Friends Jane Lowey (L) and Dolores E. Doluz in front of the StoryBooth in Orleans, MA. Dolores talked about Queen St. in Dover, DE, her hometown, a thriving center of the community, and the elegant parties her parents would have when she was a little girl. After the children were sent upstairs to go to sleep the adults would end the night with ghost stories, though Dolores and her siblings would crowd around the air vent in the floor, getting scared out of their wits.

One of the few sunny days we had in Cape Cod was Thursday. Though we weren’t able to go to the beach, we thought the booth looked absolutely beautiful.

Very early Wednesday morning Naomi Greene and veteran mobiler Nick Pumilia flew from JFK to Boston, MA, and from there to Orleans, MA, on Cape Cod. There they joined Susan Lee on the beach. Sarah Geis, sadly, flew back to New York that afternoon.

Our interviews have been stellar our past week and a half in Orleans. Couple Katie Jackson (above right) and Brian Kehrl (above left) are soon to be married in a few days and are expecting a baby. They talked about moment they discovered they were going to be parents and their hopes for the future. And Sam Baker (below left) and Lucile Burt (below right) came in to interview each other about their decision to live and grow old together as friends.

We had a wonderful opening day in sunny Cape Cod, thanks to our partner station WCAI, the Orleans Historical Society, the Orleans Chamber of Commerce, and so many friendly passers-by. And look! A glimpse of the mysterious and elusive facilitator Susan Lee.

On our last day in Martha’s Vineyard, #1 blog reader (and facilitator-mother) Ruth Geis (R) came to the booth with her good friend Phyllis Brawarsky (L). Phyllis and Ruth were assigned to each other as freshman college roomates in 1966. In the booth, the pair talked about going to school in the olden days, before women were allowed to wear pants to class.

One of our most powerful interviews during our stay on Nantucket was between Greg Creedon and his mother, Regina Keightley. Both life-long Nantucketers, the recording took place in the house where Regina was born and in which Greg grew up. Regina told Greg about the island when she was a child, how she passed along notes to boys on the school bus via the driver, when she and some friends snuck into a military service club, and why her father, a former school superintendent, was such an influence on her and her love of teaching.

There once were two girls on Nantucket

Their plane was as small as a bucket

The island was merry

We saw the house of John Kerry

Oh what a day on Nantucket!

–Anon.

New to the East Booth: facilitator/celebrity homes maven Susan Lee.

In Martha’s Vineyard, the booth is parked in front of Cronig’s Market in Vineyard Haven. On opening day, we were treated to sea shanties by Mark Lovewell and remarks from representatives of our partner station, WCAI, and the Martha’s Vineyard Museum.

Today, the current owner of Cronig’s, Steve Bernier, came to the booth with Robbie Cronig, who sold the market to Steve over 20 years ago and whose father started Cronig’s in 1917. Robbie remembered life on the Vineyard before telephone service arrived. In the winters, he would go door to door collecting grocery orders. At each house he visited, he would be offered a homemade treat, and in the summer he would work off the extra padding. Robbie said Steve is like the son he never had, and that he reminds him of his father, Samuel Cronig; both are fair and honest men who care about their community.

You can hear an excerpt of Mr. Bernier and Mr. Cronig’s interview here.

Facilitators Sarah Geis and Elaine Davenport, along with Senior Coordinator Eliza Bettinger, enjoyed their day off by visiting Squibnocket Beach in Chilmark, Martha’s Vineyard. They stumbled upon a sea lion in apparent distress. Concerned citizens that they are, they immediately called for help.

After over an hour of anxiously monitoring the sea lion’s condition, they received a call from a representative of the New England Aquarium, informing them that not only was their friend not in distress, he was not a sea lion. Gray seals are common in Martha’s Vineyard, and they often come on the beach to play in the sand. What they thought was the anguished writhing of a dying sea lion turned out to be the playful wrigglings of a healthy, happy seal. Although Eliza, Sarah, and Elaine were somewhat embarrassed by their mistake, they were relieved to know he was ok.