StoryCorps Southwest Florida

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Eunice Wiley Was The First Black Teacher At East Elementary Jun 29, 2017

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Martha Bireda interviews her friend 70-year-old Eunice Wiley about being the first black teacher in her school, East Elementary, in Punta Gorda in 1970, resisting with dignity during Jim Crow, and becoming the principal at Neil Armstrong Elementary in Port Charlotte despite the prejudice she faced. She retired from there in 2005.

James and Rachel Bass Talk About Their Interracial Marriage Jun 22, 2017

Show notes

James and Rachel Bass of Cape Coral talk about their interracial marriage, moving to Florida, James's fears as a black man in a mostly white community, and Rachel's response to her once naive perception of race in the United States in this week’s StoryCorps of southwest Florida.

In Memory of Jerome Peterman Who Had ALS Jun 15, 2017

Show notes

47-year-old Jeffrey Peterman of Alva remembers his father Jerome Peterman, who passed away recently from ALS. The elder Peterman was a pilot and a larger-than-life character who Jeffrey did not always get along with, until the end.

Cancer Researcher Roy Ritts' Memorial Jun 08, 2017

Show notes

Kristin Ritts memorializes her late husband Roy Ritts, a notable immunologist in this week’s StoryCorps. The Purple Heart recipient had his hand in early AIDS Research and worked closely with Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackman on Roe v. Wade. Ritts was one of the first to be awarded patents on monoclonal antibodies – which are antibodies made in a lab rather than by a person’s immune system. And he was involved in some of the first transplants in the United States.

A Father Shares His Dreams With His Daughter Jun 01, 2017

Show notes

17-year old Lisa Gitau interviews her father Martin Ndungu about his upbringing in Kenya, his passion for his work transporting the medically disabled in southwest Florida, his proudest moments, and his dreams for the future.

Donna Buckley and Shawn Williams; Mother And Son Honesty May 25, 2017

Show notes

Donna Buckley of Brooksville and her son Shawn Williams of Fort Myers came to the StoryCorps booth to talk about their relationship from birth to present day and the things they’ve learned from each other along the way.

Gleason-Schwartz Remember 1950’s Life on the Barrier Islands May 18, 2017

Show notes

Friends and "sand sisters" 65-year-old Deb Gleason of Sanibel and 67-year-old Diane Schwartz of Englewood share memories of growing up on Sanibel and Captiva in the 1950s. They both collected and sold sea shells to stores and exporters. They both lived through Hurricane Donna in 1960. And they both moved there in the second grade and attended a one-room schoolhouse.

The Monacos Talk About Love May 11, 2017

Show notes

Twenty-eight-year-old Seth Monaco interviews his wife, 31-year-old Simone Monaco about their relationship, her life, and her thoughts about their daughter with whom she was pregnant when they went into the StoryCorps mobile booth in Fort Myers. Simone talks about overcoming abuse and other things that led her to a career helping other people.

Melinda Masters Wants To Stop The Abuse Of Power May 04, 2017

Show notes

In this week’s StoryCorps of Southwest Florida, Melinda Masters tells her husband David Carnes about her evolution from being a child who was bullied to finding her calling as a social worker determined to help stop the abuse of power. She specializes in working with male sexual predators. Masters has been a feminist for as long as she can remember.

Mayan Princess Mari Jimenez Apr 27, 2017

Show notes

Seventeen-year-old Mari Jimenez talks to her family friend Genelle Grant in this week’s StoryCorps about the pride she has of being Mayan. Her parents are from Guatemala. They spoke indigenous languages and Spanish at home. So Jimenez first learned English when she went to preschool. She’s now trilingual and she uses her skills and her cultural ties to help others. Last year she was named a Mayan Princess.

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