Legacy Archives - Page 6 of 14 - StoryCorps

A Queens Family’s Tradition of Feeding Those in Need — 365 Days a Year

Since 2004, Jorge Muñoz has gathered with his family in their small kitchen in Queens, New York where they cook meals for those in need. Together, they’ve provided more than one hundred meals per day to day laborers, many of whom are undocumented immigrants, in the city.

They’ve kept up the tradition year-round for the last 16 years, providing approximately 500,000 meals — until May, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Using StoryCorps Connect, Jorge spoke with his sister, Luz, to remember the beginning of their journey, and how their mother inspired them to give to those in need.

Top Photo: Siblings Luz and Jorge Muñoz spoke about how their meal program began in their recent StoryCorps interview from their home in Queens, NY.

Middle Photo: The Muñoz family, (from left to right) Jorge, Justin, Blanca, and Luz, prepares meals from their kitchen in 2010.

Originally aired December 4, 2020, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Philadelphia Poll Worker Supports Her Community, and Inspires Daughter to Do the Same

Cherie DeBrest cast her first ballot nearly 30 years ago and has voted in every election since.

She felt “duty-bound” to vote in honor of those before her who weren’t allowed. She credits her inspiration to early suffragettes, Black women like Mary Church Terrell and Ida B. Wells, who fought for the right to vote in 1920, but never got the chance to vote themselves. She carries their legacy, along with so many others in the fight for civil rights, each time she goes into the voting booth.

But last year, she decided to take it a step further and started working at the polls in her North Philadelphia neighborhood.

Using StoryCorps Connect, she spoke with her 18-year-old daughter, Naima.

Top Photo: Cherie and Naima DeBrest following their StoryCorps interview in Philadelphia, PA on October 21, 2020. Courtesy of Naima DeBrest.

Originally aired October 30, 2020, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

A Pandemic Couldn’t Stop Her: A Lifelong Voter Finds Inspiration From Her Mother

Helen Merrill, age 91, prides herself on one simple fact: that in her lifetime, she’s never missed a single presidential election. 

It’s a determination that she traces back to her mother, Blanche, a woman who raised twelve children in rural Iowa.

Blanche, like millions of others, had become seriously ill during the 1918 flu pandemic. She was also a supporter of the Women’s Suffrage Movement, which was fighting for the right to vote.

By the 1920 election, Blanche had still not fully recovered, but the 19th Amendment had been passed and she was determined to exercise her newly given right.

Nearly one hundred years later, Helen came to StoryCorps with her granddaughter, Elizabeth, to remember how Blanche made it to the polls, and how her strength continues to inspire her to this day.

Top Photo: Helen Merrill and Elizabeth Hartley in 2017. Courtesy of Andrea Hartley.
Middle Photo: Ralph and Blanche Reeves in 1944. Courtesy of Andrea Hartley. 
Bottom Photo: Helen Merrill celebrating Independence Day in July 2018. Courtesy of Andrea Hartley.

Originally aired October 16, 2020, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Touched By Tragedy Twice: Father, Who Later Died from COVID, Remembers Losing Son on 9/11

Albert Petrocelli Sr. survived more than his share of hardships during his 73 years.

As a young man, he fought in Vietnam. Returning to his native New York City, he started a long career fighting fires, eventually rising to the rank of Battalion Chief. Then, a year after retiring, Chief Petrocelli lost his youngest son, Mark, a commodities broker, in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. 

But what war, fire, and unspeakable grief couldn’t do, a global pandemic did. On April 1, 2020, Chief Petrocelli died from COVID-19.

Before his death, Chief Petrocelli and his wife, Ginger, recorded a remembrance of their son Mark. They remember the last time they saw him, on September 9, 2001, at one of their family’s weekly Sunday meals. 

This recording was made in partnership with the National September 11 Memorial & Museum as part of StoryCorps’ effort to collect one recording for each life lost that day.

Top Photo: Ginger Petrocelli and Retired New York City Fire Chief Albert Petrocelli in 2017, at their 50th wedding anniversary. Courtesy of the Petrocelli family.
Middle Photo: Retired New York City Fire Chief Albert Petrocelli in 2002, with a photo of Mark that he carried inside his hat. Courtesy of the Petrocelli family.
Bottom Photo: Albert Petrocelli Jr., Mark Petrocelli, and Albert Petrocelli Sr. on Father’s Day 1989, at Mark’s home in New York. Courtesy of the Petrocelli family.

Originally aired September 11, 2020, on NPR’s Morning Edition. 

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. 

For The First Time In Nearly A Century, A Family Reunion Interrupted By A Pandemic

In 1801, Nancy Carter, who had been enslaved by George and Martha Washington, was one of 124 people to be freed. Afterwards, Nancy married her husband, Charles Quander, and together they raised a family.

In 1926, children and grand-children gathered for the first Quander family reunion — as a way to connect older generations with younger ones, honor their lineage, and preserve their family history. 

Every year since then, for nearly a century, the Quander family has been coming together, but in the midst of a global pandemic, as their 95th reunion was approaching, they were faced with a difficult decision. 

Speaking remotely through StoryCorps Connect, Rohulamin Quander and his cousin, Alicia Argrett, talked about reunions past, and how this year was different from the rest.

Top Photo: Rohulamin Quander at his home in Washington, D.C. in 2016 and Alicia Argrett in Madison, MS in 2010. Photos courtesy of Rohulamin Quander and Alicia Argrett.
Middle Photo: Members of the Quander family gather at Mount Vernon in 2010, in front of a slave cabin replica, at the 85th Family Reunion. Courtesy of Rohulamin Quander.
Bottom Photo: Georgie Quander, Tom Quander, Susannah Quander, and Sadie Quander Harris, 1926 Founders of the Quander Family Reunion.  Courtesy of Rohulamin Quander.

Originally aired August 7, 2020, on NPR’s Morning Edition. 

‘You Are Both’: A Chicano Arts Historian Celebrates His Mexican American Heritage

Tomás Ybarra-Frausto grew up in the 1940s, just outside of San Antonio, Texas, on a ranch that belonged to his grandfather. He was raised in a bilingual family, but when Tomás started elementary school, he was told that he and his classmates could only speak English — not Spanish.

At StoryCorps, Tomás told his longtime friend Antonia how the land he grew up on, coupled with his family’s emphasis on language and culture, helped him appreciate his Mexican American heritage.

After spending more than two decades in New York, working as a Chicano arts historian, Tomás returned to his roots and settled back in San Antonio, Texas.

Top photo: Antonia Castañeda and Tomás Ybarra-Frausto at their StoryCorps interview in San Antonio, TX on March 23, 2012. By Anaid Reyes for StoryCorps.
Bottom photo: Tomás Ybarra-Frausto at his StoryCorps interview in San Antonio, TX on March 23, 2012. By Anaid Reyes for StoryCorps.

Originally aired July 31, 2020 on NPR’s Morning Edition.

“Untangling The Code”: How Losing Relatives to Cancer Inspired A Life’s Work

By the time Hadiyah-Nicole Green was 4 years old, she had lost her mother and her grandparents. Hadiyah-Nicole and her brothers went to live with her Auntie Ora Lee Smith and Uncle Gen Lee in St Louis, Missouri.

When she was in her early 20s, both Hadiyah-Nicole’s aunt and uncle were diagnosed with different forms of cancer. At 22 years old, she became the primary caregiver to the couple that had raised her.

Photo: “Auntie” Ora Lee Smith and Dr. Hadiyah-Nicole Green.

Watching these two important people have their lives upended by cancer and its effects inspired Hadiyah-Nicole to dedicate her life to fighting the disease.

She came to StoryCorps with her cousin, Tenika Floyd, to reflect on her aunt and uncle, and the impact that their lives had on her.

Today, Dr. Green has successfully developed technology that has killed cancer in laboratory mice, without the use of chemotherapy and radiation, and without any observable side effects. Her work is in the process of moving forward into human trials.

Dr. Green is an Assistant Professor at Morehouse School of Medicine. She also founded the Ora Lee Smith Cancer Research Foundation in honor of her late aunt.

Top Photo: Hadiyah-Nicole Green and Tenika Floyd at their StoryCorps interview in Atlanta, Georgia on January 28, 2017. By Jacqueline Van Meter for StoryCorps.

‘I’m Honoring His Life, Not How He Died’: After Losing Her Father to COVID-19, A Daughter Reflects On His WWII Service

Army Staff Sergeant Emilio “Leo” DiPalma was drafted at age 18 to join World War II. He fought on the front lines in Germany until the end of the war, and went on to serve as a guard during the first Nuremberg trials where he guarded infamous Nazi soldiers such as Hermann Göring.

His daughter Emily was close to her dad growing up, but after moving away and starting a family they had started to grow apart. They reconnected around Memorial Day in 2000, after Emily planned a trip to take her father back to Germany for the first time since WWII.

But as Leo aged, he developed dementia and other health issues. Following his wife’s death, his daughters decided it would be best to move him to the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke, Massachusetts.

On April 8, 2020, Leo was the 28th veteran at that home to die of complications due to COVID-19. He was 93 years old. Unable to have a funeral due to the pandemic, Emily recorded this memorial of her father with her daughter, Hannah Sibley-Liddle, using StoryCorps Connect.

Photo: Hannah Sibley-Liddle (left), Staff Sgt. Emilio Di Palma (middle), and Emily Aho (right) on a trip to the White House where Emilio was honored with the Legacy of Nuremberg Award. Courtesy of Emily Aho.
Top Photo: Staff Sgt. Emilio Di Palma, far right, on guard at the Nuremberg Trials in 1945. Courtesy of Emily Aho.

Originally aired May 22, 2020, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Surprise Mail Brings Love to a Soldier in Remote Afghanistan

StoryCorps’ Military Voices Initiative records the stories of veterans and their families.

Private First Class Roman Coley Davis grew up in a small town in South Georgia. After graduating from high school in 2004, he joined the military.

By the time he was 20 years old, Roman found himself 7000 miles away from home, in the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan — one of the most remote outposts in the U.S. war there.

At StoryCorps, he told his friend Dan Marek about his family and his time in Afghanistan.

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After the military, Roman enrolled in culinary school. He used his GI Bill to attend Le Cordon Bleu. He’s now a chef, based in Arkansas.

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Top photo: Roman Coley Davis and his mema, Laverne Tanner, in her South Georgia kitchen. Courtesy of Roman Coley Davis.
Middle photo: Roman during his deployment to Afghanistan. Courtesy of Roman Coley Davis.
Bottom photo: Roman in his chef’s whites with his meemaw, Laverne Tanner. Photo by Dailey Hubbard.

This interview was recorded in partnership with the International Association of Culinary Professionals.

This story originally aired April 07, 2018 on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday. It was rebroadcast April 10, 2020 on NPR’s Morning Edition.