Preserving Our Voices: Stories of Perseverance is our National Day of Listening project inspired by the national Story Corps effort to encourage the recording of loved ones during the holidays. This is our second annual project you can see and listen to the first one here.
Below are stories from people who have faced challenges and how tough times can, in some cases, lead to moments of joy, acceptance and inspiration.
(See photos from these conversations in the slideshow above.)
Thank you Four Rivers Behavioral Health for sponsoring the program and helping those in our region persevere in the face of challenges everyday.
--
Ronnie Yates and Dianne Ray
Dianne Ray had Ronnie Yates in her homeroom class when he went to high school in Ballard County. That was more than 50 years ago, and together they look back on the racism he experienced as he was integrated into a white middle school, becoming the only African-American in his class in 1963.
--
Krissy and Aaron Ramey
Lone Oak’s home to Krissy and Aaron Ramey and their four kids. Krissy founded Families on the Spectrum because she learned there was little emotional support for parents of autistic kids. Krissy and Aaron talk about raising Derek.
--
Wallace Henderson and Jennifer Brown
Hopkinsville’s Wallace Henderson and Kentucky New Era Opinon Editor Jennifer Brown are lunch buddies. They met when she wrote about Wallace's odd daily habit of feeding feral cats.
--
Jessica Paine and Vicki Hayden
Twelve years ago Jessica Paine of Murray became pregnant, but what ultrasounds revealed brought her both anxiety and resolve. She could not have foreseen the journey with this child, who transformed her life. She recounts the birth with her mom Vicki Hayden.
--
Dick Weaver and Chris Wooldridge
87 years-old Dick Weaver of Murray parachuted out of airplanes 376 times during the pacific theater of World War II and the Korean War. Weaver was drafted in 1945 and chose to join the Pathfinders, who jumped into war zones just prior to the arrival of other troops to set up communications links and to scout drop and pickup zones. Weaver’s friend Chris Wooldridge asks him about pushing through hard times.
--
Carissa Johnson and Jennifer Johnson
Carrissa Johnson and Jennifer Johnson aren't related, but they're friends and co-workers at Murray’s Center for accessible living. Carissa was a preemie and suffered oxygen deprivation at birth, then had spinal meningitis as an infant. She’s been in a wheelchair her whole life. She’s considered her career, marriage, college degrees and plans for adoption just… normal. Carrissa Johnson and Jennifer Johnson aren't related, but they're friends and co-workers at Murray’s Center for accessible living. Carissa was a preemie and suffered oxygen deprivation at birth, then had spinal meningitis as an infant. She’s been in a wheelchair her whole life. She’s considered her career, marriage, college degrees and plans for adoption just… normal. And it all started in a small Graves County town.
--
Karen Olson and Constance Alexander
Karen Olson is a mother, cancer survivor and widow. And most importantly she’s a runner! She tells Constance Alexander why she’s persevered with running. Karen’s story begins with her breast cancer experience 24 years ago.
--
Earl Gidcumb, Gene Edwards and James Vance
The Department of Defense reports there are more than 73,000 soldiers from World War II who didn’t make it home for burial. It took 70 years for Paducah’s William Carneal to come home to be buried.. In the small Kentucky Veterans and Patriots Museum in Wickliffe three veterans discuss the perserverance involved in getting Private First Class Carneal’s remains home. Earl Gidcumb, Gene Edwards and James Vance remember with the museum’s director Sandy Hart.
--
Bob and Kathy Tessier
Bob and Kathy Tessier own and operate a construction business and have been married for more than four decades. Together they faced their darkest days when a motorcycle accident left Bob without his left arm 11 years ago.
--
Thanks for reading and listening to Preserving Our Voices: Stories of Perseverance, a project inspired by Story Corps’ annual National Day of Listening. We hope you’ll take the time to sit with a friend or loved one in the coming days and record a conversation about shared memories.
A special thanks to all of our participants: Kate Lochte, Whitney Jones, Jennifer Brown, Todd Hatton and Chad Lampe.
