Tagged: storycorps

Neil Shapiro's family roots are entwined with the city of New Orleans back to the 1700s. His grandmother could trace her family that far back in the city's history. He's continuing in the antique business his grandparents began in 1899, when goods were bought and sold within the city. That began to change in the 1930s, when European imports started appearing in stores, while local treasures were handed down within families.

Ronald Avila, 27, and his sister, Belinda, 29, honor their cultural ties with their family's ancestry in Honduras. Belinda was born in the United States, while her father studied agronomy at the University of Florida in Gainsville. Ronald was born two years later in Honduras. Their mother later brought them to the U.S., where she encouraged their higher education.

Elizabeth Claudet and her husband, Joseph, sat down with her father, Charles Costello, on March 29 to talk about his experiences while living most of his 96 years in Louisiana. He grew up in DeRidder in western Louisiana, where as a boy he delivered groceries in a cart pulled by a goat.

Martha Ward and Frank Aseron had a long acquaintance. It began in the mid-1970s when she was married and had a daughter, Marlowe. Frank did some carpentry work at her home, and they saw each other around New Orleans for years. She later divorced, and enjoyed her career an anthropology professor at the University of New Orleans. Frank became involved in mortgage banking and construction lending.

Marilyn Barbarin knew from a very early age that she would be a singer. It began when a priest at her school in New Orleans heard her singing in the girls' bathroom, where she was taking an unapproved break from class. But instead of facing punishment, she was taken to a recording session at the now-shuttered Nola Studios.