Since 2005, the Grannie Annie Family Story Celebration has encouraged young people to discover, write and share stories about their family history.
Monday on St. Louis on the Air, Sarah Fenske talked with Grannie Annie board member Martha Stegmaier, as well as Karissa Hsu, who wrote a story about her grandmother’s journey to America after fleeing conflict in East Asia during WWII. Her father Leo also joined the conversation.
"[The story] really spoke to me in my heart and showed me how you can achieve anything you want," Hsu said. "She was excited to tell me about her story and how it shaped her."
Hsu is one of 38 students selected out of 536 submissions that were published in the 14th volume of the annual Grannie Annie book.
For those interested in fostering these kinds of conversations at their own dinnertables, Stegmaier suggests using the topic prompts listed on the Grannie Annie's website, where you can also check out past years' Grannie Annie story submissions.
"You'll have different war stories, stories of heroism, stories of pranks, funny uncle Bob stories, snow and adventure—it really runs the gamut," said Stegmaier.
Hear the conversation:
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is hosted by Sarah Fenske and produced by Alex Heuer, Emily Woodbury, Evie Hemphill, Lara Hamdan and Tonina Saputo. The engineer is Aaron Doerr, and production assistance is provided by Charlie McDonald.
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