Strange Family Folklore
My great grandfather, Jessee Strange, was born a slave and freed in his 20s. His 12 children were born free, and referred to as "The First Freeborn Generation." In this podcast series, I interview Jessee Strange's descendents in order to document our stories.
Episodes
20 episodes
Strange Quilting Passion
On the second day of Kwanzaa 2024, Kujichagulia, or Self-Determination, I had the pleasure of interviewing my Cousin Joan Raynor, daughter of Gladys Strange Wilkerson, and granddaughter of Jesse Strange. Her father was Ernest Wilkerson. ...
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28:25
Strange Holiday Cooking
As part of my end-of-year holiday vacation, I had the pleasure of visiting with one of my cousins, Georgia Mulholland. Georgia’s mother, Marion Wheeler, was the daughter of Jessie Strange the Younger, son of Jesse Strange the Elder. Georgia’s f...
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9:05
Strange Family Hayride
For this episode, I thought it would be a wonderful idea to interview the oldest living descendent in the Strange family, Walter “Thel” Strange while taking an intergenerational hayride. Let’s just say, I got an abundance of riches in the f...
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16:55
Driving Ms Velma
Once again, Mom and I were busy in the kitchen, when she started dropping some delicious details from her childhood. I’d heard different stories about her learning how to drive, but she added some curious flavor to this retelling.
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10:42
Prolific Strange Artist
My Cousin Percy Martin had been a practicing artist for 72 years and had been interviewed so many times that for the first time ever, this interview started without me asking an initial question.
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52:14
Strange Man of Many Talents
During this year’s Strange Family Reunion, we honored 12 second freeborn generation elders. My mother, Velma Mae Roberson, was one of the honorees, along with two of her older brothers. I managed to pull my Uncle Herbert aside for a short inter...
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12:31
Killing Santa & Other Cascade Childhood Memories
I had the honor to talk with my 93-year old uncle, Floyd Strange, Jr., son of Floyd and Beatrice Strange, and my mother's oldest brother.
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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18:24
Where the Paper Trail Meets the Genetic Trail
The history of the Stranges has been preserved through oral tradition, court records, and DNA. In this episode, my cousin, Dionne Clark, granddaughter of Jessie Strange, the second oldest of The First Freeborn Generation, explains her genealogy...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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36:42
No Longer Blue
Cousin Pleas "Blue" Wilson, son of Catherine and Pleas Wilson, interweaves his coming of age stories with older relatives who shaped him into the man he is today.
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26:55
Tomboy Adventures
Cousin Gwen Strange, daughter of Joe and Margaret Ann Strange, shares stories about her grandfather, Jessie Strange, second child of Jesse with his second wife, Lucy Strange.
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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26:52
The Strange Hustle
Olander "Charlie" Strange, Jr is one of my first cousins. His namesake, Olander, was one of my maternal uncles.
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Episode 9
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31:48
Universe Goes to Cascade
I invited one of my first cousins, Michael Strange, AKA "Universe," to reminisce about the year he lived with our grandparents, affectionately known as "Mama Bea and Papa."
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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36:15
Uncle Down, the Horse Trickster
Once again, Mom took time out of her busy schedule to share her favorite Uncle Daniel, AKA Uncle Down, stories.
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22:57
The Daring Uncle Down
In June 2021, we Stranges celebrated our 80th continuous family reunion during which, my Cousin Ted entertained us with seemingly larger-than-life stories of Uncle Daniel AKA "Uncle Down," who was Great-Grandfather Jesse's third child.
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Episode 6
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24:20
Family-Grown Tobacco
In this episode, I interview my Cousin Thel Strange and his daughter, Angie Wade. Cousin Thel is the 10th child of Jessie Strange, who is the 2nd child of my Great Grandfather Jesse Strange.
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16:04
Mobley Creek, Our Legacy Land
Some of my relatives, other descendants of Jesse Strange, researched our family tree and complied the information in a book called Reflections of a Proud Strange Family, which we simply refer to as “the book.” During this research, my relatives...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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24:13
Healing Gifts & Middle Names
In this episode, I interview my mother, Velma Mae Roberson, one of Jesse Strange’s grandchildren, about some remaining questions I have from reading a book about our family history called, “Reflections of a Proud Strange Family.” We start off b...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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8:19