Finding A Mom And “The Power Of Love”: Reflections From A Foster Mother And Daughter
Jade Rone grew up in foster care in Philadelphia, and spent the majority of her childhood living with one foster mother. When she was 17, her foster mom died, and she found herself searching for a family once again.
In 2015, Jade was placed in the home of Stacia Parker. The early months of their relationship were rough, as they both learned to trust each other.
Photo: Jade Rone and Stacia Parker. Courtesy of Stacia Parker.
Their connection eventually deepened into a mother-daughter relationship, with Stacia becoming a devoted grandmother to Jade’s two young children, Kelani Grace, age 4, and Nova Reign, age 1.
In 2019, Jade and Stacia came to StoryCorps to remember when they first met.
Top Photo: Jade Rone and Stacia Parker at their StoryCorps interview in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. By Ava Ahmadbeigi for StoryCorps.
Originally aired May 7th, 2021, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Chicago Siblings Remember Brother Lost To COVID and the Love He Left Behind
Growing up in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago, Jorge and Jessica Valdivia looked up to their older brother, Mauricio. To many, he was a larger-than-life personality known to light up the room with his jokes and pranks. To his siblings, he was the rock of the family who always took the time to let them know they were loved.
Jorge remembers one Christmas when his parents couldn’t afford presents and Mauricio surprised him with his first Transformer, which he still has.
In April 2020, Mauricio, 52, died from COVID-19. He left behind his wife, their two sons, and a huge void in the lives of those who loved him most. Jorge and Jessica came to StoryCorps to share their favorite memories of Mauricio and what he meant to them.
Top Photo: The Valdivia siblings, from left to right: Eliseo Jr., Mauricio, Jessica and Jorge. Courtesy of Jorge Valdivia.
Bottom Photo: Jorge Valdivia holds the Optimus Prime Transformer that his late brother Mauricio got him one Christmas when they were young. Courtesy of Jorge Valdivia.
Originally aired February 5, 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.
From Beets to Brilliance: A Grandmother’s Wisdom Lives On
Chloe Longfellow’s father died when she was just 3 years old. In order to support the family, Chloe’s mother, Dorsey Romano, was forced to take on a variety of jobs, some of which required her to work nights.
While her mother was called away, Chloe spent a great deal of time at her grandparents’ home and became especially close to her grandmother, Doris Louise Rolison.
Despite living in the Arizona desert, Doris maintained a lush garden of herbs and vegetables. Chloe would help harvest the food to make dishes from recipes found in one of her grandmother’s treasured cookbooks.
At StoryCorps, Chloe remembers the happy memories and life lessons taught to her by her grandmother, many of which took place in the kitchen.
Top photo: Chloe Longfellow at her StoryCorps interview in Seattle, WA.
Bottom photo: The cookbook, featuring the beet-juice handprints. Photo courtesy of Chloe Longfellow.
This story originally aired December 11, 2015 on NPR’s Morning Edition. It was rebroadcast April 03, 2020 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.
Five Years Later, Two Ferguson Protestors Reflect on the Pulitzer Prize-Winning Photo that Captured their Anguish — and Connection
Five years ago, when news of Michael Brown Jr.’s police shooting death spread, two strangers made their way to the Ferguson Police Department to protest. A local photographer, Robert Cohen, captured the moment.
In the photo, a young African American man’s face is twisted in anguish, tears streaming down his cheeks. Next to him, an older woman extends her hand to his shoulder in comfort.
The photo would go on the win the Pulitzer Prize, along with 18 other photos taken by photographers with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Earlier this summer, those two strangers, Jamell Spann and Elizabeth Vega, came to StoryCorps to remember that pivotal moment, and the friendship that grew out of it.
Top photo: Jamell Spann and Elizabeth Vega are photographed on Monday, August 11, 2014 as police officers in riot gear clear demonstrators from the area surrounding the Ferguson Police Department. Hundreds had arrived to protest the police shooting of Michael Brown Jr. AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Robert Cohen
Bottom photo: Elizabeth Vega and Jamell Spann at their StoryCorps interview in St. Louis, Missouri on June 27, 2019. By Dupe Oyebolu for StoryCorps.
Originally aired on August 9, 2019 on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Michael Brown Jr.’s Sisters Remember Their Brother on the Fifth Anniversary of His Police Shooting Death
Five years have passed since the death of Michael Brown Jr. on August 9, 2014.
He was killed in Ferguson, Missouri by police officer Darren Wilson and lay in the street where he was shot for four hours, sparking protests across the country.
In the media frenzy that followed, few people heard the story of Michael Brown Jr. from those who knew him.
Earlier this year, two of his sisters, Triniya and Trinity Walker, ages 17 and 18, came to StoryCorps in St. Louis to remember him.
Top photo: Trinity and Triniya Walker pose at their StoryCorps interview in St. Louis, Missouri on June 27, 2019. By Dupe Oyebolu for StoryCorps.
Middle photo: Michael Brown Jr. poses in his graduation cap and gown in March 2014, several months before his death. By Elcardo Anthony.
Finding Sanctuary at Aunt Shirley’s Farm
Tina Dietz grew up in rural North Dakota in the 1980s. Though her home life was turbulent, there was one place she felt most loved.
In 2018, she came to StoryCorps with her partner, Patrick Conteh, to remember.
Top photo: Tina Dietz and Patrick Conteh at StoryCorps in Bismarck, North Dakota. By Savannah Winchester for StoryCorps.
Bottom photo: Tina’s great aunt Shirley Krosch, who passed away in 2012. Courtesy of Tina Dietz.
Originally aired June 28th, 2019, on NPR’s Morning Edition.