Neighbors

This high school student tells the story of a time his neighbors called the police on his friend.

You can read more about the project, about Wordcrafters in Eugene, about our sponsors and community partners, and send in your own Lane County, Oregon stories at StoryHelix.Wordcrafters.Org.

Thanks for listening!

Transcript

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[00:00:00] Leah Velez: You're listening to Story Helix: intertwining stories past, present, and not yet imagined in Lane County, Oregon. What's up, earthlings? I'm Leah Velez, and I'll be your host. 

The story we're about to hear was recorded by a young interviewer at a Eugene Alternative High School. They chose someone in their community to ask questions and sent in their recordings as part of a class project. Some of them are folks that worked in the school, some are community members, they know some are siblings and some are friends. 

Let's open up our ear nuggets and give it a listen. 

[00:00:49] Storyteller: Okay. My family came to Oregon. They both grew up in Minnesota. My mom and dad. Uh, my dad owned an auto shop in San Jose, California.

[00:00:58] I don't know why he came here, but he relocated it to Eugene, and I was born here, down the street from that shop. I was not born in a hospital. My mom, dunno why she came here either. Getting away from the family farm in Minnesota must have been one of the reasons. 

[00:01:17] Does it feel like home? Yeah. And no. I think knowing the history of this place and knowing that settlers only make up a small portion of that history and identifying myself as one of those settlers doesn't fully feel like home.

[00:01:32] I don't know a lot about my heritage, but it's French. Um, there's some indigenous heritage in my past, but not enough to claim any sort of indigeneity. And no, it doesn't fully feel like home. But I definitely identify with the state of Oregon. That's the only place that does feel mostly like home. 

[00:01:48] One of the other questions I wanted to note is like, what does belonging feel like. 

[00:01:52] Growing up, I was in a friend group that was relatively diverse. I remember having one of my friends over-- this isn't a moment I didn't feel like I belonged. It was a moment that questioned-- started me questioning who feels like they belong in Lane County. And my friend was over, and I think we were both probably 17 or 18 at the time, and he's Black and the neighbors called my parents to report like this suspicious person at our house. And that will, that will stay with me forever, because there was no calls about any of my white friends.

[00:02:27] I don't know if I feel like I belong in Lane County either. It's named after a white supremacist Joseph Lane. That's not something I would like to align with. What does belonging sound like? I think to me it sounds like laughing and joking joy in other people's company, like those sounds of joy.

[00:02:52] Leah Velez: Thanks for listening. You can find us wherever you listen to your podcasts. If you've got your own Lane County story to tell, we'd love to hear it at StoryHelix.Wordcrafters.org