Gil Fishbeck (pictured seated with his stepdaughter Barbara and her husband Bill) was one of six veterans that came in for StoryCorps interviews with family members on our trip to the Delaware Veterans Center in Milford, Delaware on Wednesday. Among his many funny and touching memories, Gil remembered building friendships with Japanese prisoners of war that he met while serving as a mechanic on Guam during WWII. Thanks to Gil and everyone at the center for a great StoryCorps day!

Our stay in Delaware was filled with contagious enthusiasm. People visited the booth ready to listen, talk, laugh, cry, pause, and do it all over again. Lucky for us, we shared in this experience. We can’t begin to describe all the beautiful stories we heard, but we can exhibit some candid pictures. When it was all said and done, we met a whole lot of folks ready to flash their smile. This is just a sample, there are many more. Thanks to everyone who came in and shared their stories. The “First State” is a great state.

Opening Day in Georgetown, Delaware was a squeeze–we welcomed to the East MobileBooth an entire Delaware Tech and Community College ESL class, and we just might have set a MobileBooth occupancy record in the process! While it was their first time in a booth, StoryCorps isn’t new to these students: Del Tech English professor Susan Schranck and staff member Amy Russell use StoryCorps stories like these in their classes to as part of their English language curriculum. Great idea, no? Some students have already come in for StoryCorps interviews, and we’re looking forward to many more as we kick off StoryCorps’ first visit to the First State. More on an action-packed opening day to come…