A Road Trip And Lost Time: A Father And Son Reconnect After 30 Years
For many of us, living through this pandemic is a reminder of the importance of strengthening our connections with loved ones. Now, reflections from a father and son who did just that.
When T. Chick McClure was growing up, they were really close to their dad, Chas McClure. They spent time fishing, sledding, and swinging a bat in the backyard. But when Chick was 14 years old their parents divorced and their dad moved away for his job in the Navy. They spent the next 30 years having a distant relationship, speaking only occasionally.
Chas McClure and T. Chick McClure in McClure Pass, Colorado. Photo Courtesy of T. Chick McClure.
But after 30 years Chick decided to change that. Not long after, Chas responded by inviting them on a two week road trip through the Southwest. They used StoryCorps Connect to remember the trip that brought them back together.
Originally aired August 14, 2020, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Top Photo: T. Chick McClure and Chas McClure in Los Angeles, California. Courtesy of T. Chick McClure.
A Funeral Director, First Responder And Father: ‘You’re Stronger Than You Feel’
Dan Flynn has a passion for helping people.
As a funeral director in Santa Barbara, California, he’s supported many families during times of loss. But in response to COVID-19, Dan was compelled to help in a different kind of way.
At StoryCorps, he spoke with his daughter Shannon about why he chose to serve at the epicenter of the pandemic, as a member of the national mortuary response team in New York City.
Their interview was recorded using StoryCorps Connect, our new platform that allows loved ones to record interviews while maintaining social distancing.
Top photo: Dan Flynn and his daughter Shannon Doty for StoryCorps. Photos courtesy of Daniel Flynn and Shannon Doty.
Bottom photo: Dan Flynn attends a national mortuary response team training in 2013 in Albuquerque, NM. Photo courtesy of Dan Flynn.
Originally aired May 1, 2020 on NPR’s Morning Edition.
The ‘Heart’ of Heart Mountain: Japanese American Internment Through The Eyes Of A Child And His Unlikely Friend
On February 19, 1942, ten weeks after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which resulted in the forced relocation and incarceration of more than 100,000 people of Japanese descent on the West Coast. Families were taken from their homes and placed in internment camps, where they spent the remainder of the war as prisoners.
Shigeru “Shig” Yabu was just ten years old when he and his family were evacuated from their San Francisco home and sent to Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Cody, Wyoming.
At 87, Shig came to StoryCorps with his grandson Evan to remember the thing that came to define his experience as an internee — adopting and caring for a bird named Maggie.
In 2007, Shig wrote a children’s book, titled Hello Maggie, about his experiences as an internee. To hear more of Shig’s story, check out the StoryCorps podcast.
Top Photo: Evan Yabu and Shigeru Yabu at their StoryCorps interview in Camarillo, CA in September 2019. Photo by Rochelle Hoi-Yiu Kwan for StoryCorps.
Middle Photo: A mid 1940s snapshot from the barracks at Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Cody, Wyoming. Public Domain, Department of the Interior. War Relocation Authority.
Bottom Photo: Cover illustration from ‘Hello Maggie.’ Courtesy of Shigeru Yabu.
Originally aired February 21, 2020 on NPR’s Morning Edition.
‘Why do you like space so much?’: A NASA Engineer Talks With His Space-Obsessed Nephew
At StoryCorps, interviews with children can be challenging, but six-year-old Jerry Morrison isn’t your average kid.
Jerry is obsessed with outer space, so of course his favorite person to talk to is his uncle Joey Jefferson, a Mission Operations Engineer at NASA.
When they get together, their conversations always revolve around one thing…
Top photo: Jerry Morrison and Joey Jefferson at their StoryCorps interview in Culver City, CA on November 14, 2019. Courtesy of the Morrison family.
Bottom photo: Joey Jefferson and Jerry Morrison on Jerry’s first visit to the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where Joey works, in 2015. Courtesy of the Morrison family.
Originally aired January 24, 2020 on NPR’s Morning Edition.
“Amnesty Days:” One Father’s Made-Up Day of Forgiveness
There are many religious traditions that help people atone for doing something wrong. But in this StoryCorps conversation, we’ll hear from a dad who created his own method of repentance for his kids.
Vickie and Michael Feldstein grew up in Newton, Massachusetts in the late 1960s. As adults, they came to StoryCorps with their dad, Bernie Feldstein, to talk about what he called “Amnesty Days.”
Top photo: From left to right, the Feldstein family in 1983; Michael, Bernie, Barbara and Vickie in Newton, MA. Courtesy of the Feldstein family.
Originally aired October 11, 2019, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
From Internment to Disney, a Japanese American Artist Draws Strength Through His Work
Willie Ito was a wide-eyed little boy when he first saw Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in technicolor at his neighborhood movie theater in San Francisco.
That’s the moment he realized he wanted to be an animator.
But Willie’s dreams were interrupted in 1942, when his family was sent to a Japanese American internment camp in Topaz, Utah. He was eight years old at the time.
At 85, Willie came to StoryCorps with his son, Vince, to remember.
Top photo: Willie Ito at his home studio in Los Angeles, CA in the late ‘70s. Courtesy of Willie Ito.
Middle photo: Willie Ito holding a toy Dopey bank. His father bought it for him at a five and dime store when he was a child, before his family was interned in Topaz, UT from 1942 to 1945. Photo by Rochelle Hoi-Yiu Kwan for StoryCorps.
Bottom photo: Vince Ito and Willie Ito at their StoryCorps interview in Los Angeles, CA in September 2019. Photo by Rochelle Hoi-Yiu Kwan for StoryCorps.
Originally aired October 4th, 2019, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Waving Goodbye: Remembering a Mom Who Was “Strong In Everything”
A lesser-known part of StoryCorps’ work happens in StoryCorps Legacy, which gives people with life-threatening illnesses the chance to record their story, and their loved ones a chance to remember. Over the past nine years, we’ve recorded over 2,000 interviews through the program.
In this recording, we hear from Maria Rivas, who remembers her mom, Julia Medina. Julia was a single mom who raised ten children while working as a cleaning woman in Fresno, California.
For the last six years of Julia’s life, Maria took care of her mother as her health deteriorated.
She came to StoryCorps to share her mom’s story with Caroline Dezan, a social worker at Hinds Hospice.
Top photo: Caroline Dezan and Maria Rivas at their StoryCorps interview in Fresno, CA on April 4, 2014. Courtesy Caroline Dezan.
Middle photo: Maria Rivas poses with her mom, Julia Medina, at a Christmas in the years before her mom got sick. Courtesy Maria Rivas.
Bottom photo: Maria Rivas poses with a picture of herself and her mother, as well as the picture of her mother waving as she drives away. Caroline Dezan for StoryCorps.
This interview was recorded in partnership with Hinds Hospice as part of StoryCorps Legacy, which provides people of all ages with serious illness and their families the opportunity to record, preserve, and share their stories by partnering with organizations across the country, including hospitals and clinics, pediatric centers, hospice and palliative care departments, and disease-specific organizations.
Originally aired September 20, 2019, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Remembering One Tough Veteran: Lieutenant Susan Ahn Cuddy
Susan Ahn Cuddy was one seriously tough woman, who wore many hats — and broke many barriers — throughout her life.
She was the first Asian American woman in the Navy and the first woman gunnery officer teaching air combat tactics. During World War II, Lieutenant Cuddy trained Navy pilots in dogfighting maneuvers and firing .50-caliber machine guns.
But her children, Flip and Christine Cuddy, didn’t know about her accomplishments until later in life. In 2018, they came to StoryCorps to remember her.
Top photo: Susan Ahn Cuddy (far right) at the US Naval Air Station in Florida in 1943. Courtesy of Flip Cuddy.
Middle photo: Susan Ahn Cuddy in uniform. Courtesy of Flip Cuddy.
Middle photo: Susan Ahn Cuddy training a sailor in how to fire a .50-caliber machine gun. Courtesy of Flip Cuddy.
Bottom photo: Christine Cuddy and Flip Cuddy at StoryCorps in Northridge, CA. By Naomi Blech for StoryCorps.
Originally aired August 17, 2019 on NPR’s Weekend Edition.
Remembering a Gay Icon in Mother Bryant
Alexei Romanoff is a Ukrainian immigrant who grew up as an only child in New York City. As a kid in the 1950s, Alexei knew he was gay — but it wasn’t something he spoke about openly.
Now 82 years old, Alexei came to StoryCorps with his husband, David Farah, to remember the person who taught him to be proud of who he is.
We’re sharing this story as part of Stonewall OutLoud, our national effort to look back on life before the Stonewall riots in 1969, and to ask people to use the StoryCorps App to help preserve the stories of LGBTQ elders before they’re lost to history.
Photo: David Farah (L) and Alexei Romanoff (R) at their StoryCorps interview in Los Angeles, California in June 2015. By Jill Glaser for StoryCorps.
Originally aired June 7th, 2019, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
Since as far back as the Revolutionary War, LGBTQ service members have been discriminated against in various ways by the United States military. On this episode of the StoryCorps podcast, we bring you stories from veterans who were kicked out of the service, as well as some who stayed in the closet to keep their jobs.
First, we’ll hear from Sue McConnell (above left) and Kristyn Weed, who both served during the Vietnam-era and came out as trans after leaving the military.
Next, we’ll remember Technical Sergeant Leonard Matlovich, who received national attention for outing himself as gay in 1975 while serving in the Air Force.
Lastly, Air Force veteran Jeri Dilno and Navy veteran Joseph Patton take us back to the 1950s and early 60s, when they were given undesirable discharges due to the assumption that they were “homosexual.”
Top photo: Artwork by Michael Caines.
Second photo: Sue McConnell (left) and Kristyn Weed at their 2018 StoryCorps interview in Tucson, Arizona. By Mia Warren.
Third photo: Leonard Matlovich, who appeared on the cover of Time in 1975 to challenge the military ban on gay service members.
Fourth photo: Jeri Dilno with her friend Andrea Villa in 2013 at their StoryCorps interview in San Diego, California. By Cambra Moniz-Edwards.
Fifth photo: Joseph Patton, who recorded in Santa Monica, California with StoryCorps in 2019. By Jud Esty-Kendall.
Bottom photo: Joseph Patton in 1956 when he was a member of the US Navy. Courtesy of Joseph Patton.
Released on May 21, 2019.
Like the music in this episode? Support the artists:
“Overture” by Patrick Wolf from the album Sundark and Riverlight
“Step In, Step Out” by Blue Dot Sessions from the album Crab Shack
“Watermarks” by Blue Dot Sessions from the album Crab Shack
“Untitled #9” by Yusuke Tsutsumi from the album Birds Flying in the Dark
“Cast in Wicker” by Blue Dot Sessions from the album Aeronaut
“Paloma” by Fabian Almazan and Linda Oh
This podcast is brought to you by supporters of StoryCorps, an independently funded nonprofit organization, and is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.