Recalling a Life Lived Through the Window of an Ice Cream Truck
Every summer, the town of Peabody, Massachusetts is serenaded with the familiar strains of “Yankee Doodle.” It’s the sweet sound of Allan Ganz’s ice cream truck. Ganz has worked as an ice cream man for more than seven decades. He only takes one day off per season.
Over the years, he’s watched his customers grow up to become parents and even grandparents. The town loves him so much it has a street sign designating him “The King of Cool.”
He came to StoryCorps with his wife, Rosalyn, to share the story of how his father got him started in the business over 70 years ago.
Top photo: Allan and Rosalyn Ganz at their StoryCorps interview on July 12, 2018 in Peabody, Massachusetts. By Camila Kerwin for StoryCorps.
Middle photo: Allan is greeted by a bevy of neighborhood kids as he makes a stop along his typical ice cream route in Peabody, Massachusetts. Courtesy Allan Ganz.
Bottom photo: Allan poses in front of his dad’s ice cream truck at age 19. Courtesy Allan Ganz.
Originally aired July 27, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Love Interrupted By A Wrongful Conviction
Brandy Carpenter, 38, and De’Marchoe Carpenter, 41, began their romance in the summer of 1994. Brandy was 14 years old. De’Marchoe was 17. And Brandy had had a crush on him for years.
But before they had their first kiss, De’Marchoe was arrested for a murder he didn’t commit in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
De’Marchoe was eventually exonerated by the Oklahoma Innocence Project, and walked out of prison on May 9, 2016. He and Brandy got married 13 days later.
At StoryCorps, De’Marchoe and Brandy talked about the toll his incarceration took — and continues to take — on their relationship.
Top photo: Brandy and De’Marchoe Carpenter at their StoryCorps interview in Oklahoma City. Photo by Kevin Oliver for StoryCorps.
Bottom photo: De’Marchoe and Brandy Carpenter (back left and right), along with Brandy’s kids, during a 2010 prison visit. Brandy had kids with someone else after she and De’Marchoe parted ways. Now that they’re reunited, he’s become a father figure to them. Photo Courtesy De’Marchoe Carpenter.
Originally aired July 20, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Memories of a Sister and Daughter Murdered in a Transgender Hate Crime
On July 17, 2008, Angie Zapata — a transgender woman — was killed in northern Colorado. Angie was murdered by a man she was dating.
Angie’s killer was sentenced to life in prison plus 60 years. This was one of the first U.S. cases ever to result in a conviction of a hate crime against a transgender person.
Ten years after Angie’s death, her mother, Maria Zapata, and Angie’s brother, Gonzalo Zapata, sat down to remember her at StoryCorps.
Top photo: Maria Zapata and Gonzalo Zapata at their StoryCorps interview in Brighton, CO. Credit: Liyna Anwar for StoryCorps.
Bottom photo: Angie Zapata. Courtesy Maria Zapata.
A Father-Daughter Beatboxing Duo on Making Music
Ed Cage and Nicole Paris are a father-daughter beatboxing duo.
Back during the 1980s, Ed immersed himself in the St. Louis hip hop scene and fell in love with beatboxing. Fast-forward a couple decades and that love is now firmly planted in 26-year-old Nicole as well.
At StoryCorps, they talk about how it all began.
Top photo: Ed Cage and Nicole Paris at StoryCorps. Today, the beatboxing duo travels the world performing on stage together.
Originally aired July 13, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
A Student Remembers Her School’s “Lunch Man,” Philando Castile
On July 6, 2016, Philando Castile was pulled over by police near Saint Paul, Minnesota after being misidentified as a robbery suspect. He was then shot and killed by an officer during the traffic stop.
To most of the world, he became a name in a major news story, but to over 400 kids at J.J. Hill Montessori Magnet School, Castile was their “lunch man.” He managed the cafeteria, where the students called him Mr. Phil.
For black parents at the school — and across America — this brought up all too familiar conversations about safety and race. But for some white parents, like Chad Eisen-Ramgren, it wasn’t a conversation they’d ever been confronted with before. At StoryCorps, he sat down with his 10-year-old daughter, Leila, who was in the third grade when Castile was killed. She had known Mr. Phil since kindergarten.
Top photo: Leila Ramgren with her father, Chad Eisen-Ramgren in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Courtesy of Chad Eisen-Ramgren.
Middle photo: People gathered outside the St. Anthony police department on August 19, 2016 to protest their decision to have Jeronimo Yanez return to work. The protesters called for criminal prosecution of Yanez for killing Philando Castile. Officer Yanez fatally shot 32-year-old Philando Castile during a traffic stop in nearby Falcon Heights on July 6. Photo by Fibonacci Blue.
Bottom photo: A letter that Leila Ramgren wrote as a third-grader to Philando Castile, who she knew as Mr. Phil, after he was killed by a police officer in 2016. Courtesy of Chad Eisen-Ramgren.
Originally aired July 6, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
‘We Never Spoke Of It Again’: Two Sisters On The Night That Changed Their Family
This is a conversation about witnessing something as a child, and not truly understanding what was seen until decades later.
Glennette Rozelle and her half-sister Jennifer Mack grew up in Del City, Oklahoma during the 1970s. They were used to hearing their parents fight. Then one night, everything changed for their family.
On February 14, 1977, their mom shot and killed Glennette’s dad — Jennifer’s step-dad. Glennette was seven years old and Jennifer was 10, and they were both home at the time. They came to StoryCorps to remember that night, and its aftermath.
Top photo: Glennette Rozelle (left) and Jennifer Mack at their StoryCorps interview in Oklahoma City on May 3, 2018. By Kevin Oliver for StoryCorps.
Bottom photo: Jennifer Mack (bottom left) and Glennette Rozelle (bottom right) with their older siblings in 1977, the first Christmas after their mom shot Glennette’s dad in self-defense. Courtesy of Jennifer Mack.
Originally aired June 22, 2018 on NPR’s Morning Edition.
An Online Search for a Father Turns Up a Sister
When Courtney McKinney was 16 years old, she learned that she’d been conceived through anonymous sperm donation. As an adult, Courtney discovered she had a half-sister: Alexandra Sanchez.
Theirs is one of the many families that have expanded as a result of online DNA testing.
At StoryCorps, Courtney told Alex how she’d set out looking for her father, and about the moment she found a sister instead.
Top photo: Alexandra Sanchez (left) and Courtney McKinney at their StoryCorps interview in Dallas on April 29, 2018. By Kevin Oliver for StoryCorps.
Bottom photo: Sisters Courtney and Alex on the first day they met each other in person. Courtesy of Alexandra Sanchez.
Originally aired June 15, 2018 on NPR’s Morning Edition.
A Wife Remembers Her Husband and the Stress of Family Farming
Springtime is planting season on farms all across the country. The stress of the season can take its toll: farmers have one of the highest suicide rates of any profession in the United States.
For more than 35 years, Matt Peters grew corn and soybeans on the Iowa farm that his father and grandfather farmed before him. Then in May of 2011, at the age of 55, he took his own life.
His wife, Ginnie Peters, came to StoryCorps to remember him. She spoke with Trent Andrews, the man who took over the farm after her husband’s death.
Today, Ginnie lives a few miles away from the farm where she and Matt made their life together. Now and then she returns to visit Trent and his family, who continue to work the 1,500-acre farm.
Top photo: Trent Andrews and Ginnie Peters at their StoryCorps interview in Des Moines, Iowa, on April 19, 2018.
Bottom photo: Ginnie Peters and Matt Peters on vacation in February of 2011. Courtesy of Ginnie Peters.
If you or someone you know is feeling suicidal or just needs someone to talk to, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
Originally aired May 18, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
The Country’s Oldest Female BMX Bike Racer on Her Thrills and Spills
At nearly 70 years old, Kittie Weston-Knauer is the oldest female BMX racer in the United States.
When she started competing in off-road bicycle races, or BMX, in the late 1980s she was often the only woman on the track. It was her son Max Knauer, a championship BMX rider himself, who introduced her to the sport when he was ten years old.
While Max, now 40, is currently retired from the sport, Kittie has no plans to quit any time soon. She looks forward to the day she can watch her grandchildren hit the track — and hopes Max will start competing again with them, too.
Top photo: Max Knauer and Kittie Weston-Knauer at their StoryCorps interview in Des Moines, Iowa on April 20, 2018.
Bottom photo: Max Knauer assists Kittie Weston-Knauer as she prepares to start her first-ever BMX race on Mother’s Day of 1988. Courtesy of Kittie Weston-Knauer.
Originally aired May 11, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
A Daughter Comes to Terms with Her Father’s Time in Prison
In this conversation recorded in Hartford, Connecticut, Abby Gagliardo sat down with her dad, Ralph, to talk about a confusing time for their family.
Abby knew her dad was sent to prison for larceny when she was a kid. But she didn’t understand why.
When they came to StoryCorps, Ralph had been out of prison for five years, and Abby came to understand more fully what happened.
Photo: Ralph Gagliardo, holding his daughter, Abby, the day after she was born in 2000. Courtesy Ralph Gagliardo.
In 2018, Abby is 17 and Ralph has been sober since 2012. He is also pursuing his bachelor’s degree, with plans to attend law school.
Ralph and Abby’s conversation was recorded through the StoryCorps Justice Project, which preserves and amplifies the stories of people who have been directly impacted by mass incarceration. Original support for the Justice Project was provided by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Safety and Justice Challenge, #RethinkJails and the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation.
Originally aired April, 20, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.