America Works Podcast
25 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsAmerica Works, an ongoing podcast series from the Library of Congress, features the voices of contemporary workers from throughout the United States talking about their lives, their workplaces, and their on-the-job experiences. Drawn from hundreds of longer oral history interviews collected by fieldworkers for the American Folklife Center’s Occupational Folklife Project (OFP), America Works is a testament to the wisdom, wit, knowledge, and dedication of today’s working Americans. These engaging oral histories, which have are preserved in the American Folklife Center’s archive, are enriching and expanding America’s historical record.
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Episodes
Kolma “Sam” Ewu, Meatpacking Plant Worker. Beardstown, Illinois
March 10, 2022 14:00 - 10 minutes - 9.64 MBWest African immigrant Komla Ewu tells oral historian John McKerley about how he left a prestigious but unprofitable teaching career in his native Togo to pursue the American dream. He talks about how he raised the funds needed to pay his way to the U.S., how he found work on the “picnic line” in a giant Midwestern meatpacking plant – (one of America’s most grueling jobs)—and how grateful he is to be an American worker.
William (Bill) Hatch, Vineyard Owner and Winery Worker. Leesburg, Virginia
March 03, 2022 14:00 - 9 minutes - 9.04 MBBill Hatch, a farmer, winery work and the owner of Zephaniah Farm Vineyard in Leesburg, Virginia, explains to folklorist Kim Stryker how he transformed his multi-generational family milk and beef farm into a successful winery – and why he loves being part of the wine industry. “Nobody ever asked me about milk and what vintage it was and how did you make it? Nobody ever said: ‘I love your milk!’ but in the wine business, people say: ‘I love your wine!’”
Thomas Sink (Popcorn the Circus Comic). Circus Worker, Professional Clown. Mead, Oklahoma
February 24, 2022 14:00 - 9 minutes - 8.88 MBThomas Sink, who is better known to his many fans as “Popcorn the Circus Comic,” is interviewed by oral historians Tanya Finchum and Juliana Nykolaiszyn as part of their AFC-sponsored Archie Green Fellowship to document traveling circus workers who for decades have “wintered over” and settled in and around Hugo, Oklahoma. Popcorn talks about how, for more than thirty years, he entertained people, young and old, throughout the Midwest. He speaks about his love of his profession, the rush he w...
Kira Fobbs, Elementary School Teacher. Madison, Wisconsin
February 17, 2022 14:00 - 10 minutes - 9.51 MBKira Fobbs, an elementary school teacher who has devoted her life to teaching 3rd and 4th graders and Special Ed students in the schools of Madison, Wisconsin, is interviewed by folklorist Mark Wagler. Teaching is one of America’s largest professions, yet the voices of classroom teachers are rarely heard. Proud of her own heritage--which includes African American, Swedish and German-Jewish ancestors--she is an innovative, enthusiastic and dedicated teacher. She speaks poignantly about how her...
Dolores Fortuna, Professional Potter. Galena, Illinois
February 10, 2022 14:00 - 10 minutes - 9.63 MBThe respected profession potter Dolores Fortuna, head of Fortuna Pottery in Galena, Illinois, is interviewed in her studio by folklorist Meredith McGriff. Fortuna, whose career includes teaching at the Art Institute of Chicago, talks about how she discovered her love of pottery as a student at University of Chicago. She recalls how she was instrumental in creating cooperative networks and studio spaces for artists in Chicago and Virginia, and how, when she moved to Galena about 20 years ago, ...
Henrietta Ivey, Home Health Care Professional. Detroit, Michigan
February 03, 2022 14:00 - 10 minutes - 9.24 MBHenrietta Ivey, a dedicated home health care professional, is interviewed in her Detroit home by Michigan State gerontologist Clare Luz and her colleague, epidemiologist Khalid Ibrahim, as part of an Archie Green Fellowship documenting the occupational experiences of home healthcare professionals throughout the state of Michigan. Ivey talks about how much she loves her profession and the pride she takes in making it possible for her clients to stay in their own homes safely and with comfort a...
Roberta Washington, Architect. New York, New York
January 27, 2022 14:00 - 10 minutes - 9.28 MBThe distinguished architect Roberta Washington, who is the principal (or head) of her own firm, Roberta Washington Architects in New York City, speaks with oral historian and architect Sarah Filkins as part of Filkins’ Archie Green Fellowship to document women architects throughout the United States. Washington traces her career, her involvement in community planning and network building, and her work in designing hospitals, schools, and the African Burial Ground Interpretive Center in lower ...
Mario Cervantes, Boeing Air Craft Factory Worker. Wichita, Kansas
January 20, 2022 14:00 - 9 minutes - 9.15 MBMario Cervantes, a skilled factory worker who makes the tools that make the planes for Boeing aircraft in Wichita, Kansas, is interviewed by Briana O’Higgins on behalf of the Kansas Humanities Council as part of an American Folklife Center Archie Green Fellowship to document Boeing Aircraft Workers. Shortly before this interview, Boeing--which had been a community mainstay for decades--announced it was permanently closing all its factories, offices and facilities in Wichita. Mr. Cervantes tal...
Bernardo “Bernie” Piña, Fresh Produce Salesman. Nogales, Arizona
June 03, 2021 14:00 - 10 minutes - 9.58 MBArizonian Bernardo “Bernie” Piña is the sales manager at Ciruli Brothers, a family-owned fresh produce import company in Nogales, Arizona. For generations, the city of Nogales, which is located directly on the US-Mexican border, has been a major port-of-entry for the buying, selling, and shipping of fresh fruits and vegetables imported into the US and Canada from growers throughout Mexico and Latin America. If you, like most Americans, enjoy eating fresh produce from Mexico, it probably came ...
Mike Peabody, Garbage Man and Recycling. Barre, Vermont
May 27, 2021 14:00 - 10 minutes - 9.55 MBMike Peabody of Barre, Vermont, is a program coordinator at the Additional Recyclables Collection Center (ARCC) of the Central Vermont Waste Management District, one of the few hard-to-recycle centers in the country. He talks about how he learned his trade, the cultural and ecological importance of working with hard-to-recycle materials, some of the characters and challenges he deals with at work, and why he’s proud to be involved in waste and recycling work. Upbeat and full of great stories ...
Jim Mercer, Commercial Marine Diver. New Bedford, Massachusetts
May 20, 2021 14:00 - 9 minutes - 8.68 MBUnderwater marine diver Jim Mercer describes his year-round job checking, maintaining, and repairing commercial fishing boats in and around the port of New Bedford, Massachusetts. It’s a unique, challenging, and dangerous job. Jim, who grew up in the New Bedford area, is totally committed to it. He is interviewed by Madeline Hall-Arber from the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center as part of the American Folklife Center’s Archie Green Fellowship project “Working the Waterfront: New Bedford, Ma...
Kim Spicer, Electrician and Wire-Women. Queens, New York
May 13, 2021 14:00 - 10 minutes - 9.42 MBElectrician and journey wire-woman Kim Spicer is a proud member of The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Local #3, in Queens, New York. Kim talks about how she tried numerous other, less fulfilling jobs before apprenticing to become an electrician and why she loves it. She touches on her training, some of the tasks and skills involved in her work, her daily on-the-job routines, and the challenges of being a woman in a traditionally male trade. Kim was interviewed as part...
Jennifer Sgro, Nurse Practitioner, Night Ministry Bus. Chicago, Illinois
May 06, 2021 14:00 - 9 minutes - 9.09 MBThis episode features Nurse Practitioner Jennifer Sgro, who works with The Night Ministry in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1976, The Night Ministry provides housing and healthcare to people who are homeless or who are living in low income situations. Sgro talks about providing healthcare on the Ministry’s Outreach Bus, which travels to a different low-income Chicago neighborhood every evening. In this thoughtful interview with documentarian Margaret Miles, Nurse Sgro talks about her job, her ...
James Hensley, Port Pilot. Houston, Texas
April 29, 2021 14:00 - 13 minutes - 12.7 MBHouston ship channel pilot Captain James Hensley has the daunting task of guiding giant ocean-going ships into and out of one of the world’s largest and busiest ports. The famous Houston Ship Channel is 52 miles long and in some places incredibly narrow. His is not a job for the faint of heart -- there is literally no room for mistakes! In this interview with folklorist Betsy Peterson, Captain Hensley talks about learning and practicing his highly-skilled occupation, his family’s longstanding...
Heather Campbell Hill, Funeral Director. Raleigh, North Carolina
April 22, 2021 14:00 - 10 minutes - 9.78 MBFuneral director Heather Campbell Hill of the Renaissance Funeral Home in Raleigh, North Carolina is interviewed by folklorist Sarah Bryan as part of an Archie Green Fellowship from the American Folklife Center to document funeral services workers in the Carolinas. Although relatively new to her profession, Heather’s dedication and compassion to help people during, as she says, “the worst times of their lives,” is reflected throughout her interview. She talks about learning her profession, De...
Sarah Fortin, Fish Net Maker. New Bedford, Massachusetts
April 15, 2021 14:00 - 9 minutes - 8.48 MBFish net maker Sarah Fortin was working for Reidar’s Trawl & Scallop Gear Marine Supply in New Bedford, Massachusetts when she was interviewed by oral historian Fred Calabretta from the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center as part of an American Folklife Center funded Archie Green Fellowship project. Fortin, who grew up in the community, talks about learning her trade, the skills she needed to master, and the challenges she sometimes faces as a younger female worker. She also told us about the...
Patrick Bovenzi, Race Track Worker and Horse Identifier. Tampa Bay, Florida
October 08, 2020 14:00 - 7.02 MBOriginally from upstate New York, Patrick Bovenzi has spent his entire career as a race track worker, rising through the ranks to hold numerous official positions at race tracks across this country. Today, he is one of America’s very few “horse identifiers” – i.e., an expert who can assess and certify the identity of individual race horses. Mr. Bovenzi was interviewed by folklorist and Archie Green Fellow Ellen McHale at the Tampa Bay Downs Racetrack in Tampa Bay, Florida, on behalf of the Am...
Sharon Sisson, Iron Worker. Chicago, Illinois
October 01, 2020 14:00 - 7.81 MBChicago-based folklorist Bucky Halker interviews iron worker Sharon Sisson and her husband, iron worker Richard Sisson about their experiences as iron workers in the Chicago area. Their interview, which was recorded at Iron Workers Union Local #63 Headquarters in Broadview, Illinois, covers numerous topics. This episodes features Sharon’s experiences as a woman entering a previously male-dominated trade and a prank she played on a fellow worker to stop him harassing her in their workplace.
Shuly Amsel, Wig Maker. Brooklyn, New York
September 24, 2020 14:00 - 7 minutes - 5.35 MBShuly Amsel, an accomplished wig maker from Brooklyn, New York, talks about her successful wig and beauty business. She explains how she learned the trade and expanded her business from a small home-based shop primarily serving the women in her own Orthodox Jewish Community, to a high-profile business creating top-quality wigs and beauty products for celebrities and the fashion industry.
Richard Bludworth, Shipyard Owner. Houston, Texas
September 17, 2020 14:00 - 9 minutes - 8.87 MBHouston shipyard owner Richard Bludworth of Bludworth Marine talks about growing up in his family’s shipyard, learning his complex trade, and the community of maritime workers that make Houston one of the world’s largest and most vibrant ports. A fine story teller, he relates some great on-the-job experiences, his love of the sea, why he likes working with “pirates,” and his pride in his home city of Houston. Bludworth is one of more than 50 Houston ship channel workers interviewed for the O...
Joyce Vegar, Home Health Care Worker. Coos County, Oregon
September 10, 2020 14:00 - 9 minutes - 8.47 MBJoyce Vegar, a dedicated home health care worker from Coos County, Oregon, talks about her pride and pleasure as well as her challenges in helping her clients remain in their own homes and communities. Vegar is one of more than 40 home health care workers interviewed by University of Oregon researchers for the “Taking Care” OFP collection. This moving episode highlights the enormous and over unheralded contributions made by workers in this under-documented profession.
Barbara Miller Byrd, Circus Owner. Hugo, Oklahoma
September 03, 2020 14:00 - 9 minutes - 8.82 MBBarbara Miller Byrd, the third-generation owner of the Carson and Barnes Circus based in the small town of Hugo, Oklahoma, talks about growing up in the traveling circus founded by her grandparents more than 75 years ago. She shares great memories and stories and offers in-sights into the colorful and complex occupations that are needed to sustain a traveling circus in contemporary America.
Jeff Hafler, Hair Stylist. Wonder Valley, California
September 03, 2020 14:00 - 8 minutes - 7.73 MBJeff Hafler, hair stylist and owner of The Beauty Bubble Hair Salon and Museum in Wonder Valley, California, talks to interviewer Candacy Taylor about how much he loves his job, how beauty salons function as impromptu community centers, and why customers confide in their stylists. He talks about his pride in working in the service industry and explains why having a vocation is often a better guarantee of employment than a college degree.
Greg Vaught, Gold Mine Worker. Elko, Nevada
September 03, 2020 14:00 - 9 minutes - 8.59 MBGold mine worker Greg Vaught tells folklorists Meg Glaser and Charlie Seemann from the Western Folklife Center about how he came to work at a gold mine and his various mine jobs, including being the mine safety officer. He explains how he started using his musical talents to write humorous songs about mine safety and has become Newmont mining’s unofficial “Safety Troubadour.” And he sings an example of his work!
America Works - Series Preview
August 27, 2020 14:00 - 1 minute - 984 KBNew from the American Folklife Center in the Library of Congress: “America Works” features the voices of contemporary workers from throughout the United States talking about their lives, their workplaces, and their on-the-job experiences. Premieres September 3.