Romance Archives - Page 3 of 13 - StoryCorps

Love In The Time Of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”: “I Was Ready To Bust Out Of The Closet With Rainbows And Glitter.”

Mike Rudulph grew up near Birmingham, Alabama and enlisted in the Marines when he was 20 years old. At the time, he hoped that the military environment would bring him the sense of purpose he had been missing.

This was in 2000, during the era of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” when LGBTQ people in the military couldn’t serve openly.

Mike went on his first deployment to Iraq in 2003. When he got home, he met the man who would later become his husband, Neil Rafferty.

Photo: Mike Rudulph and Neil Rafferty at their StoryCorps interview in Birmingham, Alabama on April 18, 2015. By Carolina Escobar for StoryCorps. 

They got married in 2018, the same year that Neil ran for public office in Alabama — and won! He is the first openly gay man to serve in the Alabama State legislature. 

At StoryCorps in Birmingham, Alabama, Mike and Neil sat down to remember the early days of their relationship.

Top Photo: Mike Rudulph and Neil Rafferty in 2019. Courtesy of Mike Rudulph.
Bottom Photo: Mike Rudulph and Neil Rafferty. Courtesy of Neil Rafferty.

Originally aired August 15, 2020, on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday. 

A Love Kept Secret for 60 Years, Revealed During Quarantine

Growing up in Kansas the son of a railroad worker, Ken Felts could always be sure of two things: he’d never spend long in any one town before his father had to move on in search of work, and they’d always attend church on Sundays. It was a lonely childhood.

But in the late 1950s, Ken moved to California and found the love of his life, a coworker named Phillip. Both in their 20s, Ken and Phillip were inseparable during the two years they spent together, before the weight of Ken’s religious background became too much for him to bear. He left California — and Phillip — to return to Kansas and lead a straight life.

Kenneth Felts (L) and his first love Phillip (R) in the 1950s. Courtesy of Kenneth Felts.

Ken is now 90 years old, a father and grandfather. But he never forgot Phillip or forgave himself for the decision he made. So, in March 2020, while under quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ken finally told his daughter, Rebecca, the secret he had been keeping for more than 60 years.

Top Photo: Kenneth Felts and Rebecca Mayes after their StoryCorps interview in Arvada, CO in July 2020. Courtesy of Kenneth Felts and Rebecca Mayes for StoryCorps.

Originally aired July 17, 2020, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

A Dad Tells His Daughter About The Risk That Led Him To The Love Of His Life

Eddie Chang had just finished his junior year in college and was spending some time at his friend’s house in Chicago, when he got reacquainted with his friend’s older sister, E.F. Wen.

Two years older than him, E.F. happened to be home for the summer. She was always the well-liked one around the community, and her playful, rebellious energy caught his eye.

What happened that week sparked a romance that would last them four decades — until E.F. died after a battle with colon cancer.

Eddie came to StoryCorps with their youngest daughter Tria to remember how it all started, and recount all that he still loves about his late wife.

Top Photo: Tria Chang and Eddie Chang at their StoryCorps interview in San Francisco on May 6th, 2017. By Yosmay del Mazo for StoryCorps.
Middle Photo: Eddie Chang and E.F. Wen. Circa 1973
Bottom Photo: From left to right: Eddie Chang, E.F. Wen, Vanessa Chang, Tria Chang, & Meesha Chang. 1993 at Smith College.

Originally aired February 14, 2020 on NPR’s Morning Edition. 

Swept Away: Falling for the Man with 600 Vacuums

We love a good love story here at StoryCorps. But this one? It sucks … just not in the way you might think. 

Tom Gasko has been a vacuum repairman for over 35 years. He also collects vacuums hundreds and hundreds of them and proudly displays them in his very own vacuum cleaner museum in a Rolla, Missouri strip mall. 

He came to StoryCorps to share his love for the machines with his husband, Donnie Pedrola. 

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Top photo: Donnie Pedrola and Tom Gasko at their StoryCorps interview in Rolla, MI on June 26, 2019. By Dupe Oyebolu for StoryCorps.
Bottom photo: In 2001, Tom got a tattoo of the logo of his favorite vacuum cleaner, The Airway from 1935. This is the same machine he hopes to spend eternity in. Courtesy Tom Gasko.

Originally aired September 6, 2019 on NPR’s Morning Edition. 

‘I Was Told I Was A Lifer’: One Woman’s Story Of Mental Illness, Recovery, And Doing Her Own Dishes

Amanda Farrell always wanted to get married and become a mom. But for a while, it looked like her mental health struggles might stand in the way of her dreams. 

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At StoryCorps, Amanda told her husband Craig about how she lost — and ultimately regained — control of her mental health.

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Top photo: Craig and Amanda Farrell in September 2017. Courtesy of the Farrell family. 
Middle photo: Craig and Amanda Farrell with their daughter Elorah in July 2019. Courtesy of the Farrell family.
Bottom photo: Amanda Farrell and Craig Farrell at their StoryCorps interview in Appleton, WI in July 2019. By Sylvie Lubow for StoryCorps.

Originally aired August 2, 2019, on NPR’s Morning Edition. 

“There Was No Hanky Panky”: A Couple Reflects On The Friendship That Led To 70 Years Of Marriage

Julia and Joel Helfman met when they were just kids — at 12 and 13 years old. Their friendship blossomed into a decades-long love story. And together they had five kids of their own, as well as 11 grandchildren and eight great-grandkids.

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A few months before their 70th wedding anniversary, Joel and Julia sat down at StoryCorps to remember how it all began.

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Top photo: Julia and Joel Helfman on their wedding day in November 1949. Courtesy of the Helfman family. 
Middle photo: Joel and Julia Helfman (center) with their five kids, c. 1972. Courtesy of the Helfman family. 
Bottom photo: Julia and Joel Helfman at their StoryCorps interview in Philadelphia, PA in 2019. By Eleanor Vassili for StoryCorps.

Originally aired July 26, 2019, on NPR’s Morning Edition. 

A Teenage Romance, Rekindled After Three Decades

It was the spring of 1981 in Louisiana. Liz Barnez was 16 and Lori Daigle was 17. They met while playing on competing high school sports teams. When they joined the all-star softball team that summer, their friendship blossomed into something more.

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At StoryCorps in Fort Collins, Colorado, Liz and Lori sat down to reflect on their teenage romance, and how they reunited nearly 30 years later.

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They married in 2015 after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage. That was more than 30 years after their first kiss.

Top photo: Lori Daigle and Liz Barnez at StoryCorps in Fort Collins, Colorado. Photo by Jacqueline Van Meter for StoryCorps.
Middle photo: Liz Barnez and Lori Daigle in the summer of 1981. Photo courtesy of Lori Daigle.
Bottom photo: Robert Herman, Lori Daigle, Liz Barnez, and Haley Daigle, from left to right, at Liz Barnez and Lori Daigle’s wedding in 2015. Photo by Kris Harmon and courtesy of Lori Daigle.

Originally aired March 8, 2019, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Their Love for Each Other Grew into a Love for their Community

In 1997, Sharon Adams felt a call. After 30 years away from her hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she moved back into the house where she grew up. As Sharon was fixing up her family home, she needed an electrician. That’s when she met her now-husband, Larry Adams.

They’ve since completed several projects around the house, but the couple’s biggest undertaking came when they turned to the area outside of their home.

Inspired by Sharon’s memories of her once close-knit community, they established Walnut Way, a nonprofit dedicated to revitalizing their neighborhood.In the two decades since, they’ve built and restored more than 100 homes and transformed over 20 lots into gardens and orchards.

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At StoryCorps, they remembered how as their relationship grew, so did their involvement in the community.

Top Photo: Sharon and Larry Adams in the house where their nonprofit, Walnut Way, is based. Photo by Adam Carr.
Bottom Photo: Sharon and Larry Adams in front of their peach trees. Photo by Sara Stathas.

Originally aired February 15, 2019, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

The Tallapoosa Possum Drop, a New Year’s Eve Tradition

New Year’s Eve in Times Square? Meh. The real action is in Tallapoosa, Georgia.

That’s where Bud and Jackie Jones, career taxidermists, live. They helped establish a completely different kind of New Year’s Eve tradition in their small town.

Bud and Jackie came to StoryCorps recently to share the love story that helped launch it all.

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Since the Tallapoosa Possum Drop began in the late 1990s, the event has grown from about 40 people to over 7,000 in attendance. That’s more than twice the population of Tallapoosa itself.

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Top photo: Bud and Jackie Jones pose after their StoryCorps interview in Tallapoosa, GA in September 2018. By Kelly Moffitt for StoryCorps.
Middle photo: Bud and Jackie Jones pose together in 1963. Courtesy Bud Jones.
Bottom photo: Bud and Jackie Jones pose near “Spencer” at the Possum Drop in Tallapoosa, GA in 2014. Courtesy Bud Jones.

Originally aired December 28, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

A Married Couple Remembers Those They Lost to AIDS

Over the years, many people have come to StoryCorps to remember those who have died of AIDS. And for those left behind, how to move forward is never an easy path.

Larry Dearmon and Stephen Mills met in 1992, during the height of the AIDS epidemic in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Together for 26 years, the two came to StoryCorps to remember the loss that eventually brought them together.

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Larry and Stephen have been together for 26 years. The two were married in 2013, a day that Larry calls “the best day of my life.”

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Top photo: Larry Dearmon and Stephen Mills at their StoryCorps interview in Little Rock, Arkansas in 2015. By Natalia Fidenholtz for StoryCorps.
Middle photo: Michael Braig poses for a photo in Frankfurt, Germany. He succumbed to AIDS in 1991. Courtesy Larry Dearmon.
Bottom photo: Stephen Mills and Larry Dearmon pose for a photo on their wedding day at Lake Tahoe in 2013. Courtesy Larry Dearmon.

Originally aired November 30, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.