Diane Tells His Name and Bonnie Buchanan

Diane Tells His Name is Lakota and her family is of the Oglala Sioux Tribe of South Dakota, but Diane didn’t know any of this until she was an adult and learned that she had been adopted.

She spoke with her daughter Bonnie Buchanan at StoryCorps.

This conversation was recorded at the San Francisco StoryBooth. For more information or to make an appointment click here.

Originally aired January 11, 2013, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Above: The photograph Tells His Name received of Buchanan when she was looking to adopt. Courtesy of Diane Tells His Name

Boyd Applegate and Rhonda Dixon

Boyd Applegate’s job is driving big-rig trucks. But his passion is Santa Claus.

Each Christmas Boyd dresses up as a “real-beard” Santa. He does it for love, not money–in more than 20 years he has never accepted payment for his services.

At StoryCorps, Boyd told his sister, Rhonda Dixon, how he got his start.

Boyd won the Goodyear Highway Hero Award in 1993 for saving 3 people from auto accidents.

Originally aired December 21, 2012 on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Ken Rensink and Laurel Hill-Ward

When Ken Rensink was 19 years old, he enlisted in the US Army Reserves and completed training.

The day after he returned home, he fell asleep at the wheel of his car and was in an accident that almost took his life.

Now, almost 30 years later, he’s teaching special education to 11th and 12th graders in Williams, California.

Ken came to StoryCorps with his friend Laurel Hill-Ward to talk about how surviving this accident has influenced his teaching.

Originally aired October 5, 2012 on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Graham Haggett and Shelli Wright

The last picture 11-year-old Graham Haggett’s grandmother Sandra Lee Wright ever saw was of him.

When Sandra, 57, arrived at her job on the morning of September 11, 2001, waiting for her in her email was a photo (at left) of 10-week-old Graham sent by her daughter, Shelli Wright (pictured above). Her response, “So cute! I’m going to steal that baby.”

Sandra, the facilities manager for Aon Corporation, had an office located in the World Trade Center’s South Tower. She, along with 175 of her colleagues, were killed on the morning of the attacks.

Graham, (pictured above and at left with Lammy, a gift from Sandra), came to StoryCorps with his mother Shelli, 41, to remember the grandmother he never got to know.

Originally aired September 7, 2012, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Photos courtesy of Shelli Wright.

Surinder and Rupinder Singh

Surinder Singh left India in the mid-1960s to pursue a career in education. He raised his family in Canada and the U.S., but as practicing Sikhs, they faced a number of challenges.

At StoryCorps in San Francisco, he sat down to speak with his eldest son, Rupinder Singh.

Broadcast on NPR’s Morning Edition on August 10, 2012.

Karen Slade, Eric “Rico” Reed and Arthur “Sonny” Williams

In 1992, four Los Angeles police officers were acquitted of assaulting Rodney King whose March 1991 beating at the hands of police was captured on video. The news sparked unrest in the city, and no neighborhood was hit harder than South Central Los Angeles.

KJLH, an urban R&B station located on Crenshaw Boulevard, was in the center of it all. General Manager Karen Slade, DJ Eric “Rico” Reed, and KJLH’s driver Arthur “Sonny” Williams remember what happened during those days.

KJLH later won a Peabody award for its coverage of the riots.

Originally aired April 13, 2012 on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Top photo: An auto parts store burns out of control in Los Angeles, April 30, 1992. Numerous fires were set and stores were looted after the Rodney King beating trial verdict. (AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac)

Bottom photo: Karen Slade, Eric “Rico” Reed, and Arthur “Sonny” Williams.

Blanca Alvarez y Connie Alvarez

Blanca Alvarez le cuenta a su hija Connie Alvarez sobre el día en que cruzó la frontera sin documentos para llegar a los Estados Unidos desde México.

Les, Scott, Thea, and Amanda GrantSmith

In 1997, Les and Scott GrantSmiths’ marriage was on the rocks. They had been together for ten years and were raising two children. But Les was hiding something: although he was born female,  he felt like a man in the wrong body. Keeping this secret caused Les to fall into a deep depression and withdraw from the rest of the family.

Finally, Scott confronted Les, and the GrantSmith family changed forever.

Les also spoke with his daughters, Thea and Amanda, about what his transition was like for them.

Originally aired March 7, 2012, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Paul Crowley and Dreamer

Many veterans seek out the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Hospital in hopes of feeling better. Thanks to Dreamer (R) those veterans often end up looking better, too.

Since the 1970s, Dreamer, a veteran himself, has been giving free haircuts to vets.

He can be found in a red, white, and blue painted trailer parked at the VA, where he averages about 200 haircuts a month.

In 2011, Paul Crowley (L) showed up looking for a trim. Today, he’s Dreamer’s assistant.

At StoryCorps, the pair sat down to speak about their friendship.

Originally aired February 24, 2012, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Roger Alvarez and Antero Garcia

Antero Garcia (right) taught Roger Alvarez (left) in his 9th grade English class at Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles.

That year, the school’s graduation rate was just 42 percent, and Roger was one of the students who didn’t make it through his senior year.

Roger dropped out in 2007 and hadn’t seen his former teacher until the two of them sat down together at StoryCorps.

When they recorded this interview, Roger was working the night shift at a loading dock, and he said he hopes to get his GED one day. Antero Garcia is now an Assistant Professor of English at Colorado State University.

Originally aired January 29, 2012, on NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday.