Published 2011-02-21T21:57:00Z”/>
Leila Rodriguez
A tin mobile trailer parked in front of City Plaza creates curious glances. It sits quietly as a few people enter and exit it.
Bold red letters reading “StoryCorps” and the NPR logo painted on the outside give little indication as to why the trailer is in Chico.
But inside, heartfelt tales are shared between
loved ones.
A small table and two large microphones in the back of the trailer invite many patrons to talk about anything, from parenting to childhood memories. Equipped with professional recording devices, a small audio crew offers participants a tangible piece of recorded history to cherish forever.
Since its inception by Dave Isay in 2003, StoryCorps’ national oral history project has collected more than 30,000 stories from participants all over the country with the intention of teaching the powerful value of listening through the stories of American people.
The most public face for the project is its weekly Friday morning spot on NPR, where one story is selected and shared over airwaves.
“One percent of the conversation is eventually edited down to that one broadcast every Friday morning,” said Lilly Sullivan, one of StoryCorps’ mobile site supervisors. “It’s a drop in the bucket compared to the life that actually passes through these walls.”
Every story told and recorded is then filed into The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.
The van will remain in Chico until March 5.
Facilitators Dana Glass and Jorge Rios accompany Sullivan. They have a minute in the recording booth and encourage the conversation along through all of the technical aspects of recording.
At times the microphones present the daunting expectation of sharing something monumental.
“Sometimes people feel dragged down here by an enthusiastic family member,” Sullivan said. “But then people forget the mics are there and start talking about their lives.”
StoryCorps’ mission to record, share and preserve oral tradition makes a large project like theirs possible with the available technology, Glass said.
“People walk out of the StoryCorps’ trailer with a tangible piece of history personally narrated by them,” she said.
Sullivan finds it impossible to detach herself from the stories she hears, she said.
“A lot goes on in the booth,” Sullivan said. “But at the same time the 40 minutes is their time to have.”
Glass can’t deny being emotionally invested in the stories, she said.
“In that moment it doesn’t so much come into play for me,” she said. “Because my job is to make sure the people have the room to have
that moment.”
From city to city, Sullivan sees a common theme of different generations bringing in their mother to thank her for her work and dedication.
“It’s pretty incredible how you can go your whole life knowing someone and not actually say that,” she said. “Part of what’s really moving is what people have
in common.”
An early chilly Friday afternoon session for Chico residents Joan Goodreau and her daughter Monica Growl concluded with satisfaction. Their hour together only enhanced fond family memories, Growl said.
The two spoke of Goodreau’s parents who passed away, Goodreau said. She enjoyed hearing her daughter speak of her parents as her grandparents, comparing Friday’s hour session with her daughter as a mosaic.
“This creates sort of a picture,” Goodreau said. “Kind of completes those old photos of them.”
Growl and Goodreau’s story will be placed in the “chamber of echoes” alongside many others in the Library of Congress.
Leila Rodriguez can be reached at
