Libby Gardner, left, and daughter Eve Remba.

Our first participants of the day were Elizabeth L. Gardner (Libby) and her daughter Eve Remba. Libby was all smiles as she came into the recording room, and Eve began their conversation by congratulating her mother for winning the Congressional Gold Medal earlier this year. You see Libby was a WASP – a member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots – a pioneering civilian organization of female pilots that flew Military Aircraft under the orders of the United States Air Force during World War II.

She remembered how at first, her family was against the extents she went to in order to learn how to fly: Libby moved across states, from Wisconsin to Pennsylvania, searching for jobs that would allow her to clock in flying hours. Eventually, she left her job as an Inspection Clerk at the Piper Aircraft Factory, borrowing luggage from a friend in order to travel to Sweetwater, TX, to complete six months of WASP training. Libby was twenty-two years old by the time she was stationed in Harlingen, TX, and sixty-six years later she’s still able to easily and comfortably talk about the different aircrafts she had the chance to fly, with a smile in her voice as she spoke of her favorite plane, the B-26 Marauder.

A picture of Libby Gardner in her 20's while on her B-26 graces the lobby of the Amsterdam Nursing Home

Towards the end of her interview, when asked why she would go through so much trouble to be able to fly, Libby quickly answered:

“Because of the freedom! Flying… is a physical pleasure.”

“Did you know you were a trailblazer?” Eve asked her mother. Libby took a couple of seconds before quietly answering,

“Not at the time. At the time I just thought I was very fortunate. We were very fortunate.”

Kathy and John Paul Pieper

Wisconsin Public Radio asked StoryCorps to stop by their Green Bay studios just in time to give local Vietnam veterans a belated “welcome home.” The event brought veterans together at the Green Bay Packer’s storied Lambeau Field – LZ (Landing Zone) Lambeau.

During the weekend, Downtown Green Bay roared its thanks alongside the engines of motorcycles, with drivers sporting jackets that proudly proclaimed  their military tiers of service, whether it had been the U.S. Marines, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, or the U.S. Army. Cars had American flag bumper stickers that showed support for prisoners of war. Men and women walked about, medals and ribbons pinned on their jackets, berets, and hats, and lawns held signs welcoming the veterans to LZ Lambeau.

John Paul Pieper was one of the vets who stopped by our booth to tell his story.  He arrived accompanied by his wife Kathy, wearing a white shirt that showed his support for POWs.

John talked about how at 17 years old he obtained his parents’ permission to enlist in the U.S. Navy with five of his classmates in 1973. The following year he was assigned to go to Vietnam. He spoke of the camaraderie and support of his crew that kept him going during wartime and of the events he had to put aside during those years in order to continue functioning.

There were two events that John still carries with him over thirty years later: helping a young girl reunite with her mother and assisting a young refugee woman who went into labor while aboard his ship. Tears filled his eyes as he smiled at Kathy and recounted the moment when the six year-old child put her arms around her mom. John said that these are the events that changed him, and he chooses to treasure these over the scary, sad, and desperate moments he witnessed during the Vietnam War.

After four years in the U.S. Navy, John had the choice to re-enlist, but he chose instead to return to the United States and became a teacher. Vietnam had a profound effect in his life.  John says that his time in the military provided him with discipline, afforded him the opportunity to see amazing things (both good and bad), and helped him learn just how valuable human life is.

The Latin American Youth Center, (LAYC) Art & Media House is the perfect place for a creative teen. Picture this: the school day is over and you can head to a building that serves as Art Gallery, Recording Studio, Computer Lab, has a basketball hoop out back, a yard big enough for you to garden in, and a room full of musical instruments. All that AND there’s some popcorn while you hang out with your friends in the kitchen? Yep! Perfect.

StoryCorps Door-to-Door made an Historias stop in Washington, DC and the Art & Media House served as one of our local partners, letting us use their amazing recording studio for two recording days, as well as helping us celebrate the Historias Initiative at their Art Gallery.  There we had the opportunity to meet some very talented youth. Among them were Jefferson, a filmmaker, Joel, a photographer, and Shannon (also known as Lady Limelight), a poet.  These teens shared with us their talent and hopes, with Lady Limelight gracing the attendees of the Historias celebration by reciting one of her poems about the impact of gentrification in D.C.  During his StoryCorps interview, Joel talked about all the Dominican delicacies his grandma cooks, and about how the food helped him connect with a country he’s never visited. In his part, Jefferson spoke about his fascination with horror and suspense movies, about how they instilled in him the desire to direct, and how relevant to everyday life they can be. StoryCorps had the chance to record the voices of these youth, right as they are preparing to create goals for themselves and to discover who they are. The Art & Media House encourages them to discover their true self through art, in its many forms.

Sonia and Nolia Lozano

During the month of March, StoryCorps Door-to-Door  traveled uptown in New York City to record interviews for the Historias Initiative at El Museo del Barrio, one of the City’s leading Latino cultural institutions.

El Museo, located on Fifth Avenue and 105th Street, has been a fixture of El Barrio since 1969, thanks to founder Raphael Montañez Ortiz. Our first participant of the day, a very lively Nolia Lozano, 90, who came with her daughter Sonia, remembered vividly the beginnings of El Museo.

“I came here with my children all the time,” Nolia reminisced in Spanish, “I always brought my kids here, and we’d sell empanadas and pasteles. They were in all the programs.”

Nolia was born in Puerto Rico and moved to the United States in her 20’s. While talking with Sonia, Nolia fondly remembered El Barrio of her youth: a neighborhood where everyone knew each other, and where families freely used fire escapes as a balcony extension of their living rooms.

“People slept with their doors open, didn’t they Mami?” Sonia asked

“Yes. It was beautiful! That’s why I’ve never wanted to leave this neighborhood.” And at 90, Nolia is still an active member of her community, still going to El Museo as often as possible. After having raised her four children in Spanish Harlem, Nolia likes to watch her neighbors play dominoes on the weekends and just have a good time with her friends.

“This is like my backyard,” Nolia said while jauntily walking out of the newly renovated Museo, “and it’s still beautiful.”