MO-TELL Member of the Month: Fran Stallings

Fran Stallings is an American storyteller for people of all ages. She has performed at numerous national and international storytelling festivals, in schools and libraries, and on the radio. She performs primarily folktales from around the world.

I met Fran Stallings at a River and Prairie Storyweavers Chicken Festival. She had brought her autoharp and her stories. Fran has combined her biology background with her love of storytelling. She is the force behind EarthUp! on the National Storytelling Network. She brings her scientific background and storytelling experience in the Earth Teller Tales column found on her blog and Oklahoma City University Environmentor. Fran also hosts the Artists Standing Strong Together Online Climate Conversations. Fran felt she needed to tell environmental tales and that the science needed to be correct.

Fran expressed some misgivings about Moth-style stories overlooking or pushing out traditional tales. The Bartlesville Public Library is throwing out books of folk tales, fairy tales and history because they are old. These stories are old because of their universal value. Indigenous people are starting to be heard but it may be too late. Fran is a coach for FEAST and Environmental Storytelling.

Currently Fran is using Zoom for storytelling and workshops. Feedback is so important with your audience so you must make extra strides to have eye contact. Technical rehearsals are paramount. Good internet, background, lighting and sound must be determined before using Zoom. Fran has learned to use Zoom for school visits. All-school assemblies turned into Zoom by Class.

Fran partnered with teachers and wrote lesson plans. Fran volunteers with elementary teacher, Jeff Cauthen. Fran tells a story on Tuesday and then the students brainstorm ‘sharing the fire’ with Fran from her office and Jeff from his classroom. It is a new twist on being a resident artist. Working together with Lynn Moroney, Winter Tales founder and Chickasaw authority on Sky Lore, they concentrate on an Earth and Sky residency in schools training teachers and telling stories to students.

Fran applauds MO-TELL’s State Park program. It gives tellers another platform to “stealth eco- telling” as tellers incorporate eating in season, caring for the earth and science into their stories without lecturing. You can contact Fran Stallings at fran.stallings@icloud.com or 918-397-3079

Fran Stalling’s website is: https://www.franstallings.com/

EarthTeller Tales can be found here: https://www.franstallings.com/web/Environmentor

The Oklahoma City University Enviromentor page is here: https://www.okcu.edu/artsci/enrichment/environmentor

Watch this space at the National Storytelling Society for more information on EarthUp! 2022:https://storynet.org/earth-up/

Artists Standing Strong Together Climate Conversations can be found on their events page here: https://www.artistsstandingstrongtogether.net/upcoming-events

MO-TELL Board Member of the Month: Jackie Wright

"Not only is Jackie Wright an excellent, accomplished storyteller, she is a very hard worker. Her support for NSN has been exemplary, always promoting MO-TELL and Missouri as a great state for the art of storytelling. We are so happy to have Jackie as our treasurer!”

Perrin Stifel, emeritus board member

Hi! I am Jackie Wright. I have been a storyteller since 1995. I live in University City, MO in St. Louis County. I was on the St. Louis Storytelling Festival Planning Committee for many years until the St. Louis County Library System became its home in 2022. I am a member of River and Prairie Storyweavers and St. Louis Gateway Storytellers, as well as MO-Tell. I have been a member of the National Storytelling Network (NSN) since 1998. As Missouri State Liaison for NSN, I provide a vital link between NSN and its Missouri members.

As a lifetime member of MO-Tell and past Vice-President, I feel that a member should be an active participant when they have the time, and when given the opportunity to be more involved.

So when the call came from Sue Hinkel saying that her term was up as treasurer and she asked if I would consider the position, I said yes. The board accepted my nomination, so I am happy to be your

new treasurer and board member.

Story of the Month: The Buck Stops Here

In his mail on October 2, 1945, Harry S (or S.) Truman received a sign for his desk. Fred A. Canfil, U.S. Marshal for the Western District of Missouri and Truman’s friend, had seen a similar sign on a visit to a reformatory and asked the warden if a sign like it could be made for President Truman. The sign is 2.5”x13”, mounted on a walnut base. Made of painted glass, it has “The Buck Stops Here” on one side and “I’m From Missouri” on the reverse side.

The saying “The buck stops here” derives from the expression “Pass the buck,” which means passing the responsibility on to another person. “Pass the buck” originates from the game of poker, in which the marker or counter, often in frontier days a knife, most likely a buckhorn-handled knife, was used to tell the person whose turn it was to deal. If the player did not wish to deal, they could pass the responsibility on by passing the “buck” to the next player.

President Truman referred to the desk sign on more than one occasion when making public statements. In an address at the National War College he said, “You know, it’s easy for the Monday morning quarterback to say what the coach should have done, after the game is over. But when the decision is up before you—and on my desk I have a motto which says The Buck Stops Here—the decision has to be made.” In his farewell address of January 1953, Truman said, “The President—whoever he is—has to decide. He can’t pass the buck to anybody...”

The sign has been displayed at the Truman Library in Independence, MO since 1957. The museum is open to the public and has recently finished a massive renovation.

Thanks to the National Archives and to Mitford M. Mathews, ed., A Dictionary of Americanisms on Historical Principles for the information!