Telling Stories Series Comes to Voice of Vashon

"Telling Stories, A Speaker Series By and About Vashon Locals" produced by Vashon Community Care, is now available for viewing on Voice Of Vashon TV. The talks feature Island seniors with fascinating life stories to share and have been presented to full houses since they began in 2010. The series speakers represent a diverse sampling of Vashon Island residents.
 
Tag Gornall is a marine mammal veterinarian who is known for his work with Namu, the first orca in captivity; for his work with sea otters during the Exxon-Valdez oil spill; has helped design aquariums around the world and consulted on movies about marine life, including Free Willy 2. His talk is fascinating and gripping.
 
"How It Was" features a group of Vashon women telling their stories of what life was like on old Vashon. They share their wisdom learned from spending their lives on Vashon and raising their families here. Their stories are touching, hilarious and most informative.
 
Truman O’Brien, a retired commercial pilot, shares what goes on behind the scenes when flying an airplane. Truman explains the technical aspects of flying, illustrating them with fascinating stories from his many years in the air. His account of landing a DC-4 on the beach in Alaska to pick up 23,000 pounds of fish is thrilling.
 
John Moore is an occupational therapist who pioneered solutions for amputees when he worked in Viet Nam and later as head of OT at Walter Reed Hospital. John helped war veterans rebuild their broken bodies and regain their lives.
 
Joe Meeker, a Vashon historian with a gift for telling stories, shares tales of early Northwest settlers, including his own ancestor and Northwest pioneer, Ezra Meeker. You’ll hear the intriguing story about Chief Leschi’s murder trial and how the Meeker Mansion in Puyallup came to be built.
 
Captain Joe Wubbold, retired U.S. Coast Guard Captain, talks about the race to the South Pole between Englishman Robert F. Scott and Norwegian Roald Amundsen and why one of their expeditions lived and the other perished. It is an insightful discussion of one of the great expeditions of the Golden Age of polar exploration.
 
The Telling Stories speaker series was created by a team of folks affiliated with VCC. Charlotte Tiencken, Truman O’Brien, Mike Masi and Linda Milovsoroff thought Islanders would like the opportunity to hear and learn stories from our Island seniors. "There are many people on Vashon with fascinating life stories to share. It is important we hear from them and hear their stories before it is too late and their real life stories are gone." says Milovsoroff.
 
Susan McCabe VoV Community Organizer, speaking about broadcasting the series on VoV-TV says "I’m very excited about these shows. They are truly extraordinary examples of the best of our Island and the fascinating, accomplished people who live here. We are proud to feature the series on VoV-TV it as part of our community forum service."
 
The Telling Stories talks are beautifully archived on video and edited by Michael Monteleone of Vashon Video and may be viewed daily on Voice of Vashon’s community television station Comcast Channel 21 and soon at the new  www.VoiceOfVashon.org.