StoryCorps Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

StoryCorps Northwest: Faith, Equality, And Generational Learning — Susan Mather and Nic Mather

By Connor Henricksen August 18, 2022

Children learn a lot from their parents, but how much do parents learn from their kids? In this episode of StoryCorps Northwest; Susan Mather, of Moses Lake, discusses faith, equality, and generational changes with her son Reverend Nic Mather of Longview.Read More

StoryCorps Is Coming To Moses Lake

By Lauren Gallup June 22, 2022

StoryCorps has a simple, but powerful mission. “Basically what we wanted to do was provide a space for people to have meaningful conversations, meaningful recorded conversations with people that they care about, and have access to those conversations,” says Danielle Andersen, director of the StoryCorps mobile tour. Read More

Collecting Stories Together, In A Year Spent Apart: A StoryCorps Northwest Special

By Sueann Ramella April 9, 2021

Collage of portraits of StoryCorps Northwest Participants

This hour-long special of StoryCorps Northwest highlights some of the moving and inspiring stories from friends and neighbors in the Inland Northwest. Read More

StoryCorps Northwest: ‘Hardest Thing To Be Is A Black Person’ Says Jewish Woman Who Hid In Attic

By Sueann Ramella December 23, 2020

Step-daugher Robin with her step-mother, Evelyn Woods

When Spokane resident Evelyn Woods was a little girl in World War II Germany, she hid in an attic with her Jewish parents. In today’s StoryCorps Northwest, Evelyn’s step-daughter, Robin, asks her how that confinement compares to today’s COVID-19 restrictions. Evelyn, 82, discusses that and the Black Lives Matter movement in this segment of StoryCorps Northwest recorded Read More

StoryCorps Northwest: Family Hit By Loss During 1918 Pandemic Reflects On COVID-19

By Sueann Ramella December 16, 2020

Mother and daughter pose after sharing stories about the 1918 pandemic and Covid-19 pandemic.

This year, you may have heard references to the 1918 pandemic, referred to as the Spanish flu. Peggy Ward of Moscow, Idaho, shares the story of her grandmother who died in the 1918 pandemic and how it affected her family and the community. She spoke with her daughter, Lynne Embrey, for StoryCorps Northwest, recorded virtually.Read More

StoryCorps Northwest: She Became A Counselor After Two Sons Died By Suicide

By Sueann Ramella December 2, 2020

Ali Bretthauer and her mother, Catherine Perusse

Catherine Perusse is a counselor in Sandpoint, Idaho, who knows first-hand about the devastation of suicide: Two of her sons died of self-inflected death six years apart. In this episode of StoryCorps Northwest, Catherine and her daughter, Ali Bretthauer of Moscow, Idaho, share how the deaths changed their lives.Read More

StoryCorps Northwest: Making College Feel More Inclusive For Students Of Color

By Sueann Ramella November 25, 2020

Dr. Sydney Freeman Jr. and Hannah Snyder

Dr. Sydney Freeman Jr., an associate professor at the University of Idaho, uses his voice and his role to make higher education inclusive. He started the Progressive Black Caucus at Oakwood University in Alabama and brought the mission to Idaho to create a more efficient and welcoming environment for students of color.Read More

StoryCorps Northwest: A Grandmother And Granddaughter Share Why They Protest

By Sueann Ramella November 18, 2020

Grandmother with young adult granddaughter talk about protesting.

Lewiston resident Lilienne Shore Kilgore-Brown actively takes part in protests now. So did her grandmother Susan Kilgore in the 1970s. On StoryCorps Northwest, Susan tells Lilienne what she was protesting and what she learned from those experiences.Read More

StoryCorps Northwest: Seeing Internment Camp And Housing Discrimination Changed Her Politics

By Sueann Ramella November 4, 2020

Daughter Nancy Mahoney with her mother, Colleen.

When she was young, Lewiston resident Colleen Mahoney lived near the Minidoka Japanese Internment camp. That experience, plus witnessing housing discrimination in Utah, shaped her politics and community advocacy.Read More

StoryCorps Northwest: Finding Self Worth, Higher Education And Dealing With Addiction

By Sueann Ramella October 28, 2020

Nez Perce tribal member Mary Jane Miles was two when her mother died. That was the start of a series of difficult events in Mary Jane’s life. But she persevered to earn an education and come to terms with alcohol addiction. She spoke with her friend and colleague, Kayeloni Scott, for StoryCorps Northwest.Read More

StoryCorps Northwest: How A Car Accident And Learning To Swim Helped Disability Rights

By Sueann Ramella October 14, 2020

Larry Clott helped to lay the foundation for disabilities rights in the United States. He spoke with his daughter about a car accident that made him a quadriplegic, and how he came to fight for disability rights in this episode of StoryCorps Northwest, recorded virtually.Read More

StoryCorps Northwest: His Nurse Was Mean And Rude, His Daughter Calls Her Mom

By Sueann Ramella October 7, 2020

Larry Clott discusses his car accident and how he felt about his nurse in this StoryCorps Northwest episode. It originally aired on NWPB’s Morning Edition on Oct. 7, 2020. It was recorded as part of NWPB’s 2020 partnership with StoryCorps.Read More

StoryCorps Northwest: Helping To Save Small Towns Of Washington-Idaho Palouse Region

By Sueann Ramella September 30, 2020

Nearly 150 years ago, the McGregor family started ranching and farming on the Palouse region of southeastern Washington and north-central Idaho. The family passed down an appreciation for rural life and a love of small towns.Read More

StoryCorps Northwest: Surviving Electric Shock Therapy And Traumatic Brain Injury

By Sueann Ramella September 23, 2020

Dobbie Callman and Jose Rejara photos taken over the computer.

Jose Riera is a survivor of electric shock therapy. Before coming to Washington State University, he had the corporate office and all of life’s conveniences. But it all unraveled.Read More

StoryCorps Northwest: From A One-Room School In Walla Walla To The GI Bill To Helping Students

By Sueann Ramella September 16, 2020

Robert Norwood of Walla Walla went to a one-room school then joined the Navy on a whim. After service he enjoyed a rewarding career as a school counselor. He talked to his son, Mike, about his schooling experience for StoryCorps Northwest, recorded virtually.Read More

StoryCorps Northwest: From A Small Town, The Early Days For LGBTQ Rights And Falling In Love

By Sueann Ramella September 9, 2020

Growing up in Chelan, Susan Little knew early being gay was unacceptable in her small town. In today’s StoryCorps Northwest, Susan and her wife Marianne Patton talk about those early days, and how much has changed for gays and lesbians since they fell in love 35 years ago.Read More

StoryCorps Northwest: Being A Minority In A Predominantly White High School

By NWPB September 2, 2020

StoryCorps Northwest interview between Kim Neri and Charity Egland. Read More

Before Making Military History, Olivia Hooker Witnessed One Of History’s Worst Race Riots

By NPR News February 28, 2020

In her StoryCorps interview in September 2018, Olivia Hooker talked about her experience as the first black woman to enter the Coast Guard. CREDIT: Afi Yellow-Duke/StoryCorps

Olivia Hooker advocated for the military to open its doors to women of color. But even after policies started to change, "nobody seemed to be joining," she said. So she decided to join herself.Read More

StoryCorps Coming To The Lewis-Clark Valley

By Sueann Ramella January 13, 2020

Now YOU can record your conversation with a loved one, and the Library of Congress will archive it. NWPB and Innovia Foundation are proud to bring the StoryCorps mobile recording booth to the Lewis-Clark Valley this summer. Read More

StoryCorps: The Cancer Battle Was Second Nature For Uncle And Nephew Veterans

By NPR News November 10, 2019

Veterans Michael Menta (left) and his uncle, Sal Leone, in West Hartford, Conn., last month. Camila Kerwin for StoryCorps

Ever since he was a child, Michael Menta looked up to his uncle Sal Leone for becoming a Marine. Menta would eventually follow in Leone's footsteps to serve his country, enlisting in the Navy during his senior year of high school. Their shared veteranship brought them closer.Read More

StoryCorps: How A 10-Year-Old-Boy Helped Apollo 11 Return To Earth

By NPR News July 20, 2019

Greg Force and Abby Force at StoryCorps in Greenville, S.C. CREDIT: Alletta Cooper/StoryCorps

A half-century ago, America's dreams were realized in space. The power of U.S. innovation and spirit took the Apollo 11 crew to the moon and back. That mission was possible because of a diverse team of engineers, astronauts and mathematicians. It was also possible thanks to the help of one 10-year-old boy who was in the right place at the right time.Read More

‘He’s In Our Soul’: Sisters Remember Their Dad’s Legacy On Father’s Day

By NPR News June 15, 2019

Candi and Estela Reyes shared memories of their father during a 2012 StoryCorps interview in El Paso, Texas. CREDIT: Anaid Reyes/StoryCorps

"Very formidable. Very strong-willed. Very commanding figure. His nickname was el canillón — the big-wristed man," Estela Reyes said. "I remember being a little kid — Papi just reaching down and lifting me up like I was tissue paper, this delicate little weightless thing."Read More

Theresa Burroughs, Voting Rights Activist, Dies At 89 In Alabama

By NPR News May 24, 2019

Civil rights "foot soldier" Theresa Burroughs in 2016, in front of a photo of the day she was arrested in 1965. Burroughs has died at age 89. Debbie Elliott/NPR

"Disappear? We're not going to do that," she said. She went 10 times to the courthouse before the registrar would sign her up to vote. Then she worked to guard the right and never missed an election.Read More

Mother’s Day StoryCorps: A Daughter Learns More From Her Late Mom’s Best Friend

By NPR News May 11, 2019

Sada Jackson (right) finds out more about her late mother from her mom's best friend, Angela Morehead-Mugita, at StoryCorps in Kansas City, Mo., in August 2018. CREDIT: Savannah Winchester for StoryCorps

Sada Jackson lost her mother, Ileana Watson, to breast cancer in 2016. There are many things Sada, now a mother herself, wonders about her late mom. So at StoryCorps, she sat with Ileana's best friend, Angela Morehead-Mugita, to learn more. "I want to know more about my mom, as a woman, because I only knew her as Mom," Sada says.Read More

StoryCorps Northwest: Puyallap Tribe Member Remembers Mother’s Disappearance 20 Years Later

By NPR News March 29, 2019

Carolyn DeFord poses with her mother and daughter in La Grande, Oregon in their last photograph together before Leona disappeared in 1999. Courtesy of Carolyn DeFord

It's been 20 years since Carolyn DeFord, a member of the Puyallup tribe, last saw her mother, Leona Kinsey in La Grande, Ore. DeFord was raised by Kinsey in La Grande. She remembers her mother as independent and self-sufficient, working odd jobs to scrape by.Read More

Storycorps Northwest: 50 Years On, A Seattle Daughter Recalls Her Slain Civil Rights Leader Father

By NPR News March 23, 2019

A family photo of Bettye, Miriam and Edwin Pratt together in 1966. Courtesy of Jean Soliz

Miriam Pratt was five years old when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968. She remembers that after her father, Seattle Urban League leader Edwin Pratt, found out, he paced back and forth in his bedroom. "He was emotional," Pratt's daughter tells Jean Soliz, her godmother, at StoryCorps. "I had never seen him like that."Read More

StoryCorps: ‘I Found The Treasure When I Found You.’ Vietnam Vets Rekindle Bond Forged By War

By NPR News November 16, 2018

Kay Lee and John Nordeen last month, after their StoryCorps interview in San Francisco. The pair keeps in touch and sees each other frequently. CREDIT: Susan Lee/StoryCorps

John Nordeen and Kay Lee served in the same Army platoon during the Vietnam War. Nordeen and Lee had very different personalities, but in the life-or-death setting of war, the two bonded. Nordeen, a soldier from Seattle, was one of the first people that Lee, a combat medic from San Francisco, talked to. But after the war, they lost touch.Read More