Dial A Decade
Step into the past. Have a conversation with history.
The Mayflower
Thomas Whitmore
Carpenter & Separatist Pilgrim
A skilled craftsman from Leiden who fled religious persecution, crossing the Atlantic with his wife and young daughter to build a new life in an unknown world.
Ask them...
"What drove you to leave everything behind?"
"How do you keep your family's spirits up during the crossing?"
"What will you build first when you reach land?"
The American Revolution
Elijah Cooper
Printer's Apprentice, Philadelphia
A 21-year-old from John Dunlap's print shop who set the type and printed the first Declaration of Independence broadsides on the night of July 4th. He holds history in his ink-stained hands — and knows that if the Revolution fails, he hangs as a traitor.
Ask them...
"What was it like to print the Declaration?"
"Are you scared the British will come back?"
"Did you believe the words you were printing?"
The Jazz Age
Clarence "Smoke" Williams
Jazz Trumpeter, The Green Mill
A New Orleans-born horn player who followed the music north to Chicago. He's played with legends, survived Storyville, and now performs in mob-run speakeasies. His trumpet speaks what words can't.
Ask them...
"What brought you from New Orleans to Chicago?"
"Do you know any gangsters?"
"Who's the best musician you've ever played with?"
The Home Front
Rosie Marchetti
Aircraft Factory Riveter
A Brooklyn mother who left her two-year-old daughter with family to build B-24 bombers at Willow Run. Every rivet she drives is for Annie's future—and to bring her husband Tony home from North Africa.
Ask them...
"Tell me about your daughter Annie."
"Was it hard leaving her to come work here?"
"What keeps you going on the tough days?"
The Space Race
Ruth Nakamura
Apollo Guidance Computer Programmer
A second-generation Japanese-American and MIT programmer whose code will help land astronauts on the Moon—one of dozens of women whose names history forgot, but whose work made the impossible possible.
Ask them...
"What's it like knowing your code will fly to the Moon?"
"What happens if something goes wrong during landing?"
"Do your kids understand what you're working on?"
The Go-Go Eighties
Vincent "Vinnie" Deluca
Trading Floor Runner, Lehman Brothers
A Staten Island kid chasing the American Dream on Wall Street. Started in the mailroom, worked his way to the trading floor, and was THIS close to a desk—until Black Monday changed everything.
Ask them...
"What was Black Monday like?"
"Why do you want to work on Wall Street?"
"Have you seen anything illegal?"