True stories of everyday people

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Martha Annexton Karatz

After graduating from Northwestern with a teaching degree and working in England for a while Martha Karatz moved to Paris. There she landed a luxurious job as a private teacher for a wealthy family in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. But how long could this last…?

Andrew Dale Hamaker

In an excerpt of his story about the life lessons learned from his father, Andrew tells about how his parents encouraged their children to learn to play music. One Christmas evening they found a clever way to channel Andrew’s passion for playing the snare drum.

Belinda Fong

An Unexpected Thanksgiving. Belinda, a recent immigrant from Australia, tells how overcoming an early hearing loss increased her love of music and her appreciation of other kinds of people.

Lou Ann Homan

All that her three little boys wished for Christmas was a pony. But in order to raise the $75 dollars to pay for it their homesteading mother would have to bake THIRTY PUMPKIN PIES for Thanksgiving … with no electricity, no running water and a wood burning stove! This...

Megan McKinney Cooper

Megan McKinney Cooper tells how In the late 70’s after her parents’ divorce, her mother earned an MBA, moved the family to San Francisco, and she and her brother became “Latch Key Kids.”

Mary Lou Lofton

Mary Lou Lofton’s son Tim was full of energy and and joyful sound effects but he also feared two things that were designed to delight children. Both were to be found at the Children’s Museum in Indianapolis.

Carol Bussell

Born in New York, Carol Bussell is a professor at IUPUI who uses stories in her teaching. She came to her Life Stories intervew with family artifacts, journals, diaries, photos, and most importantly books!