StoryCorps COLUMBUS

John Ulrich’s daughter Robyn was diagnosed with leukemia at age 19. She was treated at the Ohio State University James Comprehensive Cancer Center, where the family met Cathy Disher, a critical care chaplain for the hospital.

Ann B. Walker worked as a radio host, journalist, editor and columnist in Columbus for decades. She is a woman of many firsts: the first woman in broadcast management at WLWC-TV in Columbus, the very first female broadcaster to report on the Ohio legislature, and the first black woman from Franklin County given a White House appointment. Ann spoke to her daughter Julialynne about the interview she believes led to her position as Media Director for the Community Services Agency under President Jimmy Carter.

John Cross didn’t think he was military material after a childhood battle with polio left him with a weakened upper body. But a dire need for soldiers led him to enlist in the National Guard.

John-Paul Byrne took a risk by putting a personal ad in the Village Voice , a weekly New York City newspaper, far from his home in Sydney, Australia. Dawn McCombs responded and a long-distance romance ensued.

Growing up, Emily Krichbaum’s younger sister Michelle was diagnosed with Angelman Syndrome - a rare genetic disorder that causes severe developmental disabilities and neurological problems. Throughout her life, Emily found connecting with her sister - who is nonverbal - very challenging.

Luster Singleton is 57 and identifies as non-binary. Growing up in the Midwest, Singleton struggled to meet a role model to look up to. Singleton recently found that mentor in Ginger Boyd, when they met at a gathering of transgender people of color in Columbus. Boyd is 70 years old, transgender and an Ohio native.

Steve Henry was finishing out the 9th grade when his family decided to move from sunny California back to Ohio. Despite the move, he wasn’t going to let over 2,000 miles keep him from his friends out west. For StoryCorps COLUMBUS, Steve sat down with his daughter Katie to talk about his adventures on the road and what made him stay in Columbus.

After years serving as a priest in the Catholic Church, Mike Tynan decided he wanted instead to get married and start a family of his own. But Catholic priests aren't allowed to do either, so he chose to leave the church instead.

Sahra Abdullahi and Ahmed Abukar were born in Somalia and moved to the United States when they were young. Both had a hard time fitting in and navigating American culture. But while Abukar came with his parents, Abdullahi moved with her aunt, leaving behind her parents and six of her seven siblings. She faced many hardships in her new home and eventually in foster care.

Kadi McDonald and Morgan Dominique’s friendship developed from a common loss: Both grappled with the deaths of their fathers, learning how to grieve while also remembering their lives. They sat down in the StoryCorps booth in Columbus to reflect on how their fathers’ eccentricities and imperfections leave them with the most lasting memories and joy - especially one memory of a surprising Disney character Dominique discovered on her father’s foot.

Jhuma Nath Achayra had never heard the word “refugee” until he and his family were forced from their homeland in Bhutan. They found themselves part of the Bhutanese refugee crisis, during which over 100,000 people were expelled from the country in the early '90s. As part of StoryCorps COLUMBUS, Achayra recalled his journey from Bhutan to the United States—what it meant to lose one home, and gain a second chance to find another.

Even though Brian and Lachandra Baker married, as they say, "later in life," their marriage so far has been replete with its share of joys and challenges. As part of StoryCorps COLUMBUS , the couple visited the StoryCorps booth and reminisced on 10 years of marriage: the ups, the downs, and what they’ve learned from each other along the way.

Preserving African American history has many challenges. That's why many saw it as a victory when two buildings from Poindexter Village were saved from demolition. The two buildings on Columbus’s Near East Side are being preserved as a museum exploring one of the nation’s first public housing programs and the tight-knit community it created.

The landmark 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision on "Obergefell v. Hodges" legalized same-sex marriage. In the case, Cincinnati real estate broker Jim Obergefell sued the state of Ohio for refusing to recognize his marriage to his husband John Arthur on Arthur’s death certificate after he died from ALS.

Friends and colleagues Elena Foulis and Yolanda Zepeda find joy in sharing traditional Latin American recipes with others. In this conversation for StoryCorps COLUMBUS, they talk about their favorite foods, and how they’ve introduced their spouses to different dishes, including lesser known delicacies like "menudo," a Mexican tripe soup.

Ernie Hartong enlisted in the army during the Vietnam War. Today, he volunteers at Columbus’s National Veteran’s Memorial and Museum. Ernie sat down with his daughter Erin Sogal to reflect on his service, how soldiers stayed in touch with loved ones at home, and how he works to communicate his experience to young people.

Holly Gross grew up across the pond in England. Her husband Spencer has lived in Ohio his whole life. When it comes to politics, Holly is liberal and Spencer is conservative. Even still, this couple managed to fall in love, and they agree their differences bring them closer together.

Nancy Recchie and Jeff Darbee had their hearts broken when crews demolished one of Columbus’s most famous landmarks. But the loss of the historic building also started their lives together.

John W. Tolbert III and his son, Jonathan W. Tolbert IV, remember the legacy of Marshall "Major" Taylor, a professional African American cyclist who stormed the cycling scene and broke racial barriers in the late 1800s. Major Taylor became the inspiration for a Columbus-based bicycle club that’s now 40 years old. John III told his son they didn’t know much about cycling when they started, and none of them had heard of the man who would be the club’s namesake.

Katie Byrnes was born deaf, but this didn’t stop her from finding ways to relate to others. Her parents, Jayne and John Byrnes remember Katie’s earliest signs of communicating, her intelligence and love of music. Even though Katie passed at the young age of five-years-old, she had an incredible impact on the deaf community.

StoryCorps COLUMBUS is the new podcast and radio series from WOSU Public Media.