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…?
Matthew Steward
After graduating from IU Bloomington with a degree in Political Science, Matthew Steward considered law school but applied to the Indianapolis Police Academy on a whim. Thirty five years later he has no regrets.
Anthony Albert Wigand
Equipped with a Masters Degree in Audio Visual from Indiana State University, Tony Wigand was determined to sell the staff of the then new Jasper High School on the use of video cameras and television in their classes. Tony tells the story of how filming football...
Tasha Boyd-Jones, William Boyd & James Reginald
Tasha Boyd Jones grew up with two fathers, her biological father William Boyd (in photo on the right) and her step-father Reginald Jones (in photo on the left) in her life. In an excerpt of their group interview, they talk about the communication and understanding...
Paul Francis Smith
Paul Smith grew up in a Navy family. In the 1960’s when he was a teenager they moved from Athens, Georgia to Monterey, California. Paul talks about the challenge of fitting in and learning to be true to himself.
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!
Andrea Angela Davis
After surviving breast cancer and gaining a lot of weight, Andrea Davis set a goal to participate in races every month and lost over 100 lbs. In this commentary after her written account, Angela tells about some of the races she attended and some of the things she has...
Frances Whitener
After a childhood in Martinsville, North Carolina, reading plays and dreaming of being a teacher of drama, Frances faced the frightening real life drama of serious heath issues. When Frances and her husband Rick came to Indianapolis they found job opportunities,...
Michael Lee Hall
HIS STORY: One day Michael Hall walked to his local vintage store to buy a jean jacket and while there he found a woman who would say “I do!”. He explains. Heather Irene Hall tells her story about meeting Michael during her Life Stories Project interview.