Work Archives - Page 23 of 35 - StoryCorps

Mark and Jessie Edens

Mark Edens is a retired state trooper who worked for the Michigan State Police for 25 years.

During that time, he was often tasked with investigating fatal car accidents on Michigan’s highways.

At StoryCorps, he sat down with his daughter, Jessie, to talk about his work.

Originally aired August 31, 2012 on NPR’s Morning Edition.

 

Daniel Ross

The drought of 2012 is the worst since the 1950s. With so many scorched acres, wildfires have been steadily burning across the center of the country this summer.

Across the western U.S., wildfires are fought in part by prison inmates. This has been a busy year for these firefighters; in Wyoming, inmates have been dispatched more than 50 times to battle fires in all four corners of the state.

Daniel Ross began working as an inmate firefighter there in 2011. He is a former crystal meth addict who is currently serving time for aggravated assault against a police officer.

At StoryCorps, he remembered his first fire.

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

Freddie Wood and Wilma Sue Wood

In July 2012, the US Postal Service begins consolidating locations and reducing hours in order to cut costs.

One post office in danger of having its hours slashed sits inside the Wood & Swink General Store in the north Florida town of Evinston.

It’s been in Freddie Wood’s family for over 100 years, and has barely changed in that time.

Each afternoon you’ll find Freddie, who is a farmer by trade, holding court there.

At StoryCorps, he spoke with his wife, the town’s former postmaster, Wilma Sue.

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

Adeline Rockko and Zachariah Fike

Captain Zachariah Fike is an Army National Guardsman on a special mission.

He finds Purple Heart medals for sale in antique stores and on the internet, buys them, tracks down their rightful owners, and returns them.

So far, he has reunited five families with lost medals.

The first one belonged to Corrado Piccoli, an Army translator who was killed in Europe during World War II.

At StoryCorps Captain Fike and that soldier’s sister, Adeline Rockko, remembered their first conversation.

Bishop Ricardo Ramirez

On a fall day in 1981, Ricardo Ramirez accepted an offer to become a bishop in San Antonio, Texas.

At StoryCorps, he remembered the dozens of phone calls he made that day. One of the first was to his grandmother Panchita Espitia, a woman who didn’t let being 90 slow her down.

Originally aired June 29, 2012 on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Denny Meyer

When Denny Meyer enlisted in the Navy in 1968, he had to hide the fact that he was gay.

At the time, homosexuality wasn’t tolerated in the Navy and anyone found to be gay would be discharged from service.

At StoryCorps, Meyer recalled what it was like to be gay and a sailor in those days.

Originally aired June 22, 2012, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Tyrese Graham and Tania Kostova

Tyrese Graham is a second year science teacher at John Marshall Metropolitan High School on the West Side of Chicago. When he started teaching, Marshall was among the worst public schools in the city. At StoryCorps, Tyrese talked with his girlfriend, Tania Kostova, about his first day on the job.

Originally aired May 27, 2012 on NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday.

Harrison Wright and Sean Guess

When Sean Guess brought his grandfather, Harrison Wright, to a mobile booth in Austin, he asked about Harrison’s service during World War II.

Harrison was drafted in early 1943 and soon after shipped out to Europe. He played the bugle in his unit, and, at the end of the war, he was called upon for a special assignment.
Army Sgt. Harrison Wright as an 18 year-old. Photo courtesy of Harrison Wright.
Originally aired May 25, 2012, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Photo: Army Sgt. Harrison Wright as an 18 year-old. Photo courtesy of Harrison Wright.

Nancy Cardona and Umberto Joseph DeJesus

For nearly twenty years, Umberto Joseph DeJesus has worked as an EMT and physician assistant in emergency rooms around New York City. September 11, 2001 was his day off.

At StoryCorps, Umberto talks to his wife, Nancy Cardona, about going to Ground Zero as a volunteer.

Recorded September 10, 2011.

Kate Musick and Harleé Patrick, Jose Catalan and Carlos Vizcarra

For students who are struggling, sometimes the difference between success and failure can start when a teacher takes the time to listen.

In these two stories from our National Teacher’s Initiative, teachers go beyond the classroom to help their students.

In 2004, Kate Musick (top left) was teaching third grade at T.C. Walker Elementary school in Gloucester, Virginia. When Harleé Patrick (top right) walked into the room Musick saw a troubled child.

Harleé is now a teenager, and the two came to StoryCorps to talk about how she made it through that year.

Catalan

The second story comes from Los Angeles, where 19-year-old Jose Catalan (above right), who is studying to become a math teacher, sat down with his former high school teacher Carlos Vizcarra (above left) to talk about how they became friends.

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