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Archived Stories |
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Past Florida Stories |
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The Dersch children (photo taken in 2005):
Nick Dersch (17), Cherie Lavertue (20), Bobby Arnold (12),
Eric Dersch (13) and Ethan Dersch (7) |
The Dersch Family
Joe and Sally Dersch live in Winter Haven. When you meet them, you'll find that they often use the word 'blended'. It's a word that best describes their life choices both inside and outside the home. This is the second marriage for both of them and 'blending' also describes the process of combining their households and families when they married in 1999. Sally begins with a definition of the phrase 'blended family', and how well it fits their lives.
(First aired on June 15, 2007, rebroadcast on December 28, 2007.)
 Listen now.
Music Credits: Momma Gotta, The Heatersons, The Heatersons, Pogo Records |
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Barbara J. Sorey |
Barbara J. Sorey
Barbara J. Sorey was born and raised in Clearwater. She’s published two books about her early years, and today we’ll hear readings on the holiday season from her book Florida Girl: Short Stories of Family, Community and History – 1804 to 1969. The following readings are excerpts from the chapter titled ‘Special Times.’ (First broadcast December 21, 2007.)
Listen now.
Music Credits: Songs listed in order of appearance: O Little Town Of Bethlehem, Deck the Hall, O Come All Ye Faithful and The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You), Nat King Cole, The Christmas Song, Capitol Records |
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Linda Goldstein
and
Helen Gordon Davis |
Helen Gordon Davis and Linda Goldstein
Helen Gordon, later Helen Gordon Davis, was born in New York City in 1926. Her intense drive for achievement came early in life. As an eight year old child, she lost her father to tuberculosis and subsequently contracted the disease herself, spending the next 2 years in a hospital ward in Jersey City, New Jersey. She tells friend Linda Goldstein it was at this time that her commitment to those less fortunate was cemented. We'll start with Helen recalling an incident that took place shortly after arriving in Tampa in the late 1940's, and how she quickly became involved in local political and social issues. From the League of Women Voters to the Florida House of Representatives and later the State Senate, she carried her personal mission to represent those with few resources. (First aired on June 8, 2007, rebroadcast on December 7, 2007)
Listen now.
Music Credits: Movement 2 from Four Bagatelles, Antonin Dvorak - arr. by Quartetto Gelato, Quartetto Gelato, Neapolitan Cafe, Silva Classics Recordings |
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Mary Peluso
and
Rakel Boisvert |
Mary Peluso and Rakel Boisvert
Mary Peluso was, at the time this story took place in the early 1970's, married to her second husband and living in Maryland. She recently told her daughter Rakel Boisvert about Stephen, her son from that marriage and about the day that changed her life — August 31, 1972. This conversation was recorded on that same day 35 years later. (First aired on November 30, 2007)
Listen now.
| Stephen Simmons. This photo was taken in 1969 or 1970 when Stephen was enrolled in kindergarten. |
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Music Credits: Just A Closer Walk With Thee, The Jim Cullum Jazz Band, Deep River: The Spirit of Gospel Music in Jazz, Pacific Vista Productions |
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Leone Lawrence |
Leone Lawrence
Leone Lawrence was first born in 1931 in Evanston, Illinois into a family that placed great emphasis on the arts, high culture and education. She graduated with an art degree, received her masters in Fine Arts in 1965 and later worked in the art world in various capabilities — teaching, creating her own artwork and working for museums. During her professional life, a series of unique experiences led her to leave that life behind to study Native American spirituality. (First aired August 17, 2007, rebroadcast on November 23, 2007)
Listen now.
Music Credits: Cherokee, Clifford Brown and Max Roach, Study in Brown, EmArcy Records |
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Betty and Ed Maguire |
Ed and Betty Maguire
Ed Maguire got into the industrial supply business with his father prior to World War II. He had been working for the ordnance district in Philadelphia, and he had just resigned that position when he was drafted into the Army in March 1943. He served as part of a 7-man squad in a newly-formed bomb disposal unit in Europe during the war. Ed recently told his wife Betty about some of the finer points of his army service when they visited WUSF's Tampa Studio. (First aired November 16, 2007)
Listen now.
Photo: Ed organized the last reunion of the bomb disposal squads in 1971. The yellow hats he and Betty are wearing were made for the servicemen and family members attending the reunion, held in Baltimore that year. Ed added that he's the last surviving member of his squad.
Music Credits: Concerto for Clarinet, Strings, Harp and Piano, Benny Goodman, Aaron Copland with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Songs Without Words, Classical Music From The War - A Ken Burns Film, Legacy/RCA Red Seal |
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Jochen Wagner and his wife Elsa |
Elsa and Jochen Wagner
Elsa Moravek was born in Argentina in 1935. That year her father, originally from Prague, was selling arms in South America and befriended Albert Goering, selling arms for Germany. Several years later, these men would work from Romania with resistance groups to aid those fleeing the Nazis in Europe. Elsa recently spoke with her husband about her family's experience during this time, and her father's alliance with Goering. (First aired November 9, 2007)
Listen now.
Music Credits: Solitude, Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, The War: A Ken Burns Film - The Soundtrack, Legacy Recordings |
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Albert Goering's work pass ID photo, issued by SkodaWerke in 1935 |
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Elsa's father, Jan Moravek, taken in Czechoslovakia, 1933 |
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Martha Cameron |
Martha Cameron and Kathleen Flynn
Martha Cameron was 23 in 1941 when she graduated from nursing school in Jersey City, New Jersey. She was working in Jersey City when Pearl Harbor was attacked later that year, and she enlisted with the Army Nursing corps as a surgical nurse, later an anesthetist. Martha spoke with friend Kathleen Flynn, granddaughter to a friend serving at the same time during the war, about arriving in Normandy in early June of 1944. (First aired November 2, 2007)
Listen now.
| EXTENDED AUDIO: Martha Cameron tells Kathleen Flynn about one of her experiences while in Normandy. Martha describes how she offered treatment to a child that had been badly injured. Listen now. |
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Kathleen Flynn
and
Martha Cameron |
Music Credits: Mars, the Bringer of War, composed by Gustav Holst, John Eliot Gardiner and the Philharmonia Orchestra, Gustav Holst: The Planets, Deutsche Grammophon Recordings
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Paul Wetmore
and
Patricia Shultze
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Paul Wetmore and Patricia Shultze
Paul Wetmore and Patty Shultze are brother and sister, two of three children born to parents Harry and Margaret Wetmore. They grew up in Oneonta in upstate New York, and Paul and Patty now live in Florida. They recently sat down to talk about growing up with their brother Chris, who was diagnosed with autism when he was 3 years old. (First aired October 26, 2007)
Listen now.
Music Credits: Opening/closing piece: Nocturne in C major/Nocturne in E minor, John O'Conor, Nocturnes of John Field, Telarc
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Theresa Hoopingarner
and
Linda Haley
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Theresa Hoopingarner and Linda Haley
Theresa Hoopingarner was a child in 1930's Memphis when her father's ill health forced him to move his family from the area. His family was originally from Italy, and the family still owned a home and land in Bassignana, a rural village in the northwest. Theresa recently spoke with her daughter Linda Haley about her relocation to Italy with her family just prior to World War II, and how day to day life on their small farm taught her the value of work and a greater appreciation of life in the United States. (First aired October 19, 2007) Listen now.
Music Credits: Movement 1 from the Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra in B flat major, Matt Haimovitz and the English Chamber Orchestra, Cello Concertos, Deutsche Grammophon Recordings |
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Mel Downing
in 1945
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Mel and David Downing
Mel Downing was born in Newton, Massachusetts, just outside Boston, in August 1926. By his own admission, Mel didn't do well in high school. At the end of his ninth grade year he entered the New York Military Academy. He enlisted in the US Navy at 17 with his father's consent, and was assigned sea duty on the USS Gosper. He served two years in combat zones in the war's Pacific theater, and by age 19 Mel was a seasoned war veteran. He recently spoke with his son David about his war experience and how the impact of the war stays with him today.
(First aired October 12, 2007) Listen now.
EXTENDED AUDIO: Mel Downing describes the Gosper's hospital ship duty for the dead and wounded after the invasion of Okinawa on April 1, 1945. The crew of the Gosper served this duty through the summer of 1945.
Listen now |
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USS Gosper in San Francisco Bay (1945-46) |
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Mel Downing and his son David |
Music Credits: Opening piece/closing piece: Rainbow Mist, Yesterdays, Coleman Hawkins and His Orchestra, Rainbow Mist, Delmark Records |
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Robert J. Ramer
in 1945 |
Robert J. Ramer
Robert J. Ramer was a college student at Purdue University on December 7th, 1941. An early interest in flight led to his enlistment in the Army Air Corps, the precursor to today’s Air Force. Robert Ramer talks with his son Robert Bruce Ramer, first about his induction into the Air Corps and his early cadet training.
(First aired June 29, 2007, rebroadcast on October 5, 2007)
Listen now.
Music Credits: Flyin’ Home performed by Lionel Hampton and his Orchestra, The Lionel Hampton Story, Proper UK Boxed Sets |
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| Learn more about StoryCorps |
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StoryCorps and WUSF in Sarasota
The History of StoryCorps: Recording America |
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StoryCorps Information on NPR |
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StoryCorps Website |
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