StoryCorps stops in Soap Lake
From left to right, Leslie Taylor, Alison Gooding, Don Long, Dan Bolyard, Sarah Padgett and Lea Zikmund.
Rebecca Pettingill/Columbia Basin Herald
From left to right, Alex Kovach, Andy Kovach and Ric Carlson. The three spoke about the history of the Soap Lake Lava Lamp from their different perspectives.
Soap Lake Police Officer Justin Rowland signs the StoryCorps sign after his participation in recording his love story.
Nikki Frazier, left, and Carrie Alexander, right, highlighted their jobs at the McKay Health Center. They entertain and provide activities for the residents there. They talked a little bit about McKay’s history, their roles there and how they got through the past couple of covid years.
Cindi Rang and Brianna Motzkus, a mother-daughter duo, talked about how their business, The Fabric Patch, got through covid and being some of the first people to show how to sew masks to followers online.
SOAP LAKE — In between recording sessions in Moses Lake in July, StoryCorps made a two-day detour to Soap Lake on July 24 and 25.
“StoryCorps provides a space for people to preserve something of their lives,” said StoryCorps Mobile Tour facilitator and community outreach manager Lea Zikmund.
Over the two days over a dozen participants sat down and spoke about a variety of topics. Some participants were long-time residents of Soap Lake and/or Grant County while others were newer arrivals.
StoryCorps’ mission is to preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world, according to StoryCorps’ website.
Leslie Taylor, who helped bring StoryCorps to Soap Lake, said she felt like Soap Lake would get more participation in StoryCorps if they came to Soap Lake rather than if they tried to get people to Moses Lake because a lot of the Soap Lake community is older in age. She wanted to make sure to include those voices because of their experiences.
“We wanted to capture that,” said Taylor. “And this seemed like a really good way to do that.”
Taylor also participated herself. She held a conversation with Bonnie Holt and spoke about local geology amongst other things.
Stories are archived at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. and in an online archive on StoryCorps’ website, Zikmund said.
Here are some of the Soap Lake participants and some of what they spoke about:
Dan Bolyard and Don Long talked about local railroad history
Duane Nycz and Denise Keegan discussed their history working at Duane’s family’s local restaurant, Don’s.
Bonnie Holt and Leslie Taylor sat down together. Bonnie told stories about local geology.
Rose Schrag and Leanna Hayes are recent friends. Leanna moved here a couple of years ago and met Rose playing Bingo at Del Red. Rose told stories about moving to the US from England when she was a teen and how she got to Soap Lake.
Andy Kovach, Alex Kovach and Ric Carlson discussed the history of the Soap Lake Lava Lamp from their different perspectives.
Beverly Hasper and Alison Gooding talked about Masquers Theatre Company history and her role with the theatre in the early stages when she moved to Soap Lake up until 2017.
Nikki Frazier and Carrie Alexander highlighted what they do best; entertain and provide activities for the residents of McKay Health Center. They talked a little bit about McKay’s history, their roles there and how they got through the past couple of covid years.
Justin Rowland and Terianna and Lea from StoryCorps. Justin told his love story.
Cindi Rang and Brianna Motzkus talked about how their business, The Fabric Patch, got through the pandemic and were some of the first people to show how to sew masks to followers online.
Margo Guenther and Cindi Rang sat down together. Margo talked about her FEEL GOOD WAY and living and sharing her way in Mexico.
Rebecca Pettingill may be reached at rpettingill@columbiabasinherald.com.
