Oral History Archive Index

This is the working index for A Secret History of American River People’s oral history archive.

The table below includes every recorded interview in the project, along with details about the people, places, and stories captured. Where available, you’ll find links to transcripts. The “Archive” link will take you to a directory containing one or more video or audio recordings of that interview.

You can sort the table by clicking on any column header—helpful for grouping interviews by name, date, topic, location, or transcript status.

(Filtering by keyword or tag isn’t currently available, but we’re looking into it.)

This index is updated periodically as interviews are transcribed and reviewed. The work of organizing, preserving, and sharing these voices is ongoing.

Num	Date	Name	Quality	Location	Noteworthy	Topics	Transcript	Duration	Archive
1	2014-07-25	Pat Nunnally	★★★★	Minneapolis, MN	Director of the River Life Program	a wealth of information regarding people’s stories that relate to the river, particularly those of underrepresented groups		36 min
2	2014-07-29	Peter Rachleff	★★★★	Minneapolis, MN	Labor, Immigration and African American History Professor (retired); director Eastside Freedom Library	Labor history, shanty communities along river banks, poor people, African history in America		47 min
3	2014-07-31	Lauren Donovan	★★★★★	Hastings, MN	Kayaked the entire Mississippi River	has great and amusing stories		37 min
4	2014-08-01	Jessica Bierbrierer	★★	Prescott, WI	Director Great River Road Visitor Center	told us about her own personal secret history		41 min
6	2014-08-03	Rat	★★★★	Red Wing, MN	Owner of bar and marina on Miss R backwater	great thoughtful reflections about his childhood and living on the river		31 min
5	2014-08-03	Jerry Cook	★★	Red Wing, MN	Owns grandpa’s house along river, grew up on river	told us about floods and erosions		43 min
7	2014-08-08	Anna Mae Davis	★★★★★	Winona, MN	Boathouse resident	colorful stories of raising kids on the river, and three generations living at boathouse		50 min
9	2014-08-08	Gerty Tonjum	★★★★	Winona, MN	punk boater & boathouse resident	talks about river time, and the funny story of how he got his boathouse/dome		45 min
8	2014-08-08	Ed Hoffman	★★★★	Winona, MN	Bar owner, and houseboat resident	living on houseboat, how he acquired it, growing up		34 min
10	2014-08-08	Kali Arline	★★★★	Winona, MN	Boathouse resident	about winter storms, rescuing her dog, living on the river		34 min
11	2014-08-09	Billy Curmano	★★★	Winona, MN	Artist who swam the Mississippi River	many stories about his multi-year adventure swimming down river		73 min
14	2014-08-14	Ken Lubinski	★★★★★	LaCrosse, WI	USGS water quality scientist	interesting combo of science and philosophy, great long story about a buck		67 min
13	2014-08-14	John Sullivan	★★★★	LaCrosse, WI	Wildlife biologist, scientist & paddler	about his canoeing experiences on many rivers, very philosophical about rivers		57 min
12	2014-08-14	Edwin Hill	★★★	LaCrosse, WI	Steamboat historian	lots of historic stories of steamboats on the river		57 min
15	2014-12-17	John Anfinson	★★★★	MPLS	Historian for NPS Mississippi River District	talks about NPS management of Miss R basin		30 min
16	2014-12-17	Pat Nunnally	★★★★	MPLS	Director River Life Program	a wealth of information regarding people’s stories that relate to the river, particularly those of underrepresented groups		69 min
17	2014-12-17	Shanai Matteson	★★	MPLS	artist	talks about her practice involving the river and opening #WaterBar		37 min
18	2014-12-18	Louise Prondzinski	★★★★	Winona, MN	Grew up on a shantyboat	a charming old Polish lady who laughs easily and had great stories of growing up in Winona		109 min
19	2014-12-19	Richie Swanson	★★★	Winona, MN	Boathouse resident and birder	gave us info about birds, living in his boathouse full time, writing		95 min
20	2014-12-20	Ed Lagace	★★★★	Winona, MN	Wildlife Officer	about living close to the land, raising rabbits and vegetables and living off of them		77 min
21	2014-12-20	Lyon Smith	★★★	Winona, MN	Artist and sculptor who grew up on the river	has great stories of growing up on the river, including riding horses at night on the frozen river		71 min
22	2014-12-20	Sara Lubinski	★	Brownsville, MN	river painter and conservation advocate	Painting riverscapes and advocating for river conservation		0 min
23	2014-12-21	James Brunkow	★★★★	Pepin, WI	retired logger, in his 90s and grew up on the river	grew up along the river, built boats, worked on log rafts & was in WW2		126 min
24	2014-12-22	Nothando Zulu	★★★	Minneapolis, MN	African American storyteller	told us Underground Railroad stories and told us Black neighborhoods in Mpls are cut off from the river.		81 min
25	2015-06-29	Jayanthi Kyle	★★★★★	Minneapolis, MN	Singer and artist	told us about Black resistance including Black Lives Matter & sang us beautiful river song	Transcript	59 min
26	2015-06-29	Touachang Ka Xiong	★★★★★	St Paul, MN	Owner of Kathy’s Live Bait	Fishing, helping people new to area, conservation, teaching rules to new fisherpeople	Transcript	75 min
27	2015-07-06	Art Owens	★★★★	Prairie Island, MN	Prairie Island Indian Native, Dakota	Elder from the tribe; talked about Dakota way of life, traditions; Vietnam veteran with stories		85 min
28	2015-07-06	Arthur Lockwood	★★★★	Prairie Island, MN	Prairie Island Indian Native, Dakota	Young man who knows his tribe’s history and even sings a traditional Dakota song		94 min
30	2015-07-14	Karen Galema	★★★★	Lansing, IA	Commercial fisherman, worked at fish market, knows local river history	Great stories about growing up on the river, very personal and emotional stories about the ice man, losing a friend to the frozen river		166 min
29	2015-07-14	Jim Ehrsam	★★★	LaCrosse, WI	Owned a boathouse on Black River for 50 years; local politician	Boathouse in family; stories of growing up on the river		69 min
32	2015-07-14	Terry Sykes	★★★	Lansing, IA	Retired mussel diver	Stories of the sketchy clamming boom, near death		46 min
31	2015-07-14	Marti Phillips	★★	Prairie du Chien, WI	Author of book on boathouses	about her research on making the book, about boathouse communities, and about her acquiring her boathouse		60 min
34	2015-07-18	Tim Mason	★★★★	McGregor, IA/ Prairie du Chein, WI	Lives on a shantyboat half the year with his wife	a large collection of historic shantyboat materials, books, photos, poems, music, etc. “Sara & I own a shantyboat, my childhood includes a shantyboat”		92 min
33	2015-07-18	Ric & Betty Zarwell	★★	Prairie du Chein, WI	Born and raised on the Mississippi River	Two interviews one after another, Betty in the Black St Gang Girls which sounds more colorful than it is; Ric knows water quality and may have worked in ecology job (?)		131 min
35	2015-07-20	Dallas Valley	★★★★	Prairie du Chein, WI	Retired fisherman; owner of fish market	Colorful old character; great stories		171 min
36	2015-07-23	Kurt Welke	★★★★	Prairie du Chien, WI	worked as watercop	fisheries mgmt ’88-’00 during clamming era`, river rat stories		111 min
37	2015-07-29	George Frye	★★★★	Dubuque, IA	older fella who grew up on the river	amazing story of drifting in rowboat with friends as kid & being run over by a barge		73 min
38	2015-08-02	Carlton Hanson	★★★★	Dubuque, IA	Owns Eagle Point Fishing Barge	super colorful character at crazy bar/bait barge anchored just below an epic dam		66 min
39	2015-08-06	Antonetta Martinka	★★	Dubuque, IA	Nun from Sinsinawa Mound Center – Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters	history of the founder of the order, childhood, the center		32 min
40	2015-08-06	Betty Kugi	★★	Dubuque, IA	Nun from Sinsinawa Mound Center – Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters	childhood, the center, the work of the order		83 min
42	2015-08-12	Tom Holman	★★★★★	Sabula, IA	owns funky pizza place, the only restaurant in tiny town on island	crazy history, kind of an inexplicable hippy from this tiny town, colorful character for sure	Transcript	84 min
41	2015-08-12	MeMe Ferguson	★★★	Galena, IL	lives in house on the river near the backwaters marina of Galena	floods, growing up on the river		85 min
43	2015-08-13	Jack Nichols	★★★★	Savanna, IL	mussel diver, fisherman, reality tv participant	about his work on reality tv “Mississippi Men!”, mussel diving stories, great reflections about how being at the bottom of the quiet sightless river is his favorite place in the world		74 min
44	2015-08-14	Chris Lain	★★★	Savanna, IL	openly gay shop, B&B, and restaurant owner in small Illinois town	being gay, part of a bi-racial couple, and a Chicago transplant in small town Illinois; difficult high-school years in small town in Indiana		87 min
46	2015-08-14	Jube Manderico	★★	Savanna, IL	Chris’ partner and co-owner of shop, restaurant, and B&B	racism, and being part of a bi-racial couple in small town Illinois		25 min
45	2015-08-14	Jerry Lawson	★★	Savanna, IL	tugboat pilot for local tow service	the mechanics of towing, his career, the river		111 min
47	2015-08-19	Terry Krause	★★★	Clinton, IA	Korean-American owns welding shop, major boater	stories about growing up in small towns as Asian-American, being a devoted boater whose boat is always the “first on in the river, and last one out.”		65 min
50	2015-08-21	Raymond Kimmer	★★★★	Clinton, IA	Lives under bridge along river south of town	stories of his former life making furniture (?), and struggles with addiction, living rough and homeless		51 min
48	2015-08-21	Gary Mensinger	★★★	Clinton, IA	4th generation fisherman, biologist, wildlife conservationist	about his family, fishmarket stories, discussion about river ecology		78 min
49	2015-08-21	Jenna Sanders	★★	Clinton, IA	co-owns hip gourmet coffee shop in town	stories about growing up “all-american” and then going to California, meeting her husband, and then coming back to Clinton to own up the cafe despite Walmart taking most of the business out of town		91 min
51	2015-08-27	Dave Rodgers	★★★	Le Claire, IA	“grew up on the river and been on the river all my life”	stories of old river rats, some great early extreme close-ups of him smoking		97 min
52	2015-08-28	Rhonda Anderson	★★	Rapids City, IL	Waitress and bee-keeper in tiny river town	stories about working at the restaurant, growing up in river community, and keeping bees		89 min
53	2015-08-31	Brian Shadt	★★★★	Le Claire, IA	city engineer for city of Davenport	development of Davenport, and the city’s unusual stragegy for dealing with inevitable flooding		70 min
54	2015-08-31	Steve Ebel	★★★	Port Byron, IL	emergency water rescue feller	stories about gnarly rescues, emergency stuff, crazy gear, side-scan radar and so on		86 min
55	2015-09-05	Mary Costello	★★★	Rock Island, IL	author of book of ALL of the bridges on the Mississippi	stories about visiting every bridge on the river from New Orleans to Minneapolis, recollections of a more industrial river at an earlier time		53 min
56	2015-09-09	Jo Mason	★★★	Rock Island, IL	grew up along the river, avid canoer and supporter of other rowers	talk about childhood, adolescence, a lot about what the river means to her, losing her boyfriend to drowning in 9th grade,		100 min
57	2015-09-14	Terry Eagle	★★	Muscatine, IA	Asst director of the Muscatine Button History Museum, husband of the heir of one of the primary button factories in town	Pearl button industry, labor issues vs. factories, wind and trains going by		90 min
58	2016-06-28	Jack Neely	★★★	Knoxville, TN	writer for Knoxville Mercury and director of Knoxville History Project	development of Knoxville, shanty towns and shantyboats in Knoxville, history reflected in Cormac McCarthy’s Sutree, rafting on the river as a kid		83 min
59	2016-07-01	Betty Goins	★★★★★	Knoxville, TN	grew up in shantyboat on Tennessee River 80 years ago	stories of being poor, walking to school, trapping critters and killing them, and shooting prowlers with a shotgun (!)	Transcript	72 min
61	2016-07-01	Jake Hudson	★★★	Knoxville, TN	River protector and nonprofit employee to pick up trash along river in Knoxville,	Spending almost all day every day on the river, preservation, development of career		48 min
60	2016-07-01	Wes Morgan	★	Knoxville, TN	author and historian	river history, his research about the history of Cormac McCarthy’s Suttree		53 min
62	2016-07-04	Vaughn Loveday	★★★	Loudon, TN	Former fishing guide, fisherman	Sweet guy, discussion about growing up near LIttle Tennessee River, running fishing camp, TVA		79 min
63	2016-07-13	Brenda Sadler	★★★	Chattanooga, TN	Works at family-owned Bueller’s Market	growing up poor near Chattanooga, changes in town, working at neighborhood market, mostly Black clientelle, effects of gentrification		72 min
64	2016-07-15	Jackie Irwin	★★★	Savanah, TN	Director of a program to treat people suffering from opiate addiction	Black history, growing up Black in small town along river, work of drug rehibilitation at church, racism, living in white community,		95 min
65	2016-07-15	John Dever	★★	Chattanooga, TN	Pilot of Tennessee Aquarium tour boat	River history and ecology, boat tours, Trail of Tears, Indian removals, area geology, locks and dams, floods		76 min
66	2016-07-21	Jim Peterson	★★	Guntersville, AL	Police chief in Guntersville, AL	Mostly how lovely and quiet this community is, touch on topics of race and equality, civil rights era		124 min
67	2016-07-22	Dorris Turner	★★★★	Guntersville, AL	Woman in 80’s whose dad was steamboat pilot for railroad	Dad, growing up in the area, parents farmland flooded by TVA, growing up in rural county, things we did for fun back then		45 min
68	2016-07-22	Pete Sparks & Larry Smith	★★	Guntersville, AL	Guntersville historians	Documenting and preserving the history of Guntersville, stories of the town and its river		62 min
69	2016-07-27	Ben Hoksbergen	★★★★★	Huntsville, AL	Archeologist for the Red Stone Arsenel	Knows native history very very well and tells it well	Transcript	122 min
70	2016-07-28	Deane Dayton	★★	Huntsville, AL	Founder of the Huntsville History Collection	Preserving Huntsville history, archives, tours		71 min
71	2016-07-29	Sonnie Hereford	★★★★	Huntsville, AL	First integrated Black student in Albama public school	Role played in civil rights, early and late career, honors, dad the activist		86 min
72	2016-07-31	Zachary Nelson	★★★★	Decatur, AL	African American young man growing up in Small town Alabama of adopted white parents	Growing up black, disconnection from experience of white parents and grandparents, racism, police violence, privilege		77 min
74	2016-08-09	Butch Anthony	★★★★★	Florence, AL	Alabama Artist	river adventurer and amazing and successful artist		53 min
75	2016-08-09	Emma Lee Dean-Dykes Troop	★★★★	Florence, AL	Student and openly trans woman in small town Alabama	Growing up trans, coming out, living in a small town		36 min
73	2016-08-09	Bob & Anne Perry	★★	Tuscumbia, AL	Part of Cherokee tribal council, preservationists for local native history site	Trail of Tears, roll of local towns in Indian removal, their personal journey and how they met		73 min
77	2016-08-11	Robert Francil	★★★★★	Florence, AL	Lifelong small-time commercial fisherman	details every aspect of old-skool fishing, trot lines, “one-arm” higgins, demonstrates tying fish nets, Mexican customers, river dangers, family history including shantyboats, moonshiners and bootleggers		88 min
76	2016-08-11	Anita Cobb	★★★★★	Florence, AL	82 year old Black woman grew up in Florence AL	Details about family history going back 5 generations before emancipation, segregation, integration, slavery, playing the trombone, TVA		85 min
78	2016-08-11	Tori Bailey	★	Florence, AL	General Manager of WZZA Radio; President of the Music Preservation Society	Managing North Alabama’s only Black-owned radio station; organizing the W.C. Handy Music Festival; preserving local music heritage; community activism through the NAACP		0 min
80	2016-08-18	Glen Lineberry	★★★	Clifton, TN	chief engineer on several line barges (retired)	growing up in a little town, worked on river for 50 years starting at age 16, hillbilly family, crazy stories of working on a river boat		65 min
79	2016-08-18	Gene Davidson	★★★	Clifton, TN	owns marina on Mississippi River	growing up on the river, political career, integration of schools, politics in the South, poverty, White-Black relations, confederate history, floods		80 min
81	2016-08-30	Louie Kirchhoff	★★★★	Paducah, KY	Owner of well-loved bakery, Kirchhoff’s Bakery, in town for 50+ years	stories about the bakery, emigration of great grandfather, stories of paducah when it was a rougher town, colorful stories of flood including his dad who would allow people to float their rowboats into the bakery during the flood for bread		91 min
82	2016-08-30	Nathan Blake Lynn	★★★	Paducah, KY	Musician and librarian	about art and music and the community of paducah		54 min
84	2016-08-31	Merryman Kemp	★★★	Paducah, KY	Volunteer and founder of clinic for women	Family history, growing up on a rural farm, abuse survivor, founding women’s shelter for domestic violence survivors.		113 min
83	2016-08-31	David Nickell	★★	Paducah, KY	History professor	about the conflicts around the Land Between the Lakes/Rivers		100 min
85	2017-07-08	Lauren Benz	★★★★	Princeton, CA	Ships mate in 2016 on	The project, the boat, working together
86	2017-07-08	Mike Frawley	★★★★	Princeton, CA	Lives in small central valley town, fisherman	Living in tiny town of Princeton, economic ups and downs, fishing, the river
87	2017-07-13	Mike Garofalo	★★★	Colusa, CA	Moves from larger town to medium town where he grew up	Living in small town Colusa, leaving town and coming back, the collection of people who’ve been tubing down the Sac since the 70s, historic downtown
88	2017-07-18	Keith Turley	★★★	Knights Landing, CA	Owner of bar and entertainment place along the river	Owning the bar, bar community, aesthetics
89	2017-07-23	Bar	★★★★★	Sacramento, CA	Camps out along the American River, lived out for 25+ years	Camping along the river, being homeless, dealing with police, homeless community	Transcript
90	2017-07-24	Andrew McLeod	★★★★	Sacramento, CA	Amateur historian and history tour guide	Radical Sac history, tour guide & historian jobs
92	2017-07-24	Nancy Patterson	★★★	Sacramento, CA	Lived in houseboat on river for several years in the 70s	Living on a houseboat on the river in the 1970s
91	2017-07-24	Kathy Brunetti	★★★	Sacramento, CA	Water quality and pesticide expert	Expertise in water quality and pesticide impact on the river
93	2017-07-26	James Motlow	★★★	Locke, CA	Photographer an oral historian of chinese community Locke	Documenting the Chinese community in Locke through photography and oral history
94	2017-07-26	Mark Miller	★★	Locke, CA	Sacramento native and lover of old things	Growing up in Sacramento, passion for historical preservation and old places
95	2017-07-27	Russell Ooms	★★★	Locke, CA	Lived in tiny community of Locke off and on for 45 years	Living in the small community of Locke off and on for 45 years, experiences along the river
96	2017-07-31	Kim Korth	★★★	Isleton, CA	Part-owner of marina in Sac-san Joquien delta	Co-owning a marina in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, river life and boating community
97	2017-08-02	Daniela Sartori	★★★	Red Bluff, CA	Brazian woman owns home along river	Gentrification and American small towns, need for popular educaton
98	2017-08-03	Janet Bennett	★★★	Rio Vista, CA	Director of Dutra Museum of Dredging and daughter of founder of Dutra Dredging	Growing up around dredging, preserving dredging history at the Dutra Museum
99	2018-06-27	Brian Abrams	★★★	Champlain Canal, NY	Lockmaster on Champlain Canal	Operating the Champlain Canal locks, experiences working on the water
100	2018-07-07	George Ward	★	Waterford, NY	Audio only of folk musician	Folk music performance and storytelling through song
105	2018-07-08	Virginia Clarkson	★★★★★	Waterford, NY	Moved from Bronx to small town in Hudson Valley	Moving from the Bronx to a small town in the Hudson Valley, adjusting to river life
103	2018-07-08	Jeremiah Daniels	★★★★	Waterford, NY	Shipmate on Secret History voyages	Experiences as a shipmate on Secret History voyages, life on the water
104	2018-07-08	Sean & Jess	★★★★	Waterford, NY	Young alternative parents and their two daughters	Raising children in an alternative lifestyle, parenting near the river
102	2018-07-08	Chris Callaghan	★★	Waterford, NY	Manages Waterford Maria	Managing the Waterford Marina, life along the waterfront
101	2018-07-08	Carlos Clarkson	★	Waterford, NY	Virginia Clarkson’s son	Family history and connection to Virginia Clarkson, personal river stories
106	2018-07-11	Leo Bower	★★★★	Hudson, NY	Grew up in waterfront neighborhood in Hudson that was later demolished for a park	Growing up in a waterfront neighborhood in Hudson before it was demolished for a park
107	2018-07-14	Mary Liz & Paul Stewart	★★★★	Kingston, NY	Anti-racist activists working in Kingston; inter-racial couple	Anti-racist activism in Kingston, inter-racial couple’s work in the community
108	2018-07-19	Virginia Norfleet	★★★★★	Haverstraw, NY	Founder of Haverstraw African-American park, discovered brick that moved the arrival of African-Americans in Waterford back 100 years.	Founding Haverstraw’s African-American park, uncovering new historical evidence	Transcript
109	2018-07-24	Susan Figueras	★★★	Haverstraw, NY	Amateur historian and researcher, grew up in Waterford	Researching Waterford’s history, growing up with a deep connection to the town
110	2018-08-06	David Sharps	★★★★	Brooklyn, NY	Restored and runs Waterford Museum in Red Hook NY coverted from an old wooden barge	Restoring and running the Waterford Museum in a converted wooden barge
114	2019-02-23	George Ow Jr	★★★★★	Santa Cruz, CA	George Ow, Jr. is a local businessman and real estate developer. His family has been in Santa Cruz and Monterrey since the 1940’s and has memories of growing up along the San Lorenzo River. Grew up in Santa Cruz Chinatown along banks of San Lorenzo	Growing up in Santa Cruz Chinatown, memories of the San Lorenzo River	Transcript	25 min
120	2019-02-23	Vrinda Quintero	★★★★	Santa Cruz, CA	Vrinda Quintero is a local business owner. She serves up delicious vegan and Venezuelan food at Areperia831. “I was born in Caracas, Venezuela and have traveled around the world and I’m happy and fortunate to call Santa Cruz my home. I believe in good, creative menus. In food that has both kindness and passion and in creating all the spaces in between. My food is Vegan and Vegetarian and full of flavor. “	Running a vegan Venezuelan restaurant in Santa Cruz, connection to the river		16 min
113	2019-02-23	Carol Walker	★	Santa Cruz, CA	Felker Street Neighbor who has lived on the street for 30-some years with her husband Murray. They live in the historic house of Henrietta Pryce. She knows local history of the neighborhood between Ocean Street and the San Lorenzo River like how the area used to be an orchard fed by a creek running to the SLR. Recently she has been involved in neighborhood improvement projects on Felker Street to improve the health and vitality of the neighborhood and the river.	Living in a historic house near the San Lorenzo River, local neighborhood history and revitalization		15 min
119	2019-02-23	Michael Baba	★★	Santa Cruz, CA	Staff and volunteer with Arts Council	Arts Council work related to the river and community engagement		4 min
111	2019-02-23	Adriana Castillo	𝙉𝙍	Santa Cruz, CA	Adriana Castillo is an educator and resident of Felker Street. She runs her childcare center called Casa de Aprendizaje out of her house. Adriana walks the San Lorenzo River with her youth most days and educates the youth about the San Lorenzo River. The health and well-being of the San Lorenzo River and the Riverwalk direclty effect our educational work and she is an advocate for a safe and healthy river in her community.	Running a childcare center near the river, educating children about river ecology		17 min
112	2019-02-23	Bruce Van Allen	𝙉𝙍	Santa Cruz, CA	Former Mayor of Santa Cruz. Is the River Guy in Santa Cruz and has been a long time advocate for the SLR involved with revitalization of habitat and park spaces along the SLR. Involved with the creation of the San Lorenzo Urban River Plan in 2003.	Advocacy for the San Lorenzo River, involvement in revitalization and urban planning		22 min
115	2019-02-23	Greg Pepping	𝙉𝙍	Santa Cruz, CA	Coastal Watershed Council Executive Director. Been with the nonprofit for 9 years. Member of Water Supply Advisory Committee	Leading a nonprofit focused on watershed restoration, community engagement with the river		19 min
116	2019-02-23	Jane Mio	𝙉𝙍	Santa Cruz, CA	Avid birder and naturalist. Member of the Santa Cruz Bird Club. Leads birding walks for adults and youth and walks along the river almost every day. She is passionate about protecting the San Lorenzo River habitat. She is involved in habitat restoration work along the lower San Lorenzo River near the Mike Fox Skate Park.	Birdwatching along the river, habitat restoration efforts		19 min
117	2019-02-23	Mary Beeson	𝙉𝙍	Santa Cruz, CA	Mary Beeson is a river enthusiast. She is a leader and member of the Downtown Streets Team crew. “I grew up at a time when it was safe for a child to wander about by herself. I spent a lot of that time poking around by the rivers, ponds and streams that were in the areas where we lived, so doing that became a lifelong habit. It was only natural that when I moved to Santa Cruz in the winter of 1983, I gravitated to the San Lorenzo River.”	Lifelong love of rivers, connection to the San Lorenzo River, Downtown Streets Team work		17 min
118	2019-02-23	Matt Lezin	𝙉𝙍	Santa Cruz, CA	Local sailor who grew up in Santa Cruz. Has interesting stories rafting the San Lorenzo River. His father is Norman Lezin owned the operated Salz Tannery	Growing up in Santa Cruz, rafting on the San Lorenzo River, family history with the tannery		15 min
126	2019-03-30	Leo Cruz	★★★★★	Santa Cruz, CA	Raised all over Mexico, Leonardo stumbled upon the MAH on a Free First Friday and decided to become a volunteer to be able to come back without paying admission and get an insider’s perspective on the museum. Leo is putting together a community storytelling podcast for the MAH. He is a community organizer. Lives in the Ocean’s 11 neighborhood, near the Santa Cruz Jail and the Santa Cruz Riverwalk.	Community storytelling and organizing near the Santa Cruz Riverwalk		13 min
132	2019-03-30	Roland Law	★★★★★	Santa Cruz, CA	Tannery resident. He plants and cares for plants along the San Lorenzo River. Ask him about his palm along the riverwalk. He is my personal role model for healthy and happy living. He is a very active community volunteer delivering food (I think through 2nd harvest) and supporting seniors.	Tannery resident who plants and maintains greenery along the river, volunteer work		12 min
123	2019-03-30	Carmen Cruz	★★★★	Santa Cruz, CA	Leo mother. Spanish-speaking	Community life and experiences near the river		11 min
133	2019-03-30	Yasmina Porter	★★★★	Santa Cruz, CA	Tannery resident and artist. Yasmina Porter has 10 years experience as a Spanish bilingual classroom teacher and creates a vibrant and safe learning environment through dance and storytelling. She has danced with the National Dance Company of Ghana and teaches in Tandy Beal’s Around the World dance program. She has been a dance teacher at Cabrillo College for the last 10 years	Dance, storytelling, and teaching with cultural and environmental connections		24 min
121	2019-03-30	Alev Bilginsoy	★★★	Santa Cruz, CA	Coordinator with Coastal Watershed Council	Coordinating watershed restoration efforts along the San Lorenzo River
122	2019-03-30	Barry Burt	★★★	Santa Cruz, CA	Steelhead angler of the San Lorenzo River	Fishing for steelhead in the San Lorenzo River		23 min
124	2019-03-30	Jon Bombaci	★★	Santa Cruz, CA	Jon Bombaci grew up over the hill but spent much of his childhood fishing in Santa Cruz. That is when he began is relationship with the San Lorenzo River. He was a member of the San Lorenzo Steelheaders. He loves the river passionately, so much that it seems to exhaust and pain him. Jon is the SC Wharfinger. He worked his way up from doing wharf maintenance as a young adult.	Growing up fishing the San Lorenzo, involvement with the Steelheaders, passion for the river		24 min
129	2019-03-30	Max Sanderson	★★	Santa Cruz, CA	Youth who live at the Tannery. Linda’s neighbors.	Youth living at the Tannery, experiences near the river		8 min
130	2019-03-30	Michael Swett	★★	Santa Cruz, CA	Michael Swett: Resident of Ross Camp. Well-spoken and thoughtful. Spoken multiple times at City Council meetings over the past 3 months.	Living at Ross Camp, advocating for homeless rights at City Council meetings
131	2019-03-30	Richard Calderon	★★	Santa Cruz, CA	Homeless worker living in temporary homeless camp in Santa Cruz	Homelessness in Santa Cruz, experiences in a temporary camp near the river		18 min
125	2019-03-30	June	★	Santa Cruz, CA	Youth who live at the Tannery. Linda’s neighbors.	Youth living at the Tannery, experiences near the river		11 min
127	2019-03-30	Linda Cover	𝙉𝙍	Santa Cruz, CA	Tannery resident, artist, art teacher that connects youth to nature and to the river.	Teaching art and nature connection to youth, engagement with the river		11 min
128	2019-03-30	Lois Van Buren	𝙉𝙍	Santa Cruz, CA	Long-time CWC volunteer. Helps with water quality monitoring and habitat restoration. She has been in Santa Cruz since 1977. She is a writer and published a book of personal stories call Distractions.	Volunteering for water quality monitoring and habitat restoration, long-time connection to the river		18 min
134	2019-06-25	Evan Clark	★★★★	Pittsburgh, PA	Lives in shantyboat above Pittsburgh, made lots of river voyages	Living in a shantyboat above Pittsburgh, making river voyages and exploring waterways
136	2019-06-30	Andrea Keller	★★	Moundsville, WV	Manages Grave Creek Mound Complex	Managing the Grave Creek Mound Complex, history and preservation near the river
135	2019-06-30	Al Ingram	𝙉𝙍	Moundsville, WV	Moundsville native and local athlete	Growing up in Moundsville; community sports; local history
137	2019-06-30	Cathy Frame	𝙉𝙍	Moundsville, WV	Volunteer at the Gabriel Project	Supporting families in need; community service; local charitable initiatives
138	2019-06-30	Ed Dugas	𝙉𝙍	Moundsville, WV	Moundsville native with deep community ties	Local history, community engagement, experiences along the Ohio River
139	2019-06-30	Gene Saunders	𝙉𝙍	Moundsville, WV	First African-American mayor of Moundsville; retired coal miner; city council member	Experiences as Moundsville’s first Black mayor; challenges and achievements in local politics; reflections on a career in coal mining; community engagement and leadership
140	2019-06-30	Joe Parriott	𝙉𝙍	Moundsville, WV	Industrial engineer, U.S. Navy veteran, local historian, and community activist in Moundsville, WV	Preserving Marshall County history; establishing the Joe & Nellie Parriott Archival Center; contributions to local heritage and community development
141	2019-07-06	George Hausser	★★★★	Marietta, OH	Remembers shantyboats on Ohio River, has colorful stories	Memories of shantyboats on the Ohio River, colorful river stories
142	2019-07-10	Bobbette Dexter-Braxton	★★★★★	Gallipolis, OH	Grew up in Gallipolis, runs AA history center, lots of stories of racism and resistance to it in small town	Growing up in Gallipolis, running an African-American history center, stories of racism and resistance
144	2019-07-17	Andrew Feight	★★★★	Portsmouth, OH	History professor at Shawnee College, lots of history from radical point of view	Teaching history at Shawnee College with a radical perspective on the past
145	2019-07-17	Jenny Richards	★★★★	Portsmouth, OH	State park worker presserves large stand of wilderness and connects with the flora and fauna	Preserving wilderness as a state park worker, deep connection to flora and fauna
143	2019-07-17	Abby Spears	★★★	Portsmouth, OH	Manages health services and talks about opioid crisis and treatment	Managing health services, discussing the opioid crisis and treatment efforts
147	2019-07-17	Ronny Richards	★★★	Portsmouth, OH	Father of Jenny Richards, unabashed hippy point-of-view, living off the land	Father of Jenny Richards, living off the land with an unabashed hippie perspective
148	2019-07-17	Steve Free	★★	Portsmouth, OH	Local folk musician	Performing folk music, storytelling through song
146	2019-07-17	John Lorentz	★	Portsmouth, OH	Old-school historian and booster of Portsmouth history	Interesting only because even as a historian, he is an unrreliable narrator, eesp telling the story of the integration of the public pool that his father managed
149	2019-07-24	Bethany Dearwester	★★★★	New Richmond, OH	Great granddaughter of children stolen from “disreputable” shantyboat people	Discovering the hidden history of her family
150	2019-07-24	Bob Lees	★★★	New Richmond, OH	Founder of Renaissance New Richmond; former owner of Front Street Cafe	Revitalizing New Richmond’s riverfront; promoting local heritage; community engagement along the Ohio River
153	2019-07-24	Roy Sharp	★	New Richmond, OH	Longtime resident of New Richmond, Ohio	Personal experiences living along the Ohio River; community involvement; local history
151	2019-07-24	Clarence Sharp	𝙉𝙍	New Richmond, OH	Resident of New Richmond, Ohio	Personal experiences along the Ohio River; community involvement; local history
152	2019-07-24	David Vornholt	𝙉𝙍	New Richmond, OH	President of the New Richmond Ohio Business Association; owner of Susanna’s Guest House	Riverfront business development; preserving historic riverfront properties; community engagement along the Ohio River
154	2019-07-24	Vince Bee	𝙉𝙍	New Richmond, OH	Fire Chief of New Richmond Fire & EMS	River-related emergency response; fire safety in riverfront communities; experiences managing river emergencies
155	2019-07-28	Bob Weldon	𝙉𝙍	Warsaw, KY	Property manager and community member in Warsaw, Kentucky	Managing rental properties; community involvement; experiences along the Ohio River
156	2019-07-28	Clifford Green	𝙉𝙍	Warsaw, KY	Resident of Warsaw, Kentucky	Community involvement; local history; experiences along the Ohio River
157	2019-07-28	Skip Smith	𝙉𝙍	Warsaw, KY	Resident of Warsaw, Kentucky	Personal experiences along the Ohio River; community involvement; local history
158	2019-07-31	Paul Hassfurder	★★★★★	Payne Hollow, KY	Artist and caretaker of Payne Hollow	Preserving Harlan and Anna Hubbard’s legacy; living simply along the Ohio River; experiences at Payne Hollow
161	2019-08-03	David Karem	★★★	Louisville, KY	Designed and coordinated riverside parks in Louisville	Designing and coordinating riverside parks in Louisville, shaping public spaces along the river
159	2019-08-03	Scott Martin	𝙉𝙍	Louisville, KY	Executive Director of River Heritage Conservancy	Developing Origin Park; revitalizing Louisville’s riverfront; promoting urban green spaces
160	2019-08-03	Chuck Parrish	𝙉𝙍	Louisville, KY	Retired historian with the Louisville District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers	Documenting Ohio River history; contributions to river navigation projects; preserving river heritage