A picture’s worth a thousand stories (and tags).

The heart of the StoryCorps experience is the opportunity to share an honest, uninterrupted conversation with a loved one, and all participants leave our recording locations with their interview on a CD, a time capsule of this special experience that’s hot off the presses! Some people listen to their CDs on the ride home, while others tuck them away in a drawer to share with future grandchildren.

But there’s another momento created at the end of every StoryCorps interview: the photo. After sharing stories, a few laughs, and sometimes a few tears, our participants’ conversations with their loved ones are visually captured. (more…)

Friendship and Mixtapes

Last month, StoryCorps Door-to-Door braved traffic on the I-95 corridor to visit Mount Holyoke College for its annual alumni reunion. At this women’s college, graduates ranging from the class of 1943 to the class of 2009 gathered to consider what it means to be a Mount Holyoke woman, how they’ve carried Mount Holyoke into the world, and what the college’s future might hold. (more…)

Reflections of Self

Thoreau (pronounced thu-ROO) Middle School boasts a brand new building, and when you walk in you’re welcomed in English, Spanish, and Navajo. Just as classes ended in late May, StoryCorps Facilitator Rose Gorman and I stopped by to record with the teachers and staff of TMS as part of StoryCorps’ National Teachers Initiative.

Our first participants of the day were middle school teacher Matthew Lanz and one of his graduating students, Israel Gonzales, who was recognized this year by teachers for being a hard working teen.

Israel and Matt spoke about living on a Navajo reservation, school life at TMS, and Israel’s goals for the upcoming school year. (more…)

A Piece of Peace in Indy’s West Side

This June, the MobileBooth is recording stories in Indianapolis, thanks to local radio station partner WFYI.

We will be recording voices and stories of various Indianapolis neighborhoods until June 30, 2012. You can make a reservation to record by clicking here and tune in to WFYI 90.1 FM during the summer to hear stories from the Indy community. (more…)

Asian-Pacific Americans Making Waves

In honor of Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, StoryCorps Atlanta and the Asian-Pacific American Historical Society sponsored a community listening event called APAs Making Waves: Stories about Love, Family, and Identity by Asian-Pacific Americans in the South.

We played eight stories recorded by Asian Americans living in the South. All of these stories were edited by Dana Goldman and have aired on WABE. Several StoryCorps alumni were also in attendance to shared why they came to StoryCorps and what their experience was like. (more…)

An Outdoor Art Adventure

StoryCorps Door-to-Door recently traveled to Syracuse, New York, to record interviews with Central New York Community Foundation, Inc., where we met local artist, Dorothy Riester, and her friend Stephen Waldron. Growing up in the 1920′s, Dorothy decided she wanted to be an artist at age 12. She remembered that as a young adult, she listened to a lecture given by American writer Gertrude Stein and decided to drop out of her liberal arts college. Stein’s words, she says, shaped her life: “If you know what you want to do, do it.” She enrolled in art school and became a sculptor.

Years later, Dorothy and her husband, Robert Riester, stumbled upon a piece of land for sale in Cazenovia, New York. They immediately fell in love with it and began building a home for themselves inspired by the shape of the land itself. As part of a community of artists, Dorothy and Robert opened their property up as a home for the work of their friends, and the Stone Quarry Hill Art Park was born. (more…)

A Jam-packed June in San Francisco!

Summer is here, and StoryCorps San Francisco is gearing up for an exciting June! Check out the events below for a preview of what we’re up to this month.

Saturday, June 9 –We kick off a month of events this weekend at the San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center to celebrate Pride Month at their Annual Pride Party. This year marks The Center’s 10th anniversary, and we’re especially honored to be part of this momentous occasion. This year, we’ll have a listening station featuring stories from our 2011 partnership with The Center. But we’ll also record more stories this year with staff and other community members who have helped make The Center such a vital and supportive institution. Click here for more information and a full line-up of the day’s activities.

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Integrating Native American traditions in one Montana classroom

StoryCorps Door-to-Door traveled to Missoula, Montana, to record stories for our National Teachers Initiative. We were hosted by the Graduation Matters Missoula program, and during our stay, we met Cecil Crawford, a Blackfeet Native American teacher at Hellgate High School, and his co-teacher, Nancy Larum.

According to Cecil, he does not teach by giving directions but by telling stories, and in discussing his life’s work, he did just that. Cecil speaks with a calming cadence in his voice, and after our conversation I felt relaxed and overtaken by his infectious serenity. He shared a story of how one night, he dreamt of himself teaching a classroom full of Native American children. He took the dream as a sign and left his reservation to become the first teacher to implement a Native American studies curriculum in a high school outside the Indian reservation. This later became a model for other schools across Montana and other states. (more…)