On Monday, May 19, StoryCorps visited with and collected stories from residents of Menorah Home and Hospital. Menorah is a rehab and care facility that sits on 10 oceanfront acres in Brooklyn’s Manhattan Beach. Nancy Sondag, director of therapeutic recreation for Menorah, coordinated our visit and participated in interviewing residents. During the day residents enjoy gazing out onto the gardens and ocean views, participating in creative projects such as ceramic, sculpting and painting, visiting with family and friends and, taking in some of the special events and performances that happen throughout the day. While we were there, magician Rene Gonzalez performed for residents in the grand auditorium.

Enjoy the slide show. Click on a photo for more information.

On April 16, 2008 StoryCorps facilitators Mike Rauch and Brianna Hyneman visited Clove Lakes Health & Rehabilitation Center, a short and long term nursing and rehabilitation center in Staten Island, New York.

Clove Lakes Social Service Secretary, Meaghan McKeon hosted us for the day as residents added their stories to the archive of New York oral history. Many of the participants that we listened to were raised in the Staten Island area during the depression. They talked about the solidarity of their communities, the families they raised and, their work from eighty years of crochet beading in the garment district to being a gunner in the Battle of the Bulge during World War II. Clove Lakes honors their residents’ stories and preserves some of the community they all share. On the day we visited, Staten Island’s and Clove Lakes’ oldest resident, Winifred Flynn, celebrated her 104th birthday with a large reception in the grand entrance.

Enjoy the slideshow. Click an image for more information.