Detroit native and Atlanta Sk8-a-Thon founder Joi Stafford (aka Queen of the South), talked about her first skating experience in Detroit, Michigan and skating “Detroit Style.” She talked about founding Sk8-a-Thon and how every Labor Day Weekend, the event brings skaters from around the world to Atlanta.

Seasoned skaters Tristina and Michael Allen came into the recording booth on Michael’s birthday to talk about finding love on skates. Chicago and Washington, D.C. natives, respectively, the couple met and fell in love on the skating rink. They now make their home in Atlanta and are an important part of the Atlanta skate community.  After their conversation, I shared my skating story with Tristina and her husband. That evening, they invited me to go skating with them. For the first time in twenty-seven years, I put on a pair of skates and, with some assistance from Tristina and Tasha, made my way successfully around the rink. I was hooked, again, and vowed to rekindle my passion for rollerskating!

And then…

Charlie Davis (shown here with his daughter, Stacey Davis Folmar, and with the legendary pitcher Satchel Paige) got his nickname from Charlie Pride, the country singer and one-time baseball player who was his roommate when the two played for the Memphis Red Sox of the Negro American League, in the days before the integration of professional baseball. Pride came up with “Whip” after Mr. Davis, a pitcher, won twenty games in a row and relieved Paige in the East/West All Star game in 1943.

These days Mr. Davis owns and operates an auto repair shop in Cincinnati. He said in his StoryCorps conversation with Stacey that some of his former teammates were unable ever to talk about their playing days, because of the anger they had from playing in a segregated league. Davis says he understands this completely, but adds: “For me, it was still the best days of my life.”