Note: Andrea
Lovett and I originally authored this article for the New England Storytelling
(NEST) website in 2021. We continue to offer this program, pairing our
storytelling students from elementary, middle, high school, and college with our
local senior citizens.
“When an elder dies a library burns down.” – African Proverb
Once upon a time a little boy saw a sepia toned picture of a stunning young woman with a mischievous smile sitting on a wooden stoop, leaning back, striking a pin up girl pose. “Who’s that?” he asked. “That’s your grandmother.” Shocked and surprised he couldn’t believe that his beloved grandmother was the same young woman in the photo. That moment led to more questions. “How old is she?’ “Where is she?” “What is she doing?” “Who’s taking the picture?” The idea that this woman led a different, full, interesting life before he was born sparked the idea for our Once Upon a Generation program in 2015 that continues to this day.
Once Upon a Generation © is a twelve-week intergenerational program connecting senior citizens with middle school students through story. We pair storytelling students from Karen’s after-school Story Explorers program with local senior citizens for a ten-week workshop and finish with two community performances. The students are selected for their storytelling abilities, their level of maturity and ability to collaborate with the seniors.
Each year we reach out to senior citizens through the Council on Aging (COA)
organizations in Freetown and Lakeville. Details about the upcoming program are
published in their newsletters, along with a date and time for an informational
meeting learn more about our work. Funding for the program is secured through a
grant from the Massachusetts Local Cultural Council program.
GATHERING THE STORIES
The foundation for this program is to connect the generations through story,
shining a light on a world that in many ways, no longer exists. There is always
an assortment of stories. While some tales are incredibly profound.
- Surviving a devastating hurricane barreling up the coast before the 24-hour weather channel.
- Coping with the loss a parent at an early age.
- The childhood confusion of finding out your best friend, a person of color, is not welcome at the same ice cream counter.
- Transitioning from a friendly, rural school to a city high school becomes the target of bullies.
- How a child lived through the Great Depression when a glass of water froze over night because there was no heat in the home.
others are lighthearted and fun.
- Seeing the technological wonders at the 1964 New York World’s Fair for the first time.
- The excitement of winning a new bicycle at a local amusement park.
- The panic of a five-year-old child being chased by a rooster on the family farm.
- Winning the Betty Crocker Award.
Many experiences are foreign to the students, going to school in a one-room schoolhouse,
milking cows on the family farm, living in a huge city tenement with sixteen
separate apartments, being the only family on the block with a television set or having no television at all.
Certain memories are more familiar, going to your first school dance, playing
Little League Baseball, and summer camp, or a surprising tale of two best
friends in kindergarten who decide, “We’ve had enough!” and decide to run away from their strict
Catholic school!
No matter the topic, these stories offer a glimpse into their childhood that will create a bonding experience between the seniors and students.
The first three sessions are exclusively for the seniors, collaborating with them to find a memory from their lives, between the ages of five and twenty-five, sharing what life was like in the last century. The first few years of the program the seniors would arrive with snippets, anecdotes from their lives. We discuss which memory would make the best story for performance and they select the story they will develop.
In 2018 Rick was
new to the program. He came to our first session with two story ideas. He
described his first story; it was about the cat he now owned. While endearing,
it did not fit the period we were seeking. We said, “Tell us about the second
story.” What happened next stunned everyone into silence. Rick began to share
his experiences during the race riots of the 1960’s and was present when Martin
Luther King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington, D.C.
As we dug
deeper, we learned how his musical abilities helped calm a group of families barricaded
inside a church as the riots raged around them, then making his way home as
military tanks drove through the streets and finally meeting Coretta Scott King
after her husband’s assassination. When he finished, we shouted in unison,
“That’s the story!” Now, seven years later, the seniors who have been with us
from the beginning arrive not only with a solid story idea but with their story
already written down.
During those initial three weeks we guide them, using worksheets and interactive
activities to strengthen and edit their story. They learn a mixture of the
storytelling skills the students will use in performance, gesture, expression,
dialogue, and sensory details to assist their storytelling partner in
transporting their story from the page to the stage.
PAIRING SENIORS, STORYTELLERS, AND STORIES
On the fourth week our seniors and storytellers meet for the first time. Prior to this class we decide which student(s) and senior will be paired together. Although several of our seniors and students return each year, we don’t necessarily pair the same senior and student together each time. The tone of the story and the individual strengths of each student are considered and discussed before we make our final decision. Sometimes two students will tell one of the senior’s stories in tandem.
The students listen to the stories then pair off with their senior,
interviewing them to elicit more story details. Later, everyone comes together
to play entertaining storytelling games that help us learn more about each
other. Each step of this process helps them become further acquainted, a key
component to begin the bonding process between both generations.
FINE TUNING THE STORIES
The following six weeks we meet with only the students. They have latitude, or ‘literary license’ in rewriting the senior’s story in their own words, fleshing it out, editing it down when necessary, and adding additional dialogue. We use various storytelling worksheets to help them break down and enhance the story further, utilizing sensory details and imagery. There are also fun, interactive storytelling games to get the story into their bones. There is also structured coaching time from us and their peers.
As our class time together winds down the seniors return for a sneak peek to hear what the students have accomplished with their personal stories. The storytellers perform for the seniors, receive encouraging feedback, along with the opportunity to make any changes. We also incorporate additional time for more storytelling games between the two groups to reinforce their connection.
We meet one last time with the students to put the finishing touches on their performances, participate in additional storytelling games, and go over our plans for the upcoming public performances.
PERFORMANCE TIME
The culmination of the project includes two public performances. This requires
a bit of coordination between the students and seniors’ schedules, as well as
when the performance facilities are available for our use.
At the very beginning of the program, we reach out to local organizations who
might be interested in hosting the program. We’ve produced performances at the
school library, the local public library, and a historical museum. During the
pandemic we reverted to Zoom, inviting the students and seniors to appear on
Karen’s cable television show, the Story Café in Seekonk, MA. This also allowed
us to bring the program to a wider audience, outside of our community.
Both events are free, open to family, friends, and the community. We publicize the events via local newspapers, community bulletin boards, and social media. We also invite the local cable company to videotape the performance to air for the Freetown/Lakeville community.
The final performance includes a panel discussion, where the audience participates in a
Q & A, asking
the students and seniors specific questions about their experiences with the
program, their stories, and the relationships they have cultivated. At the end
of the evening there is an award presentation for all participants.
PIVOTING DURING A PANDEMIC
In 2020 the world stopped, and our work suffered. Yet, we decided to move forward with the program using Zoom. But would our seniors embrace this new challenge? We shouldn’t have been concerned as each one jumped into the technology pool with both feet. Using old technology, the telephone, we guided the seniors through the Zoom landscape. Although there were a few comical pitfalls. During one session a senior struggled to get his computer camera working. He continually called out, “I can hear you, but I can’t see you.” We frantically tried everything. Nothing worked but he continued with the session, using only his audio function. Later, Andrea reached out to him privately, attempting to solve the problem, only to discover he had placed duct tape on his camera lens because he was concerned about his personal privacy. Mystery solved!
Using Zoom allowed us to continue with the program, but more importantly, to remain connected with everyone during a very isolating time.
We even took the final performance ‘on the road’ via a Zoom performance on
Seekonk Channel 9. You may listen to the stories here:
http://cable9.dyndns.org/CablecastPublicSite/show/7751?channel=1
TODAY…
Walking down the hallway of the Council on Aging in Lakeville, MA we hear excited chatter coming from the open door of our classroom.
“I know just the story I am going to tell this year. It’s about the time I decided to get lost in a snowstorm in New Hampshire. I was about eleven years old.”
We
give each other a knowing smile before entering. These voices are from our
seniors in the Once Upon a Generation program ready to begin a new year. One of
the most satisfying and unexpected outcomes of this program is the strong,
personal relationships formed beyond the confines of the meeting room walls.
Frequently we’ve overheard conversations unrelated to the program. For example,
“Hey Pat, you want to try that new restaurant? We’ll call you next week.”
And
these connections extend to the students as well. The one comment echoed by
both seniors and students every year is, “We wish we could spend more time
together!”
We continue to modify the program, learning new things to enhance the
experience for all; it is always a work in progress. While it is bittersweet
saying goodbye each year, we know the genuine friendships established over the
past months and years will bring us back together again, eager to share and
hear brand new stories. Josie, one of our student storytellers, expressed it
best, "Everyone deserves to have their story
told."
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Karen Chace 2025 ©
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