left of Center Gallery. Stacy began by discussing her education. She started with her elementary education because she believes it is the foundation for all of one’s learning. She went to elementary school at Nataki Talibah School in Detroit, Michigan, which is African centered. It was very cultured and very small. There were only about 100 kids in grades K through 8. The lessons and values that were instilled in her there were so important in helping her develop her self esteem. She said it was a good decision on her Dad’s part to send her there! It taught her to embrace her culture as an African American and to accept and be proud of her hair and skin. While she was there she also learned to speak French and Swahili. During this time, they took her on a trip to Africa when she was 14. During a college tour with the school they went to Spelman College in Atlanta. She knew immediately she wanted to go there. It was the only college she applied to. She was accepted and attended all four years. She also did an exchange for one year at Columbia Barnard in New York. She says “Life School” is the best! After college she worked odd and end jobs in music, health, and wellness. She is interested in living foods and eventually became Vegan. She did some work in the music industry after college, working in Atlanta as an intern at Virgin Records during a time when music was developing there. She later worked in marketing and promotion. She said she was very entrepreneurial and later opened a raw food café. She didn’t know what she was doing. She was only about 25 years old. She was very stressed, but says it was a blessing and opened the door for other things. She was always there and had to prepare food sometimes all by herself. Now she can prepare food very quickly if she needs to. She learned to be quick and to multi task in whatever she has to do. It allowed her to be a chef today—a very efficient one! At one point, Stacey moved to Ghana and became the personal chef for the minister of health, but also cooked for others. She lived there for 2 years and loved it. She was only supposed to be there for 10 days, but wanted to stay, so she figured out a way that she could. She loved the people and the country. The spirit of the country is different. It is less stressful and the food is of a higher quality. It is mostly fresh foods. She wanted to embrace the culture and would go and sit with the villagers to learn how to cook, speak the language, etc. After a couple of months, she was on her own and realized if she could make it alone in Africa, she could do anything. She came back to the states and began catering for artists such as Erika Badu. She would prepare the food for the artists to have backstage or in their rooms before and after a concert. She had a lot of great experiences in this position. She finally was thinking about what she wanted to do. She loves cooking and how the body can be healed through food. She is Vegan and wants to open a 5 star restaurant that is Vegan. She works for a company called CAN that is tied into health and wellness. She also teaches classes at Whole Food Markets. At one point she decided to make a “vision board”. She was looking through a magazine about Steve Wynn’s hotels in Las Vegas and saw some beautiful pictures of restaurants at his Wynn and Encore Hotels. She put the photos on her vision board months ago. She would look at the photos and she would feel a tingling sensation. She loved the way the restaurants looked, even though she had never been to the Wynn or the Encore. One day, she received a text from a friend whose mother works at the Wynn saying that Steve Wynn had just passed out 10,000 copies to all his employees of a video about the Rave Diet, which is a plant based diet. Stacey has been teaching from this video for about 5 years. It talks about the benefits of a plant based diet verses an animal based one and is well documented. Steve Wynn had recently become a Vegan and wanted to add some Vegan dishes to his restaurant. So Stacy tried to contact Steve Wynn with no luck. But a lot of his chefs were having trouble finding substitutes for butter and cream, typically used in fine dining. Stacey knows how to do those things. She looked on the websites and noticed that they needed chefs. She applied and got a call for an interview. She was hired on the spot when they found out she was a Vegan chef. She loves what she does and is excited to be there. She is the only one who has not had formal culinary training, but feels it is all in divine order and that she is supposed to be there. She has been given the title of “Resident Vegan Chef.” The interview ended with her father expressing how he always wanted to support her in whatever she needed, not just financially, but emotionally and physically. He realized that she was very capable of taking care of herself when she was in college. But in the grand scheme, he and her mother always supported her dreams and aspirations. Stacey T. Dougan is the daughter of Dr. William Dougan. She is 34 years young. Dr. Dougan is a member of Left of Center Gallery. Stacy began by discussing her education. She started with her elementary education because she believes it is the foundation for all of one’s learning. She went to elementary school at Nataki Talibah School in Detroit, Michigan, which is African centered. It was very cultured and very small. There were only about 100 kids in grades K through 8. The lessons and values that were instilled in her there were so important in helping her develop her self esteem. She said it was a good decision on her Dad’s part to send her there! It taught her to embrace her culture as an African American and to accept and be proud of her hair and skin. While she was there she also learned to speak French and Swahili. During this time, they took her on a trip to Africa when she was 14. During a college tour with the school they went to Spelman College in Atlanta. She knew immediately she wanted to go there. It was the only college she applied to. She was accepted and attended all four years. She also did an exchange for one year at Columbia Barnard in New York. She says “Life School” is the best! After college she worked odd and end jobs in music, health, and wellness. She is interested in living foods and eventually became Vegan. She did some work in the music industry after college, working in Atlanta as an intern at Virgin Records during a time when music was developing there. She later worked in marketing and promotion. She said she was very entrepreneurial and later opened a raw food café. She didn’t know what she was doing. She was only about 25 years old. She was very stressed, but says it was a blessing and opened the door for other things. She was always there and had to prepare food sometimes all by herself. Now she can prepare food very quickly if she needs to. She learned to be quick and to multi task in whatever she has to do. It allowed her to be a chef today—a very efficient one! At one point, Stacey moved to Ghana and became the personal chef for the minister of health, but also cooked for others. She lived there for 2 years and loved it. She was only supposed to be there for 10 days, but wanted to stay, so she figured out a way that she could. She loved the people and the country. The spirit of the country is different. It is less stressful and the food is of a higher quality. It is mostly fresh foods. She wanted to embrace the culture and would go and sit with the villagers to learn how to cook, speak the language, etc. After a couple of months, she was on her own and realized if she could make it alone in Africa, she could do anything. She came back to the states and began catering for artists such as Erika Badu. She would prepare the food for the artists to have backstage or in their rooms before and after a concert. She had a lot of great experiences in this position. She finally was thinking about what she wanted to do. She loves cooking and how the body can be healed through food. She is Vegan and wants to open a 5 star restaurant that is Vegan. She works for a company called CAN that is tied into health and wellness. She also teaches classes at Whole Food Markets. At one point she decided to make a “vision board”. She was looking through a magazine about Steve Wynn’s hotels in Las Vegas and saw some beautiful pictures of restaurants at his Wynn and Encore Hotels. She put the photos on her vision board months ago. She would look at the photos and she would feel a tingling sensation. She loved the way the restaurants looked, even though she had never been to the Wynn or the Encore. One day, she received a text from a friend whose mother works at the Wynn saying that Steve Wynn had just passed out 10,000 copies to all his employees of a video about the Rave Diet, which is a plant based diet. Stacey has been teaching from this video for about 5 years. It talks about the benefits of a plant based diet verses an animal based one and is well documented. Steve Wynn had recently become a Vegan and wanted to add some Vegan dishes to his restaurant. So Stacy tried to contact Steve Wynn with no luck. But a lot of his chefs were having trouble finding substitutes for butter and cream, typically used in fine dining. Stacey knows how to do those things. She looked on the websites and noticed that they needed chefs. She applied and got a call for an interview. She was hired on the spot when they found out she was a Vegan chef. She loves what she does and is excited to be there. She is the only one who has not had formal culinary training, but feels it is all in divine order and that she is supposed to be there. She has been given the title of “Resident Vegan Chef.” The interview ended with her father expressing how he always wanted to support her in whatever she needed, not just financially, but emotionally and physically. He realized that she was very capable of taking care of herself when she was in college. But in the grand scheme, he and her mother always supported her dreams and aspirations.

Vicki Richardson interviewed Ameenah Shafeeq on November 10, 2010

Ameenah Shafeeq is one of the artists at Left of Center Gallery. She and Vicki Richardson are close friends. She also has worked at the gallery as part of the workforce, as a volunteer, and also as a supporter in the community. When Ameenah was asked what she was most proud of in life, she said finishing college while working and raising a family. She married young, right out of high school but didn’t start college until her kids were little in the 1960’s. She went to art school at a junior college, then took a break, but went back and finished around age 50. She was determined to finish. She started in 1967 and graduated from junior college in the 1980’s. Then she went back in 1984, and finished her degree in 1994. Her mother passed away before Ameenah got her degree. Ameenah said she had to finish for her mom because her mom was always encouraging. Her mother had also paid for her art school. She was also an artists who was outgoing and liked people. Her mother was left alone when her father had a stroke when Ameenah was three years old. Her sister was much older than she was, having been born in the 1920’s while Ameenah was born in the 1940’s. So her mother was a single mom raising her girls alone. Ameenah says she did everything she wanted to do. She would set her goals and then do it. So she is not disappointed with life and has no regrets, except that she didn’t get her education earlier. But she said she did a lot of fun stuff and that school was fun. She learned a lot at school. Her goals were different when she was younger than when she got older. She had wanted to be a fashion designer. She still did it in a way. She learned to weave. She is also still very fashion conscious. She started weaving cloth and making jewelry. She also does painting and photography and enjoys the design aspect. Learning for Ameenah is an ongoing theme. She has a love for art, design, color, and pattern, and it all comes out in her work. She still feels she has the opportunity to do more things. She wants to learn to throw a pot. She said sometimes life gets in the way, and sometimes you find yourself in the eve of your life trying to get it all in. But you have to go for it…you take risks. Her mother said Ameenah was “all over the place” and “a jack of all trades.” Ameenah said she works on lots of things, but always finishes. “You have to have a lot of positive energy. Life is good. There is so much to see, do, and explore. Just keep it moving.” Ameenah says she is not old. She is just getting started. “You have to do what you want to do. Go for it!”

Barbara Esrig interviewed Jessie Rabon on 10/26/10

JessieRabon- talked about her during the Depression in Bell Florida and how her family did Thanksgiving- hunting for wild turkeys hogs and deer, greasing up flat rocks, making a fire outside and setting up pots and pans on that; canning, making sugar cane syrup and gardening. “Recycling about life is what it’s all about”.

Carla Yanez interviewed Marcia Yanez

Childhood Stories My name is Carla Yanez. I’m oldest of three sisters. I have interviewed my youngest sister name Marcia Yanez. Marcia is four years younger than me. She is well-centered and perseverance person. When she make up her mind to do anything, she will keep going towards that goal until be accomplished. She has accomplished so much in her life that I am proud of her. I had interviewed her because we became good friends about two years ago, comparing to many disagreements and fights between us since we were little. I have asked her when and where she was born. She was born in Lima, Peru on April 28, 1986. Lima is the capital of Peru her native country. She grew up in the suburbs, small city named “Los Olivos”. She spent all her childhood playing with her older sister named Deborah. She said they were always got along with each other. They were best friends. They went to school together; thus, they spent more time together. She said Lima is a very big city and has nice sightseeing to attract a lot of tourist. I have asked her how her relationship with her parents was. She responded that she got along better with her mother. Although her father was out all day working, she talked to him sometimes. Her mother was a stay-home mom. She will always remember how her mother helped her do her homework for school. Her mother was there in all times to support no matter what. She appreciated her so much. She remembered how her father taught her to ride a bike. She enjoyed those times with her father. Her father basically was free on the weekend. He took her and the rest of family out on the woods to camp and spend time with family; therefore, she loves to share time with family and goes out with her cousins as much as she can. I have asked her if she remembers any favorite stories from her childhood. She told me that when she was about 8 years old, her father enrolled her and her other sisters in a summer camp. They went to the bus stop at the Downtown every day. There were four buses waiting for all children to be on the bus. They took us to a big summer club which had swimming pools, playgrounds, etc. She had a schedule to go to different activities during the day. She used to skip Karate class because she did not like it. While the karate class was on, she was in the bathroom waiting to finish. She was accompanied with other friends and her sisters sometimes. She spent a period of an hour in bathroom joking, laughing, and having a great time all the summer. While my sister was telling her story, I recalled some circumstances that I have experienced in the same summer camp that we went together. I felt so happy sharing this childhood’s experiences with her. We discussed so many more experiences that we shared together with my other sister. We laughed and missed those times. I am glad to participate in this project because it allows me to express myself and share this little part of my sister and my family’s story. I want to let everyone know how important is to share as much time as you can with your family because they are the essence of your life. I have learned this lesson through my life, and it is essential to look up for special and little things your family can offer you. This will fulfill your soul and the level of your happiness.

Carla Yanez interviewed Marcia Yanez

Childhood Experiences

Michaela Crossen interviewed Ann Lyons on November 27, 2010

I talked with my aunt about her life when she was younger. I was particularly curious about her years after high school. From our childhood to our infancy years, we both share the similar experiences. However the September after high school, I headed off to college and she entered the convent. I was very interested in this and enjoyed the conversation that I had with my aunt.

Barbara Esrig interviewed Kathleen Ell

Kathleen spoke about her difficult and very unusual childhood living as a runaway, with her dad and her mom who had emotional problems, hiding from her mom’s ex husband, moving from place to place and how that influenced who she is now and the understanding and compassion she has for people who have difficulties.

Alejandro Remior interviewed Aliety Pinero on November 30, 2010

We talked about her personal Life

Alejandro Remior interviewed Aliety Pinero on November 30, 2010

We talked about her personal life and what drives her in life.

Linda Riley interviewed Richmond Riley on November 27, 2010

How he learned to swim in the reservoir at the Keasby-Mattison estate in Ambler in the 1930s.

Linda Riley interviewed Vivian B. Riley on November 27, 2010

Her trip across the country from Philadelphia to California on a "sleeper" bus in 1935, when she had just graduated from high school.

Katzman Linda interviewed John Lucius Pharr on November 29, 2010

Rev. Pharr's life experiences. Interview at North County Regional Library, Huntersville, NC

Henline Mary interviewed Marie Margalite Venant on November 29, 2010

Mrs. Venant's life experiences here and in Haiti. North County Regional Library, Huntersville, NC

Mary Henline interviewed Venant, Marie Margalite on 11/29/2010

Mrs. Venant's life experiences.

Linda Katzman interviewed John Lucius Pharr on November 29, 2010

Rev. Pharr's experiences in life.

Nick D'Adamo interviewed Chris D'Adamo on November 23, 2010

I listened to my father and he talked mainly about being in the Navy. He served his country for 3 years in Vietnam. He was on the submarine USS Shark and also the USS Nautilus. These were some of the first nuclear attack subs!

Jack Kavanaugh interviewed Donald Jamieson on November 23, 2010

Mr. Jamieson talked about combat and what he did in combat. He also spoke about his early life and his reasons for going into the army instead of the airforce. Mr. Jamieson is a Korean War veteran.

Makenzie Behymer interviewed George Dixon on November 23, 2010

Mr. Dixon is a Korean War vet. He told me all kinds of stories about taking a machine gun out of a building and replacing it with a gun that didn't work! He also captured a prisoner of war! He said he wasn't going to be a soldier but I think he was a great one!

Jack Lapin interviewed Steve VanBuskirk on November 23, 2010

Mr. VanBuskirk served in the army in Vietnam. He volunteered in 1966 and studied radio communications. He is a 5th generation combat veteran! He ran radio underground for 28 days while being shot at by rockets! He asked to be moved from his desk job to something more exciting, and he was assigned as a radio man for a long range reconnaissance patrol team!

Madeline Riede interviewed Doug Riede on November 23, 2010

My father is 53 years old and was a member of the US Coast Guard from 1975 to 1979. We talked about why he joined the Coast Guard when he lived in Kansas. He also told me about what it was like to be on active duty and the places he was stationed at and what he had to do there.

Benjamin Ellis interviewed Harold Boltz on November 23, 2010

Harold Boltz is 79 years old and he's my grandfather. He was in the US Air Force from 1953 to 1957 and was stationed in Texas and Japan. He was an architectural specialist and was ranked a Staff Sgt. He told me about his experiences in the time of the Korean War.

Benjamin Ellis interviewed Thomas Ellis on November 23, 2010

Mr. Ellis is my grandfather and he was an aircraft engineer from 1953 - 1957. The was a staff sgt. at Forbes Airforce Base and we talke about his time there.

desmond drayton interviewed rick smith

1. What were your parents like growing up? Being that we didn't have much, times were kind of hard. At one point of time, my dad was the only person in the house working. He had to pay bills, buy things for the house, then give my mom money and whatever was left was for me ,my brother and sister. So you could imagine how growing up I couldn't afford to have the latest shoes or clothes. I appreciated everything that was given to me because I know my dad did all he could to try and make us happy. But my was the one that didn't really settle for too much. My dad was the easy going person that didn't stress things too much. I felt most comfortable talking to my dad because he never judged me. He always view situations as if he were in my shoes to help give advice. Now that I am older, things have changed. 2. What does your future hold ? As of right now I'm really not sure what the future holds for me. I have many things that I am good at but I really can't choose what to do. Ever since I was little I always had dreams, but as I get older, realistically those dreams seem as if there not possible. I’m currently going to school for physical therapy, but its not a passion. Just something I know will help me to leave comfortably. 3. Who has the biggest influence in your life, and what lessons did they teach you? My dad has the biggest influence in my life. The more I get older I tend to see things the way my dad do. Even though there may be a hundred problems that exist, my dad always keeps a smile on his face and plays it cool. He has taught me that every thing in life that may look good to the naked I may not be the case. Living for another person wont grant you happiness. It will just make you fool yourself from who you really are.

Tegan Pinna interviewed Elisandra Quintosa

our friendship

Barbara Esrig interviewed Weiwen Li on November 17, 2010

Weiwen Li spoke about the cultural differences in body language between her Chinese background and people here in the US and how those differences can lead to the perceptions of emotional difference and distance such as how eye contact which indicates interest here in the US would be considered rude and inappropriate, even with parents, in Chinese culture. She spoke about issues of assimilating and the difficulties and misunderstandings that can happen inadvertently because of differences in our norm.

Candace Hughes interviewed George Doland on November 25, 2010

My Dad told me my Mom had fallen while putting up Christmas lights.

Tegan Pinna interviewed Elisandra Quintosa

cassondra bennett interviewed Brenda Lee Bennett on November 29, 2010

me and my mom talked about what she was most proud of which is her kids and the great job she did with raising us alone. i also aked her how did she come up with my name and the most important lessons that she has learned in life. when it comes to my name my mom said that one day while she was carrying me she heard a lady near by calling her little girl Casson and she thought that it was a really nice name. she changed it a lil and that home i was named Cassondra NOT Cassandra. lol

Barbara Esrig interviewed Tom Mitchell on October 6, 2010

Thomas Mitchell spoke about the discovery of himself as an artist only after his diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease but how the procedures he had to do for years as a medical physicist, creating hand made masks and forms for patients during their radiation treatments, were indications of his early art pieces and, later, the artist he unearthed.

Branden Quetant interviewed Jackie Pena

Branden Quetant interviewed

branden Quetant interviewed Jackie Pena

Miuchael Murphy interviewed Maria Leones on November 25, 2010

Favorite childhood memory, faovrite thing about the earth, and first crush.

Michael Murphy interviewed Maria on November 25, 2010

We talked about her favorite memory from child hood, her first crush and her favorite thing about the world. Her favorite memory as a child, was when she was about 5, and her neigbor used to give her treats and play with her, and they would listen to the birds. Her first crush ws also around this time, with a little girl in her neighborhood. Her Favorite thing about the world is the beautiful places in it.

Ruth Siegel interviewed Carolyn Siegel on November 26, 2010

Grandmother told stories to grand daughter. Granddaughter shed tears. It was a good thing. The next day a whole table full of people told stories about childhood memories, events, which sibling was the meanest, etc.

Barbara Esrig interviewed Sallie Ann Harrison on November 9, 2010

Sallie Ann spoke about the medical hurtles she had to overcome after a series of major surgeries and accidents and the remarkable way she learned what she truly wanted to do for the rest of her life and how she learned to be her own partner.

Alice Ross Leon interviewed Richard Leon on November 28, 2010

During difficult times, what are you thankful for? I plan on interviewing people through the holidays. I am asking this question to all my participants. My husband Richard was the 1st. I'm editing the second, and have 4 more lined up so far.

Patricia Racine interviewed Kettia Racine on November 27, 2010

I choosed to interview my sister Kettia Racine because she is my idol and have accomplish a lot. Ketttia Racine is the oldest out of three younger siblings, she also is married with he high school sweetheart and she have three young boys with him. Being the oldest of her siblings, she knew she had to set an example for the younger ones. Going to college was always her goal even after having a baby in the last year in high school she made sure she still went to a community college. 1) What was the happiest moment of you life? the happiest moment of my life was when i got accpeted into the nursing program. I was so happy because i knew i had worked hard to get that far in college even with being a mom i knew i needed to provide for my kids and i wanted to show my younger siblings that edcations is important. 2) What are the most important lessons you've learned in life? i have learned in life you need goals and a plan about where you want to be. During my college years i was dealing with family issues and relationships problems and being a mother got hard but i manage to weigth everything out and not let things get in the way of what i wanted to accomplish. 3) How would you like to be remembered? I would like to be remember as the best Nurse, Mother, Sister and etc.. because everything i do i put my heart into it. Kettia was very motivated about what she wanted, even when people did not believe in her she still believe in her self and thats why she accomplish her bachelor degree

Peter Luby interviewed Karen Wilkes on November 26, 2010

Karen shared memories of our recently deceased friend, Gail Schatzman.

Peter Luby interviewed Ryan Bennett on November 26, 2010

Ryan told stories of his experience of Middle Eastern culture on an archeological dig in Oman where he was supervisor to Bengali migrant workers. And he told me about his real experience of culture shock, working for the US forestry service and feeling completely alone.

Peter Luby interviewed Mark Bennett on November 26, 2010

Mark's stories of learning to cook Italian food and other memories of his mother Olga Bennett.

Hope May interviewed Jeffrey Wigand on November 28, 2010

Jeffrey Wigand, who attained international acclaim when he revealed the truth about the tobacco industry (as told in the film 'The Insider') is interviewed by his wife, Hope May. She asks him childhood lessons which have shaped Dr. Wigand into the remarkable person that he his today. To hear this and all other National Day of Listening interviews, visit: http://ethics.cmich.edu/listen

Hope May interviewed Sally Goodrow on November 26, 2010

Sally talked about the unexpected death of her husband, John Goodrow. John was reverend at St. John's parish and was indefatigable in helping others in need. Sally discusses her decision to preserve John's legacy by forming the Goodrow Fund - an important entity which provides services to local families in need. To hear this and all other National Day of Listening interviews, visit: http://ethics.cmich.edu/listen

Hope May interviewed Bruce Roscoe on November 26, 2010

Dr. Bruce Roscoe has been Dean of Students at Central Michigan University for 17 years. Here, he discusses how the hardest part of his job - dealing with the death of students - is nonetheless a source of both professional and personal insight and wisdom.

Hope May interviewed Deanna Heath on November 24, 2010

Deanna Heath was Director of the Mt. Pleasant Hospice for many years. Here, she discusses how she was drawn to this work, and why she left her position as Director to pursue a degree in Social Work.

Olga Martinez interviewed Roberto Porras on November 26, 2010

About Catholic Religion

Madelyn Malm interviewed Suzanne Jane Malm on November 29, 2010

we talked about things that were important to her

Olga Martinez interviewed Roberto Porras on November 26, 2010

Catholic Religion.

Sue Okerson interviewed Cathy Okerson on November 26, 2010

We asked mom about the years she and dad raised her five kids, living through the depression and WWII. Also asked her secret to living a good long happy life.

Elizabeth Harris interviewed Constance Harris on November 26, 2010

My grandmother rode a bus from Parsons, Kansas to Kansas City to work in an airplane factory during World War II. At the height of the rationing, she, like other women gave up stockings and other underpinnings enhanced with silk and elastic. Once, my grandmother found a lonely hairpin in the ladies room at the factory. She stared at it for a long while, lusting after this simple luxury forgotten on the sink. All steel went to the war effort, and an extra hairpin would have been a treat. Grandmother finally turned away, knowing that as much as she desired that hairpin, the woman to whom it belonged would return for it soon. What a different age it was, when my Grandmother walked away from that hairpin. We live in such easy luxury now, wasting the paper clips and the heels of bread we don't need. How many pennies have been vacuumed away? How many hairpins have been discarded without a thought to the girl who might have missed it?

Derek Gonser interviewed Steve Gonser on 11/29/2010

Childhood and growing up

Brandi Herrera Pfrehm interviewed Roy Anthony Herrera on November 28, 2010

I sat down to interview my father, Roy Herrera, about his childhood. Here's what I found out about growing up with two Mexican parents in 1950s Texas, and making tortillas. The full interview: http://soundcloud.com/poeticflummery/tell-me-a-story_episode-1_texas-tortillas

Brandi Herrera Pfrehm interviewed Katherine Herrera on November 28, 2010

I sat down with my mother, Katherine Herrera, to interview her about two memorable holidays: learning to make her first thanksgiving dinner (and the surprise guest that helped her do it), and one Christmas Eve stranded at home because of the weather. the full interview is right here: http://soundcloud.com/poeticflummery/tell-me-a-story_episode-2_first-thanksgiving-improvising-christmas

Gillian Zucker interviewed Ann Marie O'Mara Bertolatus on November 27, 2010

My discussion with my grandmother was quite interesting; there was a lot of information I acquired. We chatted about her school career, amusing activities when she was younger, and her favorite music. I found out about my grandmother's interest in jazz and Irish music, because of her Irish heritage and marriage to a man who enjoyed jazz. She also visited a radio show every Saturday, which seemed very exciting! When my grandmother was younger, she lived in a nice location by the beach, worked often, and had a school career full of top grades. It was interesting to find out about someone who had experienced so much as well as someone related to me! So far, my grandmother has had a life full of music, excitement, good family and times, and intelligence.

Sophia Augustin interviewed Fabrice Louissaint on November 27, 2010

our friendship, the past and how everything has changed. I also asked him some questions about things that the might have wanted to tell me but never did.

Sophia Augustin interviewed Fabrice Louissaint on November 29, 2010

The past and our friendship

Elisandra Quintosa interviewed Reinaldo Perez on November 22, 2010

We talked about his love lifw

Kira Marchione interviewed Donna Marchione on 10/26/10

The different experiences we had dealing with the terminal illness of my father.

Candice Burnett interviewed Michael Russell on November 26, 2010

We talked about our friendship!

Candice Burnett interviewed Michael Russell on November 26, 2010

I interview him on our friendship. I chose the most questions I thought may be interesting!

Tiffany Baumann interviewed Vera Joan Evans on November 25, 2010

We discussed her childhood, how she met her husband, what music she likes to listen to, and her children. My favorite answer she gave me was when she told me what she liked to sing when she was little. It was a song that her mother created that went like,"I know how ugly I are, my face is really no star, but I do not mind it, for my face is behind it, the people in front get the jar." I laughed incredibly hard after she told me that. on the recording I'm trying to hold in my giggling.

Davidson Library interviewed Betty Casey on November 23, 2010

She spoke of her French restaurant and meeting Julia Child.

Tiffany Baumann interviewed Vera Joan Evans on November 25, 2010

We talked about how she grew up, what kind of music she listened to and sang, how she met her husband, and her life with her children. My favorite answer she gave was when she said what she used to sing when she was little. She told me her mother made up a song that was pretty funny and it went like, "I know how ugly I are, my face is really no star, but I do not mind it, for I am behind it, the people in front get the jar." That made me laugh incredibly hard but on my recording I'm trying to hold in my giggling.

Berline Oswald interviewed shirley jean pierre on November 25, 2010

life

Jenna Washnieski interviewed David Chaikin

David shared his story about living with MS and the important role volunteering has played in his life.

mariesa maglione interviewed Daniel Lois Maglione on November 28, 2010

My dad and i talked about many things. some of the subjects we reached were as silly as what would a desired power be. i learned that he used to drum in a heavy metal band called Asteroth. i also learnred that he was friends with the singer of Overkill (another heavy metal band).

carlee whitworth interviewed lori kim whitworth

Me and my mom talked mainly about her in the past and what she enjoys we didn’t really talk much about the future but her main goal is to provide for the family because she loves us . I really loved talking to her it was really interesting like how she got her name and whets your favorite song and why and she said stuck like glue by Sugarland and because it’s very upbeat. I really love talking to my mom and I hope to talk to her more.

Chris Szychulski interviewed Toni Szychulski on November 26, 2010

Her life growing up, how she met my dad, some of her memories from those first few years and some memories of family road trips.

Heidi Flythe interviewed PHARR, JOHN LUCIUS

Influences on his life, experiences with work and family

Theresa Casciato interviewed Amerigo C. Laus, USN WWII on November 29, 2009

Mr Laus talked about his experiences aboard the USS Sanborn (APA-193).

Katlyn Hutt interviewed Beverly Ann Seaberg on November 27, 2010

In my interview with my grandma, we talked about her lifestyle as a child. We talked about the activities she participated in such as choir and the drill team. Foods she ate, liverworst, turkey, ham, baloney and even instant breakfasts. I enjoyed hearing about all of her pets from her childhood auch as Goosie, her pet goose. I learned that since times were tough she didnt go on vacations or have a honeymoon. She bought a record player after marrying my Pop-Pop because she loved music and still does. My grandma's life was very different from mine but she enjoyed it and I'm sure I would too.

savannah shimkus interviewed john anthony shimkus on November 28, 2010

my dad and i had a lot iof fun doing this interveiw. we talked about music and we had a lot of laughs. my faviorite answerwas to this:"how did you listen to music when you were young?" Answer:" uh i had a 45 record player and collected 45 records which i played on my 45 record payer"overall, we had alot of fun and even though there was a loud background i learned a lot about my dad.

Sean Gilbert interviewed Kathleen Gilbert on November 26, 2010

My mom liked listening to music when she was young. Her favorite artists are Bruce Springsteen and Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band. Her favorite musical decade was the 80's. She has seen many Broadway shows like Lesmiserables and Jersey Boys. Her favorite place to go on vacation was alcapoco. her favorite Christmas present was a snow white telephone. She thought it was cool she could hear snow white's voice when she picked up the phone. She grew up in Liverpool, New York, and moved to Manalpin when she was in Highschool.

Natalie Prince interviewed Elizabeth Ann Prince on November 28, 2010

Her favorite band when she was my age was The Beatles. Her current favorite band is Five for Fighting. Her wedding song was "Love of a Lifetime". When she was my age, she liked to listen to music with a diskman and rollerskating to the beat. Her favorite musical decade is the sixty's because that is what she grew up with.

Abbie Korolik interviewed Rebecca Brewer on November 28, 2010

We talked a lot about music and childhood. Also, we talked about school teachers and school in general, because several of my questions dealt with that topic. A longer response that I received was about a funny or strange thing that happened to my aunt Becca. I ended up hearing a story about a choir trip to Europe where she slipped and lost all of the donuts that she had just bought! I am glad that I had the opportunity to learn more about her and enjoyed hearing her stories.

Olivia Cowdrick interviewed Olive Marie Hill

In my interveiw I learned that my grandmother is a very expeirenced musician. Through thick and thin she sang to our family.It carried us through some pretty tough times.When my grandfather was coming home she would sing the national anthem on the base.She also had piano experience in the church choir.

Martine St Jean interviewed Melissa Saint Jean on November 27, 2010

*Questions* 1)What are some of the most important lessons you learned in your life? The very important lesson I've learned in my life is that life isn't as easy as i thought it may have been growing up especially becoming a very young parent of two at the age of 1. 2)What was the happiest moments of your life?The happiest moments of my life is when I conceive my very first child and then a year later my second child. I shed tears I must admit. But those where tears of joy.The saddest?The saddest moments in my life is having two kids and falling behind in school. And not being able to maintain a decent grade in school. 3)Who was has been the biggest influence in your life?The biggest influence in my life is my mother.What lessons did your mother teach you? She taught me how to be a strong women because I had reached the point where I was no longer a little girl but I had became a women at such a young age.My mother guide me to the path where I was proven that my two kids where not going to slow me down nor prevent me from obtaining my diploma. Person Whom I interview Melissa Saint Jean Older Cousin Overall reaction My overall reaction after going through this interview with my cousin is that life is rough and everything is not easy as she stated. But it's your choice wheather you will make it through or not. My feeling throughout the interview is that if my cousin can make it through after having two kids their is no reason whatsoever onto why someone with no kids would not be able to make it through the basic schooling such as obtaining a high school diploma. My advise to my dear cousin is that she should talk to young pregnant moms and help them understand that just because they are pregnant,young, and does not have a supportive baby father that doesn't mean it's the end of the world for them. They should only allow that baby to be the reason they wake up every morning and strive to succeed and build a greater future for them..

Zoey Bouchelle interviewed Jacqueline Mier on November 25, 2010

We talked about my aunt and her sisters growing up, summers at the cabin with her grandparents, traveling, love, and motherhood.

Carlea Bauman interviewed Cindy Bishop on November 26, 2010

Cindy is my mother in law. My husband interviewed his father. We interviewed them separately but asked them similar questions: what were they like growing up, how did they meet each other, what life lessons would they share with future generations, etc. My husband asked his father about his service in Vietnam. My mother in law and I shared some emotional moments talking about how we felt about each other. When it was her turn to ask me a question, she asked about when I knew her son was "the one." It was a wonderful experience. We're hoping to interview my husband's 87 year old grandmother over Christmas.

Amy Leiser interviewed Anne Erhardt on November 28, 2010

We began talking about our family, and then just whatever came to mind.

Tra Wilder interviewed Interview with Friend on November 26, 2010

Talking about our past relationship

Sara Rupnick interviewed Brian Rupnick on November 27, 2010

I chose to interview my dad, Brian Rupnick because he’s one person in my life that I truly look up to, and his stories from his childhood have always intrigued and inspired me. I asked him only a few questions, but they sparked up an emotional heart-to-heart conversation we would not normally be having. I asked him what it was like growing up with eight brothers and sisters, who/what has impacted him the most in life, a memory from his childhood he’ll never forget, where his sense of humor came from, and where he sees himself in ten years. Even though it was an emotional topic, he explained that having eight brothers and sisters really helps him appreciate all he has now – he used to share a bed with my uncle (there were five boys to two sets of bunk beds). He has a fond memory of Sunday nights, when his older brothers and sisters and their spouses would come to his parents’ house to play cards. Even though he wasn’t old enough to play and often had to do his homework, he remembers watching them playing wondering if he would remember these Sunday nights when he was old enough to be playing. When he was growing up, a sense of humor was extremely important (just as it was for me growing up); he got his sense of humor from his dad (my grandpa) and his brother Jeff. My dad was mostly impacted by his childhood – growing up with eight brothers and sisters, getting used to sharing and appreciating what he could get. In ten years, my dad sees himself retired working on things he wants to (like woodworking or painting as an independent business). Besides work, he hopes to spend winters in a warmer state, like Arizona. My dad, Brian Rupnick, is one of the most important people in my life. He has brought me up to be a respectful, responsible young adult with a sense of humor. It was great to have him alone for awhile just to talk to him about things we normally we wouldn’t talk about and to listen to things that have shaped him to become the person he is today.

Kathryn Kotow interviewed Mary on November 27, 2010

For my National Day of Listening interview, I chose to sit down and talk with my mom. Something I’d been curious about for a long time was what her life was like when she was my age, and I actually learned a lot. She started off by saying “I was a lot like you. I was obsessed with music, I knew everything about what was going on with current music.” At that, I was actually very shocked considering how much fun she pokes at me when I talk about all of my music. She told me that as different as we may seem now, she was a lot like me when she was my age and that even though she teases me sometimes, that it’s only because it’s like ‘looing in a mirror sometimes.’

Tiffany Armstrong interviewed Laura Armstrong on November 28, 2010

Over Thanksgiving break, I interview my mother, Laura, about her music teaching career. We talked about how she decided on teaching and what she needed to accomplish before becoming a teacher. I was very young when she was in graduate school and I know how difficult it was for her to be a full time teacher, raise two children, and do graduate school. She talked about some of her more memorable experiences in the classroom. She also talked about what it was like to retire after such a long career. She said she knew it was a mistake to retire, but she physically could not work any longer. She was on disability and would not be able to return to teaching. She does miss teaching, but now she can enjoy visiting with friends, taking time to herself during the day, and watching her two daughters as they go through college. My mother truly enjoyed her teaching career and still misses working with children. She said it was a calling for her and she has never regretted being a music teacher.

Lindsey Swansby interviewed Richard Swansby on November 24, 2010

Choosing someone who is important to me was difficult. Right away when I heard about this assignment, I thought of my mom. Then when I thought about it more, I wanted to interview my grandpa, my mom’s dad. Then, I finally settled on interviewing my dad. I knew I wanted to interview him because he always tells my sister and me stories of his childhood and what he thinks about the world today. I interviewed him on Wednesday, November 24th because he is going hunting on National Day of Listening- Friday, November 26th. The questions that I asked him gave me a sense of how great his childhood and present life is. My dad grew up on the northwest side of Milwaukee with four other siblings to the parents of Nelvin and Elsie Swansby who grew up on farms in the 1900s. The best advice they gave their children was, “If you want to make a living, go earn a trade.” That is why they moved to Milwaukee. His favorite memory as a child was playing “kick the can” in the alley in the summer time. Along with “kick the can” my dad enjoyed Skittle Bowl which is a game similar to bowling. He lived in Milwaukee for twenty-five years. In those years, he worked at a corporation called Harnischfeger. There he went through a training program out of high school and he became a drafter who designed drawings the way Harnischfeger designed them. His first girlfriend he recalls was Cindy and they dated for two to three years. When my dad met my mom, he was about thirty years old. He said she was a hometown girl from Berlin and they met West of Berlin at volleyball/bar/dining restaurant. I now think that is why volleyball is my favorite sport that I love to play. As a child, my dad’s scariest moment was when he was going to catechism class. On that particular night, he walked through the church to get to the basement. When he did, he heard the organ playing with nobody playing it. He took a closer look and saw the organ playing all by itself. It was playing the theme song from the movie “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken”. He went to class and did not tell anyone. I asked him if he believes in God and reincarnation. His answer was yes to believing in God, but he believes the spirit lives on with your family; generation after generation. He believes the most dramatic change in today’s world compared to when he was younger is the pace of the people. It is too fast that people do not take as much time for themselves or their family as much as they did back in his day. Lastly, I asked him what his favorite memory was with Dacy and me when we were younger. He replied the time when he took us to the swamp that has been in the generation since the 1800s. We took pictures, walked underneath the Heater Tree, and walked in the water. Completing this interview was something I was glad to do. Even though I heard most of the stories, it was nice sitting down with my dad and having him retell the stories like it was just yesterday.

Mackenzie Klingert interviewed Tony Klingert on November 26, 2010

Conor Anderson interviewed Kyle Anderson on November 28, 2010

I interviewed my brother Kyle Anderson. I asked him a handful of questions. It became clear to me at the end of the interview, that our parents have greatly influenced him. He is very grateful for that. The morals that our parents placed upon him, have shaped him for the rest of his life.

Kathleen M Kelm interviewed Lyn Ross on November 26, 2010

I interviewed my friend Lyn-we have been friends for a long time (we are both from Canada) and shared many, many experiences. I asked her to describe how we met – and it was interesting to hear how, for her, Laura’s cancer was the pivotal moment when our friendship moved from beyond ‘our children were in school together’ to one that was supportive and enduring. A few tears flowed during this part of the interview. Then I asked her about what it was like for her to move from Canada to Wisconsin. She remembered how confused she was, even though the two countries are in close proximity to each other, living in the US was quite a shock. She kept wondering if some of the idiosyncrasies she observed were an ‘American’ thing or a ‘Wisconsin’ thing – we had a good laugh about that! Later when I asked her what advice she would give to anyone moving from their home country to a new one, she said: “Bring an open mind – be willing to accept the new place for what it is like, without wanting it to be the same”. This is great advice – because once you are open to new experiences, the opportunities for a happy and fulfilling life are endless.

Alex Hegge interviewed Alex Hegge on November 26, 2010

For the Day of Listening, I decided to have a conversation with my friend Abby. We have been friends since middle school and I would have to say she has been my consistent friend. We have had no major fights and can tell each other anything and not worrying about one an other telling each others secrets. For my sophomore year of college Abby and I hope to own a house or apartment while attending UW Milwaukee. Abby and myself have many things in common. We listen to the same music, play the same sport and even have the same family situation. We both have divorced parents. We mainly only live with our moms and have no close relationship with our fathers. We believe that the divorce has bettered our families and our mothers are both happy with new men in their life. Through out our conversation we discuss things we have over come with divorce, money loss and how it has taken a toll on parts of our life. We have both seen how our mothers became strong, independent woman, as well as single woman. The good thing about being close friends is that we were able to talk in depth about things we have endured, such as drug, alcohol, and physical/ mental abuse. I have enjoyed interviewing my friend and it is nice that I can talk to someone, other than my brothers and sisters, about certain family issues.

Leonda Levchuk interviewed KJ Jacks on November 4, 2010

KJ talked about racism with the Native American community, her Irish-Cherokee heritage and her favorite memories of working at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian

Paula Leier-Engelhardt interviewed Jerry and Marvelyn Leier

My husband and I listened to my parents talk about their life on our North Dakota farm to 2.5 hours! It was the most amazing gift they could gift they could have given us.

Michael Bruns interviewed Jerry Rosen on November 27, 2010

I interviewed my brother-in-law for 2+ hours on Saturday, November 27th. We talked about his family and growing up Jewish, his life as an educator, and why he chose to teach biology. We talked about his wife (my sister) and the birth of his two daughters and him being a baseball coach. It was a great conversation and I learned quite a bit about him, even though I've known him for 22+ years. It was only fitting as a teacher when I asked him what he was proudest of when it came to his daughters. His reply was when their teachers at a parent/teacher night said "What a great kid you have".

Karie Jarvis-Slayton interviewed Ronald Barcomb on November 23, 2010

Ronald gave a description as to where he grew up and about his family life growing up. He talked about his military experience and how that influenced him as an adult. He described his work experiences and what it taught him about others. He also gave a brief description about his happiest memories when he was younger and the people in his life that have meant a lot to him in that time period.

Pamela Potter interviewed Jessica Luv Pollock on 11/26/10

I interviewed my 10 year old daughter the day after Thanksgiving. It is my intent to ask the same questions next year! One of the things Jessica is most excited about is that her and I attend karate lessons together. She is a green belt and I am a black belt. It is her hope that we can test together when she goes for her black belt. I'm getting too old!! She later wrote a list of the questions and answers for me to keep "forever".

Emily Lamb interviewed Becca Mauer on November 28, 2010

We talked about stories from growing up and her experiences and advantages of being the eldest sibling. She told me about the time she convinced my other sister to take some baby bird eggs home with her so they could help hatch and raise them. This was just one story of the many of her taking advantage of her younger siblings naiveness. Also, she talked about how she first met Ryan, her now husband, and that story.

Emily Lamb interviewed Emily Lamb on November 28, 2010

We talked about stories from growing up and her experiences and advantages of being the eldest sibling. She told me about the time she convinced my other sister to take some baby bird eggs home with her so they could help hatch and raise them. This was just one story of the many of her taking advantage of her younger siblings naiveness. Also, she talked about how she first met Ryan, her now husband, and that story.

Lauren Birney interviewed Patti Birney on November 24, 2010

I talked to my mom about her childhood and about how her and I grew up in the same town in different generations and how much different it was.

Cecilia Gonser interviewed Carmen Gonser on 11/28/2010

Julissa Candelaria interviewed Anacelis Cruz

I enjoyed participating in this event so much. It gave me lo'ts of answers on what I wanted to know from my momand I enjoyed myself doing it.

Will Coley interviewed Loris Guzzetta on November 26, 2010

Loris, a photographer from Sicily, told me about the first time he came to the US and the surprises he encountered when starting an internship in New York City.

solanyi alvino interviewed Scarlet Guzman on 11/28/2010

our relationship as mother and daughter

Alek Korolainen interviewed Karen Runner on November 25, 2010

Grandmother's Life

Claire Smith interviewed Elizabeth Murphy on November 27, 2010

We talked about what it was like to be growing up. My Grandma grew up in the Bronx and we talked about the differences that there were in living there as compared to where I live which is a very rural area. We also talked about how the great depression is similar to what is going on in the world today. There are so many things that the future holds and it is hard to tell where the United States is going to end up in the future with China and India becoming such superpowers. We discussed how the world changes so much within one persons lifetime.

Michael Sullivan interviewed Brian Clifford Sullivan on November 26, 2010

We talked about my father's early life, his work experiences, meeting my mother, raising children, and his general thoughts about life.

Noah Fitzpatrick interviewed Gladys Abernathy Hurley on November 27, 2010

Her childhood, marriage, and work experiences.

Knapp Ethan interviewed Lisa Knapp on November 28, 2010

Growing up. What did you do when you were my age?' What's the most exciting job you have ever done? What was colleg like? How many cars have you owned? Which car is your favorite?

sydney gabriel interviewed jamie gabriel on November 28, 2010

we talked about crystal our dog who just passed away

Alyssa Silva interviewed Nana on November 28, 2010

My Daddy, Where my Nana grew up, If she was proud of me

alexandria capps interviewed Linda Rice on November 28, 2010

She told me about some of the highlights of her life. She said her most important highlight was accepting Jesus Christ into her life at the age of 12. Her next highlight was when she married her husband John Rice at the age of 24 on July 10th, 1971. Their honeymoon was going to Disneyland and Lake Tahoe. She actually had 8 children, but unfortunately 5 of them were 4 month miscarriages. She was able to have 3 children. One was my mother Melissa and the other are my uncles Brandon and Greg. Her next highlight was me because I was her first grandchild, she even took care of me for a whole year when my mom was 17 because my mom had me when she was 16. My mom has 5 other kids now and my grandparents and have been a HUGE part of my life and are also a big part of my brother and sisters lives. My grandma has been living her life for the Lord ever since she was 12, she always talks about God. She goes to a lot of church activities, she volunteers at school for 2cd graders, she donates to Christian causes. She tries to keep herself very busy. Her and my grandpa even go on trips, they went to Minnesota not too long ago and went to Branson Misouri and even made a trip coming to get me from Madison. I love my Grandma to where words can never even come close to describing how much she really means to me. I can truly, honestly say that I have no idea where I would be right now if I didn't have her and my grandpa in my life.

Nathan, Judy, David and Michael Fixler interviewed Thelma Altman Fixler on November 27, 2010

We talked about the life and career of Thelma Altman Fixler, mother and grandmother

Thelma Altman Fixler interviewed Nathan, Judy, David and Michael Fixler on 11/27/2010

We asked Thelma Fixler about her life, her career as an opera singer.

jenny alexis interviewed michael alexis on November 27, 2010

Naomi Lyng interviewed John F.X. Lyng on November 26, 2010

His experiences as a polygraph detective while working with the Jersey City Police force and his time lecturing around the US and Canada about effective interrogation.

Naomi Lyng interviewed John F.X. Lyng on November 26, 2010

His experiences as a professional polygraph detective while serving with the Jersey City Police and while lecturing to students around the United States and Canada.

mary jones interviewed Lisa Andrews on November 25, 2010

everything

Cynthia Kane interviewed Melbourne Dahmes on November 26, 2010

My grandma/his mother Uncle Mel growing up on the farm, his family, his work

Emile Bastien interviewed Rita Bastien on November 24, 2010

How was it when you were a kid?

gloria ferguson interviewed

Daniel Keaton interviewed Joan and Dan Schnyer on November 26, 2010

Joni Keaton interviewed Joan and Dan Schnyer on November 26, 2010

The history of our Grandparents;how they met, their childhoods, and their accomplishments.

Rich Gassen interviewed Doris Gassen on November 20, 2010

My mother’s father was a story teller. He wrote in journals and newspapers all of the time about his life and the lives of people all around him. Many of his writings have been used to document historical events and happenings in Richland County, because of the thoroughness of his works. I read a book he self-published, entitled Beyond the Valley, and now know much more about him and my grandmother because of it. For the National Day of Listening project, I chose to interview my mother. I think about our relationship, and know there is a lot I don’t know about her past, about my father (now deceased), and about her family life growing up. I wanted to find out some things from her and record them for my children, so they can learn as much about her as I now know about her father and mother through his writings.

Elena Cohen interviewed Joe and Cathy Cohen and Claire Rosenfeld on November 26, 2010

My parents' wedding, 42.5 years ago.

Chase Family interviewed Kristina Lucenko, Darren Chase, Hannah Chase, Parker Chase, and Kalyna Chase on November 26, 2010

each member of our family interviewed one other person--so 5 interviews in all. daughter interviewed mom, dad interviewed daughter, sister interviewed sister (x2), and wife interviewed husband. we had a blast, and plan on making this an annual tradition. thanks storycorps! xoxo

Alison Rabe interviewed Janet Mumford on November 26, 2010

Jennifer Duff interviewed Michael James Elliott on November 26, 2010

"Preacher's" testimony of salvation and his experiences in the ministry.

Joni Hahn interviewed Sally Schmidt on November 26, 2010

We talked about our relationship as co-workers; as congregants of the First Universalist Unitarian Church of Wausau; and as friends.

Mary O'Flyng interviewed Dennis O'Flyng on November 26, 2010

We talked about our many years as members of the First Universalist Unitarian Church of Wausau and the many wonderful relationships we've had with other members.

Ann Kumm interviewed Joan Cook on November 26, 2010

I told my mom that I wanted to interview her because I believe she has led an amazing life.

Elizabeth Davidson interviewed Ann deJarnette Donnally on 11/08/2009

I was in NYC and telephoned my mother in Oregon on Sunday morning around 10 because we always spoke then on the telephone. She told me about a lunch she had been to with friends. She was repeating this story, and had done so many times already. I found myself slightly bored, but suddenly realized that what I really cared about was listening to the sound of her beloved voice in my ear, so I just listened, and stopped minding the fact that she had already told me about this. I heard her voice then in a way I had never heard her before. It was if there was a room in my head where my mother was sitting, talking to me. I just listened, and her voice stored itself in my head like a snail in a shell. At the end we talked about my visit to see her coming up as soon as I returned to the West Coast, for the following Friday. We both said we were looking forward to it very much--it had been a regrettably long time since we had been able to see each other and we had really missed it. She told me she loved me so very much. I heard it all so clearly. Even now I can hear it. She is deep inside my head and whenever I listen I hear her, as if we're still talking. She died the next day before I could get home to see her. Today would have been her 88th birthday. I'm glad I was able to write about this on this day. Thank you.

Emma Weinstein-Levey interviewed Lindsay Barnes on November 20, 2010

We talked about family, Wellesley College, our friendship, and politics.

Emma Weinstein-Levey interviewed Kris Niendorf on October 28, 2010

We talked about Kris' many roles at Wellesley College, her opinions on some of the school's programs, and her aspirations for the future.

Lissetty Thomas interviewed Edana Chichanowicz on November 26, 2010

Family and people who mean a lot to us.

Sarah Darer Littman interviewed Phyllis Michanik on November 26, 2010

Phyllis' childhood in Baltimore, her parents, how she met her first husband, Peter Eskin, with whom she had an amicable divorce (and how that was possible!) and how she met her husband of almost 40 years, David Michanik. The challenges and joys of raising four boys.

Henry Halff interviewed Albert Henry Halff on November 26, 2010

My 95-year-old father gave me this interview as a birthday present (my 68th). We looked back at his life, and he told many of the wonderful stories of his experiences. They came from his growing up, his education, his courtship and marriage (63-years old when my mother died), and his work. It took us close to 1:15, and we could have gone longer had we not been so tired. Thanks, Storycorps!

Rachell Joy interviewed Pearl Kennedy-Tablack on November 24, 2010

I interviewed long time friend and mentor Pearl Kennedy-Tablack about her life story.

Paul Schonfeld interviewed Roosevelt (Rosey) Harden on August 16, 2010

Rosey's story of owning and operating his restaurant Rosey's Dream in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, with his wife, Donna. Stories about the joys and challenges he faced operating the restaurant as a minority in a small rural town from 1972-1985. on YouTube at: http://bit.ly/epJZAb

Alexandra Lopeda interviewed Shuet Ping Chan Sze on 11/15/10

Shuet Ping Chan Sze interviewed Alexandra Lopeda on 11/15/10

Chun Li Hong interviewed Lina Jabbarah on 11/15/10

Yajaira Campos interviewed Xiao Xia Ye on 11/15/10

Xiao Ling Wang interviewed Qiang Wag on 11/15/10

Andrea Dvorak interviewed Michael Dvorak on November 26, 2010

I interviewed my husband, who I've been married to for two years. I asked him about his childhood and about his memories of our relationship so far.

Devon Asdell interviewed Lucille Wilhoit on November 26, 2010

Music has always been important to my family, so I decided to focus my interviews with my grandmother and mother on their experiences playing with a band in southern Alabama in the 1930s and working as a disc jockey at WATO in Oak Ridge, TN in the early 1980s.

Devon Asdell interviewed Lucille Wilhoit and Dee Wilhoit on November 26, 2010

Music has always been important to my family, so I decided to focus my interviews with my grandmother and mother on their experiences playing with a band in southern Alabama in the 1930s and working as a disc jockey at WATO in Oak Ridge, TN in the early 1980s.

Chun-Yun Stettner interviewed Maria Teresa Enriquez on 11/15/10

Devon Asdell interviewed Lucille Wilhoit and Dee Wilhoit on November 26, 2010

Music has always been important to my family, so I decided to focus my interviews with my grandmother and mother on their experiences playing with a band in southern Alabama in the 1930s and working as a disc jockey at WATO in Oak Ridge, TN in the early 1980s.

Devon Asdell interviewed Lucille Wilhoit and Dee Wilhoit on November 26, 2010

Music has always been important to my family, so I decided to focus my interviews with my grandmother and mother on their experiences playing with a band in southern Alabama in the 1930s and working as a disc jockey at WATO in Oak Ridge, TN in the early 1980s.

Maria Teresa Enriquez interviewed Chun-Yun Stettner on 11/15/10

Dana Pisarek interviewed Julie Pisarek on November 26, 2010

Life expierences

Dana Pisarek interviewed Julie Pisarek on November 26, 2010

We talked about life expierences, happiest and saddest moments and life lessons

Mike Nutt interviewed Elizabeth May Morris on November 26, 2010

Ellie told me about how I proposed to her, what she thought her adult life would be like when she was a kid, and what she thinks she'll be up to when she's 50.

Nina Segovia (Thurmes) interviewed Maria Candida Segovia on November 26, 2010

I interviewed both of my parents over the phone and asked them some questions such as: What is your favorite childhood memory? What advice would you give your greatgrandchildren? What is the your biggest accomplishment in life? Which dream did you make come true? I'm very close to my parents, but I was amazed to learn so many details I didn't know. I recorded their answers in my computer (in word) and hope to share with their great grandchildren someday. Thank you StoryCorps, National Listening Day is a great idea :)

Hope May interviewed Nolan Kaiser on November 22, 2010

Nolan lost his sight when he was 14 years old. He was replicating one of Thomas Edison's experiments. Things went tragically wrong, leaving Nolan blind and without his left hand. We talked about how this experience actually caused him to lose his prejudice against the disabled, and to see more clearly, and to delve into the issue of the relationship between eyesight and justice.

Kathy Cheng interviewed Lai Chan on November 5, 2010

BCNC Childcare Unit staff Bernadette Davidson and Kathy Cheng interviewed their colleague Lai Chan with the BCNC Acorn Center for Early Education and Care. They took a moment to reflect on their years of collaboration, which have made them better educators and dear friends. Check out www.BCNC.net to listen to Bernadette, Kathy and Lai share funny stories and words of praise for Lai, who the other two lovingly call their grandmother. For more information on BCNC's Acorn Center for Early Education and Care, check out www.BCNC.net/childcare.php

Nancy Eng interviewed Marjorie Eng on November 17, 2010

Nancy Eng from the Chinese Historical Society of New England interviewed leader and activist Marjorie Eng. Marjorie discussed her role in forming Chinatown's civil society, including the foundations for the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center. Check out www.BCNC.net to listen to Marjorie describe growing up in Chinatown. Also visit www.CHSNE.org to learn more about the Chinese American Women Oral History Project.

Sophia Kim interviewed Emily Weng on November 5, 2010

BCNC Youth Center Director Sophia Kim talked with high school student Emily Weng about what it means to be a teenager in Chinatown. Check out www.BCNC.net to listen to Emily talk about learning guitar and forming a band, as well as her move to the U.S. at age 11.

Karla Sneegas interviewed Charles VanMeter on November 25, 2010

Charles , now 90 years old, spent the majority of his working career as a cook, baker and restaurant owner. While in WWII in the army, he became a baker and cook and was especially known for his cream pies.

Annapurna Ghosh interviewed Yiqi on November 19, 2010

BCNC Youth Mentor Annapurna Ghosh chatted with her mentee of one year, Yiqi. Anna and Yiqi are part of the English as a Second Language Mentorship Program through the Oak Street Youth Center. Listen in at www.BCNC.net as Anna and Yiqi swap stories about adjusting to life in the Untied States. Learn more about the ESL Mentorship Program at www.BCNC.net/youth_program.php

Norman Eng interviewed Reggie Wong on November 18, 2010

BCNC Deputy Director Norman Eng talked with Chinatown businessman and activist Reggie Wong. Reggie is founder of the Boston Knights and is an important leader in several volleyball and sports organizations, including the North American Chinese Invitational Volleyball Tournament. Listen in at www.BCNC.net as Reggie talks about learning the sport, and the importance of nine man volleyball in Chinatown's history.

Carmen Chan interviewed Stanley K. Chao on November 17, 2010

BCNC Director of Development Carmen Chan spoke with esteemed businessman Stanley K. Chao. Stanley is founder and president emeritus of Advanced Electronics Inc., which has been creating jobs and opportunities in Chinatown since 1976.

 Listen in at www.bcnc.net as Stanley recalls some of his amusing observations of American culture during his college years at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Trish Lewis interviewed Bill Reynolds on July 2010

We were sitting around our fire pit in the yard, in the middle of the country, in the middle of nowhere, in northern Minnesota. The crisp night air, and the mesmerizing fire, brought out memories of Bill's time in the military as an MP (among other situations), where he witnessed tragic accidents involving jets/airplanes. He described the aftermath, what he witnessed, and how it affected him. And how to this day those images and even the smells are forever imprinted in his mind.

Elissa Free interviewed Ann Cottrell Free on 1997

Her life story as a journalist, author, animal protector, poet, mother and friend. She died in 2004 and these interviews are my most prized possessions. I had the tapes transcribed and refer to them often.

Margaret Dornaus interviewed Aragene Lane Dornaus on Nov., 2001

"Listen . . ." Posted on November 26, 2010 by Margaret Dornaus at www.haikudoodle.wordpress.com Listen to ordinary things. . . . –Naomi Shihab Nye NPR’s StoryCorps project has designated the day after Thanksgiving as a National Day of Listening–a day set aside for listening . . . really listening . . . to and recording a loved one’s stories, with special emphasis put on hearing that person’s story without judgment and with an eye toward better understanding those who might not share our particular points of view. That, it seems to me, pretty well runs the gamut of family: mothers/daughters; sons/fathers; husbands/wives; sisters/brothers. All the people we at once hold dear but often have a hard time tolerating, or at least understanding. People we tune out from time to time, forgetting to listen to what makes them uniquely ordinary. Both of my parents are deceased. I won’t be recording any more of their stories, but I’m glad that I took time when I could to hear some of them. I even got my mother to write down one or two of hers. Here, then, in honor of today–and because I’m trying these days to listen to the ordinary–are a few (condensed) stories my mother passed down to me that I’m passing down to you: my mother’s mother sweeps dirt into a lawn where grass won’t grow on holidays they eat turnips (smashed not whole) if no one comes calling . . . she won the penny she holds in the photograph: “Beautiful Baby” –In memory of Aragene Lane Dornaus Thank you for listening along with me.

Rhonda Parchem interviewed Olivia on November 26, 2010

I love that my daughters memories of her Papap include fishing, demolishin derbies and Friday night date nights when I am not invited. the huge lolly pops from the restraunt and all the popcorn you can eat.

Ashley Edgette interviewed Van Delbert Edgette on November 25, 2010

His life, marathons, fishing, memories, Africa, books and Alta.

Ashley Edgette interviewed Van Delbert Edgette on November 25, 2010

His life, marathons, jokes, africa, the military our family history and Alta.

solanyi alvino interviewed Marta Alvino on 11/25/2010

we talked about was what were the things that went through her mind when she first met me, If she is proud of me, and what advice would she give me about raising my own kids.

Anne Cruice interviewed Mum on Mar 2003

Mums childhood- she told me about her taking part in Whit walks to celebrate a religious festival. Wearing a beautiful white lace dress her Mother made for her, very special that dress and also about her mischievous side when she was at school. She once poured black ink onto a classmates chair unobserved but was found out in the end ha.

Jacqueline Garcia interviewed Jose and Luz Ramirez on November 25, 2010

We talked about their proudest moment, the earliest memory and how they want to be remembered.

Christine Whelley interviewed Gladys Whelley on November 27, 2008

Growing up in Utica New York in the 1930's and family.

Rebekah Weeman interviewed RoseMary L. on November 23, 2010

When asked who was the biggest influence in her life she shared that she had a special relationship with her father. "When I married my husband my dad told my husband that he didn't need to train me because i was already trained." Rosemary says that, "you can learn alot from other peole if you listen. Most people don't listen."

Rebekah Weeman interviewed A 57 year old male with Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease on November 23, 2010

I asked him who was the biggest influence in his life. His response was St. Francis of Assisi. He shared with me that three lessons learned from St. Francis of Assisi were 1) Simplicity of life. 2) To prioritize what is important in life and detaching from what is not. 3) Fidelity

Eloise Coopersmith interviewed Ramon Geluz on October 15, 2010

Dr. Ramon is one of the most well respected instructors at Concorde College- he shares what inspires him to be a great insrtructor.

Eloise Coopersmith interviewed Dr. Thomas Leveillee on November 9, 2010

Dr. Leveillee is the Dean at Concorde College in Garden Grove, CA. He discusses how he became an educator and the secret to remaining positive.

Joel Silva interviewed Sundee Puri on October 15, 2010

Concorde Career College Instructor Joel Silva interviewed Sundee Puri about a pivotal cultural experience which gave him new perspective on teaching.

Eloise Coopersmith interviewed Cindy Navarro and Harrison Kaplan on November 9, 2010

These two instructors at Concorde Career College discussed how they assist their students in successfully achieving their academic goals.

Eloise Coopersmith interviewed Cooper Johnson on November 9, 2010

Concorde Career College Instructors participated in this event. I was the facilitator and needed someone to interview me so I chose my 13 year old son. We discussed what makes an instructor good and our favorite teachers.

Sister Rosemarie Stevens interviewed Creation's Source on Thanksgiving 2010

Wonder, gratitude, the Song of Creation, the Divine Mystery by which we live...the contrast of symphony in the violence of sand storms and winds that bellow and holler and rumble... The strain of peace...crisp,clear,clarity in blue that follows. Snow capped mountains glisten diamond sparkles against the hub of human made dissonance rising from the earth floor. Abundance is the rthymn of greens that provide a banquet mixed with yellows and oranges and reds against the purple mountain hues. Turkey feathers glide upon the air leaving an echo of satiety. The breath of the Holy One is life and song...Do we join ours in remembrance allowing strains of sorrow and separation, war and disaster, to blend with awe for the present moment to bless a gift of water flowing from tap or stream, bread blessed in fellowship and faith, wine and cup of mystery in joy. The heritage we share at thanksgiving is one passed down by native peoples rejoicing in the harvest and bounteous gifts of the Creator. Sharing is our response to the awareness that we are bound together as one family...one earth and sky and universe. Let us hear the Song and sing it with our lives. It is the Infinite and Ineffable miracle of each new day. Every day is thanksgiving day...

Lisa Buckley interviewed Allen Willoughby

Sue Husch interviewed Uncle Don on November 12, 2010

I used the StoryCorp questions as a guide and we talked about his life. It was a great way to get to know a family member I have not lived near since I was a little kid.

Janice Blakeney interviewed Harold 'Sandy' Seawright on November 21, 2010

Our interview centered around finding profit doing what you enjoy. He reflected on how he was continually encouraged to do so by others.

Janice Blakeney interviewed Danyetta Queen on November 20, 2010

We talked about marriage, her wedding day and tips for anyone considering marriage.

Janice Blakeney interviewed Varsha Munishwar on November 23, 2010

Varsha spoke openly about her volunteer experience.

Helen Murphy interviewed Cheran Crews on November 10, 2010

Cheran (Cher) Crews is a member of Left of Center Art Gallery. Helen Murphy is a resident artist here. Cher was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She and her family moved south for awhile when she started 5th grade. While in the south they had lots of tress, fruits and veggies in their yard. They moved back to Philly and there she lived across from a playground. She would play marbles at the playground as a child. There was an initiation in order to be able to play with the older kids. Cher had to find a snake then throw it into a bonfire. She was afraid of being bitten by a snake, but she did it so she could play with the older kids. Her earliest memory is of having a glass tea set. She didn’t have any real tea in it, but every morning her mom would fix coffee for her dad. She would get his leftover coffee and pour it into the tea set and drink it. Her mother never caught on. Eventually Cher married, but later divorced and moved to New Jersey with her kids. She has two sons, one in California and one in Washington State. Cher works as a traveling sonographer. She came to Las Vegas to be closer to her sons. She looked at other places, like Santa Fe, but it is too far from the ocean, and California, but it is too expensive. So she settled on Las Vegas, but still traveled 9 months of the year. Cher started out working as a medical secretary in a cardiology lab. Then she went to school and worked in a hospital. But she wanted to travel. So she found a job that would give her different assignments in different cities. Her first was in Wilmington, North Carolina on the beach. She was offered the job permanently, but still wanted to travel. She has worked all over the country, including Tuba City, Arizona, which is right next to the Grand Canyon, Florida, Washington, and all over the Midwest. The lessons she has learned in life are to always finish a job if you start it. Or if it is an impossible task, don’t waste your time. She always had imagined she would be married and have a daughter. But she said she did more on her own than she did when she was married. She has no idea what her future holds. But she wants a garden with veggies, to sew, ride a bike, relax, read, and take classes (computer). She still wishes her parents and brothers were still around. She says if there is anything you want to ask or say, DO IT NOW! Don’t wait until it’s too late. Just call.

Chelsea District Library Chelsea District Library interviewed Art Lindauer on June 8, 2009

Stories of Chelsea: WWII Veterans Project aims to record and preserve the stories and experiences of the Chelsea area and its citizens. In the WWII Veterans Project, we have collected many different perspectives of the war, told by those who were there and told in their own way. Interview conducted by Cynthia Furlong Reynolds. http://vimeo.com/13191575

Chelsea District Library Chelsea District Library interviewed Dick White on May 26, 2009

Stories of Chelsea: WWII Veterans Project aims to record and preserve the stories and experiences of the Chelsea area and its citizens. In the WWII Veterans Project, we have collected many different perspectives of the war, told by those who were there and told in their own way. Interview conducted by Cynthia Furlong Reynolds. http://vimeo.com/16849628 http://storiesofchelsea.org/

Chelsea District Library Chelsea District Library interviewed Merle Barr on May 20, 2009

Stories of Chelsea: A Community History Project The Chelsea District Library’s Stories of Chelsea project involves conducting videotaped interviews with Chelsea-area residents about different topics of Chelsea history. This program serves as a significant step in the library’s dedication to preserving a record of American social and family life as experienced in the Chelsea area. This interview is one of many that aims to record and preserve the stories and experiences of the Chelsea area and its citizens. In the WWII Veterans Project, we have collected many different perspectives of the war, told by those who were there and told in their own way. Interviews conducted by Cynthia Furlong Reynolds. http://vimeo.com/16848424

Sandy Pena interviewed Josie Gonzalez on November 12, 2010

Josie Gonzales and Sandy Pena are cousins. Their mothers are sisters. Josie was born in Monterrey Park, California and says she was raised everywhere: East LA, Huntington Park, and Maywood. Most of her best memories come from her time in Pico Rivera? Because she went through Junior Hi and High School there, so all of her old friends are still there. It was her favorite place. She lived there for about 7 years. She came to Las Vegas because her cousin Sandy told her it was a good place to live and she should move here. Josie hated where she lived in Los Angeles and what she did, so when Sandy said to come, she moved and got a job within 3 days. She has been here ever since. Josie talks about her experience of being out of work during this economy, and how she is waiting for a job right now. She says, “The economy has taken a toll on everyone. Me and my husband both work in construction which was doing really well until about a year and a half ago.” She lost her job the same day her husband was laid off. He came home and told her he no longer had a job and she had to tell him the same thing. They have been looking for jobs for almost 4 months…any job. She has had phone interviews with 2 companies and only one face to face interview after sending out hundreds of resumes in lots of areas such as real estate, insurance, etc. Josie talked about her family. She has 6 half brothers and one half sister. She is the only child with her mother and father. She said that it wasn’t that they didn’t get along, but were raised in difficult circumstances. Her dad met their mom around the time he met her mom and they both got pregnant at about the same time. All of the step siblings are younger than Josie. Her mother didn’t know they existed. Josie didn’t know herself until she was 14 or 15 years old. She was told they were children of a friend. Her dad said their father had died in the Vietnam War, but they were born way after the Vietnam War had ended. As they grew older, there was some resentment between them because they had different moms and they were each loyal to their own mom. Her mother doesn’t really want them involved in their day to day lives because of the relationship. So they don’t really come to birthdays or weddings. Josie has one son who will be 16 in December. He is two years into high school so he will be off to college in a couple of years. Only having one child was deliberate at first. They were struggling with low paying jobs and felt they could only handle one. By the time he turned five, they tried for more, but it didn’t happen. By the time her son was ten, it seemed like too much of an age difference. Only now that he is 16, it is starting to hit her that when he leaves, she and her husband will be by themselves. She says it is probably too late for her to have another one. She considered adopting for awhile. Her son never wanted siblings. He was too jealous. His reason for not wanting them was that he thinks love only has a certain capacity. If there was another kid he felt he would only be 50% loved. And he felt like “Why would you want more kids…why am I not enough?” For awhile he said she could have more kids as long as they were not babies. He also saw kids on TV that needed adopting. He asked why Josie and his dad didn’t adopt one of those children. So Josie thought about maybe an older child. She never really pursued the idea further because it is time consuming and expensive and also involves a lot of time. In the last 5 or 6 years, she has devoted a lot of time to work and she had to foster children before considering adopting. A lot of those kids had medical and emotional need and she felt she couldn’t commit to it. Josie likes to take pictures. She also loves to write. Most of her writing is autobiographical. She says it is “What happens to me.” When they went to Europe she wrote about what they did. She writes novels that she never finishes. She thinks she has a psychological block. She says that if she finishes, she will have to do something with it and can’t handle the rejection. “When you do something creative, you think maybe you are not as good as you might think you are. As long as I am writing and it is just for me, it’s okay. It can be crappy. But if I finish and submit it and they write back and tell me it’s awful, then I would have to stop.” So she has never finished one of her stories completely. She has a couple she has written up to 180 to 200 pages and some that are only 30 pages. She will get an idea and start writing something else. Then she will go back and work on something else, but none ever gets finished. Sandy and her husband have been married for 17 years. She got married at age 20. She and her husband met at a wedding of a brother in law of a cousin. They met and danced a couple of times. A couple of months later he came back and they started dating in November, got engaged in December, and go married the next June in Porterville, California, which is a farming community. She had just turned 20 and was 19 when engaged. Her mom told her she got married because her dad was so strict. “I love my husband and would have married him anyway, but I probably would have married anyone who asked! Dad was very old school, Mexican family. I was his only daughter. The only way you leave is marriage. In his twisted way I was his pride and joy so I wasn’t supposed to leave. I had to study in that area if I had wanted to because I couldn’t’ leave the house. I felt this was my opportunity. If he hadn’t been so strict and I could have left and gotten an apartment, gone to school I might be traveling the world. But then I wouldn’t have had my son. Things happen for a reason.” Josie’s husband was a warehouse manager for a long time. He worked in construction for the same company as she did, doing purchasing for steel. They are both out of work and she hopes he finds a job. She says it is hard because no one is hiring except life insurance companies. “I guess is a big business right now. People want to make sure they have insurance in case they die their families are okay.” The last company Josie worked for was a recruiting company that found jobs for people. The management thought she would be great at it because she was cheerful. But she hated it because she can’t stand asking people for help or money, or anything. Even when kids sell candy for school she would rather buy it herself than ask someone else to buy it. It makes her feel vulnerable. If they say no she takes it personally. To be a good salesman, she says, you can’t take it personally. When she got into construction, she thought she wouldn’t like it because she is creative. “ I was destined to be a talk show host or an actress, or write screen plays. I thought construction was dirty.” Josie was a free spirit and thought she would hate it. But she started and really liked it. It wasn’t the same thing over and over. Every job was totally different; the people, the architects, the buildings. And she got to write. It wasn’t creative writing, but it was writing anyway. She was going to meetings and job sites and wasn’t sitting in a cubicle looking at a computer screen all day. She is sad that part of her life is over now. “Once you get out of high school the only friends are people you meet at work. When you don’t have a job you feel isolated and you are home and bored while others are busy. I want a job. I want to be busy. I feel like why am I not working. What is wrong with me? You put in an application and they don’t call you back you think I suck. I have an interview Monday. I think they like the way I write because I answered their questions. I have had 2 phone interviews and have been invited to Chicago to meet with them. A normal person would think that was good, but I keep thinking they will think ‘she is way too fat for this job.’ Then I think how will I deal with that? What will everyone think? They won’t fly me to Chicago to say ‘you aren’t right.’ Now I have this anxiety and they decide for whatever reason if I don’t’ get the job. I will be stuck with the thought ‘what did I do to screw this up?’ My husband tells me’ if you don’t get you were meant for something else…move on.’ But I feel like if I don’t get it I am worthless. I will just crawl back into bed and watch TV.” Josie has never been to Chicago. She will get to go to famous Chicago local spots. Her husband’s family will be picking her up at the airport and will be taking her around. She will be in a hotel right on the river by Wriggly Field. She is nervous to go by herself, but went to New York once by herself so if she can do that she can do Chicago. She is excited because if she gets this job she could potentially end up traveling all over the world. She might have to go back to get more education. The company encourages you to study and learn more. You can learn and go high in the company if you want. “ I like the fact that you are always traveling and doing something different. You get to travel the country, and also the world.” (As of this writing, Josie had her interview in Chicago and got the job! She will be traveling all over the country and soon…the world!)

Marylou Evans interviewed Helen Murphy on November 10, 2010

Helen is a member artist at Left of Center Art Gallery. She is a photographer. Helen was born in Manhattan and grew up in New York. She lived there until she was an adult. She always felt like “if it’s not New York…it’s someplace else”. She grew up in the inner city, in Harlem and said that she didn’t know much about the rest of the world. “I took it for granted that everyone looked like me.” Harlem, she says, is still a very vibrant part of the city. Some of the best art galleries are in Harlem. One of most famous is the Schaumberg which is an incredible art space. “I have been there more times since I moved away from New York than when I lived there. Helen wasn’t really exposed to art so much except as a requirement in school that you go on field trips. She said they would go to the Metropolitan museum of art often. She wasn’t all that interested as a young person, but has had a fascination with photography that goes back to her earliest memories. She must have been about 13 or 14 when she first started taking photos, but she likes it today as much as she did back then. She met her husband in New York at work at the post office. It was almost hers one and only job besides high school jobs, her first real job. When she first encountered him, he was one of those loud carriers. She knew he was not someone she wanted to talk to. Eventually they went out and she thought he was a pretty decent guy…not like the persona he portrayed. They were married almost 32 years until he passed away. They moved to Nevada because of the weather. Helen had a serious on the job injury. It wasn’t crippling, but she couldn’t perform the requirements of her particular position. It was at the point where she didn’t like the cold. She was retired on disability. Her husband was also retired. She had a son in San Diego and would stop in Las Vegas on way home from visiting him. She decided Las Vegas was a “real” city, and that the strip is not someplace people who live there go all the time. They decided to make the move to Las Vegas. Her youngest son moved with them because he was still in high school. Her other children were grown and had their own lives. “ I had 2 children, my husband had 2, and together we had 1. So he would say since we each had 3 that together, we had 6…he liked messing with people’s minds.” Helen and her husband had a really good relationship although she said she didn’t know if it was anything unusual. It was hard for her to say what made it good. There was a big age difference between them. He was 20 years older than she was. “I kept saying I don’t want to go out with this old man. But there were so many wonderful things about him. He wasn’t a saint, but he had great qualities and skills. Once I got to know him, I thought he was a great person. You just never know. He was determined to go out with me. I didn’t know until after he passed in 2002 that he told a friend that when he first saw me he said, ‘one day that lady is going to be my wife.’ And he never shared that with me.” It was extremely hard for Helen when he passed. “It’s at the point where most times I can talk about it, but sometimes something happens and it’s like it happened yesterday”. He passed away on Nov. 24, 2002. Helen made a lot of progress in photography after she moved to Las Vegas. It came about in an interesting way. She would just go for walks and get out and take picture. The sunsets were the most amazing things for her. She had never seen sunsets anywhere like the ones in Las Vegas. Back east was different. After moving here, “I saw incredible colors I didn’t know existed!” Once she was taking pictures at an event involving the library district and someone there asked her what she was doing. She said taking photos and he asked if she had seen any sunsets… I showed him my sunsets that “would make you weep” He said “this is nice” and kept admiring her work. He told her, “You should have a show” He said “These are more than just pictures. So that is how she got more involved. Someone else recognized her talent. Before that, “It was always more for me.” She had never thought about the work needing to be shared. She did it for herself and her family. She had never really done it for the public until someone else pushed her in that direction. Helen said that she learned by doing. At this point she is leery about taking a class because whatever she is doing people seem to like it and say she has a good eye. “I don’t’ know what that means, but what I see is usually what I get. I don’t want to go into the classroom at this point and have someone tell me something about technique I would be so keyed into trying to get those settings I would miss the picture.” One thing Neville and Helen had in common was that he was a good photographer. He was more professional, she said. He had his own darkroom and equipment and would do his own processing. I never got into any of that. At one point he decided I should do my own processing and we were going to set up a darkroom at home. But that never came about. She has a picture that he took himself, processed and put on the backing that still hasn’t lost its vibrancy. “I feel I need to honor it. I know it was one of his favorite things” Helen talked about her experience hot air ballooning in Egypt. It wasn’t over Cairo, but was over some of the digs. It was one of her more exotic experiences. She wouldn’t have done on own, but her daughter talked her into it. “But I had as much fun as she did. When the balloon lifts off, you have no sensation of lift or movement. It moves with the wind. You just float. It was a wonderful experience, unlike being in an airplane where you can only take pictures from the window; I had a 180 degree view where I could take pictures below of the digs that were probably 3000-4000 feet below us. As unsure as I was about taking this trip, once it got under way I thought, ‘this is good’. It was a pretty nice experience.” When asked about her photo, “Last exit to the slave boat” and what it was like being in Ghana, Helen responded “it is an amazing and a terrible place to be.” What you see in the photo is bars where captive Africans would file out and go down to shore where there were put on small boats that would take them to larger ships. It was the last time they would see their homeland.” To get into that room was such an experience. You had to go through catacombs, and other entry ways down there and the only way out was through that’s pace through the wall. “It was an emotional experience to recognize that probably a hundred thousand people had gone through there over the course of a couple of hundred years.” That wasn’t the only castle there. There are only two still open, but along that particular part of the coast in Ghana, there had to have been another dozen or more along the coast. It seems that this is probably one of the most convenient locations because it led directly out into the Atlantic Ocean. The water, the Gulf of Guinea, is on the eastern side of the Atlantic Ocean. It may be 3000 miles away, but it is the same body of water. “I got chills the first time I stood in the water and I said, ‘This is the other side. It was like going home to me. All those pictures that I took of the suffering that had to have gone on…it was the most amazing thing. All these years I kept saying ‘ I don’t want to go to Africa, but it really did feel like going home. This is what I tried to bring back with the photos.” The total number of images was about 110. Helen also brought back artifacts such as siol, water from the ocean, and lots of odds and ends, even the spoon she used to dig the soil. She framed them in 3-D frames so she could share them and other people could see. “People ask me , ‘What is it like?’ I can tell you what I felt, but you have to go. There is no other way to know” Helen felt she missed out on a photo opportunity once when she had gone to visit her son’s godfather who lived outside of Geneva, Switzerland. He told her to go to Paris, so she and her son who was about 8, rode the high speed train and arrived in about 5 hours. She loves to walk and during their walk she could see the Eiffel Tower in the distance. She kept telling her son they were almost there. She was trying to get close to it, but he was exhausted. So she saw, it, but never got close enough. She says, “Bottom line… I have been closer to the one on the strip than the one in Paris when I was there.” When asked what she sees herself doing in the future, she says she would like to go back to Paris or Amsterdam. Amsterdam is an interesting city. She passed through there on her layovers on her way to Ghana. She thought it was a great place, that it was a peaceful country and would be nice to visit. She doesn’t need to do anything really exotic. Helen wants to continue doing and showing photograph, as well as matt and frame work. She would like to have more exhibits, but doesn’t know if it would be about a particular subject or just a retrospective. “ I almost never leave home without a camera (like the credit card whose name I won’t mention!)” Her advice for others on how to live life: “Do your best as far as taking care of your livelihood. Keep a roof over head and have stability, but at the same time take one or two risks and enjoy life. Because like they say, you only go around once, and I’m still having a heck of a good time!” Helen doesn’t see her kids all that often but talks to them regularly and just wants to see that their lives are going well. She feels they are and have done pretty well. They are secure in their homes and families and the things that they do. “I have taken some chances I would not have if not for my children, like the helicopter ride I took over Manhattan in a four seater plane with my son. He was the pilot or else I would not have done it.” Her final thought: “Life is to be enjoyed. Work hard , play hard…or play well…with others!”

Marylou Evans interviewed Earl T. Dunbar on November 11, 2010

Earl Dunbar is 79 years old and is one of our resident artists at Left of Center Gallery. Earl was born in Ft. Wayne, Indiana where he went to grade school and high school. In 11th grade he moved to Long Beach, California for a year, but moved back to Ft. Wayne for his senior year where he graduated. That same year he joined the US Air Force at the age of 18. He has stayed healthy all these years playing basketball. He has played most of his life, through school, independent leagues, and Texas Southern University. He continued to play into his 50’s, but never really wanted to be a professional. When Earl joined the Air Force, he jokes that he served overseas in Texas! He was there for 3 years stationed at San Antonio. He had been in engineering school for tech training in aircraft in California, but returned to Texas when he was discharged in 1954. He had played on the base basketball team and the coach wouldn’t let them transfer him, so he stayed at the same base for a long time. During the last game of the season, (there were 2 teams in 1951 in the south, a black team and a white team, even though segregation was outlawed in the military) some guys asked Earl if he wanted to scrimmage. He didn’t know it was a team, and it was the white team. They asked if he wanted to play with the team. He found out he was the only black on the team. The Black coach also asked him to play, so he played for both teams. When Earl got out of the service in 1954, during the last game of the season in Houston they went to Ellington Field and found out the schedule was cancelled. They got their team together and found a gym at Texas Southern University, which was a black university in Houston. They played and lost but Earl scored 19 points. One of the scorekeepers asked him why he didn’t apply to Texas southern. He asked for Earl’s address and sent him a letter. Earl had never before thought about going to college, but this made him think about it. He got out of the service in April and in June he started summer school. When Earl first entered, he was interested in law and they put him in a prelaw program, but playing ball made him realize he didn’t have time to study law. He played all four years of college and was co-captain for 2 years. So he switched his major over to business administration. He got a degree in economics and a minor in business administration. While in school he worked at the Hilton hotel in Houston. He would park cars at the garage and had a small scholarship and GI bill. He got married his junior year. He met a girl from Louisiana and first they became good friends, then they fell in love. He was a Baptist, but had started changing. His grandmother said not to get educated and change his religion, but she was Catholic. He had actually changed before he met her. Earl’s junior year, they were married in the Catholic Church. When he graduated they moved back to California with his mother. They had 2 girls, ages 3 months and about 14 months. They rented a trailer, put their furniture on and moved. Earl said that he did run into some discrimination in the service. He had been south as a small kid, but never had stopped at white restaurants. They had to go into the woods also, to use the bathroom. “As a kid, that doesn’t bother you. We would try to stop at service stations. Some would have a ‘colored’ restroom. Other times we would have to stop along the road. We couldn’t’ go into hotels either. We would just sleep in the car. Even in the north. Blacks didn’t stay at the downtown hotels but we did have black hotels. In the south blacks had their own hotels In big towns like Houston or Atlanta, but we never stopped.” “I was on the train to San Antonio the first time anyone called me a name that shocked me.” In the south, you had to sit in the Jim Crowe section if you were Black, where the smoke and noise is, right behind the engine. The coach section was for whites, and at the real was the Pullman section. In the service, they would buy Earl a Pullman ticket. Earl didn’t realize that the train was segregated. It was going to Arkansas. “Another Black kid got on the train and we went into the coach section. The conductor came out and said, ‘You coons get back in the Jim Crowe section.’ I was shocked. Instead I went back to the Pullman section. The next day I got off in Little Rock. We went into a waiting room and saw a door that said ‘White only.’ I was shocked again. But to their credit there was a little white building just as nice that said ‘Colored only’ on it to the left. It was a culture shock to me. I just went back to the train to the Pullman section. It was the first time in my life I ran into real prejudice or segregation that shocked me. As a kid I never experienced it. The Black population in my town was too small to have a separate high school, so I went to school with white kids all my life, and played ball with them. I never even thought about it. I got a shock when I headed to Texas. It was right before the Korean War. I could have been sent to Korea and gotten killed but I couldn’t sit in the coach section of the train.” When I moved to California, I was stationed north of Burbank in the Glendale city limit. I went to aircraft engine school which lasted ten month. There were 2 blacks in a class of 2. We were told that the top 5 students according to their grades would be made corporals. The other black guy and I always studied together. We would ask each other questions. I imagine our test scores were about the same We both scored high. At the end of the course, the sergeant said, ‘I’m sorry, Dunbar, but we can’t make you both corporals.’ It didn’t bother me at first, but thinking about it years later made me mad that they couldn’t make 2 black guys corporals because that would tell the others that they weren’t’ superior to us. Not that we were superior, but equal. But at that point they wouldn’t do it. So that affected me the rest of my military life. I didn’t care what they paid, I just played on the basketball team. The other guy who was a corporal was always ahead of me. He got paid all those years more than me just because they couldn’t make us both corporals. They didn’t just send us to that school. We were tested and chosen to go to that school. When it happens you don’t let it bother you. As you get older you look back and say they really did me wrong. I never got bitter. I know things have changed a lot today. I hope that things have changed today. Back in those days I’d go to a restaurant or movie. They would say ‘sorry we can serve them but not you, but you can eat out in the kitchen.’ The guy would apologize and say ‘it’s not me it’s the law.’ Once I went to a movie with two white kids. I was told they could go in, but I had to go to the theater around the corner. It was Amarillo, Texas in the 1950’s. So they went to the movie and I went up in the balcony. But it’s just par for the course. It didn’t take anything away or bother my dignity. I always felt I was just as good or better than most people.” Earl went to graduate school at Cal State to work on his teacher’s license. By that time he had 3 children. He was also working at Douglas Aircraft on the assembly line and doing student teaching at Compton high school. He went to his college advisor one day to tell him he couldn’t hear out of his right ear. He thought he was just run down. Earl told the advisor he was going to have to drop out of school. The advisor said, “That’s what happens with you people. When the going gets tough, you drop out.” Earl didn’t say anything back, he just went downstairs and applied for the next semester. Had the advisor not said that, Earl might not have signed up. But he went ahead and got his license to teach. “I found out eventually that teaching was not for me. I taught business math in high school.” Earl was eventually divorced. He had 3 girls and one boy. He said it was hard breaking up. He said there are two sides to every story, so “I’m not gonna tell my side.” He remarried again back in California. He never missed child support. All of his kids went to college. He paid until they graduated from college. One daughter graduated at 20. Of the four children by his first marriage, 2 went to Indiana U. one went to Ball State, and the other graduated from Purdue. He and his second wife eventually had twin girls. “I have always been tolerant of other races and religions, whether, Buddhist, atheist, or whatever, it is their prerogative. If other opinions conflict with mine, they have the right to it. Who knows who is right or wrong?” “I couldn’t have any regrets because anytime I took a fork in the road, if I took the wrong one it turned out to be the right one. I made the best of whatever. When you take the road to the right things happen to you. Some of the good things that happen wouldn’t’ have happened. The other direction could have been good too, but you don’t know. I don’t have any regrets.” “I am proudest of the fact that all 6 of my kids finished college.” Two of Earl’s children are high school teachers in Oregon. One is a psychiatric nurse in Houston. One is a real estate sales broker. One is retired from government service. One has two degrees. She did engineering with Westinghouse in Pittsburgh 30 years ago. It was hard on her being a woman in engineering. So she left, went to Texas, and became a pharmacy technologist. She started her own personal care home. Then she got a degree in nursing. “ I’m here at Left of Center because of my love of art. I didn’t take it up until after 2nd wife and I separated. My twins were about 16 and I happened to look up in the cabinet and saw one of their watercolor tins, and I found paper and I remembered I had done some artwork in high school. In high school, the art teachers would have me do posters. I took 2nd place in a contest once. When I was in basic training my art teacher said I had a fine arts award for outstanding art student for the graduating class of 1950. I never gave art another thought until was about 60 started doodling, went to acrylics, moved to Las Vegas and took an oil class at Lorenzi Park.” “I have no plan. I take it as it comes. I might go back to watercolors. I’m too young to quit now! I’ve done some stuff in gouache. This year I did a picture in colored pencil that I was proud of. Every so often I try something new. I have no plans to die yet! I just keep trying different things. I will probably do something else. I tried abstract and was successful. I sold some and then switched back.” As far as giving advice, Earl says to life to its fullest even though it sounds kind of cliché. He always felt people were more important than things. He also feels it is important to get an education, and that the most valuable job is to be a teacher; especially to young people.

Vicki Richardson interviewed Harold Bradford on November 11, 2010

Harold Bradford and Vicki Richardson have been friends for twenty-four years. They are both artists in Las Vegas, Nevada. Vicki is the executive director and founder of Left of Center Art Gallery and Harold is also one of the founding artists. They met at a West Las Vegas talent and art exhibit and have been friends and co-workers ever since. Vicki describes Harold as being a big part of the spirit of the gallery at Left of Center. The interview began with Harold telling about what he is most proud of in his life, and that is his relationship with his five children, nine grandchildren, and his sisters and brother. Also, he is proud of his accomplishments as an artist. Specifically, he is very proud of a mural he completed for McCarren International Airport in Las Vegas. The theme of the mural was the desert and its beauty. It shows three areas around Las Vegas: Valley of Fire, Mt. Charleston, and Red Rock Canyon. Because most of the visitors to Las Vegas come for the tourism and gambling, Harold wanted to show that there was more to the city than casinos. He had a former teacher who came to visit him here who was surprised that there were residential areas in Las Vegas! So Harold wanted to show the beauty of the desert surrounding the area. The size of the mural is 153’ long by 8’ high. He said that most people only see the end result of the mural, but not the execution of a complicated process which included lots of logistics to deal with. Harold couldn’t use standard stretchers for the canvas. He had to use steel stretchers bars that had to be welded together. Harold also talked of his proudest, and most recognizable, accomplishment as a commercial artist for YESCO signs. He designed the sign for Buffalo Bills at Stateline, which is a casino/hotel/amusement area on the border of Nevada and California. Working on this taught him the technical aspects of large projects. It also affected his work in fine arts, teaching him to analyze and address all the technical aspects of what he does. In his personal life, Harold spoke again of his family and his good background and upbringing. He knows his family will always be there for him and he will always be there for his family. He is proud that his family knows he is there for them, and they are thankful to him for it. Harold is a person that people want to talk to. He said his parents were the same way. Vicki described Harold as a “rock;” someone that others do not perceive to be weak, someone empathetic, so they feel they can share things with. She said Harold is a good listener who does not judge and will help if he can. It is a rare gift. Strangers will even talk to Harold and tell him personal aspects of their lives. There is a sense of trust in talking to him. Harold said that his personal relationship with Christ helps him through a lot of tough situations and he feels that is why people come to him. “I get blessed with the joy of giving comfort.” He also said he finds comfort in doing his art when something bothers him, as if he is “painting my troubles away.” He gets obsessed with his gift to paint and feels guilty if he doesn’t use it. “There are so many who don’t have it. I am glad that I do. I rely on that gift.” Harold said he feels life is more about giving than receiving…not gifts, but self. His faith and his art lift him and give him the ability to lift others. In his future, Harold wants to find ways to make his talent work for him, by using his gifts. He believes everyone has a gift and it is up to each of us to use it in a wise way. If we are open, it will come and we will spend our whole life “going through open doors.” The interview ended with Harold and Vicki expressing their gratitude for each other and their friendship. Harold expressed his thanks that he has a place at the gallery to come to every day to paint. “There is no place in the world like this gallery.”

J Merriman interviewed Heidi Cullinan on November 9, 2010

Iowa author Heidi Cullinan talks about being a straight ally, marriage equality in her home state, and how she came to write gay romantic fiction.

Pamela Potter interviewed Norma Gagne on 11/23/10

Norma, a client in our Alzheimer's program, discussed living in Nashua, NH her entire life,83yrs. She talked with love and compassion about her 8 siblings and their family nicknames! Absolutely hilarious! A picture was taken of her to be given to her sons for Christmas with some of the memories written in their cards.

Barbara Sargent interviewed Bessie Elliott on 11/18/10

Bessie, a client of our Early Memory Loss Adult Day program, reminisced about her childhood, growing up in Pencil Hill attending a Dutch reform school before attending NY College.

Janice Blakeney interviewed Harold "Sandy" Seawright on November 21, 2010

finding profit doing what you enjoy doing and how he was encouraged to do

Rachael Cassidy interviewed Kevin Gover on November 11, 2010

Kevin Gover (Pawnee), director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, talked with Rachael Cassidy, a Cultural Interpreter at NMAI, about his childhood in Comanche County, Okla., his parents’ work in the American Indian civil rights movement of the 1960s, and his struggles with alcoholism.

Terry Snowball Snowball interviewed Keevin Lewis on October 21, 2010

Terry Snowball (Prairie Band Potawatomi/Wisconsin Ho-Chunk), the repatriation coordinator at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, talked about the museum’s 2004 opening procession, which brought more than 25,000 indigenous people from across the Western hemisphere to the National Mall—the largest gathering of tribal communities in U.S. history.

Keevin Lewis interviewed Jackie Swift on October 21, 2010

Jacquetta Swift (Comanche/Fort Sill Apache), the repatriation manager of the National Museum of the American Indian, talked about how homesickness and a powwow brought her to the museum nearly 20 years ago.

Molly Stephey interviewed Ramsey Weeks on October 26, 2010

Ramsey Weeks (Assiniboine/Hidatsa), a Cultural Interpreter at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, talked about using objects in the museum—and photographs of himself—to dispel myths about American Indian tribes one tour group at a time and lesser-known Native beliefs like the two-spirit individual.

Regina Blair interviewed Everett Howard on November 18, 2010

We talked about the history of the Stop Six Community and the Sunrise Edition Neighborhood, community development efforts and the civic responsibility of all to participate in sustaining and preserving its' future.

Regina Blair interviewed Judge L. Clifford Davis on November 20, 2010

We talked about the history of the Stop Six Community, community development efforts and the civic responsibility of all to participate in sustaining and preserving its' future.

Regina Blair interviewed Reby Cary on November 20, 2010

We talked about the history of the Stop Six Community community development efforts and the types of leadership needed locally to sustain those efforts.

Regina Blair interviewed Alma L. Allen on November 22, 2010

We talked about the history of the Stop Six Community and the Sunrise Edition Neighborhood, community development efforts and the civic responsibility of all to participate in sustainining and preserving its' future. Most important we talked about members of my family who important roles in shaping the Black Business experience in Fort Worth.

Elisandra Quintosa interviewed Reinaldo Perez on November 22, 2010

We talked about his love life.

Elisandra Quintosa interviewed Reinaldo Perez on November 22, 2010

We talked about his love life .

Regina Blair interviewed Reby Carey on November 20, 2010

We talked about the history of the Stop Six Community and the Sunrise Edition Neighborhood, community revitalization efforts, key leadership, and the responsibility of all for continuing the legacy of shaping the Black experience throughout Fort Worth, the Stop Six Community, the Sunrise Edition Neighborhood and the world.

Emma Weinstein-Levey interviewed Diamond Sharp on October 11, 2010

We talked about her experiences at Wellesley College and being the Multicultural Affairs Coordinator

william wagner interviewed Jeanne Wagner

Daniel Stilley interviewed Noel Nuessle on November 23, 2010

I listened to Mr. Nuessle as he talked about his experiences while he was serving in Korea in a medical unit. He was very nice and very interesting. He also spoke about his experiences before the Korean War.

Suzanna Stephenson interviewed Tom Stevens on November 23, 2010

Mr. Stevens is a Korean War veteran and was a tailgunner on a B29! He had 27 missions over Korea. He's also a family man with two sets of twins! He told me all about respecting people's beliefs.

Nick D'Adamo interviewed Chris on D'Adamo

My dad told me about his time in the Navy serving his country for 3 years in Vietnam. He was on the submarine USS Shark and the USS Nautilus which are both nuclear fast attack submarines.

Spencer Quattelbaum interviewed Frank Randazzo on November 23, 2010

My grandfather was a cook in the 25th Infantry Military Police and served on the DMZ. He told me about dealing with the North Koreans and his favorite chef and some of his cooking secrets!

Lori Dunevant interviewed Brittany Mabry on November 23, 2010

Brittany talked about the educational path and decisions that she has made, which helped me realize how important my education is.

Genevieve Herdegen interviewed Reese Campbell on November 23, 2010

Reese discussed some of the events that she has been through in her life and how moving to Virginia has been a good experience for her and allowed her to further her education.

Sonya Weisshappel interviewed Yasmine VanGemert on November 15, 2010

We discussed Yasmine's transition as she moved to the United States, focusing on the time that she and her husband were separated for many months. Yasmine shared several objects that symbolized that important time in her life, including meticulously kept photo albums and journals, a perfume collection, and a keychain that came to represent her husband during their time apart.

randy lukasiewicz interviewed Larry Lukasiewicz

Yearly, I sponsor a June event in Farwell Nebraska to honor the Sherman-Hpward baseball league. It is comprised of a lot of baseball memorabablia of equipment, photos and arlated atricles etc. Larry Lukasiewicz, my cousin, is one of the remaining players / athletes from the Farwell team and the Sherman_Howard League. I happenned to catch him viewing his catchers "tool of Ignorance" and asked him a few questions. He was very excited and enthusiastic to reply.

Charlotte Hopkins interviewed Makel Dickerson on November 23, 2010

We discussed educational values and parental influences on education.

Will Benhoff interviewed Lekiah Witcher on November 23, 2010

Lekiah discussed the importance of education in her life and how she believes it helps you to advance in modern society.

Daniel Mason interviewed Cory Metts on November 23, 2010

Daniel discussed overcoming bullying incidents that happened in school. He also talked about his college application process and how he has proudly been accepted into 7 schools of higher education.

Hannah Spencer interviewed Cody Lloyd on November 23, 2010

Cody discussed wanting to further his education to better himself. He also talked about how his father has influenced him to go to college to become a physicist.

Karleigh Pepper interviewed Maggie Morris on November 23, 2010

Maggie discussed keeping a balance between studying and her social life. She also talked about her plans to go to medical school.

James Bland interviewed Tomi DeTorres on November 23, 2010

We talked about how peers and the present drives in our lives influence us to pursue our education. James discussed how he is a first generation college student.

Emma Weinstein-Levey interviewed Erinn on Bineham

We talked about life Wellesley College and Erinn read a spoken word piece.

Bullock Creek Middle School interviewed War Veterans and People Currently Serving on November 17, 2010

Bullock Creek Middle School 6th grade students talked to war veterans and others still currently serving in the military about their experience in wartime and peacetime. One of the interviews featured a WWII POW and Escapee. Another featured a skype interview with a soldier currently stationed in Afghanistan. Other memories came from the Korean War, Vietnam, Gulf War, peacetime military experience, and current conflicts. Many memories were shared!

Emma Weinstein-Levey interviewed Lawrence Rosenwald on November 1, 2010

We talked about teaching at Wellesley College and being the student Multicultural Affairs Coordinator

Beverly Perkins interviewed Jennifer McDonald on November 2, 2010

Jennifer talked about her job as Program Assistant in the Draper Museum of Natural History in the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. Jennifer gave an owl call and then talked about her interest in nature as a young girl and her path to Wyoming as a young woman. Jennifer talks about why she enjoys hunting, her new horse , and her favorite books.

Jenna Washnieski interviewed Lindsay Quinn

Lindsay shared her memories from the day she was diagnosed with MS. She also talks about her role as the 2011 Walk MS ambassador for the MS Society.

Joan Quinlan interviewed 81 Year old Female on November 20, 2010

On November 20, 2010 Napa Valley Hospice & Adult Day Services volunteer Joan Quinlan interviewed an 81 year old female patient at a skilled nursing facility.

Jenna Washnieski interviewed Shannon Hicks on November 18, 2010

Shannon shared her story about living with multiple sclerosis and how her diagnosis has affected her outlook on life.

Jenna Washnieski interviewed Thomas Holtackers on November 20, 2010

Tom shared his story about living with multiple sclerosis and his experience with recently winning the National MS Society's Volunteer of the Year award.

Debra Jimerson interviewed Dana Lolley on November 8, 2010

Nontraditional day after Thanksgiving Traditions

La Shannon Hollinger interviewed Alma Susan Brown on November 8, 2010

Nontraditional day after Thanksgiving Traditions

Deborah Rankins interviewed Panterra Edgin on November 9, 2010

Nontraditional day after Thanksgiving Traditions

Deborah Rankins interviewed Tamika Dial on November 9, 2010

Nontraditional day after Thanksgiving Traditions

Deborah Rankins interviewed Dale Smith on November 9, 2010

Nontraditional day after Thanksgiving Traditions

Deborah Rankins interviewed Kikki Moore on November 10, 2010

Nontraditional day after Thanksgiving Traditions

Deborah Rankins interviewed Maris Dauphin on November 10, 2010

Nontraditional day after Thanksgiving Traditions

Kevin Farkas interviewed Sara Eiler on October 12, 2010

Family's immigration from Germany, Sara's life, and relatives.

Ian Copeland interviewed Jeremy Fite & Christina Baker Smith

The Transition from one boys and girls club to another.

Genesis Gann interviewed John Lee

We talked about his role in the Boys & Girls Club and his overall career

Eliana Gaviria interviewed Liz Jane Gaviria on November 13, 2010

We talked about our grandmother's decision to come to the Unted States.

aichun he interviewed Lynn Lin on November 5, 2010

Raising children

aichun he interviewed Lynn Lin on November 5, 2010

Rachel Freedman interviewed Bertha Schwartz on November 15, 2010

Her mom, ideas about God, how she would like to be remembered, and what her proudest accomplishments were.

D. Brent Miller of Otterbein Retirement Communities interviewed Gertrude Bloede on September 3, 2010

Gertrude Bloede, 99, spent 30 years in the mission field as a midwife and nurse. She served in Africa and Red Bird Mission in Kentucky. As a midwife, she assisted 1,514 births. Sadly, Gertrude passed away November 1, 2010. She will be missed.

Danny Whisnant interviewed Jean Adero on November 10, 2010

Atlanta resident, Jean Adero shares her family’s quest to open a library in their rural home in Kenya after a family dispute denied the Adero sisters the right to the property simply because they are girls.

Zoey Bouchelle interviewed Alyssa Nitchun on November 16, 2010

Her life, my life, and why we've connected like we have!

Mary Valentine interviewed Eumnin Lee

Oral History

Charles Rowe interviewed Bob Freeman on November 10, 2010

We talked about his 40 years of volunteering within the photography program for the Caswell/ Haslam club site

Jamircle suber interviewed beth farrow on November 2, 2010

we talk about her career what we like to do in the future.

Alexis Hall interviewed bernice smith on November 9, 2010

we talked about her years of volunteering at the boys and girls

Kelly Hayman interviewed J.R. Hill on November 9, 2010

Spoke about his military career and his dedication to the Boys& Girls Club of the Tennessee Valley

Mary Valentine interviewed Ruthanna Valentine

being a teaching assistant

Megan Basaldua interviewed Edith Basaldua on November 13, 2010

Art in our lives

Andy Chang interviewed Deborah Chang on November 5, 2010

We talked about our relationship and God's words and love.

Lisa Hantman interviewed Herb Hantman on November 1, 2010

Wonderful stories from his life--many of which I'd never heard before. He made me laugh; he always does.

John Smith interviewed Sally Smith

childhood

Mary Valentine interviewed 36 of my Research Methods students interviewed people about their work lives.

Experiences working for at least 15 years

Deborah Chang interviewed Andy Chang on 11/05/2010

We talked about our relationship with each other.

shinja chung interviewed ling ling liu on 11/05/10

husband

lisa liu interviewed Gina Barrera on November 5, 2010

swimming

chunyi ho interviewed connie on November 5, 2010

Gina Barrera interviewed Lisa Liu on 11/05/2010

An proudest experience

Wanting Ruan interviewed James Ma on November 5, 2010

shinja chung interviewed lingling liu on 11/05/10

shinja chung interviewed lingling liu on 11/05/10

lingling liu interviewed shinja chung on 11/05/10

Blanca Huerta interviewed Jonida Sheshori on 11/05/2010

Parenthood and Childhood

Wanting Ruan interviewed James Ma on November 5, 2008

I talked about parenthood. How has being a parent changed me, etc.

lisa liu interviewed Gina Barrera on November 5, 2010

swimming

lisa liu interviewed Gina Barrera

swimming

blanca huerta interviewed Jonida sheshori on 11/05/2010

Childhood and Parenthood

lynn lin interviewed I-heung Lee on April 5, 2008

about job

Gina Barrera interviewed Luz Rodgers

I talked about my grandfather Antonio Trivino

Lisa Liu interviewed Gina Barrera on 11/05/2010

An Early Memory

shinja chung interviewed lingling liu on 11/5/10

I-Heung Lee interviewed Elaine He on 11/5/10

Birth oh her child

blanca huerta interviewed Jonida Sheshori on 11/05/2010

childhood and parenthood

shinja chung interviewed lingling liu on 11/5/10

I-Heung Lee interviewed Elaine He on 11/5/10

Birth of her child

Luz Rodgers interviewed Gina Barrera on November 5, 2010

I talked about My memories about my granfather Antonia Trivino

Gina Barrera interviewed Lisa Liu on 11/05/2010

A memory when I was a Child

James Ma interviewed Wanting Ruan on November 5, 2010

What do you do for your living?

ih lee interviewed elaine on 11/5

grow of childhood

Luz Rodgers interviewed Gina Barrera on November 5, 2010

I talk about my Grandfaher

blanca huerta interviewed Yodira

Childhood and Parenthood

Nicole Dion interviewed Tim Lucich on November 10, 2010

Tim Lucich and his wife signed up to be partner mentors with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Nevada because they always wanted children but never had them. Their Little Brother Marshall loves having them as mentors. “They’re always doing nice things for me,” Marshall said. When Marshall goes over to the Lucich’s house, he plays with their black lab Jasmine or plays board games with them. “He’s so creative and smart,” Lucich said.

Nicole Dion interviewed Adam Allen on November 10, 2010

Adam Allen and his Little Brother Malachi have been matched through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Nevada for over a year now. “I really enjoy hanging out with Malachi,” Allen said, “I like pulling him out of his shell.” Allen would recommend anyone get involved with BBBSNN, “If they don’t have the time, find the time.”

Nicole Dion interviewed James Troxel on November 10, 2010

James Troxel likes being a Big Brother for Big Brothers Big Sisters because he gets to expose his Little Brother Adorius to things he normally wouldn’t be. Troxel works for the University of Nevada, Reno and likes to take his Little Brother to the sporting games there. Troxel and Adorius have been matched for 2.5 years and Troxel said it has been fun to watch his Little Brother learn new things.

Nicole Dion interviewed Macy Burnham on November 10, 2010

Macy Burnham got involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Nevada because he wanted to be more involved in the community. Now he is a Big Brother to Mickael and they have been matched for over 2 years. Burnham and Mickael like to kayak, do cross fit workouts, watch movies and go out to eat together. Burnham said “it’s one of the most rewarding things I’ve done in my life.”

Nicole Dion interviewed Seth Stell on November 10, 2010

Seth Stell and his Little Brother Jarriel have been matched through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Nevada for almost 3 years now. Stell said he likes being a Big Brother for two main reasons: First, he likes to be able to see the impact he is making on Jarriel, athletically and intellectually, also, he enjoys the gratification he receives from getting back to the simple things in life with Jarriel.

Nicole Dion interviewed Chris Klein on November 10, 2010

Chris Klein always wanted to be a Big Brother for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Nevada. Because of that, 3 years ago he contacted them and got matched with his Little Bother Anthony. Klein is a probation office so he said at the end of the work day it is nice to hang out with someone who he can have fun with. Klein said Anthony is always cheery and in a good mood. Klein’s wife is Nicaraguan and Anthony said he likes going over there and learning about her culture and eating the food.

Nicole Dion interviewed Lynda Knepper on November 10, 2010

Lynda Knepper and her Little Sister Courtney like to tease each other a lot. “She is such a fun person,” Knepper said about her Little Sister, “she’s a character.” Knepper and Courtney have been matched through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Nevada for 2 years now they both agree the experience has been a lot of fun.

Nicole Dion interviewed Brian Morris on November 10, 2010

Brian Morris said that when he was a young man he didn’t have any leadership in his life and because of that he made a lot of bad decisions. He wanted to make sure that didn’t happen to someone else so he became a mentor for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Nevada. He and his Little Brother Bobby have been matched for 3 years now and since then Bobby has become more active and better at dealing with conflicts. Morris said that he recommends everyone sign up to be a mentor at some point in their life. “Give yourself the opportunity to be 12-years-old again,” Morris said.

Nicole Dion interviewed George Hardaway on November 10, 2010

George Hardaway has been a mentor to his Little Brother Fray-Jon for 2 years now. In that time Fray-Jon’s organization, focus and school performance have all improved. Hardaway said that he joined Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Nevada because he has always been passionate about kids ever since he was 15 years old. Fray-Jon likes having Hardaway as a Big Brother because he knows he can always call him whenever he is bored or lonely.

Nicole Dion interviewed Patricia Howard on November 10, 2010

Patricia became a mentor after she found herself unexpectedly retired. She said she was motivated by another Big who said the experience was incredible so she immediately put her paper work in. She has been matched with her Little sister Aryanna for 2 years now says it has gone by very quickly. The two of them like to take Patricia’s dogs to the park and watch “Are you Smarter than a Fifth Grader?” Howard said being a mentor “is the most fulfilling, emotionally positive adventure.”

Edith Basaldua interviewed Megan Basaldua on November 13, 2010

Art in our lives

susan weiss interviewed jose sanchez on November 13, 2010

Jose growing up in Ecuador

Tamika Gresham interviewed Jahmeria Young

Ambar Mancia interviewed Irma Mancia on November 13, 2010

We talked about Irma's grandmother.

Ambar Mancia interviewed Xing Xi on November 13, 2010

We talked about Ambar's Happiest Moment

Erika Curo interviewed Ricardo Curo on November 13, 2010

We talked about my husband's experiences coming to the US

Jose R Sanchez interviewed on November 13, 2010

About How was my early years? (childhood)

lin brian interviewed Manuel Calderon on November 13, 2010

swimming

xingxi peng interviewed Ambar Mancia on Nov 13.2010

The happiest moments in her life on Novenber 6, 2010

Bob Ford interviewed James

What was the exp like for you

piao lin interviewed Manuel Calderon on November 13, 2010

talk about swimming

D. Brent Miller interviewed Jolene Miller on September 23, 2010

I interviewed my 82-year-old mother about her life experiences, how she met my dad, and losing him after 51 years of marriage.

Shana Siegel, WanderPolo Law interviewed Anthony Bochetti on 9/3/2010

Growing up in New York - gas lights, horse and buggy races, speak-easys, his years as a chef, friends and family

Beth Preminger interviewed Ruth Preminger on 2009

Her life.

Laszlo Toth interviewed Steven Toth on June 22, 2010

We talked about his experience during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 including his experience as a 10 year old prisoner in a Soviet labor camp, his participation in the revolution, and emigration to the United States and his new life in Kansas City.

Darrel Faramir interviewed Longstrider of the north on May 05, 2010

His longStrides through antartica

Sean Bernstein interviewed Robert Bernstein on May 24, 2010

We talked about growing up, having a child, work, and marriage.

sean bernstein interviewed robert bernstein on May 24, 2010

We talked about growing up, work, having a child, and marriage.

David Rodgers interviewed Marie Burghardt on 18 May 2010

Military Experience

Stephanie Lanza interviewed Stephanie Lanza on 05.16.10

We talked about How I create artistically and continue to create in the face of self-doubt using the overt desire to create as inspiration.

Amanda Basri interviewed Storm Reif on May 13, 2010

Six-year-old Storm's love of football.

Jacob Krach interviewed Christopher Owen Quin on April 17, 2010

We talked about the vietnam war experience

Lauren Angelone interviewed Diana Margida on May 09, 2010

We talked about motherhood.

Alan Cherry interviewed Gloria J. Cherry on May 9, 2010

We talked about the day she had a major stroke.

Alan Cherry interviewed Gloria J. Cherry on May 9, 2010

We talked about the day she had a major stroke.

Steven Goldstein interviewed Phillip Grossman on Circa 1973

Life in Eastern Europe, Emigrating to USA (~1906), life as an immigrant in NYC, family, jobs, working for Thomas Edison,

Nomin Enkhee interviewed Me on 2010.5.5

All things

Samantha Joergens interviewed Joseph Caggiano on 4/24/2010

We talked about where his ancestors came from and the extent of information he knew about them. Since the information that he knew of was not too extensive, we began talking about his life and the trials and tribulations he has been through, what life was like many years ago in comparison to now, and so on. We discussed how not only the country and world have changed but also how the nature of humans have changed within the mere stretch of one's lifetime.

Daniel Moore interviewed Brian Conroy on April 03, 2010

Politics, religion, fishing.

Andy Plemmons interviewed 27 former Barrow Elementary Students on March 17, 2010

5th Grade students interviewed 27 former students and teachers from our school, which was built in 1923. Their work can be viewed at http://www.clarke.k12.ga.us/Barrow.cfm?subpage=38223&adminActivate=1

George Wagner interviewed Bridgette Schell on 3/29/10

being drafted out of Brooklyn in 1941 and fighting in ww2

Cristina Seaborn interviewed Christiana Wise on December 29, 2009

We talked about Tana's life in Monserrat, how she came to the US, and became my grandmother. Tana now lives in Los Angeles and pays not one penny rent in exchange for all the children she helped raise.

virender rawat interviewed reena on January 03, 2010

We talked about relationship

Diane Mikulovsky interviewed Audrey Mikulovsky on December 31, 2009

We will talk about her childhood in old Milwaukee.

Rachel Claire Mitchell interviewed on December 27, 2009

We talked about my Grandmother's experience growing up in Williston, Fl, during the depression, what it was like going to Florida State College for women, and how she got married to her first husband.

Amy Toth interviewed Helen Gottier on November 27, 2009

We talked about my grandma's long and interesting life.

Atizaz Hussain interviewed Musharf Hussain on December 10, 2009

Thanksgiving holiday

Vanessa Douer interviewed Samuel Zfaz on November 27, 2009

Adam Holsing interviewed Brenda Holsing on November 29, 2009

We talked about my mother's life, background, and experiences.

Victoria D'orto interviewed Henry D'Orto Jr. on December 06, 2009

We talked about my father's experiences of being a River Rat in Vietnam in the late 1960s.

Drew Smith interviewed Allan J. Smith III on December 08, 2009

We talked about his experience with Vietnam War

Sacha Evans interviewed Rick Evans on November 29, 2009

We talked about my father's service in the Navy during Vietnam.

Maureen Benavides interviewed Victoria A Falls on 11/28/09

Christina Pertesis interviewed John Pertesis on December 10, 2009

We talked about my dad growing up as a child, his experiences in school-what it was like, how it was raising my brother and I, and life experience questions.

Celeste Tallarico interviewed Lisa Tallarico on December 04, 2009

We talked about what her life was like growing up and what expectations she ahd for herself. I asked her personal questions about her family life growing up and about her love life and if she had any advice for myself or my sister.

Leah Berkenwald interviewed Joan Schaffer on November 27, 2009

We talked about my grandmother (her mother), Frances R. Schaffer, who passed away in Feb of 09.

Anna Walters interviewed Phyllis Walters on November 27, 2009

Phyllis, a.k.a. Gammy, is my grandmother. She told me about her favorite memories as a military wife living in Japan and France.

Murray Manzione interviewed Joan McCance Manzione on November 27, 2009

We talked about her years as a child living in Canada, her parents, and relatives from Scotland/Canada.

Rachael Kamlet interviewed Caren Kamlet on December 06, 2009

We talked about life experiences and how to pass them along. We also spoke about the impact that parents have on their children.

Rachael Kamlet interviewed Caren Kamlet on November 26, 2009

Decisions and life lessons

Sydney Jarrett interviewed Jan Jarrett on November 27, 2009

We talked about my mom, her life, her hopes and dreams for her life and mine.

Anne Lewis interviewed Eunice "Bunny" Moeller on November 26, 2009

We talked about her life growing up on a farm in the 1920's and 30's Kansas. She was the youngest of 13 children and never remembered her parents talking to her. Her childhood and adolescence was one of work.

Sandy Holeman interviewed George Stevenson Holeman on November 27, 2009

We talked about my dad's childhood, about his parents and grandparents, and about his feelings about his kids (including me.)

Andrew Reilman interviewed Gregory & Robyn Reilman on 11/28/09

We talked about what it was like for my parents when they were growing up. Really interesting insight into the death of my father's mother and the environment my mother grew up in when she was a small child.

Ernandes Bernardo interviewed ERNANDES BERNARDO

We talked about my family's story

YuanChi Chiang interviewed Tony Chang on November 29, 2009

We talked about the experience study abroad all by our self.

Karen Reid interviewed Brian Reid on December 29, 1899

Our first memories of George and Martha Reid from children and grand children and each other

Sandra Chaff interviewed Frank Chaff, IV on November 28, 2009

We talked about his life using questions posted on your web site

ALEXA VETRANO interviewed Fairfield University on December 26, 2009

Laurie Schwartz interviewed Serge Prengel on November 12, 2009

My personal and Professional Journey

Laurie Schwartz interviewed Serge Prengel on November 12, 2009

My personal and Professional Journey

Laurie Schwartz interviewed Serge Prengel on November 03, 2009

My personal and professional Journey in becoming a body-centered somatic psychotherapist

Alex Cronin interviewed Tiffany Hogue on November 27, 2009

We talked about Meeting her husband in high school and starting her family with him. having 3 younger siblings with such large age gaps and how it was hard to cope with growing up the responsibilities that come with having three children but the rewards that outweigh all of the negative aspects the best days of her life...having her children her wedding day and graduation from college the saddest day of her life when her grandfather died having a big Italian family and all of the benefits that come with it

Antonio Rodriguez interviewed Consuelo Rodriguez on November 27, 2009

We talked about my mother's childhood and parents, how she met my father, my sister and myself, and her 40 years in child care.

Jenny Hua interviewed Hue Ai Tran on November 30, 2009

We talked about my mother's childhood, her life in America, and her future wishes.

Mai Chau interviewed Jenny Hua on November 30,2009

We talked about her life experiences, what she learned and what she want to be remembered as.

Jasmyne McDuffie interviewed Patricia on November 30, 2009

We talked about my parts mom's life.

Jordana Whyte interviewed Bunker Roberge on November 27, 2009

We talked about where his unusual name came from, his favorite uncle, a ex-Marine Harvard grad who spent his life as a middle school social studies teacher, his first memory, what his passion is and why he hasn't found it yet...

Theresa Casciato interviewed Anne Cangemi on November 27, 2009

We talked about her family holiday traditions, and growing up in Oil City, Pennsylvania.

Alicia Masucci interviewed Linda Nuzzo on November 27, 2009

We talked about her life and what it was like to raise her many children.

Kyle Gassiott interviewed Cathryn Lewis on December 27, 2007

We talked about her childhood, my grandfather, our family, love, and our relationship.

Johnny Mengarelli interviewed Paul Morasch on November 21, 2009

We talked about his time in the Veitnam war. He was in the Navy. He shared experiences that he had. He joined the Navy so he would not see battle but had to see battle anyway. After listening to his stories of Vietnam , we talked about when we was 12 years. His mom died of cancer during this time and it has affected him for a very long time.

Samantha Gutierrez interviewed Sylvia Santiago-Gutierrez on November 29th, 2009

We talked about my moms father and how his life was like after he moved from Florida to New york.

David Torres interviewed Anita Torres on November 26, 2009

We talked about her life experiences and her feelings.

Elaine Davenport interviewed Natalia Kenney and Addie Haler on November 28, 2009

We talked about our friendship and our lives

Tom Robison interviewed Arthur (My Father) on November 26, 2009

We talked about his experience growing up in New York in the 30's and 40's. He told me hilarious stories of mischief and of the various ethnic communities and about the GI's who would tell him (sometimes wildly embellished) stories of their service in Europe. He described his homelife, his hobbies and interests, what kind of trouble he could get into, etc. A very funny and enlightening day of stories that I'll never forget and will listen to many times.

Stephen Wallace interviewed Robert Russell on November 27, 2009

We talked about everything from how the family is doing back in Columbus, to what he is going to do in the upcoming week.

Michael Bruns interviewed Chris Bruns on November 28, 2009

We talked about growing up, family life, meeting her husband (my brother) and the birth of their son for almost two hours.

Alexandra Singer interviewed Andrea Singer on November 27, 2009

We talked about the most significant moments of her life.

Susan & David Blackman interviewed Jack & Corrinne Blackman on November 28, 2009

My son and I conducted an hour-long video-taped interview of my parents remembering growing up in West Virginia (mom) and Brooklyn (dad), living through the depression, moving to Baltimore, a first date over turkey, falling in love and starting a life together.

Cinda Becker interviewed Carol Levin on November 29, 2009

We talked about why she became a teacher late in life.

Matt Herman interviewed Pauline Herman on November 28, 2009

We talked about growing up in the Bronx during the Great Depression.

Sook Yee Leung interviewed Feng Chen on November 26, 2009

Erin Callahan interviewed Bob & Pat Fenske on November 27, 2009

We talked about childhood, family, and wishes for the future.

Keith Boggs interviewed Agnes Boggs on November 28, 2009

We talked about how she came to America (from Ireland) and how she met my father...

Bailey Bigler interviewed Regina Bigler on November 29, 2009

We talked about my Mommom's experiences in her childhood, work life and marriage. We also talked about how her parents influenced her life.

Meredith Sullins interviewed Eugene Martin Sullins on November 27, 2009

We talked about what made him volunteer to go into the Korean War, advice for a happy marriage, and his faavorite memory of me as a child He also told me some t

Ted Chou interviewed Pakorn Avakul on November 28, 2009

We talked about friends and how we met in a math class, we went to the tutor session together, and we talked more, became friends since we met.

Rockella Caporale interviewed Stella Babushkin Caporale on November 27, 2009

We talked about her memories, as a child, of the depression

Haley McMenamin interviewed Robin McMenamin on 11/28/09

Her background and how much family means

Laura Perry interviewed GrammaMike and Grandad on November 26, 2009

We talked about what my dad was like growing up, and how they met.

Andrea Christensen interviewed Carol and Irwin Buros on 11.25.09

We talked about how my grandparents met, and what their lives were like growing up.

Emily Rimland interviewed Debora Zamonsky on November 27, 2009

We talked about childhood, role models, working life, regrets, advice, how to be remembered

Emily Rimland interviewed LaRue G. Herwick on November 27, 2009

We talked about her childhood, beliefs and morals, first kiss.

Amy Rainey interviewed Magda Brown on November 23, 2009

I interviewed my grandmother about her experience in the Holocaust. She is a survivor of Auschwitz and Allendorf concentration camps and has an amazing story.

Kathrina Proscia interviewed Breanna Proscia on November 26, 2009

We listened as each of us said what we are thankful for.

Jilinda Richer interviewed Betty Richer

We talked about My mother-in-law and I talked about overcoming fear. She had had to make drastic changes in her "life plan" when her husband died of lung cancer, leaving her with two teenage boys and no income. Mom had attended nursing school and worked the night shift in the psychiatric unit of a local hospital so that she could be at home with her sons during the day. What a woman! (I used to tease my husband that I was really marrying him for his mother - but then I added that I just hoped that he didn't expect me to live up to the example that she had set!) We also talked about my encounter with a driver while training for a marathon on our rural road. Shortly before this event, a rapist had attacked a young woman runner, and he was still at large. Undaunted, I continued my running program, which I'd found outlined in a book about "running your first marathon." My daily routine included waving at each car as it passed me. (I always ran AGAINST the traffic as a safety precaution.) The morning after my own mom had called to warn me of the at-large attacker, I followed my usual routine, but with a heightened vigilance. After a couple of miles, I heard a car - the one to whose driver I had just waved a greeting - slowly turn around. As he pulled up beside me and rolled down his window, the driver leaned out - close enough to grab me. Preparing to race off the road into a neighboring field, I peeked into the car. The man behind the wheel was not a deranged rapist, but a sweet little geezer! He slowed to my speed, leaned out of the driver's window, and explained sweetly, "I just want to let you know, Honey, that you won't be seeing me anymore. My wife broke her hip, and we have to move to a one-story apartment. I was afraid that you'd worry about me if you didn't see me every morning." HE thought that I'D worry about HIM?!! I thanked him profusely for his consideration and assured him that his comments gave me a GREAT sense of relief. (Little did he know HOW great a sense of relief!) Mom also recalled a couple of other "episodes" from our past - the time that I participated in an 4-H Agent initiation rite. I had not known about this custom until Mom, my guest, and I, the new Agent, arrived at camp. After supper our first night in camp, I was secretly buried near the campfire, a plastic tarp under me and a toilet paper tube in my mouth to access air . After darkness had descended on the camp, all of the 4-Hers had gathered around the fire and told the tale of the Indian warrior, Nazumo, whose spirit still lingered in the area. The campers were instructed to stamp their feet and call out for Nazumo, just might appear if they just believed in him. And, of course,Nazumo responded to the call of the campers (average age 11) - by slowly rising out of the ground and mumbling something intended to sound Indianlike. What pandemonium followed! This was obviously a memorable experience - for both Mom and me! The other adventure that Mom recalled was when I parachuted (only after a couple of hours of instruction) from a tiny plane at a country airport. Because the instructor was occupied with assisting the "student" who had preceded me and had landed on the roof of a barn (PHAWT!), his instruction to me was a terse, "Just GO, Jilinda!" And so I had GONE - and hit my head upon landing. (Nowadays, helmets are required for all jumpers.) The resulting concussion caused a period of amnesia that made me feel absolutely CHEATED. Fortunately, I was eventually able to retrieve most of this experience, but my initial confusion was a source of concern for my dear, loving mother-in-law!

Clifford Gutterman interviewed Sidney Gutterman on November 27, 2009

We downloaded a list of questions from the StoryCorps website and talked about Sidney's years growing up in San Francisco, raising his family in Menlo Park and his deep involvement in his Judaism and his synagogue.

Susan Gutterman interviewed Lottie Gutterman on November 27, 2009

We downloaded a list of questions from the StoryCorps website and talked about Lottie's very interesting 85+ years.

Susan Gutterman interviewed Sidney Gutterman on November 27, 2009

We downloaded a list of questions from the StoryCorps website and talked about Sidney's rich and long life.

Penny Corbett interviewed Irene Mary Cawley Corbett on 11/28/2009

My 94 year old mother talked about her grandmother and her mother's family.

Richard Buttacavoli interviewed various family members on November 02, 2007

We talked about the old days

Rebecca Heyl interviewed John K. Heyl on November 27, 2009

We talked about his rich and full life of 103 years and counting!

Edith Ben-Horin interviewed Shoshana Ben-Horin on November 27, 2009

We talked about growing up in Israel during its founding; training, performing and recording as a classical pianist; the importance of family; moving from Israel, to Italy, to the United States; dreams for one's children and grandchildren; and lots more!

Abhimanyu Sharma interviewed Brian Coutee on November 26, 2009

We talked about the tradition and origin of thanksgiving

Gary Victor interviewed Becky Rogero-Victor on November 27, 2009

We talked about parenting, dreams for 2010, favorite experiences in 2009, life with our two sons, high school football, things to be grateful for, and many other fun topics

Jennifer Gibbons interviewed Ludmila Gibbons on November 27, 2009

We talked about her German grandparents, her Russian parents, the Depression, being a teen during WWII, her brothers serving overseas, her opera career, being a single gal in NYC in the late 40's, marrying Dad in '54, children, regrets, death of Dad, volunteerism, her faith and relationship with her granddaughter.

Ayan Neupane interviewed Dilli Neupane on November 27, 2009

We talked about my dad's work, life and interests.

Ayan Neupane interviewed Dilli Neupane on November 27, 2009

My father's job, life and interests.

Donnan Stoicovy interviewed Nancy Stewart Stoicovy on November 27, 2009

We talked about schooling and teachers who influenced her and why she became a nurse.

Junius Wright interviewed Jewel Johnson on November 27, 2009

Buying tobacco in sumter SC

Lindy Woods interviewed Eleanor Drachlis on November 27, 2009

We talked about Eleanor's work during the early days of film, as silent films became 'talkies.' She spoke clearly, with a great deal of passion, about the feeling and fears around the studio as rumors grew about 'the coming of television' and what it would mean for the future of film. Her daughter was born into a house prior to television, and her grandson was born into a home with color television, but prior to home computers and cell phones. Her great grandchildren were born into homes where computers are commonplace, and now they are part of the early days of social media.

Dave Isay interviewed Susan Hayes on November 27, 2009

We talked about Sue's sister Saffron who passed away last month

Rachel Angel interviewed Jeri Cohen on November 27, 2009

Mother and Daughter relationship, family history

Karen Schanche interviewed M. Tomlinson on November 27, 2009

We talked about The one thing in life that most surprised each of us

Dorothy Hammond interviewed Helen Hagins on November 27, 2009

Helen is my mother-in-law. We talked about her childhood and she had so many stories that's all we covered. We laughed and cried together and it was wonderful. I never found out my mother's stories so this experience was very special to me.

Allison Silverman interviewed David Silverman on November 27, 2009

We talked about what it means to be a scientist.

Virginia Squier interviewed Constance Squier on 11/27/09

We talked about her childhood, travels, exploring as a girl growing up in the 20's and 30's.

Zilong Chang interviewed Hong Lei on November 26, 2009

We talked about how his life is going now, and remind the happy time we experience together in high school. He helps me a lot in high school, and I expressed my appreciation.

Shira Bannerman interviewed Ken Bannerman, Judy Wildman, Jerry Anderson, Nancy Anderson on November 27, 2009

We talked about Thanksgiving, family, job aspirations, jokes....

Rose Gorman interviewed Eleonora Gomez-Bas on November 24, 2009

We talked about our two years living together, her childhood in Argentina, and her work as a book-binder.

D. Brent Miller interviewed Brian Miller on November 26, 2009

We talked about how my brother Brian has been the primary researcher for our family history. We've traced the family back to about 1800 but have been stuck going farther. This is the third of three interviews about researching family history.

D. Brent Miller interviewed Charles & Arline Peckham on November 24, 2009

Charles and Arline Peckham have produced three books of their family history. Charles has traced his family back to the year 1066. This interview is the second of three interviews about researching family history.

D. Brent Miller interviewed Patricia Van Skaik on November 24, 2009

How people use the Cincinnati Public Library Genealogy and Local History department to research family history. Done in conjunction with two other interviews for a package.

Nanci Luna Jimenez interviewed Miguel Angel Jimenez on November 17, 2009

We talked about the first time he ate shrimp fried rice, his favorite meal.

Amanda Plumb interviewed Sister Mary Patricia Plumb on November 26, 2009

We talked about our family and her life as a nun.

Eric Rafalovsky interviewed Lucy Landa on November 26, 2009

We talked about her childhood, her parents and her immigration to America.

Dalton Rooney interviewed Florenza and Baldassare LoVerme on November 26, 2009

We talked about raising a family in Brooklyn in the 1970s.

Robin Anderson interviewed Cloyd R. Chamberlain on January 2000

We talked about : early working experiences, WW2 experience, school and football experiences, a bit about his father

Hannah Heberle-Rose interviewed Jeanne Heberle on 11/26/09

We talked about her life.

Alissa Pelc interviewed Sharyanne McSwain on November 20, 2009

I interviewed my boss, Sharyanne. I really enjoyed taking the time to share stories and learn more about her life.

Michael Brigham interviewed Desiree Leary on 11/24/2009

We covered a lot of ground here: miracles, schoolyard bullies, our favorite vacation habits, parents, children, and - oddly - the length of our torsos.

Debbie Milliorn interviewed Debbie on 11/25/09

I talked about how thankful I am for my fiancee

Debbie Milliorn interviewed myself on 11/25/09

I talked about who I am thankful for.

Charlotte Okie interviewed Louis Frank on 11/24/09

We talked about our respective relationships and different backgrounds--he from the northeast, I from the south.

Sarah Harris interviewed Brownie Troop 565 on November 23, 2009

In order to practice for the National Day of Listening, 5 of the Brownies in my troop interviewed me about where I grew up, where I worked and my thoughts on being a troop leader.

Liliana Percy interviewed Eve Claxton on November 24, 2009

We talked about Eve's family, her daughters and how she met her husband.

Perri Chinalai interviewed Vichai Chinalai on November 20, 2009

We talked about traditions in Thailand and my Dad's experience of becoming a monk last summer. We also discussed his recent interest in Japanese paintings, his monthly column in a Thai magazine and how he will never retire from work as an antiques dealer.

Katie McGowan interviewed Kenisha Fearon on November 20, 2009

We talked about Kenisha's grandmother, growing up in Jamaica, and her parents.

Mike Dougherty interviewed Kate Brown on November 19, 2009

We talked about growing up in Virginia, the #1 best state for growing up.

Katie McGowan interviewed Stacey Edelstein on November 19, 2009

We talked about our families, our spirituality, and our friendship.

Nancy Martin interviewed Joseph Rodbard on April 1982

We talked about his father fleeing Galicia, Austria in 1911, sending for my uncle when he was ten years old; my uncle growing up in poverty, riding the rails, joining the American Communist party, becoming a multi-million dollar salesman for New York Life, being followed by the FBI for years during the fifties, the Rosenbergs, Roosevelt, Paul Robeson, his philosphy of fighting against injustice.

Christa Orth interviewed Janie Stevens on 11/28/08

We talked about fond childhood memories of my beloved late grandmother, Edna Sorlie.

Kate Percival interviewed David Bonhurst Hart on November 20, 2009

We talked about our family, specifically his two older brothers: my grandfather, Kenton Hart, who died in 1996, and my great uncle Addison Hart, who was lost during World War II.

Dave Isay interviewed Heather Burke on 11/19/09

We talked about Heather's baby due in a month and the five years we've spent working together