More recent development, including the Moscone Convention Complex and Yerba Buena Center in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, once again displaced these older Filipinos as well as younger immigrant families. Even so, there is still a considerable Filipino presence in SOMA. Murals depicting Philippine history and community decorate the SOMA neighborhood walls. Also, nearby streets are named after Filipino heroes – including a street I have walked by many times, called Lapu Lapu, named after a Pilipino warrior that killed Portuguese colonialist Ferdinand Magellan in 1521.

A few blocks away from StoryCorps’ home in San Francisco’s South of Market Neighborhood is the Bayanihan Community Center. Bayanihan is a valued element in Filipino culture that means mutual assistance and mutual caring. The Center exists to strengthen the social, physical, and economic well being of the Filipino American community and the South of Market community with special attention to the underserved segments of the community.

The Bayanihan Center put us in contact with Bindlestiff Studio, and organization that provides the often under-served Filipino American community access to diverse offerings in theatrical productions, music and film festivals, workshops in directing, production, acting, stand-up comedy and writing, as well as a children and youth theater program. The Studio cultivates artists, who reflect and celebrate the diverse values, traditions, and histories of Pilipino and Filipino American cultures, through artistic expression and community engagement.

Last month, I had the pleasure of facilitating a conversation with two representatives from the Studio.  In addition to hearing their story I found out about their work in the San Francisco Bay Area’s Filipino community.

According to Allan Manalo and his wife and partner, Joyce Juan-Manalo, it is a part of their Filipino culture for children to be called upon to entertain their families. As youngsters, Joyce recalls hula dancing to Don Ho singing “Tiny Bubbles”. Allan lip-synched the romantic ballads of Lou Rawls.

Allan’s parents wanted him to pursue a professional career as an engineer or computer scientist, but his heart was elsewhere. He claims that he never got over being a ‘ham’ as a child. After a frustrating time of trying to learn computer language, Allan began trying out stand up comedy in San Francisco’s comedy clubs. His family only found out much later about his career change when an article about him appeared in a local Filipino newspaper. The tough audiences and the inevitable and necessary bombing on stage were steps to be endured in developing his standup routine.

A few years later, on his first visit to the Philippines, Allan met Joyce through a mutual friend. She shared his interests in theater and the coffeehouse scene and Allan soon felt Cupid’s arrow. A wedding in Las Vegas followed. They then left on a grueling road trip of performances through 48 states staying in numerous fleabag hotels.

Now together for 16 years Joyce and Allan are still finding magic in the theater and joy in performing. Allan is the artistic director for the community-based performing arts venue in San Francisco, The Bindlestiff Studio, providing a public space to strengthen community ties.

I have particularly enjoyed the fact that our booth is located here at the CJM. It’s the first time a StoryBooth has been housed in a museum, and because of it, we have many benefits not available to other locations: we are sheltered from inclement weather, restrooms are nearby and the building that houses the CJM is remarkable architecturally. But by far, one of the greatest benefits is the variety of people coming to our booth and to the CJM. They reflect the great diversity of San Francisco and the Bay Area, and through them I encounter a cross section of our society that I otherwise would never have a chance to meet.

One of my favorite groups is comprised of the young people in the program that the CJM calls Teen Art Connect. They are recruited to do a variety of tasks at the museum as paid interns:  Docents for Architectural Tours and Gallery Tours; activities for children and families, art and craft projects; they’ve even worn a Curious George suit or other costume for storytelling events and other programs! They also assist participants when filling out forms, answering questions and being the first welcoming face of StoryCorps.

Two of the interns, Carmelisa and Eliza, also worked directly with us doing research on community-based organizations for us to contact in the Bay, and culminated their internship by planning a day of recordings at the booth. A few weeks ago on a Saturday, when the booth is not usually open, these two teens brought in participants through outreach contacts that they had developed. They had full run of the show: reaching out to participants, telling them about StoryCorps, scheduling them, and coordinating the day of interviews to ensure it went smoothly. And it did!

Eliza did a recording at the Booth with her grandmother, which you can read about here.

Jerry McLilly aka "Mr. Smiley"

When I first saw Jerry McLilly approach the San Francisco StoryBooth, I felt that I recognized him from someplace in the past.  As he began to tell his story, it finally hit me:  He was that remarkable and unforgettable crooner in the dapper suit that I had heard so many times over the years in downtown San Francisco, singing his signature numbers, “When You’re Smiling” and “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.”

Also known as Mr. Smiley, Jerry sang for most of two decades in front of the old Emporium store, before and after it closed (the facade still stands as the entrance to Bloomingdales).  We were fortunate that this day in August he brought some songs, his engaging smile and his story to share with us.

While at high school in Detroit, Jerry met Jackie Wilson, who later went on to become a major rhythm and blues star with “Lonely Teardrops” and “Reet Petite.”  Jerry was hired for $175 a week as Wilson’s valet and chauffeur when they began a tour of the “Chitlin Circuit” -  D.C, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, The Fillmore in San Francisco, and the Apollo in Harlem.  Jerry rehearsed with his mentor and role model and began his professional singing career.  After some years on the road with Wilson, he performed with a later version of The Ink Spots vocal group in venues around the world.

Famed newspaper columnist Herb Caen advised Jerry to take his solo act to the streets of San Francisco, first Market Street, Fisherman’s Wharf and later Union Square, where Jerry now can be seen and heard outside Saks Fifth Avenue at Powell and Post.  Hailed as an Ambassador of The City by former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, over his 45 years of performing Jerry has been featured on local television stations and newspapers and, in 2006, made a cameo appearance in the  film, “The Pursuit of Happyness.”

Troubled with a bad knee, Jerry “soldiers on,” keeping to a weekday schedule of performing from 9 am til 2 pm.

Living in a city can lead us to a calloused indifference.  We put on the blinders and tune out too much of the world.  Jerry McLilly is the antidote to the woes of a sometimes heartless city.  With his radiant charm, Jerry calms a pedestrian’s fear of being accosted in the street by a stranger.  He gives a passerby a smile and a song and, in return, he gets a smile and some money.  Jerry is all about feeling good and passing that vibe on.

Jerry McLilly came to StoryCorps through our outreach relationship with Community Housing Partnership.

Chris and Olga Galvez

A bilingual, bicultural home could present challenges for both parents and their children.  What will be the dominant language?  How do you balance the two heritages?

In July, Olga Galvez brought her mother, Chris Ettlin Galvez, to our San Francisco booth to tell the story of their family for an Historias recording.   Chris grew up in a white middle class family in East Oakland.  During the 1960′s Chris was hitchhiking in Central California with a friend and they were given a ride by a family of Latino farmworkers.  Chris’ friend, fluent in Spanish, was able to converse easily with the family.  That day turned out to be a transformative one for Chris.  She was introduced to an entirely new language and culture.  She went on to became a Spanish major at San Francisco State College where she also earned a teaching credential.

Having been active in the civil rights movement during this period, and with her newly developed language skills, Chris found a place in the United Farm Workers organization.  Soon, Chris met her future husband, a Salvadoran immigrant.  After a whirlwind courtship, they got married and began a family in San Francisco.  In Chris’ words, having her children was “the best thing that ever happened to me.”  Chris felt that it was important for her daughters to be fluent in Spanish and it became the dominant language spoken in the home.  English could easily be picked up from Chris’s side of the family and in the larger culture.

During the civil war in El Salvador, Chris and her family began sheltering refugees from that war-torn country in their home and in the community.  They became active in the Sanctuary Movement of the 1980′s.  Their parish provided a safe haven for a number of political exiles and San Francisco became a Sanctuary City.

Chris now works at Community Housing Partnership (CHP), a nonprofit dedicated to ending homelessness permanently in San Francisco. CHP is teaming up with StoryCorps to record the stories of their community.

Olga has grown up aware of the inequities in our world and witnessed the efforts of her mother and others in the struggle for social justice.  For Olga’s family, the commitment to a  higher purpose transcended the limits of language and culture.

This StoryCorps recording gave Olga an opportunity to thank her mom for the values instilled as she was growing up in a bilingual and bicultural home.   Chris had a chance to tell Olga that her two daughters are “her greatest achievement.”

Friends of Negro Spirituals was founded in 2008 to preserve and extend this heritage. This is accomplished by recording the memories of those who grew up within the tradition of spiritual music. A Bay Area oral history archive has been established at Mills College as well as the Oakland Main Library History Room and the African American Museum and Library, also in Oakland.

Now Friends of Negro Spirituals has partnered with StoryCorps in this effort. We have completed over a dozen recordings so far with more scheduled this summer including a Door-to-Door recording in Oakland.

Late in June I had the pleasure of meeting and facilitating a conversation between Sam Edwards Jr., 67, and Jacob Ray White, 81, pictured above, as they recounted their early experiences with this stirring music. Mr. White recalled his rural childhood in Alabama during the Great Depression. Jacob, the youngest of seven children on a subsistence farm, was “sickly” and instead of doing the customary chores, spent many solitary hours hunting and fishing to provide food for his family. The youth drew on his experience in Sunday School and found comfort and solace in the spiritual, Way Down Yonder By Myself.

Are centuries old spirituals that found a reawakening in the Civil Rights struggles of the 1950’s and 1960’s still relevant? In an article in San Franisco’s Bay View newspaper, Lyvonne Chrisman, Vice-President and co-founder of Friends of Negro Spirituals (and StoryCorps participant!) said, “Considering the many home foreclosures, daily job losses and the dark clouds of uncertainty of the times, spirituals are tailored for all of us. We can still sing together and learn about songs that formed a bridge that brought thousands over.”

Our previous visit was arranged by StoryCorps Facilitator Alex Lyon, who also works at the Tenderloin Tech Lab. Every year the Lab aids nearly one thousand homeless and low income clients to overcome barriers to accessing technology. (Check out Alex’s Post from 10/19/09)

For our second day of recordings at the St. Anthony Foundation, Alex coordinated with Lydia Bransten of Guest Services, who helps to manage the dining room at the Foundation. At noontime each day, a meal is served to hundreds of neighborhood people. It was among this group that Lydia selected the day’s StoryCorps participants.

Having arrived earlier that morning, I had been greeted on the sidewalk by an uniquely attired man, Joseph Plamondon. Joseph was busy, as usual on weekday mornings, escorting uniformed schoolchildren to their nearby De Marillac Parochial School. Joseph makes a little money by posing for photos at the nearby Cable Car terminal with tourists who want to take home a snapshot of themselves with a colorful local. With a bit of eye makeup and his top hat, Joseph bears a striking resemblance to Heavy-Metal star, Alice Cooper.

Charles Houston told stories about growing up in New York City and the trips he made to visit his grandparents in the South during the turbulent 1950′s and 1960′s. He had to learn to deal with the reality of the Jim Crow mentality for the first time in his life.

Later in the day we had the opportunity to record a conversation between two of St. Anthony’s staff members, Lydia and her colleague Ken Humphrey. They shared memories of their first meetings, working together, and the subsequent friendship that developed as they both became parents and their families grew close.

St. Anthony’s is a special place that not only serves the vital needs of it’s clients, but does so in a manner that honors the dignity of each individual and assists them in taking positive steps toward a more stable life. Thanks to the Dining Room, many who otherwise would not be able to eat that day leave with a full stomach and leftovers for later. For the day’s StoryCorps participants, there was a chance to share their stories with attentive listeners.

We look forward to our next visit to record more conversations at the St. Anthony Foundation.

This event not only gave these co-workers a chance to find out what we do as StoryCorps Facilitators, but also gave us the chance to get to know some of the amazing stories behind these familiar faces. In addition to English, interviews were recorded in Swahili and Tagalog.

Sean, born and raised in San Francisco, talked about his love of cinema and his hopes to pursue a career in film making.

Carolyn brought in her boyfriend Greg, and told the story of how they met.

James came in with his newlywed wife, Annix. The two described their long distance courtship–San Francisco to the Philippines–and the advantages and challenges of a cross-cultural romance.

We have plans to include more of the security staff in our future recording schedule, and are so happy to have gone beyond a mere “Hello” with our CJM colleagues.
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Visitors to San Francisco who come to Chinatown see a colorful, picture-postcard view of this densely populated area. San Francisco’s Chinatown has one of the largest population of Chinese people outside of Asia. Chinatown is familiar as a center of restaurants, shops and other businesses owned and operated by Chinese Americans, but in addition to being a major tourist attraction, it is the epicenter for Chinese Americans in the San Francisco Bay Area and the West Coast.

On October 20th, StoryCorps paid a visit to On Lok Powell Street Center to record the stories of this amazing community. Since 1971, On Lok has been providing services for San Francisco seniors in centers throughout the city. The Powell Street Center offers a comprehensive package of services: clinics, doctors, nurses, physical and occupational therapies as well as recreational activities. On Lok’s focus is on supportive and preventative measures to keep it’s members within their communities and families for as long as possible. Beyond that, On Lok provides a place for seniors to meet and participate in group outings, companionship, and ethnic and cultural activities. For 38 years On Lok has helped people maintain their independence and dignity. StoryCorps came to honor and celebrate a few of these elders by recording their words in conversation with sons, daughters and social workers in the language that is native to them, Cantonese.

Since I do not speak Cantonese, I was unable to understand exactly what was said during the recordings, but afterwards I asked the interviewers about the content of their conversations. Storytellers were asked about their years growing up and the memories of their parents and grandparents. Some told the saga of their immigration to the United States. At one point, Ting Foon Lee, while recalling a memory, began what sounded to me like the recitation of a poem. When I asked her daughter, Yvonne Lee, about this she said her mother loves poetry and had committed many poems to memory as a student and recited one for her daughter during their recording. As well as receiving the respectful care provided at the Powell Street Center, six Chinese-American elders were honored by their conversation partners and San Francisco StoryCorps facilitators.

Congratulations and best wishes, Veronica and Tech!

When Walter Kahn, 86, and his daughter, Marlita, entered our San Francisco StoryBooth, I had no idea of the tale that was to come. After the recording was completed, I joked that I wanted him to sell me the movie rights to his story!

Walter told the story of being in school in Belgium as World War II broke out. As a young Jew of 17, he knew that he needed to escape the territory that the Nazis controlled. In the south of France, after twice escaping prison camps, Walter met up with his brother and the two planned to escape to Portugal and safety. After connecting with a guide who would smuggle them through the Pyrenees, the young men made the perilous journey. Staying in caves, farms, and assorted safe houses – including a bordello in Barcelona – they narrowly escaped capture many times. As it turned out, they were the first passengers on an “underground railway” that would later spirit out downed Allied pilots, partisans, and other refugees during the course of the war.

Walter painted a vivid picture of his numerous travails and close calls on his journey to safety and freedom. It was easy to visualize his story on the silver screen.

Marlita had heard stories of her father’s adventures all her life, and was thrilled to finally record the telling of his tale so that future generations would hear them as well.