Olivia Fite and Barbara Moore
Barbara Moore spent more than 40 years working as a bricklayer in Baltimore. She helped lay the foundation for some of the city’s most famous landmarks, including Camden Yards, where the Baltimore Orioles play.
When she started, she was only 21 years old and was the first woman to join her local bricklayers union.
Barbara retired in 2013. At StoryCorps, she told her daughter, Olivia Fite (above left), how she first got into the trade.
Originally aired August 1, 2014, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Photo Courtesy of Olivia Fite.
Rick Bounds and Dorothy Biernack
Rick Bounds is a 58-year-old triathlete, with four competitions and a 100-mile bike ride to his credit, but six years ago he was diagnosed with a nonhepatitis liver disease. Rick’s doctors told him that he needed an immediate kidney and liver transplant, and they gave him eight months to live.
Dorothy Biernack’s husband, Marty, had a stroke, and by the time he arrived at the hospital, there was nothing the doctors could do to save him. That is when his family decided to donate his kidneys and liver.
Marty died on July 20, 2007; Rick received his transplant on July 21, 2007.
At StoryCorps, Rick and Dorothy remember Marty.
Originally aired May 17, 2013, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Above: Dorothy, holding a photo of Marty, hugs Rick at the finish line of his first triathlon. Photo courtesy of Rick Bounds.
Rowena Gore-Simmons and Kenya Gore
Rowena Gore-Simmons runs 2 God B The Glory, a non-profit that helps formerly incarcerated women find housing and adjust to life outside the prison system, but in 2001, she was just getting out of prison herself.
At StoryCorps, Rowena sits down with her 16-year-old daughter Kenya, who was 4 years old when her mother was incarcerated, to talk about what the experience was like for both of them.
Originally aired February 22, 2013, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Peter and Jacqueline Headen
Peter Headen and his wife, Jacqueline, met for the first time in 1958 at a roller-skating rink on the Indian Head naval base in Maryland.
They started dating soon after. But their courtship would continue for four decades, with lots of ups and downs along the way.
At StoryCorps they sat down to tell their love story.
Originally aired February 3, 2012 on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Jason Weems and his parents, Robin and Warren
Classes begin at Leith Walk elementary school in Baltimore this coming Monday. And Robin Weems will be there to greet her new first grade students.
Robin’s husband, Warren, a retired Marine, will also be there, because Warren is his wife’s classroom assistant.
This husband and wife teaching team sat down to speak with their son, Jason, for StoryCorps.
Originally aired August 26, 2011 on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Max Voelz
Max Voelz met his future wife, Kimberly, on Valentine’s Day, while they were training to work in Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit — the Army’s elite bomb squad.
Both Max and Kim were sent to Iraq in 2003. One night, Max called in the location of an explosive and Kim was sent to disarm it. She did not survive the mission.
Max sat down for StoryCorps to remember her.
Originally aired May 27, 2011, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Top photo: Kimberly Voelz at work. Courtesy of Max Voelz.
Ledo Lucietto and Anne Lucietto
Ledo Lucietto and his daughter Anne talk about their shared passion for mechanical engineering that has been passed down through generations and discuss when Ledo first knew that Anne would become an engineer.
Originally aired December 12, 2008, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Anna and Mary Wise
Anna Wise, 96, tells her daughter Mary about marrying her childhood sweetheart, Joseph Wise. After nearly 60 years of marriage, Joseph lost a leg to diabetes and later died from complications related to the disease.
Originally aired January 18, 2008, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Ruth Ballard and Ramonia Lee
91-year-old Ruth Ballard (L) tells her minister, Ramonia Lee, about moving to Tuskegee, Alabama during World War II.
Originally aired July 24, 2007 on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Fountain Hughes, Former Slave
An interview with Fountain Hughes, a 101 year-old former slave, from the spoken-word collection at the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress.
Recorded in Baltimore, MD. Premiered August 24, 1997, on Weekend Edition Sunday.
This documentary comes from Sound Portraits Productions, a mission-driven independent production company that was created by Dave Isay in 1994. Sound Portraits was the predecessor to StoryCorps and was dedicated to telling stories that brought neglected American voices to a national audience.