How long have you been at your job? 2 years? 5 years? Ok maybe you’re in the double digits, say ten to fifteen? These days that may qualify you as a lifer. By that definition, Camille Petty is a lifer several times over, as the head nurse on the children’s psychiatry unit at Bellevue Hospital for 52 years.

During a day of field recordings at Bellevue Hospital, in honor of its 275th anniversary, Camille was interviewed by friend and colleague Florenna Thompson about her journey to this incredible milestone.
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This July, in collaboration with The Brooklyn Collection, an archive dedicated to the history of Brooklyn, of the Brooklyn Public Library, StoryCorps spent one week recording the stories of people who live and work in the borough. Through storytelling, StoryCorps celebrated the history and diversity of Brooklyn and the members of its communities and…

We did it! With 24 interviews and 49 participants, we have made the first installment of what we hope to be many more, building a growing portrait of the people and life of Brooklyn.
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Forty minutes is not enough time to cram an entire person’s life into. Don’t even try. StoryCorps has more than 100 Great Questions for you to choose from, but over the course of the 40 minute conversation you may only get to an handful.   When I tell participants they have 10 minutes left their eyes pop in disbelief because time has flown.  It’s like the StoryBooth is a time machine where once you enter real time stands still – not true, it flies. So what does one do under these circumstances? Book another appointment!

That’s exactly what Ruth Hunt did.  Over the course of 3 appointments she talked about finding her estranged brother, her career as fashion model, and her work with the Jackie Robinson Foundation. During her first visit Ruth came in by herself, unsure of the process, but with a sense of purpose.  She was determined to tell the story of being reunited with a brother after 50 years of separation.  Her father, a WWII vet, had a child while stationed in London who he’d become separated from until Ruth found him and reunited the two. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m constantly surprised by participants. Ideally, as a StoryCorps facilitator you throw all presumptions out the window. But we’re human, so when Brad Kimbrough, 31, and Bill McLaren, 67, arrived at the StoryBooth, reflexively I thought, “Ok, father-son, or perhaps (forgive me Bill) grandfather-grandson.” Neither turned out to be true. Bill and Brad are best friends.

Introduced by a mutual friend, Bill and Brad initially bonded over their love of the television show Battlestar Galactica and it evolved into a friendly barter system. Brad wanted to learn how to cook and Bill “couldn’t do a thing with computers.”

When Bill had a bad fall and injured himself, Brad didn’t hesitate. Bill recalls the common refrain of friends and relatives. “People would say if you need anything call us. But I’m not gonna call.  You (Brad) didn’t say that. You said ‘who’s taking care of you?’ I said, ‘I’m ok.’ But you said ‘I’ll be out at two o’ clock’ and got on the train. You didn’t say if you need anything call. You knew I needed things.”

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Best friends Victoria Hyde and Lorraine “Stormy” Johnson recently got together at the Macon Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library to talk about their friendship.

They met when Lorraine was in her husband Al’s band.  “You didn’t like me”, quips Lorraine. “You thought I was frumpy. ” Victoria laughs. “I didn’t dislike you.  I just thought you were boring!”  Once they started talking they never stopped.  They shared similar family stories, growing up with their grandmothers in Jamaica just one parish apart. Read the rest of this entry »

Eric Wiberg walked into the New York StoryBooth without an interview partner. Looking back on it, I’m not sure anyone could have kept up with him.

A former captain of vessels who has literally been around the world four times over, Eric shared hard-won memories of his life out at sea. There was the time he made $59 for six months’ out at sea. And the time he was stuck on the same boat as a septuagenarian nudist and an out-of-control captain. Nothing however could top the time a shark nearly ate him alive. Read the rest of this entry »

Former StoryCorps Facilitator and Pat Estess and her husband Gene Estess came to the StoryBooth in Foley Square to talk about  Gene’s remarkable metamorphosis over the years.

“Early on I was a very spoiled child. I grew up with a mother and father who were very generous.  My father was orphaned at a young age and wanted to give me everything that he never had.  My mother came from opulence – opulent for Iowa.  Which gave me a slanted view of what life should be.  I went (to school) with sort of an attitude. An attitude that I was better than, that I could get away with anything – and did.” Read the rest of this entry »

Is it too late to talk about 2010? Been feeling nostalgic for the good ‘ol days. Here’s a test. If you’re still find yourself saying “Happy New Year” then 2010 can’t be all that far behind.

2010 was a great year for the New York StoryBooth Department. There were so many great interviews. We welcomed over a thousand participants, partnered with some fantastic community organizations, recorded  hundreds of stories, wept through several boxes of tissues, and withstood one mighty blizzard. Here are just some of the highlights over the course of 2010.

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Kicking off Hispanic Heritage month, StoryCorps Historias celebrated it’s one-year anniversary at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in New York City’s East Village.  The ceremonies began with an introduction by StoryCorps founder Dave Isay, and Historias Coordinator, Gabriel Higueras spoke of the the initiative’s remarkable achievement.

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Two Urban Bush Women Jana La Sorte and Pia Murray visited the booth this past month and spoke about their early inspirations as dancers and the philosophies that compel their work. Urban Bush Women is a dance company that seeks to bring the untold and under-told histories and stories of disenfranchised people to light through dance.

“Here in New York people seem to be afraid to unlock themselves.  You can see it in people. People outside of dance, don’t seem to understand how simple it  is.  If you move your body it moves the rest of you”, says La Sorte.

“For myself as a dancer and a mover, I strongly believe if you can walk you can dance.  I think that we all have natural and innate rhythm within us.  But because we have this world of “being a dancer”  for most people who are not in that world, they think that dance is completely inaccessible to them, that it’s something they can only watch from afar and not participate in.  I think that dancing and being comfortable really unlocks something inside of you.  I’m constantly moving and I’m comfortable doing that” says Murray.
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