Ralph Catania and Colbert Williams
Colbert Williams (R) talks with Ralph Catania (L), his fifth grade math teacher who later became his legal guardian, about going to live with Ralph at the age of 15.
Andrew DeVries
Andrew DeVries believed he was going to lose one of his legs following a motorcycle accident in 2002. At a time when he was at his lowest, planning for life with one leg, a young hospitalist gave him hope and a reason to walk again.
Originally aired on October 16, 2009, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Bob Heft
For an American history project during his junior year of high school in 1958, Bob Heft created a 50-star flag. The only problem was that at the time there were only 48 states. Bob had a hunch that two more states would be added and in 1959, Alaska and Hawaii became our 49th and 50th states.
Bob created the 50-star flag by cutting up a 48-star flag his parents had received as a wedding present. “I’d watch my mom sew, but I had never sewn…and since making the flag of our country, I’ve never sewn again.” Bob’s teacher was unimpressed and gave him a B- asking if he even knew how many states we had, and telling him, “If you don’t like the grade, get it accepted in Washington then come back and see me.”
Two years later his perseverance paid off when he received a call from President Dwight D. Eisenhower who invited him to Washington, D.C., for a ceremony adopting his 50-star flag. Bob’s teacher also went back and changed his grade to an A.
Bob later became a high school teacher, college professor, and served as mayor of Napoleon, Ohio, before he died in December 2009 at the age of 68.
Originally aired July 3, 2009, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Johanna Balzer and Willis Cressman
Willis Cressman, 97, talks with his niece Johanna Balzer about surviving the 1927 Bath School disaster in Bath Township, Michigan, in which a local farm owner planted a bomb at his school. Thirty-eight children and six adults died in the explosion, and about 60 others were injured.
Originally aired April 17, 2009, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Donald J. Huffman
Donald Huffman, 91, talks about surviving the 1927 Bath School disaster in Bath Township, Michigan, in which a local farm owner planted a bomb at his school. Thirty-eight children and six adults died in the explosion, and about 60 others were injured. Donald, who was 9 years old at the time, lost one eye and part of his cheekbone in the explosion and was left scarred all over.
Originally aired April 17, 2009, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Carrie Conley and Jerry Johnson
Carrie Conley raised six children on her own. One of her sons, Jerry Johnson, talks with his mother about how she would stretch a dollars and sacrifice to make her children’s Christmases special.
Originally aired December 21, 2007, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Leon and Angela May
Leon May, who fought as a Marine in World War II, tells his daughter about leaving for basic training.
Nzingha Masani and Noah Hairston
Nzingha Masani tells her friend, Noah Hairston, about receiving her name at an African naming ceremony.
Originally aired on August 21, 2007 on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Yvonne Logan Jones and Ola Mae Logan Allen
Ola Mae Logan Allen and Yvonne Logan Jones remember their parents, who migrated from Louisiana to Detroit in the late 1947.
Their father, John Logan, worked for the Budd Company making tires for cars. Their mother, Frances, worked in restaurants as a cook. Their children have become engineers, math teachers and work in the fields of home building, computer technology and the ministry.
Larry Young and Clyde Cleveland
Larry Young (left) tells his friend Clyde Cleveland about his struggle to earn his college degree after his father refused to help him out financially because he was not interested in following in his footsteps becoming a farmer.
Originally aired July 17, 2007, on NPR’s Morning Edition.