Perhaps I am a closet introvert. I have to remind myself to reach out to others by emailing, texting, using Zoom or telephoning. I am not overly concerned during this Covid-19 pandemic. We have a well-stocked pantry with food enough to share. We have books, games, internet, television, household projects and gardening to keep us entertained. Even our church services are broadcast. We can get out for walks as the weather permits. We can smile, wave or greet the neighbors as they walk, play and ride bikes.
I am using this time to create storytelling programs and develop stories. I have told stories on Zoom for the St. Louis Storytelling Festival and the Kellogg Sisters Story Circle in Perry, KS. Zoom is a new experience for me and I have had a steep learning curve as I have adapted my voice, gestures, eye contact and lighting.
Stories are needed now more than ever as people stay at home. We need to tell our stories as we create history and we need to tell stories about overcoming obstacles and surviving as we encourage ourselves and the children that this too shall pass.
Linda
Spotlight on Linda Kuntz, Newest board member
Linda is the newest MO-TELL Board Member, becoming the Secretary in February 2020 after Jim Two Crows Wallen stepped down as Secretary. Jim Two Crows Wallen remains on the MO-TELL Board as Board Member at Large.
What attracted you to MO-TELL originally and why did you decide to volunteer to be the Secretary?
I liked that there was a state organization that could provide venues and workshops in Missouri and have participated in the Missouri Liars Contest several times. She volunteered to be the MO-TELL Secretary for several reasons: it gives her a chance to meet and work with great storytellers from around the state, it helps her keep in the know about what is happening with the Missouri storytelling community, and it gives her a way to give back something to storytelling.
What other positions have you held in storytelling organizations?
I have been the Events Coordinator for the River and Prairie Storyweavers (RAPS) group for 6 years and am currently the Assistant Events Coordinator for RAPS.
How long have you been telling stories?
I’ve been telling stories all my life, occasionally getting in trouble for what my parents considered too much of a deviation from the truth. I’ve been telling to adults for the past 10-12 years.
What is your favorite type of story and do you have a favorite story?
My favorite types of stories are folktales from around the world and bible stories. My favorite story is always the one I am currently working on to make it tellable by me.
Comments about digital storytelling, given the current stay-at-home and social distancing guidelines?
I think it is wonderful we can use technology to connect with each other, to listen to and to tell stories. It is especially fun to be able to see and hear storytellers from other parts of the world. But, as nice as it is to see and hear everyone, I miss the eye contact, the laughter, and the other audience reactions in a live performance.
by Jim Two Crows Wallen
Phoebe Couzins was the first woman to graduate Washington University Law School, St. Louis, the first woman to be a lawyer in the United States and the first woman to serve as a United States Marshal.
The daughter of Mr. And Mrs. J.E.D. Couzins, she was born in St. Louis, September 8, 1842. In the 1860s she established a reputation as a writer and speaker for woman suffrage. In 1868 she was one of the signers of a petition presented to the Missouri General Assembly by a group of St. Louis women requesting the right of women to vote. The next year she was the principal speaker at the national convention in St. Louis of the Woman Suffrage Association.
After her graduation from Washington University Law School,May 8, 1871, a banquet was held in her honor which was attended by the Law School faculty and other prominent St. Louis citizens. Although she was admitted to the Missouri Bar, she never practiced law extensively.
She became well known throughout the state and nation as an authoritative lecturer on the subjects of women’s rights, temperance and the legal profession. She addressed the San Francisco Woman Suffrage Convention in 1872 and the Association’s national convention in Washington, D. C. In 1874.
She served as deputy to her father, who was commissioned a United States Marshal of the Eastern District of Missouri, July 5, 1884. After her father’s death she received the ad interim appointment on September 28, 1887, as United States Marshal.
Her career closed in obscurity and hardship. Financed by St. Louis brewers, she reversed her stand on temperance and became a lobbyist and lecturer for the United Brewers Association.Her last speech in St. Louis in 1906 denounced Governor Joseph W. Folk for his advocacy of legislation restricting the sale of liquor.
She died in extreme poverty, December 5, 1913, in St. Louis. She had always worn her United States Marshal’s badge and, in compliance with her request, it was buried with her.