by Annette Harrison
I have to confess that that I thought MO-TELL was a great idea and was amazed as Perrin got it off the ground and made it happen! But I don’t have a lot of memories of the concerts, overnight workshops, and Tellabrations but I will share what I remember.
I thought having the MO-TELL storytelling concerts aboard the Goldenrod Showboat was a brilliant idea, although somehow Al and I always got lost getting there, every time! St Charles was on another planet for us. But once we got there, WOW, what fun it was.I remember getting such stellar tellers to perform and the food was always extrayummy! One of my fondest memories was when we walked onto the showboat andthere was Jimmy Neil Smith and Judith Black just sitting there at a table! This was storytelling royalty!
Jimmy Neil was the executive director of the National Storytelling organization, called NAPPS at that time. Judith Black was an amazing, zany & “tell it like it is” teller. She was one of my favorites. We always had a nice appreciative crowd.
In the old days, we would have weekends at Cuivre River State Park. I am a city slicker though and had only been camping once, but I loved these weekends! A women cook, Carol Potter and her relative Violet Beaver made such good food. OMG! They became like members of the storytellers, so warm and fun. The workshops were enlightening and interactive. The weekends left a warm, fuzzy feeling as we reluctantly left our new community of friends and storytellers. We might have gained a few pounds too!
I think I was part of the first Tellabration Concert at Perrin’s church. I loved sharing my Jewish Heritage with an enthusiastic audience.
Kudos to Perrin for having the brilliant vision to go statewide with our storytelling! State parks have benefited for years from tellers all over the state. Still happening!
I am so happy that I could be part of MO- TELL through the years!