StoryCorps CT

Connecticut Public teamed up with the StoryCorps Mobile Tour to remotely record interviews of people from all across our state. Meet the people behind the mic in this selection of interviews edited by Connecticut Public.

VIDEO STORIES AUDIO STORIES ABOUT THIS PROJECT PROJECT CREDITS ABOUT STORYCORPS

VIDEO STORIES

Bryan Sayles and his twin daughters Molly and Emma showed interest in learning music at a young age. They share how music brought them together and created lasting memories that continue today.

Music Holds Us Together

“It’s always been nice seeing your faces in the crowd and knowing that you’re there to support me.” - Molly

Bryan, Molly, Emma and Grace Sayles at The Main Pub in Manchester, CT.

Emma and Molly pose for a photo before Molly's band Blanket Statement perform at The Main Pub in Manchester, CT.

Molly Sayles sets up her drum kit before a gig at The Main Pub in Manchester, CT.

Randy Mott talks with her 92-year-old mother, Jackie Brown, about the many ways she's reinvented herself, including how she became a successful artist and painter at the age of sixty.

How I Learned to Paint

“I've had a really interesting life, and some of it's been hard, but it made me a stronger person.” - Jackie

Jackie Brown stands in front of some of her paintings.
Joe Amon / Connecticut Public

Jackie Brown paints at her apartment in Bloomfield, CT.
Joe Amon / Connecticut Public

Rae George talks with her mother, Weruché George, about honoring and preserving their Nigerian culture here in the U.S.

Sharing in our Culture

"My advice to first-generation immigrants like me would be to not let the culture die." - Weruché

Rae George and Weruché George walk onto the West Haven beach.
Tyler Russell/Connecticut Public

Rae George in West Haven, CT
Tyler Russell/Connecticut Public

Audrey Daigneault was only 16-months old when she contracted the poliovirus in 1949. She sat down with her sister Paula Daigneault, five years her senior, to ask what she remembered from that time.

Polio Changed our Lives

“It's a scary time now, and it was a scary time then.” – Audrey

StoryCorps - Audrey and Paula Daigneault

Audrey Daigneault during filming for StoryCorps CT.
Ryan Caron King/Connecticut Public

Dawn Ennis shares with Leif Ennis what it was like to come out to her children as transgender, the loss of Leif’s mom to cancer, and how their family supports each other.

The Best of Both Worlds

“It's awesome to have a transgender father because you can grow up in an understanding household.” – Leif

Kim Jacobsen and Kathy Flaherty met while working for the same law firm. Their bond of friendship has helped each other and others who live and work with disabilities.

Living with a Disability

“For anybody with a disability, your disability isn't all of who you are. It’s part of who you are.” – Kathy

StoryCorps CT - Kim Jacobsen and Kathy Flaherty

Kathy Flaherty and Kim Jacobsen in Elizabeth Park.
Tyler Russell/Connecticut Public

Kathy Flaherty of Newington, CT in Elizabeth Park, West Hartford, CT.
Tyler Russell / Connecticut Public

Kim Jacobson talks with Kathy Flaherty in West Hartford.
Tyler Russell/Connecticut Public

Shelley Nygren and John Baker met in a faith community and became fast friends who recognized a sense of belonging in one another.

A 30-year Friendship

"I think that there's pure love even in first meeting. I think it's the state of who we are." – Shelley

Shelley Nyren and John Baker in Shelley's backyard.
Dave Wurtzel/Connecticut Public

John Baker in Southington, CT. Dave Wurtzel/Connecticut Public
Dave Wurtzel/Connecticut Public

Shelley Nyren in Southington, CT.
Dave Wurtzel/Connecticut Public

Shelley Nyren and John Baker in Shelley's backyard.
Dave Wurtzel/Connecticut Public

When James Brockington was awarded the Edward A. Bouchet scholarship from Sigma Pi Phi, an exchange that day with Carlton Highsmith later impacted James' career.

The Impact of Mentorship

“You changed my mindset as far as what business and success looks like.” – James

Carlton Highsmith sits for a portrait in his home in Middlebury, Connecticut.
Ryan Caron King/Connecticut Public

James Brockington in New Haven
Ryan Caron King/Connecticut Public

Carlton Highsmith sits for a portrait in his home in Middlebury, Connecticut.
Ryan Caron King/Connecticut Public

Andrea Chudzik talks with her mother, Carolyn Chudzik, about what it was like to be her at her age.

Mother-Daughter Bond

“When I see you at work, I see this creative, powerful, confident, and really talented person.” – Andrea

Carolyn and Andrea Chudzik in Manchester, CT.
Ryan Caron King/Connecticut Public

Andrea and Carolyn Chudzik in Center Memorial Park, Manchester, CT.
Ryan Caron King/Connecticut Public

Mary Claire Whelan’s father, Bob, died in 2019 after struggling with addiction. Mary Claire talks with her mother, Terry Suganski, about what made her father special.

Reflections of my Father

"I just decided not to be scared, but to take what was there and love him for who he was." – Mary Claire

Terry Suganski sits for a portrait in her home in Clinton, CT.
Joe Amon/Connecticut Public

Mary Claire Whelan sits for a portrait in her mother Terry's home in Clinton, CT.
Joe Amon/Connecticut Public

Maria Rosario talks with her daughter Elena Rosario about what it was like to move to Hartford from Puerto Rico at the age of seven and how she found a community here.

Mom's Childhood Influences

“I often say my education is your education because I couldn't do any of this without support from you.” – Elena

Elena Rosario in Hartford, CT.
Tyler Russell / Connecticut Public

Maria Rosario sits on a bench in Hartford, CT.
Tyler Russell / Connecticut Public

Elena Rosario talks on a bench in Hartford with her mother, Maria Rosario.
Tyler Russell / Connecticut Public

Asif Safa worked with the U.S. Army in Afghanistan and was able to apply for a special immigrant visa. When Asif and his family arrived in Connecticut, the Stamford Interfaith Refugee Settlement Group helped them learn English, and find housing and jobs.

Family Adapts To CT

“She is an American kid now, she is happy here.” – Asif

Diana poses on her bike outside of her home in Stamford, CT.
Joe Amon / Connecticut Public

Asif Safa laughs with his wife and daughter at their home in Stamford, CT.
Joe Amon / Connecticut Public

Beck and Annie Fineman talk about their challenges as a queer family and how they’ve embraced parenthood.

Forming our Family

“The prospect of raising a boy as a transgender man who did not have a traditional boyhood was daunting.” – Beck

AUDIO STORIES

Other ways to listen

Subscribe to the StoryCorps CT podcast on your preferred platform and hear all of our StoryCorps CT releases.

Trailer

Megan Fitzgerald

Connecticut Public teamed up with the StoryCorps Mobile Tour to record interviews of people from all backgrounds across our state. StoryCorps has facilitated thousands of conversations across the globe, teaching the value of listening and demonstrating that everyone's story matters. StoryCorps CT is a collection of these local conversations edited by Connecticut Public.

ABOUT THIS PROJECT

StoryCorps' mission is to preserve and share humanity's stories to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world. In the summer of 2021, Connecticut Public teamed up with StoryCorps Mobile Tour to remotely record interviews of people from all backgrounds across our state. Excerpts were edited and produced locally by Connecticut Public for radio and digital.

The StoryCorps Mobile Tour resulted in 91 interviews recorded with over 190 participants who signed up to share their stories. Connecticut Public chose 24 full-length interviews that have been edited into 4-minute stories for broadcast on Connecticut Public.

Connecticut Public would like to thank Funnybone Records, a community-based independent record label out of Hartford, CT for connecting us with Niamh. Niamh also known as songwriter, producer, and Connecticut native, Jack Riley (they/them), provided music for our StoryCorps CT radio edits and podcast trailer.

StoryCorps CT is supported locally by Connecticut Humanities with funding from Connecticut’s Department of Economic and Community Development, the Office of the Arts and the State Legislature.

Participants captured via Zoom following their StoryCorps Mobile Tour interview session.

PROJECT CREDITS

StoryCorps Mobile Tour Interview Facilitator

Catie Talarski

Senior Director, Storytelling and Radio Programming
Julianne Varacchi

Senior Director / Visuals and Television Production
J Holt

Audio Editor & Producer
Megan Fitzgerald

Senior Manager of Projects and Radio Programming
Joe Amon

Visuals Editor
Ryan Caron King

Visuals Journalist
Sam Hockaday

Animator and Graphic Designer
John Henry Smith

Host, All Things Considered
Lori Mack

Host, Morning Edition
David Wurtzel

Visuals Journalist
Jack Riley / Niamh

Music (for Radio Edits & Podcast Trailer)

ABOUT STORYCORPS

StoryCorps is a non-profit organization that provides people across the country with the opportunity to record and preserve the stories of their lives. Since 2003, StoryCorps has recorded over half a million people of all backgrounds and beliefs, preserving them in the StoryCorps Archive, housed at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The archive comprises one of the first and the largest born-digital collections of human voices, featuring tens of thousands of conversations recorded across the United States and around the world.

To learn more about StoryCorps and discover stories from across the country visit, storycorps.org

Funding for StoryCorps and the StoryCorps Mobile Tour is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.