Search Interviews

In this interview conducted on November 26, 2017, I interviewed my brother Jordan to get an inside scoop on his childhood and how life was in the easy days. Jordan shares stories about politics, religion, and even aliens. He also...

Heidi Burford-Bell (39) interviews her grandmother, Arlene Osborn [no age given], about her nursing career, the loss of her son, and the wisdom she wants to pass on.

Me and my grandmother talked about her life growing up, big purchases she made, and how she handled her money.

Sometime in the late 1970s, Skip Landt walked into the Old Town School on Armitage to sing in the community chorus. Today he's been teaching harmonica at the school for over 30 years. Here he talks to student-turned-teacher Rick Sherry,...

World-class Irish fiddler Liz Carroll talks with friend and bodhran player Mike Austin about the Irish music community in Chicago, Liz's ideas about learning music, and her time teaching at the Old Town School of Folk Music in the 1980s....

My grandmother and I had a fun time today sharing her memories. I learned a lot about the generations of women before me. I am incredibly grateful to have such strong women in my life.

An overview of major events my grandmother remembers while living in Chicago in 1968. She was twenty years old and witnessed many of the terrible and iconic events on the news.

Talks with grandma

Katie O'Connell (22) interviews her grandmother Mary Kennedy (73) about her life and becoming a mother and grandmother.

A conversation between Laura Doherty & Karen Banks-Lubicz. This conversation was recorded at the school on May 10th, 2017. Go to www.oldtownschool.org/StoryCorps to hear selected excerpts from interviews collected as part of the StoryCorps-Old Town School partnership.

We talked about memories of families and ancestors.

This is about my grandfather and the legacy that he left behind

I interviewed my grandmother Lois Crossley about growing up in Savannah and what it was like raising my father. She reads poetry that her mother read for her, and talks about her time in Germany. My father (her son) adds...

This conversation occurred on Feb 2nd 2024, between Lea Hull (98), David Hull (52) and Noah Hull (35).

Clay Campbell (31) talks with his grandmother, Charmian Waggaman (89) about her life growing up in DC in the 1940s, meeting the love of her life Thomas Waggaman, raising three kids, and sharing loving words to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

This was an interview that I did with my aunt.

Susan Gamson, 66, is interviewed by her son, Michael Gamson, 41.

Michael O'Toole and Mike Blackburn share memories of how they first got into playing music and how they became involved with Old Town School of Folk Music. This conversation was recorded at the school on October 21st, 2017. Go to...

This interview is filled with depth and laughter. Barbara starts by reciting poems written by her grand father, Eldon Carrier wrote in the early 1900's. She then recalls the hard reality of growing up in her grandparents home, without her...

I talked with my grandmother about her life growing up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with 6 siblings. She reflected on her life as a child and teen, remembering her family’s love of music, storytelling, and funny sayings, that she described as...

Lynn shares with Sarah her experience of going to the 1965 Presidential Inauguration, of attending Northwestern in Chicago in 1965-1969 during the campus uprisings, and recognizing the importance of living in diverse places with water roots.

An interview with my grandmother, Maureen Allgrove including a description of her life in Jamaica, her wonderful childhood, her career, her hopes for her children, and grandchildren. In this interview she will also discuss her proposal and some Jamaican culture...

Folksinger and Old Town School teacher Ed Holstein talks with his student Rick Weiland about growing up on Chicago's south side, stories of the city's folk scene over the past 50+ years, and memories of his brother and collaborator Fred...

In this interview, conducted on November 26, 2017 in Chicago, IL. Najabelle Oscar (16) interviews her mother, Magalie (47) about her teenage years and making an impact. She shares how she loved school as a teenager and how her life...

Jadyn Holt (15) speaks with her aunt Clara Copelin, (41) about her hardship while being a teen mother and a young grandmother.