Stories and storytelling are at the heart of human connection. That’s why we welcome you to East County Voices, our local audio story project. In Voices, we ask pairs of people — friends, relatives, co-workers — to interview one another about their most important memories and life lessons. Many conversations delve deep into local history and heritage, others on more personal experiences.
Each audio segment below is an excerpt of a longer conversation that can be heard here, on the StoryCorps website. All East County Voices interviews will be preserved in the American Folklife Center in the Library of Congress.
Learn more about Voices here, and sign up to participate.
(Click on the photos below to open up the individual recordings.)
Recorded Jan. 10, 2026
Angkoriya & Julie Bengongsocheat
‘The church sponsored us. They helped do the immigration paperwork and airline tickets. I was 8 and very scared.’
Recorded Dec. 11, 2025
Cooper Condon & David Glass
‘She didn’t know me very well. I called up the first time, and she said, “Dave who?”‘
Recorded July 6, 2026
Julianne Lawrence & Dick Lindstrom
‘They told us before we went to walk the picket line not to interfere with the scabs walking into the mill.’
Recorded July 6, 2026
Bill Sullivan, Bill Smead & Jack Ross
‘My dad did the ultimate sacrifice when I was 13 and my sister was 15 — he moved into town.’
Recorded Jan. 10, 2026
Rob Pabst & Lainey Hajek
‘I loved going motorcycling, all over the western US — as far as Juniper, Alaska and the Great Smokies.’
Recorded July 6, 2026
Barb Seaman & Shirley Scott
‘Women at that time weren’t liberated, and we could only do certain jobs. Then they liberated us, and things opened up.’
Recorded July 6, 2026
Julianne Lawrence & Marilyn Brown
‘We have found people’s war medals that they didn’t know what they did with.’
Recorded March 23, 2024
Day Bibb & Jacquie Hill
‘I started doing yoga when I was in an abusive marriage and didn’t know how to cope with it.’
Recorded Dec. 11, 2025
Scarlette McBee & Darrian Ellsworth
‘I couldn’t eat anything, and just generally felt like I was dying.’
Recorded Dec. 11, 2025
Olivia Rios & Lina Rios
‘I learned that it wasn’t as much of a struggle to live here as I made it to be.’
Recorded Dec. 4, 2025
Morgan Johnson & Joy Terry
‘I’m almost positive I don’t want kids. I’m good with two dogs and a cat.’
Recorded Dec. 4, 2025
Palin Morris & Kylie Schaeffer
‘I kind of felt happy without TikTok. For like a month it was gone, and in that month, I focused on myself and people.’
Recorded Sept. 16, 2024
Debby Brink & Patrice Campbell
‘The first thing you said to me was, Well, you’re going to be regular here now, so pick out a mug.’
Recorded March 23, 2024
Don O’Brien & John Neumann
‘You never say, Doggone, that kid makes me mad. You always say, I’ve got good kids.’
Recorded Dec. 16, 2024
Jen Bargar & Molly McKay Williams
‘We need to be planting native and people just don’t get that.’
Recorded April 13, 2024
Nan Henriksen & Kris Henriksen
‘When something isn’t right, don’t just sit and grouse about what other people should do to make it better.’
Recorded Nov. 2, 2024
Natalia Martinez-Patino &
Daniel Taylor-Rodriguez
‘It’s about getting the balance back and not just being, how can I be more efficient?’
Recorded Oct. 5, 2024
Donna Sinclair & Bud Harris
‘When the plane came down, the bombing raid was still going on.’
Recorded Dec. 7, 2024
Angie Bunda & Teresa Torres
‘I still shake when I’m up there. It’s terrifying, but it has to be done.’
Recorded June 1, 2024
Nell Perry and Tammy Mackey
‘The girls were fascinated playing with the pig’s tongue — the eyeball, the thickness of the skull.’
Recorded Sept. 16, 2024
Louis Pain & Barb Seaman
‘It was like a time machine because the women had beehive hairdos and there were go-go dancers in a cage.‘
Recorded February 1, 2025
Olivia Behm & Mark Silliman
‘Little by little, I met the other core artists, and I was starstruck. And I met the infamous Lyle.’
Recorded Oct. 27, 2024
Amanda Aguilar & Pat Cano
‘It takes a village, it takes a barrio, it takes a neighborhood.’
Recorded April 13, 2024
Kade Browning & Melissa Anderson
‘A part of you not having the universe revolve around yourself is having the flexibility to put yourself in others’ shoes.’
Recorded July 24, 2024
Betty Gable & Sandy Renner
‘They pulled me away from the drugs and alcohol and showed me that there was more to life than how I was living.’