Ed Trinka and Debra Goodman

Ed Trinka started working as a doorman at the Plaza Hotel in 1963 and has given it his all ever since.

He came to StoryCorps’ booth in Grand Central Terminal in 2005 with his friend Debra Goodman to share his positive philosophy on life and some stories about the people he encountered on the job.

Originally aired October 5, 2007, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Sonari Glinton and Dorothy Glinton

After working her way up from the assembly line, Dorothy Glinton became one of the first women to hold a management position at the Ford Motor Assembly Plant. She talks to her son, Sonari Glinton, about enduring sexism in the workplace, advocating for herself, and working to get more women into management positions.

Originally aired October 2, 2007 on NPR’s News & Notes.

Robbie Cronig and Steve Bernier

Robbie Cronig’s family opened Cronig’s Market on Martha’s Vineyard in 1917. He started working there when he was a boy, and decades later he ran the store. Eventually he sold his family business to Steve Bernier (left); they discuss the close friendship they have gone on to develop.

Originally aired August 2, 2007, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Dorothy Hayes and Keys Hayes

Dorothy Hayes talks with her son Keys about her work as an airline stewardess in the 1940s. Dorothy’s uncle urged her to apply for a job with Delta Airlines, and on her first flight, one of her co-workers told her to go into the cockpit and watch the takeoff. “It was the most beautiful thing in the world. I knew then I had the right job. I loved it.”

Originally aired April 20, 2007, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Joe Pigott and Lorraine Pigott

Judge Joe Pigott tells his wife, Lorraine, about Willie Earl “Pip” Dow, a man he sentenced many times.

Originally aired March 16, 2007 on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Tomas Kubrican and Carol Mittlesteadt

Tomas Kubrican had only recently arrived in the United States from Slovakia when he met Carol Mittlesteadt, a waitress at the restaurant where he was a cook. Despite his limited grasp of the English language, Tomas found a way to communicate with the woman who he would one day marry.

Originally aired March 9, 2007, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Bill Fahey and Walter Fahey

Retired police officer Walter Fahey talks with his son Bill about his long career in law enforcement. He attributes his longevity to having “a good reputation on the street, because (he) never looked down on people.” During his years on the job, he was shot, hit by cars, and thrown off a porch, but he always had a loving wife and family to come home to, which allowed him to go back to work the next day.

Originally aired February 2, 2007, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Lori FitzGerald and Lendall Hill

Lendall Hill tells his daughter Lori FitzGerald the story of how his father ended up with an artificial leg, and about an incident that occurred when his father’s co-worker, who did not know about the artificial leg, once saw him twist it back into alignment.

Originally aired January 5, 2007, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Stephanie Butler and Joyce Butler

Joyce Butler and her daughter Stephanie remember Joyce’s mother and Stephanie’s grandmother, Dot, who worked in a shipyard during World War II. Dot was raising four children on her own and shipyard work was a high paying, so she quit her job in a department store and started working nights enabling her to spend her days with her family.

Originally aired December 15, 2006, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Samuel Black and Edda Fields-Black

Samuel Black talks to his wife Edda Fields-Black about his father who worked 16-hour days operating the boiler room of a high school to ensure that the pipes did not freeze. “Working all those hours, he didn’t have time to discuss things. You had to get it right that time and that time only.” A stern disciplinarian, his father only had to look at his sons and they knew what he was thinking.

Originally aired September 29, 2006, on NPR’s Morning Edition.