StoryCorps, the national nonprofit organization dedicated to recording, preserving, and sharing the stories of people from all backgrounds and beliefs, is recording in Marfa from Feb. 16 to March 10, so we’re airing some of our favorite interviews from their visit back in 2020.
In a StoryCorps interview, two people record a meaningful conversation with one another about who they are, what they’ve learned in life, and how they want to be remembered. A trained StoryCorps facilitator guides them through the interview process. After each 40-minute recording session, participants receive a digital copy of their interview. With participant permission, a second copy is archived at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress for future generations to hear.
As you’ll hear on-air over the next few weeks, a StoryCorps interview can be about anyone or anything — family members remembering a loved one, friends discussing what connects them, or a snapshot of a moment in time.
Below you will hear about the legacy of a cowboy poet in Amarillo, a look at the early days of the pandemic in Midland, a Marfa musical duo discussing their influences and the surprising circumstances that brought them together, and a story about finding acceptance and connection miles away from home.
To hear these stories on air, tune in to Marfa Public Radio every Thursday in February during Morning Edition and All Things Considered.
And if you’d like to sign up to record your story, either virtually or in person, reservations can be made by calling StoryCorps’ 24-hour toll-free reservation line at 1-800-850-4406 or visiting https://storycorps.org/stops/mobile-stop-marfa-tx/. To make a reservation to record in Presidio, fill out this google form (Presidio appointments are open to people living in Presidio, Ojinaga, Redford, Candelaria, and Ruidosa).
Amanda & Bette Ramsey
Bette Ramsey sat down with Amanda Ramsey in their living room in Amarillo to talk about the late Buck Ramsey — Amanda's father and Bette's husband, who was a crooner and life-long cowboy. The mother daughter duo recall that even after Buck became paralyzed after a horse accident, he kept his cowboy spirit alive through cowboy poetry and his connection to the land.
Kit & Heather Bredimus
Kit Bredimus is Midland Memorial Hospital’s chief nursing officer and since the coronavirus emerged in 2020, has helped lead the Permian Basin through the pandemic. He sat down with his wife Heather Bredimus to talk about how COVID-19 has affected their lives.
David Beebe & Primo Carrasco
Marfa musicians David Beebe and Remijio “Primo” Carrasco discuss their musical influences — and the circumstances that brought them together to form their duo, Primo y Beebe.
Anthony Lower & Randy Ham
Two best friends, Anthony Lower and Randy Ham remember how, even miles away from one another, they were brought together over Teen Titan comic books and Stevie Nicks, sparking a decades-long friendship.
