Mary Magaña (l) and Gloria Baker (r)

Gloria came to StoryCorps accompanied by her longtime friend and mentor, Mary Magaña. The women met in the mid 1980′s, when Mary taught Gloria’s daughters. At the time, Gloria was in her early twenties, and being the child of migrant workers, she had only finished the sixth grade before having to drop out of school.

Mary remembered Gloria as one of her most active parents, always present when she needed volunteers to help in the classroom. “I always wanted to be a teacher,” Gloria remembered, but she put her dreams on hold to raise her children. Instead, she found work in the fields. The work was hard, but Gloria still always tried to support her daughters.

Gloria’s dream to teach resurfaced when Mary said, “Go back to school. You can do it!” The dream seemed unattainable, but when Gloria’s daughters needed homework help she could not provide,  she took Mary’s advice and returned to school. Gloria worked during the day and went to school at night. She also began watching her neighbor’s kids in exchange for babysitting time while she went to school. Gloria first enrolled in English classes, then a G.E.D. program for adults, and later earned accreditation in education.

Today, Gloria is a teacher in her own classroom. One of her daughters has also followed her into the profession.

Impressed by her friend’s determination over the years, Mary asked “Where did you find las ganas?”

“I did it because of you,” Gloria answered simply. “You told me I could, and I believed you.”

We set up our recording equipment in the hospital’s Family Resource Center and listened to stories of resilience and hope. Children came in to talk about what it felt like to confront death and spoke of how the strength of their families and friends helped them through. They spoke of finding fun and laughter inside the hospital walls. Hospital staff talked about being the support of parents and children, of how the babies of strangers become their own. They recalled falling in love with babies and experiencing the loss of them along with their parents without losing sight of the other children that still needed care.

We also recorded the stories of the parents who lost children. Some lost their children right after their birth and some, like Michael and Diane Restaino, lost them at a moment when they thought their child’s life was just beginning as an adult. Mike and Diane came in to remember their son Joe and, in doing so, recorded the story of their lives together.

I loved listening to their commitment to always having dinner together as a family, and seeing the smile on their faces as they talked about their “infamous family dinners,” where Mike, Diane, Joe, and his twin brothers, Tony and David, shared food and laughter for hours. In order to reflect on their saddest memory, Mike and Diane spoke of their happiest memories: moments from their own childhoods and memories of how they first met. Mike chuckled as he remembered how perfect their wedding was, but they both agreed that the birth of their three sons ranked as the happiest moments in their lives.

I learned through the bravery of participants like Mike and Diane that there are many ways to share our saddest memories and that remembering those doesn’t take away from the brightness of the happy ones.

Patsy recorded an interview with her daughter, Birgit, who drove with her dad from Minnesota to see Patsy compete in the Triathlon event (Females 65 to 69). The two women share a brilliant smile and a love of sports.

Patsy became a triathlete when Birgit could no longer participate in sports after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Birgit, an active woman who played team sports, remembered the fear she felt when she first noticed the numbness in her body. Initially, she attributed the numbness to her strong exercise regime but later learned it was MS.

Patsy’s first response was to become her daughter’s caregiver. Next, she became the avid athlete her daughter could no longer be, participating in races and bike rides to raise awareness about MS. Soon Patsy advanced to statewide competitions that qualified her to compete in the Summer National Senior Games.

Birgit says that seeing her mother develop as an athlete has made her happy and proud, for Patsy now does the things that Birgit once enjoyed. This mother-daughter spirit was truly inspiring! And in case you’re curious, Patsy finished an amazing 7th place in her triathlon category, with a time of 1:52:06.7. Congratulations, Patsy and to all the 2011 competitors!

If you’re a Senior who’d like to share your story, click here to record an interview with a loved one.

The Mississippi Museum of Art in Jackson, Mississippi is one of 10 museums and libraries awarded with the 2010 National Medal for Museum and Library Services. StoryCorps Facilitator John White and I made the trip south to provide the museum with one part of their reward: three Door-to-Door recording days.

We had a great time wandering inside the museum during our lunch hour, lucky to enjoy its many exhibits, like The Orient Expressed and Breach of Peace: Portraits of the 1961 Freedom Riders. But while walking the halls of The Mississippi Story, an ongoing exhibit, we got a surprise: Hanging on the wall was the portrait of one of our own participants, called “Tee.”

L. C. Tucker, Jr. recorded a conversation with his co-worker and friend, Mindy Kunz. According to Tee, he can’t remember what the L. C. stands for, but he told Mindy of his coming to the MMA over 30 years ago, when he had completed his U.S. Army service.  Driving by the museum years ago, he thought, “That’d be a great place to work.”

Tee applied to work as a museum security guard three times before applying to be a preparator. Tee took the job, and has not looked back since. He told Mindy of the importance of lighting of and how every piece is measured before it is hung. Now, as chief preparator, he feels pride in being one of the first people to experience the paintings and sculptures when they arrive at the museum and of the role he plays in bringing art to the community.

Tee has touched the walls of the MMA in another way, as well. “Portrait of L.C. ‘Tee’ Tucker, 2009″ by Jason Bouldin hangs next to “Tee Sits for Jason’s Portrait Demonstration, 2009″ by Jackson Garner (both pictured above). These acrylic-on-canvas works remember the day Tee sat for portrait artist Jason Bouldin.

Tee is proud to be part of The Mississippi Story. Although other participants did not have their portraits included in the exhibition, all expressed how the MMA has influenced their lives. They were all able to enjoy art, hung level and at exactly 56 inches center. Tee and his crew made sure of that and will continue to do so for years to come.

Participant Lois Lee spoke a little about the birth of CPC, and mentioned that it was not a coincidence that it happened during the 60’s, when she herself was involved in Asian American and civil rights movements. She’s been with the organization for 40 years now, serving mainly as an educator and program director, and remembered fondly many of the children who first were involved with CPC in their after-school programs, and that found their way back for youth programs and even later, to help as volunteers.

Our day of recording was peppered with all the diverse people that CPC touches – from Hsiao Chiang Fang, a former film producer in China, to Abida P. Abbasi, a Pakistani educator, as well as Laurie Bernstein, also an educator and a Bronx native but life-long Flushing resident. They shared their stories and knew each other thanks to their active commitment to the community they live in; with the telling of their stories, they strengthened those ties.

The Chinese-American Planning Council’s constituents couldn’t make the trek to the New York City StoryBooth downtown – so we came to them. StoryCorps has been able to help people record meaningful conversations in offices, classrooms, libraries, even from the room that holds the ping-pong table! Don’t let distance from a booth deter you from sharing the conversation of a lifetime – stop by our website and find out ways you can help bring StoryCorps to you.

The scholars present couldn’t have been more excited. Recording during an off-week for NYC Schools, they arrived early and some were just hanging out with their shoes off, comfortable to slide silently in the offices’ hardwood floors. Scholars Alex and Emmanuel had the chance to speak with one of El Puente’s founders, Eugenio “Gino” Maldonado, and eagerly listened to Gino speak of his first impression of Brooklyn after moving there at the age of 9 from Puerto Rico, and of how he became involved with El Puente.

Artist and teacher Juan Carlos Roselló spoke with Katia and Emmanuel about a Williamsburg that was once known as Los Sures, and about the evening his parents allowed him to stay up and watch Johnny Carson – an evening that changed his life since he was introduced to Chuck Berry and, as Juan Carlos put it, was thus introduced to “salvation.”

During their interview, Tina and Zuelay were able to learn from Joe Matunis about the many murals El Puente has helped with, and about Los Muralistas.  During the afternoon slots, Nathalie and Patrick talked to Peter Miranda about Teatro El Puente, and the work that Peter does educating the community about HIV/AIDS. Eric, during his turn, had a chance to practice his Spanish skills by talking to Yazmin Borrero, who’s been part of the administrative staff at El Puente for years. The recording day ended with Jonathan and Rabel’s talk with Asenhat Gomez, who, as she described, arrived at El Puente as a teenager looking to become involved with her community and to practice her English and just never left. Asenhat is now the Program Director at El Puente’s Bushwick offices.

We had a wonderful recording day,  and were lucky to see so many youth willing to learn from older generations – I’m left with the image of Katia, taking notes during her conversation with Juan Carlos,  making sure she could look up the names of artists and places he was talking about. Can you think of someone you’d learn from? Like the El Puente scholars did, you should bring them in for a StoryCorps interview! Do it today!

During the recording day, artists and volunteers stopped by to talk about their backgrounds, their relationship to art, and the work they do for the organization. Lester A. Laboy remembered meeting AFC Founder Eliana Godoy one evening in El Barrio, a neighborhood where he was born and raised. He credits AFC with showing him that art wasn’t something that belonged only in textbooks. He soon realized that art could play a part in his life. Through his work with the organization, Lester has helped his neighborhood tackle immigration, education, and environmental issues with the inclusion of the arts in their everyday lives.

Art For Change, its volunteers and its artists, work every day to answer the question asked by this post and is similar to StoryCorps: How can one conversation change anything at all?

You should stop by one of our booths and see.

Marisol and Luis Natividad

At the end of July, members of Los Bilingual Writers and of MANA (Mexican-American Women’s National Association) de San Diego stopped by Logan Heights Library in San Diego, CA to share their story. Among them were Luis Natividad and his daughter Marisol. They arrived towards the end of the day and immediately it was obvious that they were more than parent and child. The suspicion was cleared when Marisol and Luis sat in the recording room and Luis wondered out loud “What could I tell you about me that you don’t know yet?” and Marisol answered with “I know everything.”

But as it turned out, there were still things that Luis and Marisol hadn’t talked about and they spent the next forty minutes talking about his parents and about his feelings as a son, a father – and a grandfather. Marisol is the mother to two little girls that Luis calls his “reason for living,” and he gladly described to his daughter how he rocked her children to sleep the night before, with Marisol sporting a slight smile. He spoke of the mistakes his own father made and about the ones he tried to avoid.

Marisol countered by telling Luis that she felt lucky that Luis served not only as a great father to her and her sisters, but to her friends as well. “I don’t know how many of my friends have said that they think of you as a father,” she said, before laughing and piping up with, “Remember the limo service? You bought that limo and it was the only car we had – so we drove to school in a limo, bought our groceries in a limo, ran all errands with that limo.”

“I still get calls about that limo!” Luis answered, smiling, and the both of them were smiling still when their conversation ended.

“I guess there’s always something new to find out,” Marisol said to me on her way out while pointing at her father, “Specially with this one.”

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.