Piece image

PART 4: The Family List

Series: Downwinder Diaries
From: Claes Andreasson
Length: 00:02:49

Elmer Picket lost fourteen of his family members to cancer Read the full description.

Elmersmall_small Elmer Picket, former mortician in St. George, Utah – turned hardware store owner, remembers the early fifties, when the big red clouds came rolling in from the test site. In his store he kept a list of the family members who had passed away as a result from, what he believes, the radioactive fallout. (Elmer Picket himself passed away in 1997, and became number 22 on his list of diseased family members)

To hear the full audio, sign up for a free PRX account or log in.

More from Claes Andreasson

Piece image

PART 5: We Were Considered Expendable (00:02:39)
From: Claes Andreasson

Downwinder about experiences of radioactive fallout in the 1950s
Piece image

PART 3: A Patroitic, Non-Questioning Population (00:02:52)
From: Claes Andreasson

Downwinder talks about how her brother died from nuclear fallout
Piece image

PART 2: The Son of a Bitchin Bomb Went Off (00:03:23)
From: Claes Andreasson

Sheep farmer experience Dirty Harry nuclear test
Piece image

PART 1: When the American Dream turned into a Nightmare (00:02:46)
From: Claes Andreasson

Downwinder affected by the radiocative fallout from test at Nevada Test Site
Piece image

Seller of Dreams (00:15:29)
From: Claes Andreasson

A sound-rich fairy tale by Henry Beston
Piece image

Cajun Crawfish Boil (00:29:15)
From: Claes Andreasson

Celebrating Cajun cooking in Los Angeles. People who were evacuated from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, gather for a taste of real Cajun crawfish in the backyard of ...
Piece image

After The Storm (00:19:32)
From: Claes Andreasson

A documentary follows the production of the musical "One on this Island" performed by New Orleans teenagers.
Piece image

Katrina's Children (00:12:41)
From: Claes Andreasson

Director Laura Belsey talks about her documentary "Katrina's Children"
Piece image

Stories from Beyond the Border (00:28:55)
From: Claes Andreasson

Migrant stories from the Tijuana - San Ysidro border region
Piece image

The Blue Morph (01:08:08)
From: Claes Andreasson

The Sound of a Butterfly's Metamorphosis

Piece Description

Elmer Picket, former mortician in St. George, Utah – turned hardware store owner, remembers the early fifties, when the big red clouds came rolling in from the test site. In his store he kept a list of the family members who had passed away as a result from, what he believes, the radioactive fallout. (Elmer Picket himself passed away in 1997, and became number 22 on his list of diseased family members)

1 Comment Atom Feed

User image

Review of PART 4: The Family List

The five segments of The Downwinder Diaries available on PRX are powerful pieces. They are short, to the point and consist of first person interviews, along with audio from original newscasts. These are rich, moving, informative pieces, made even more powerful by their brevity.
When one reads a book, the author doesn't stand over one's shoulder, explaining each nuance. The reader is respected. The presentation of the Downwinder Diaries respects the listeners' intelligence. Mr. Andreasson stands back and allows the stories to tell themselves. A courageous move and one that makes these pieces even more powerful.

Broadcast History

The interview has never aired on American public radio, but was part of a documentary for Swedish NPR

Timing and Cues

Running time: 2:10, plus 0:10 intro and 0:17 outtro (ambience/music)

Musical Works

"There Your Are" (E. Peters)