I have always loved Halloween!
I love dressing up and greeting the trick or treaters! I love seeing all the costumes at the door! I love handing out the treats! I love telling the spooky and not so spooky stories before Halloween! It is also my youngest sister’s birthday. Now it is over. This is such a busy time of year for holidays. We have Thanksgiving and Christmas on the way. There is Tellabration! in November. I hope your community has Tellabration! It was started in the 1980s by J. G. Pinkerton and it has continued ever since. It is a night of storytelling for adults. Plan your event now. There will be Tellabration! in the KC area and the St. Louis area. If you aren’t having one, find one where you can go. It is a great night of stories for adults. Let us know what you heard. Was there a favorite story or a favorite teller? We’ll put your report in the newsletter next month.
Remember, stories are not just for kids!
John Studebaker was 20 when he left South Bend, Indiana, in 1853, heading for the California Trail head at Independence. Of course, he was not planning on staying long in Missouri because his idea was to seek his fortune in the California Gold country.
And succeed he did, though not by panning for gold. He prospered instead by making wheelbarrows for miners. Studebaker had learned carpentry and smithing back in South Bend working for his two brothers in their fledgling wagon building shop. Though short on money, the Studebaker brothers were honest, hard working craftsmen. Receiving word that his brothers could use his help, John hastily returned from California in 1857, with $8,000 from wheelbarrow sales to invest in the business. His timing was just right.
When the Civil War broke out, the Studebaker Brothers were awarded large government contracts to build wagons, caissons, meat and ammunition carriages, and even beer wagons for the Union troops.
At the wars end in 1865, the firm continued to prosper. Studebaker wagons were favorites among the vehicles of the surging westward migration. By 1876, Studebakers were selling from coast to coast with a second factory in Kansas City and a dealership on the Independence Square. By the time the automobile came along, the Studebaker Wagon was a million dollar a year industry and it was only natural for them to merge into the new fashion of travel. Their company remained in business for more than 100 years and was the only wagon maker to make a successful transition from horse-drawn wagons to the streamlined Studebaker automobile. Studebaker became the world’s biggest wagon- maker. It was only the appearance of Henry Ford’s Model T that another American vehicle would enjoy a huge success.
Tell a little about yourself and your family? What is your vocation and your hobby?
I am a retired educator in the state of Missouri. Following retirement, I worked part-time for the Springfield district, then became a pet sitter. I have recenltly given that up, partly because I adopted the next-door neighbors Lab puppy. Robin, the ten-month old pup, and Fred, my nine-year old cat are now good friends. I also write, on occasion, and have had several meditations as well as a few children’s stories published as well as an article in Chicken Soup: Inspiration for Teachers. In my spare time I garden, play bridge, coodinate a local storytelling group, and enjoy time with my family. I have one daughter who has six grandchildren, three girls and two boys, all teen age and older. Two live near me,
and I see them often.
What is your interest in storytelling? How did it begin?
I have coordinated telling for Storytellers of the Ozarks for many years. The group I have now usually plans a swap and two or more tells a month. When I was a school counselor I developed an interest in telling and attended some workshops and conferences. Soon after that I had a position as a counselor in an at risk school where I often had to cover classes for various reasons. I began to ask if I could tell stories while the teacher was out of the room. The attention and complete lack of any discipline problems fascinated me. I soon began all my classroom units with a story related to my topic. Been teling ever
since, and have two grand daughters who tell on occasion.
Why did you decide it was important to be a member of Missouri Storytelling? How can Mo-Tell improve?
Mainly to share storytelling news with my group. I love the newsletter’s information and extras. I feel more in touch with the other groups in Missouri because of the frequent email news.
What tellers have been influential in your life?
One year I went to Nebraska for a coaching workshop with Doug Lippman. That was very helpful for me as a developing storyteller. Steve Otto has always encouraged our local group. He has done free workshops and is a great model. However, I learn something from nearly every teller I meet or hear. I don’t make it to other locations often; however, I have
participated in the Kansas City Celebration from the beginning and plan to go again this year.
What was your most interesting vacation?
Several years ago I joined a church group for a mission trip to Espaw, a home for displaced children in Haiti. We left right before one of the Haitian elections. The locals demonstrated because of the results which closed all the roads. Also, American Airlines stopped all flights out of the country. A mob came demanding money and weapons came. Our group was shut up in a room and told not to look out or take pictures. We listened to many plans on how to get us back to the states, and finally managed, in spite of several problems, to be flown to the Dominican Republic where we could get a flight back home. Had a few rough days, but it makes a good story.