Also in the StoryCorps series
StoryCorps: Dennis and Buelah Apple
(00:02:38)
From: StoryCorps
Dennis Apple and his wife, Buelah, remember their son Denny, who died when he was a teenager.
StoryCorps: Mort Segal and Joan Feldman
(00:01:58)
From: StoryCorps
Mort Segal and his sister, Joan Feldman, remember their father, Jack Segal, a booking agent for novelty acts in the Catskills.
StoryCorps: Howell Graham and Nan Graham
(00:01:51)
From: StoryCorps
Howell Graham, one of the longest-surviving double-lung transplant patients, tells his mother, Nan, about the days after his surgery.
StoryCorps: Julian Walker and Julia Walker Jewell
(00:03:06)
From: StoryCorps
75-year-old Julian Walker tells his daughter, Julia Walker Jewell, about an accident his father had as a young boy.
StoryCorps: Betsy Brooks and John Grecsek
(00:02:17)
From: StoryCorps
Betsy Brooks tells her boyfriend, John Grecsek, about her father.
StoryCorps: Bob and Aimee Gerold
(00:01:50)
From: StoryCorps
Aimee Gerold speaks with her father, Bob, about her adoption from China.
StoryCorps NTI: John Byrne and Samantha Liebman
(00:01:50)
From: StoryCorps
Teacher John Byrne talks with his former student, Samantha Liebman, about coming out to his students.
StoryCorps Griot: Walter Dean and Christopher Myers
(00:01:46)
From: StoryCorps
Author Walter Dean Myers talks about his father in an interview with his son Christopher Myers.
StoryCorps: Marat and Leon Kogut
(00:04:26)
From: StoryCorps
Leon Kogut talks with his son, Marat Kogut, an NBA referee.
StoryCorps: Max Voelz
(00:02:34)
From: StoryCorps
Retired Sgt. 1st Class Max Voelz remembers his wife, Staff Sgt. Kimberly Voelz, who died in Iraq while disarming an IED.
Related Pieces
Piece Description
When he opened a restaurant nearly 30 years ago, Joe Spano Sr. used the cooking skills he had learned from his mother. The lessons he passed on to his own son have kept the restaurant in business.
Broadcast History
NPR's Morning Edition 8/22/08
Transcript
JS: When we opened a restaurant, we really didn't know what we were doing. We had some pots and pans from the house. And I never cooked anything until we opened that restaurant. I said to myself, "my gosh, I don't know how to cook, do I?" But, I did. And I didn't even realize I knew. I learned by watching my grandmother and my mother. And, now you're doing it.
JS Jr.: Now we're feeding a thousand people a week. (Laughter)
JS: Yeah, it's amazing isn't it. It's a lot of pasta.
JS Jr.: I never realized before I started working with you. You sure know how to drew the line between son and employee. And I can remember when I was the first dishwasher at Spano's wondering, why do I have to be the dishwasher?
JS: Yeah, I'm the son. I'm supposed to be the executive.
JS Jr.: Right, I didn't think I was supposed to be the dishwasher. But I was...
JS: You wanted to be President.
JS Jr.:...
Read the full transcript
Intro and Outro
INTRO:In this episode, the story of a family business.
Nearly thirty years ago, Joe Spano Senior moved from Brooklyn to Texas.
He wanted to try his hand in the oil business.
When an oil bust in the mid 80s left him out of a job, Joe decided to open a small Italian restaurant in Abilene.
Here, he talks with his son, Joe Junior, about those early days.
TAPE
OUTRO:Joe Spano Junior and his father, Joe Senior, at StoryCorps in Abilene, Texas.
Major support for StoryCorps is provided by State Farm and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
All StoryCorps interviews are housed at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.
Additional Credits
State Farm, NPR, Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Related Website
Of 1 purchasers of this piece...
- 1 also bought:
StoryCorps: Isabel Beaton (00:00:54) - 1 also bought:
StoryCorps: Jimmy Beatrice (00:00:29) - 1 also bought:
StoryCorps: Kaycee Bauer (00:00:56) - 1 also bought:
StoryCorps: Ann and George Bleckmen (00:00:43) - 1 also bought:
