After a Century of Living, Lessons From a Woman Who Was Larger Than Life
As of the end of 2020, more than 300,000 people in the United States have died after contracting COVID-19.
In this story, we remember one of those people: a grandmother and great-grandmother who was a larger-than-life character from a small town in northern New York.
Rose Pearl Liscum on her 96th birthday. Photo courtesy of Shelly Noti.
Rosella Pearl Liscum grew up near Ogdensburg, New York, where she died the day after Christmas at the age of 101.
Back in 2012, she sat down for StoryCorps with her daughter, Marlene Watson, to talk about some of her most treasured relationships, including how she met her boyfriend, Bill “Wild Bill” Cota.
Rose Liscum and her boyfriend, “Wild Bill” Cota, dancing at the Heuvelton, NY AMVETS, where they first met. Photo courtesy of Marlene Watson.
Top Photo: Marlene Watson and Rose Pearl Liscum at their StoryCorps interview in Rensselaer Falls, NY on July 9, 2012. By Jasmyn Morris for StoryCorps.
Editor’s note: Jasmyn Morris, who co-produced this interview, is related to some of the subjects in this story. Rose Liscum was her distant cousin, Gert Uhl was Morris’ great-grandmother, and Joyce is her grandmother.
Originally aired January 1, 2021, 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.
“This is Ours Too”: A Father Instills a Sense of Belonging in His Daughter
When Erin Haggerty was just a teen, her father George Barlow moved the family from Union City, California to the stark, white landscapes of Iowa. At the time, Erin was excited by the prospect of moving to a new place. But she soon realized that, as one of the only Black teens in her community, life would not always be so picturesque.
Photo: (L) George embracing (R) Erin at her high school graduation in 1991. Courtesy of Erin Haggerty.
Erin spent years trying to find her sense of belonging in this new town. But overtime, she began to withdraw into herself. Her father George had always assumed Erin was just a shy teen; someone who kept to herself, was well behaved, and had no interest in high school parties.
But in August of 2020, Erin opened up to George for the first time about what it was like being a young Black woman in Iowa, and how it was his words and kindness that saw her through those difficult times.
Top Photo: (L) Erin Haggerty and her father (R) George Barlow in 2010. Courtesy of Erin Haggerty.
Bottom Photo: Three year old (L) Erin with her father (R) George in 1975. Courtesy of Erin Haggerty.
Originally aired September 18, 2020, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
From The School Bus To The Hospital, A Doctor’s Experiences With Racism
As nationwide protests in the United States continue, conversations about racial inequity have come into the forefront. And many are reminded of experiences from our not-so-distant past — like Dr. Ayim Darkeh and his mother, Shirley, who moved to Westbury on Long Island, New York in the 1970s.
When Ayim started attending elementary school, he was one of a handful of Black students in a predominantly white school.
Ayim and his mother had a conversation over StoryCorps Connect to talk about the discrimination Ayim faced as a child, and how that’s shaped his approach to parenting.
Content Warning: this story contains some offensive language.
Top Photo: Shirly Darkeh and Ayim Darkeh at Shirly’s 85th birthday celebration at a church on Long Island, NY in 2019. Courtesy of Ayim Darkeh.
Bottom Photo: Ayim Darkeh and his children at their Brooklyn home in 2019. Courtesy of Ayim Darkeh.
Originally aired August 28, 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.
“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.
Three Generations Of Women Pharmacists On Living Through The Pandemic
Vivian Garcia Leonard came to the United States as a Cuban refugee and fought to make a name for herself as a hospital pharmacist. She’s been on the job for 59 years, but in the wake of COVID-19 has had to stay home. Now her daughter, Vivian Janet Leonard, and granddaughter, Marissa Sofia Ochs, carry on the family legacy.
They spoke through StoryCorps Connect about the tough choices the coronavirus pandemic demands.
Top Photo: Vivian Garcia Leonard (left), Baby Liana, Marissa Sofia Ochs, and Vivian Janet Leonard. Courtesy of Marissa Ochs.
Bottom Photo: Vivian Garcia Leonard working as a pharmacist.
Originally aired July 3rd, 2020 on NPR’s Morning Edition.
“They Don’t See The Innocence In You”: A Black Father Continues To Answer Tough Questions From His Son
When 9-year-old Aidan Sykes first sat down for StoryCorps to interview his dad, Albert, he had some serious questions. Their conversation touched on Albert’s experience raising three Black sons in Mississippi, why they go to protests together, and what Albert’s hopes are for his son’s future.
Five years later, with Aidan a month away from turning 15, they decided to have another conversation using StoryCorps Connect. This comes at a time when protests are being held worldwide after a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota killed a Black man named George Floyd.
Top Photo: Albert and Aidan Sykes in Jackson, Mississippi, 2020. Photo courtesy of Albert Sykes.
Middle Photo: Albert and Aidan Sykes at their original StoryCorps interview back in 2015. By Vanessa Gonzalez-Block for StoryCorps.
Originally aired June 12, 2020, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
‘Why Do You Take Me To Protests So Much?’: A Black Father Answers Tough Questions From His Son
When 9-year-old Aidan Sykes sat down to interview his dad, Albert Sykes, he had some serious questions. Albert, who runs an education nonprofit and mentors kids who are struggling in school, talked to Aidan about Black fatherhood, and his hopes for his son’s future.
Aidan interviewed Albert at StoryCorps in Jackson, Mississippi.
Top Photo: Albert and Aidan Sykes at their StoryCorps interview in Jackson, Mississippi in 2015. By Vanessa Gonzalez-Block for StoryCorps.
Middle Photo: Albert and Aidan Sykes in Jackson, Mississippi, 2020. Photo courtesy of Albert Sykes.
Originally aired March 20, 2015, on NPR’s Morning Edition. Rebroadcast on June 5, 2020, on the same program.
For Old Friends, Hospital Work Brings New Challenges During COVID-19
Josh Belser and Sam Dow have always had a way of looking out for each other. The longtime friends first met in the early 80s, when they were young kids growing up in a suburb outside Tampa, Florida.
As adults, they each pursued a career in medicine: Josh as a nurse in Syracuse, New York, and Sam as a health technician in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
When COVID-19 hit, they both found their work lives dramatically altered by one of the most deadly global pandemics in a century.
With almost 400 miles between them, Josh and Sam used StoryCorps’ new remote recording platform, StoryCorps Connect, to talk about their decades-long friendship, and how they continue to support each other, especially during this difficult time.
Top photo: Sam Dow at his job in Ann Arbor, Michigan and his friend Josh Belser at work in Syracuse, NY in 2020. Courtesy of Josh Belser.
Second photo: Josh Belser in 1985 with his best friend, Sam Dow, in Brandon, FL where they grew up together. Courtesy of Josh Belser.
Originally aired April 17, 2020, on NPR’s Morning Edition.