A Daughter Pays Tribute To The “Mom Every Other Kid Wanted”
Mary Mills grew up as an only child in the 1960s, in a quiet neighborhood near Santa Monica, California.
Mary Mills, 4, with her mother, Joyce Carter Mills, in front of their family car, in 1967. Photo courtesy of Mary Mills.
Although Mary didn’t have siblings to play with, she was never lonely. There were plenty of children nearby and they all seemed to want to be at her house. More specifically, they wanted to hang out with Mary’s mother, Joyce Carter Mills.
Mary Mills and Joyce Carter Mills at their StoryCorps interview in Santa Monica, CA on February 7, 2020.
By Mia Raquel for StoryCorps.
In 2020, Mary brought her mom to StoryCorps to tell her why she was “the mom every other kid wanted.” Joyce, who was 89 at the time of their interview, starts their conversation.
Top Photo: A young Mary Mills with her mother, Joyce, in 1963. Photo courtesy of Mary Mills
Originally aired April 9, 2021 on NPR’s Morning Edition.
“My Mother the Performer”: The Life and Legacy of Dorothy Toy
In the late 1930s, Dorothy Toy and her dance partner Paul Wing made their Broadway debut after years touring on the Vaudeville circuit. In one of their earliest Broadway appearances, the duo, billed as Toy & Wing, performed in a musical review. That night, as Toy & Wing took their bows, the applause was thunderous. Dorothy later told her daughter that the audience got on their feet and applauded so vigorously the bandleader was forced to bring them out repeatedly – stalling the next act. Dorothy would say, she lost track of how many bows they took that night, but that they became a fixture on Broadway from then on.
Dorothy, Paul and a young Dorlie Fong dancing the cha cha during an encore performance. Courtesy of Dorlie Fong.
Dorothy Toy and dance partner Paul Wing (Toy & Wing) posing at the Forbidden City Nightclub in 1950’s San Francisco. Courtesy of Dorlie Fong.
Decades later, after founding her own dance company and touring the world, Dorothy Toy planned to visit StoryCorps with her daughter, to look back on a lifetime of performance. But she passed before that was possible. Dorothy was 102 years old when she died. She had suffered multiple broken hips and lived with dementia, but she considered herself a dancer well into her final years.
In March of 2021, her daughter Dorlie Fong came to StoryCorps to honor her mother. In that session she committed to tape many of Dorothy’s stories from a bygone era of Vaudeville, Hollywood, and Broadway. But beyond that, Dorlie described what it was like growing up backstage and finding connection with her mother the star.
Top Photo: (L) Dorothy Toy and her young daughter Dorlie Fong backstage in the 1950’s. (R) Dorlie with her mother on her 101st birthday. Courtesy of Dorlie Fong.
Bottom Photo: Dorothy Toy performing in her home dance studio in front of a CBS news crew. Courtesy of Dorlie Fong.
Originally aired April 2, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
“There Was Always Music In The House”: Memories Of Luis M. Moreno, A Father And Prolific Songwriter
When Luis M. Moreno was around six years old, he encountered a fayuquero or traveling vendor who had a little guitar up for sale. The family story goes that Luis wanted the guitar and the vendor, seeing that Luis was just a small child, told him the guitar was his if he proved he could play it. After fiddling with the strings for a while, Luis played a little tune, and the vendor gave it to him.
This moment marked the beginning of a lifetime of music for Luis.
He drew inspiration from all the things he lived. Born in 1899, he became an orphan at the age of 8 and grew up seeing other musicians perform in the cantinas or taverns of his native Mexico. Then, the family tales say he was conscripted to fight in the Mexican Revolution, and after being shot in battle, he immigrated to the United States, settling down in California in the first half of the 20th Century.
Photo: A young Luis M. Moreno
That is where he met his wife and creative partner, Carmen Moreno. Together they were known as Los Moreno or El Dueto de los Moreno, famous for the Mexican folk music they performed on the radio and in venues throughout the Los Angeles area.
More than a century after their parents’ birth, his daughters, Rosemary Selzer and Carmencristina Moreno, now 67 and 81, came to StoryCorps to share their memories of growing up surrounded by music, and the bittersweet legacy that their father left behind.
Photo: Carmencristina Moreno and Rosemary Selzer in March 2021
Top Photo: Carmen Moreno and Luis M. Moreno performed under the name of Los Moreno or El Dueto de los Moreno
Originally aired March 26, 2021, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Room In My Heart: How One Woman Found Forgiveness After Her Brother’s Murder
On January 21st, 1995, 20-year-old Tariq Khamisa, a student at San Diego State University, was out delivering a pizza, when a gang tried to rob him. Things escalated, and at the urging of an older gang member, 14-year-old Tony Hicks shot and killed Tariq.
Tariq Khamisa as a high school senior. Courtesy of the Tariq Khamisa Foundation.
Tony became the youngest person in California to be charged as an adult, and spent the majority of his sentence at maximum-security prisons.
As the Khamisa family was grieving, Tariq’s father, Azim, leaned on his spiritual practice as a Sufi Muslim.
In 2000, five years after Tariq’s death, Azim went to Folsom State Prison to meet Tony for the first time (you can hear them in conversation here). 15 years later, Tariq’s older sister, Tasreen, did the same. The friendships forged between the Khamisa family and Tony directly contributed to Tony’s release from prison in 2019.
To hear more from the Khamisa family and Tony, check out this episode of the StoryCorps podcast.
Top Photo: Tasreen Khamisa and Tony Hicks. Courtesy of the Tariq Khamisa Foundation.
This interview is part of the Anwar Collection of Muslim Voices through StoryCorps’ American Pathways initiative. This initiative is made possible by the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art and an Anonymous Foundation. Additional support is provided by the Stuart Family Foundation. It will be archived at the Library of Congress.
Originally aired March 5th, 2021, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
2 Sisters on Enjoying Life: “Instead of a Drama or a Novela, Make It a Sitcom”
Brenda Ulloa Martinez and her sister, Corina Ulloa, grew up in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles in the 1980s.
Both of their parents worked. Prior to opening a bridal shop together, Irma worked as a seamstress in a factory and Arnulfo as a delivery truck driver. So the young sisters would often rely on public transportation to get to school. This also meant they’d return home to an empty house.
Left to right: Brenda Ulloa Martinez, at age 4, and Corina Ulloa, at age 2, in their family apartment in Los Angeles in the 1970s.
In 2010, they came to StoryCorps to share some of their hard-earned wisdom with the next generation: Brenda’s daughters, Camila Martinez and Isabela Martinez.
Top Photo (left to right): Corina Ulloa, Brenda Ulloa Martinez, Camila Martinez, and Isabela Martinez at their StoryCorps interview in Los Angeles, California on March 6, 2010. By Alejandro De La Cruz for StoryCorps.
Originally aired January 29, 2021, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
A Spoonful Of Sugar: How A Vaccine Inspired A Disney Classic
Jeffrey Sherman was around 5 years old in 1962 when he came home one day and found his father at home, looking depressed. Jeffrey’s father was the late Robert B. Sherman, one half of the Sherman Brothers, the songwriting duo behind many of Walt Disney’s classic films.
Robert and his brother, Richard, were in the process of writing songs for the Mary Poppins classic film and had a favorite piece called “The Eyes of Love.” Unfortunately, actress Julie Andrews didn’t like the song and Walt Disney had asked them to go back to the drawing board and come back with something more in line with the philosophy of Mary Poppins. The new phrases they tried kept falling flat. The Sherman Brothers were in low spirits.
But the conversation Robert had with 5-year old Jeffrey after he arrived home from school changed that.
In this remembrance of his father, Jeffrey, who is now 63, recorded for StoryCorps from his home in West Hills, California, where he spoke with his wife Wendy Liebman, 59, about how that day he inadvertently helped spark the creation of one of the most famous songs in the American canon.
Top Photo: A 5-year-old Jeffrey Sherman is pictured with his father, songwriter Robert Sherman, in the early 1960s. Courtesy of Jeffrey Sherman.
Bottom Photo: A Mary Poppins song book from Jeffrey Sherman’s childhood, with special dedication from the Sherman Brothers. Robert Sherman’s dedication reads, “Jeff —Thanks for ‘A Spoonful of Sugar’ and thanks for being my son! Dad.”
Originally aired January 8, 2021, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Now In His 80s, Gay Veteran Remembers Getting Kicked Out Of The Navy Despite Being “A Perfect Sailor”
When Joseph Patton joined the Navy in 1955, he had to serve in silence. At the time, gay, lesbian, and bisexual people could not be open while in the military.
Decades later, at the age of 81, Joseph recorded for StoryCorps from his home in Santa Monica, California, where he spoke about his service and how he was eventually kicked out of the Navy due to the assumption that he was “homosexual.”
In the 1970s, Joseph fought to get his undesirable discharge upgraded to honorable, which then allowed him to receive benefits for his service.
Joseph died in 2020. He was 83 years old.
Top Photo: Joseph Patton, who recorded in Santa Monica, California with StoryCorps in 2019. Photo by Jud Esty-Kendall.
Bottom Photo: Joseph Patton in the mid-1950s, while serving in the US Navy. Photo courtesy of Joseph Patton.
Originally aired December 26, 2020, on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday.
Lola’s Work: What a Grandmother Taught Her Family About Love
To Crescenciana Tan, family meant everything. Her grandchildren called her Lola. And they grew up hearing stories about where she came from and the many sacrifices she made for loved ones.
Lola was born in the Philippines and survived the Japanese Occupation of World War II. After her father passed away, Lola, the youngest of four siblings, started working to support the family. She worked the rice fields in the hot sun. She rode to market in a cart pulled by water buffalo to sell dry goods. And when she became a parent herself, Lola left home to work as a servant to earn money for her children.
Photo: (L) Crescenciana “Lola” Tan with grandson Kenneth and daughter Olivia at their home in San Jose, California in 1990. (R) The family in Oakland, California in 2016. Courtesy of Kenneth Tan.
Eventually, after years of labor, Lola came to the U.S. in 1982 to help raise her grandchildren. She passed away in 2016, at the age of 96. She spent her final years in the company of her grandson Kenneth, who has immortalized her stories in the artwork featured here.
This October Kenneth came to StoryCorps in San Jose, California to tell his mother Olivia about the greatest lesson Lola ever taught him.
‘Dancing Shoes’: One evening during the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines, Lola attended a dance at a neighboring village. In the middle of the dance, someone alerted the crowd that Japanese soldiers had arrived. Fleeing for safety, Lola hopped onto the back of a cart and made her way home. Along the way, she dropped one of her red shoes. Painting courtesy of Kenneth Tan.
Top photo: Young Crescenciana working as a cashier at a local grocery in the Philippines in 1960. Courtesy of Kenneth Tan.
Bottom photo: (L) Olivia Tan Ronquillo and her mother Crescenciana at the Manila Airport in 1965. (R) Olivia and mother in Oakland, CA in 2016. Courtesy of Kenneth Tan.
Originally aired November 27, 2020, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Sylvia’s Legacy
Ellaraino, 72, grew up in Los Angeles in the 1950s. When was 16 she had one thing on her mind: boys. Her parents thought that was trouble, so they sent her to Louisiana to live with her great-grandmother Silvia for the summer. They’d never met before and Ellaraino didn’t want to spend her time with a senile old woman. But as she tells her friend Baki AnNur, she was soon enthralled by Silvia’s stories. She came to StoryCorps in Los Angeles to talk about what she learned that summer.
Watch an animated version of Ellaraino’s story:
Originally aired September 16, 2011, on NPR’s Morning Edition. Rebroadcast on November 6, 2020, on the same program.
They Called Him Papu: The Life of a Beloved Grandfather
During World War II, Ricardo Ovilla came from Chiapas, Mexico as part of the Bracero Program, the largest guest worker program in U.S. history. He went where the work took him, travelling across the country to pick fruits and lay railways. It was hard labor, but Ricardo hoped to build his family a home in a new country. Eventually he did just that, bringing his wife and kids to the United States.
In those early days, things were tough. Ricardo’s whole family worked alongside him in the fields picking fruits amidst thorny branches. But no matter how hard things got, Ricardo refused to be demoralized. He’s remembered by his granddaughters Martha Escutia and Marina Jimenez as an eternal optimist — a man “whose mission was just to bring joy to his family and his kids.”
At StoryCorps in July of 2020, Martha and Marina took time to reflect on Ricardo’s incredible journey. He was born of the Zoque People in Southern Mexico, and joined the Mexican Navy at 18. He crossed the border in El Paso, Texas and picked fruit in fields where Disneyland stands today.
A young Ricardo Ovilla, who served in the Mexican Navy when he was just 18. Courtesy of Martha Escutia.
Ricardo passed away in 1999, shortly after naturalizing as a U.S. citizen. But he lives on in his granddaughters’ stories. To them, he will always be the tender hearted, marimba-loving, menudo aficionado who stopped at nothing to see his children laugh. They knew him simply as “Papu.”
Ricardo “Papu” Ovilla with his wife Marina “Mamina,” surrounded by their grandchildren. Courtesy of Marina Jimenez.
This story was recorded as part of American Pathways, StoryCorps’ new initiative to record, preserve, and share the stories and experiences of immigrants, refugees, asylees, and Muslims living in the United States. Learn more here.
Top Photo: (L) Ricardo “Papu” Ovilla with daughter (R) Martha Sandoval and their family’s first car. Seated inside are Ricardo’s children Aurelia and Rodolfo Sandoval. Photo taken in 1949 at a labor camp in Escondido, CA. Courtesy of Marina Jimenez.
Originally aired August 21, 2020, on NPR’s Morning Edition.