Southern Miss Alums Contribution to 'The Story' to Air Today on MPB
Mon, 02/28/2011 - 01:53pm | By: David Tisdale
Donna Aldridge, a 1988 University of Southern Mississippi alumna, will have her memories of visiting Hattiesburg's historic downtown post office as a child with her late father aired today on “The Story” at 7 p.m. on the networks of Mississippi Public Broadcasting (www.mpbonline.org).
Hosted by Dick Gordon, the show recently solicited comments from listeners about their memories of visits to small-town post offices, the focus of today's show. An award-winning graphic designer who lives in Dallas, Aldridge said she learned about the show's request for input on the topic via Facebook.
“I am on the NPR fan list for Facebook so I got a message on my iPhone that they wanted listeners to call in with memories of small town post offices,” Aldridge said. “That immediately took me back 35 years ago to when I would go to the post office with my dad.”
“I've always loved it. It's so massive and beautiful. When I am in town to see family, I drive by it. All during my childhood we would run up those steps, pull open the heavy iron doors and run inside,” she said.
“The marble, gold lettering on the boxes, the giant tables that people sort their mail on – it's such a part of me and my family because my dad went down there every day to pick up his mail. It was such a treat to go with him.”
At work and unable to call the show, Aldridge instead e-mailed her memories of the downtown post office. “I got a response about 30 minutes later for me to call in,” she said. “I didn't really have time to, and figured they just sent that to every person so I didn't call in.
“But a couple of weeks later I received an e-mail from the show that said Dick Gordon was going to read it on air. I was thrilled, to say the least.”
Aldridge said she's “addicted” to NPR and listens to it all day while she works and is a big fan of “The Story.” “It gives glimpses into other people's lives,” she said. “The stories are so intriguing.”
For more information on the “The Story,” online visit http://www.thestory.org/