Crab legs sent with love from StoryCorps Alaska

Every day StoryCorps Alumni from across the United States share their StoryCorps experiences through phone calls or emails. These messages from Alumni deepen my own appreciation of the StoryCorps stories we've all heard.

I've shared a few of the heartfelt comments I've received about StoryCorps interviews below, and I'd love to hear from you, too!

Warmly,

Christa Orth
Alumni Coordinator
646-723-7020 x77
alumni@storycorps.net

With more than 230 interviews now recorded, StoryCorps Alaska has come a long way since its launch in October 2008. StoryCorps has visited locations such as Barrow, Nome, Unalaska, and Dillingham. Teams of Facilitators have been hard at work collecting stories, giving numerous outreach presentations, and hosting kick-off events—all the while managing up to 80-mph winds, below-freezing temperatures, and lessening hours of sunlight.

StoryCorps radio partner APRN has broadcast edited StoryCorps segments, one of which came from an interview that was recorded as part of our visit to the Alaska Federation of Natives Conference in Anchorage. Listen here.

Apart from our four main locations, recordings have also taken place in Fairbanks at the University of Alaska Museum of the North. This weeklong endeavor celebrated our archive partnership with the Elmer E. Rasmuson Library at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. While in Fairbanks, StoryCorps also visited the Fairbanks Pioneer Home for a day of recordings with Alaskan seniors.

StoryCorps Alaska is a six-month initiative to collect and record the diverse voices and life experiences of Alaskans. Sharing these stories honors our history, encourages appreciation of our traditions and our Elders, and captures the true spirit of our community.

StoryCorps Alaska is now visiting Juneau. Keep up with our hardy band of Facilitators by reading StoryCorps Alaska Blog posts here.

Some of our most recent—and youngest—StoryCorps Alumni came from the inaugural festivities in Washington, D.C., last week. StoryCorps Door-to-Door Facilitators braved the crowds and attended the Children's Inaugural Ball at the Historical Society of Washington, D.C.

Outside the Children's Inaugural
Ball in Washington, D.C.

StoryCorps recorded interviews with attendees of the Ball through a partnership with Every Child Matters, a child advocacy organization. The parents and children that participated enjoyed speaking with each other about their childhood educations and the role politics had played in their lives.

For more about StoryCorps at the Children's Inaugural Ball, visit the StoryCorps Blog. There you can also post comments and stories of your own StoryCorps experience!

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"They wanted me to stop seeing Daddy..." Willa and Brad Guidi tell their daughter Tasha about meeting at college in 1970. Listen...	"I broke a hundred and sixty-four bones." Barbara Esrig remembers the car accident that nearly took her life. Listen...
"School was out for two weeks and all the telephone lines were down." Dr. Jim Fleming tells his daughter, Janetta, about being trapped indoors by the Great Ice Storm of 1951. Listen...	"I was going to get this little boy an adoptive home before Christmas." Sister Mary DeSalles Collins, who worked at New York Foundling for over 50 years, remembers one adoption just after World War II. Listen...

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Alumni Talk Back!

Many StoryCorps Alums have been writing in to share their StoryCorps experiences. We thank you! I'd like to share a few of these heartfelt notes we have received recently from dedicated folks like you throughout the country.

Click here to share a note about your StoryCorps experience.

 

I just loved being a part of StoryCorps when it came to Saranac Lake last summer. I gave a copy of my interview to each of my eight grandchildren. Thank you for the opportunity.

—Natalie Leduc, Saranac Lake, New York

Listening is one of the most important activities in which we can participate. I wish my mother had lived to share the joy and camaraderie our family has gained through our involvement in the StoryCorps program. When my father agreed to an interview earlier this year, I knew he was finally ready to talk about his WWII POW/MIA experiences, to explain long-unanswered questions, to place the past in perspective. Our conversation continues and has expanded to include everyone in our family.

—Carolyn Freligh, Ocala, Florida

I feel that [StoryCorps] is one of the best projects to happen in my lifetime. I was so pleased to be allowed to participate when the MobileBooth was in Sioux Falls, SD...I am grateful to have had the chance to express my impression of what I saw growing up at the end of one era and the beginning of another.

—M J McMillan, Murdo, South Dakota

We love hearing from our Alumni. Share your StoryCorps experience by emailing me.

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Sponsors and Partners

Major funding is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

 

StoryCorps is also made possible by generous support from the Annenberg Foundation, Atlantic Philanthropies, Ford Foundation, and the Kaplen Foundation.

StoryCorps' podcasts are supported by the Fetzer Institute as part of its Campaign for Love and Forgiveness.

StoryCorps is a project of Sound Portraits Productions in partnership with NPR and the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

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