Say neighbor: Storytellers Project offers sense of community, an appreciation for those next door

WORCESTER — Stories of neighborly interactions, typically told at the kitchen table, were shared from the stage Tuesday during the second installment of the Storytellers Project.

In conversational tones, five people took the indoor stage at Polar Park and offered recollections of neighbors who left an impression, neighbors who helped, neighbors who made a difference.

The event, an initiative of the USA Today Network which includes the Telegram & Gazette, was held in the DCU Club at Polar Park. Storytellers Project is a nationwide series of live storytelling events featuring neighbors and notables sharing personal stories.

Lynn Couture, a retired Worcester teacher and librarian, told of a neighbor who assisted her young family after an apartment fire in 1970. More than 40 years later, during a casual discussion with a woman at a nursing home, she recounted the fire. "The same thing happened to my neighbor," the woman replied.

Victor Infante, content editor for Worcester Magazine, shared a story of a lost ferret and neighbors who had surely spotted the lost pet.

Em Quiles, an artist and president of Pa'Lante Latinx Moving Forward, reflected on her adventurous days learning to ride a motorcycle. She had given up, until a former neighbor pulled up on his motorcycle and insisted they go for a ride.

Joe Fusco Jr., a poet, humorist and contributor to Worcester Magazine, offered a tour of his neighborhood through his recounting of four separate interactions. In one, he told of how he dealt with neighbors who liked to blast their music. The antidote: A loud dose of Barry Manilow right back at them.

Echo Louissaint, a Clark University graduate who works on food insecurity issues, shared her appreciation for neighbors and community members who helped her family in a time of need. She talked of her dying mother's desire to hear Christmas music before she died. Dozens of carolers were soon outside her door.

The Storytellers Project Tuesday was the second such event. In March, five people shared stories of growing up.

Video by Rick Cinclair, chief photojournalist

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Say neighbor: Storytellers Project at Polar Park in Worcester offers sense of community