There was a whole lot of history packed into one room Monday, June 29, as Fountain View Village played host to the Storied Lives closing ceremony and celebration, a program designed to bridge the generation gap by partnering youths with local senior citizens.

At the event, Fountain Hills High School students sat next to their new Fountain View Village friends, laughing and swapping stories about the summer as they waited for the event to kick off.

Also in the audience were friends and family members of both groups, buzzing about the project and the impact it has had on the participants.

Over the past several weeks, these students have met with FVV residents, listening to the stories of their lives and taking plenty of notes to turn them into brief narratives.

At the closing ceremony, students took turns reading their stories to the folks who lived them, gifting them with a printed copy of the work as a way of saying thank you for sharing their tales.

The Storied Lives project was kicked off locally by resident Patti Milligan, who helped pull together Fountain View Village resident program director Teri Larson and Fountain Hills High School English teachers Patti Brown and Dawn Oester.

Even though this was just the pilot of a program the group hopes to see continue for years to come, Larson said that she saw the results as a tremendous success.

She pointed out the power of the Storied Lives program to unite generations, with the youngest participant being 13 and the eldest outpacing them by 90 years at 103.

Milligan agreed.

“And on top of sharing these stories, the students are gaining all sorts of beneficial experience,” she added.

“They’re practicing their interview skills, creative writing and, now, public speaking.”

The program was started on the East Coast, and this was the first attempt at such a project in Arizona.

Without further ado, students were invited to the front of the room to read their stories to the audience. At their side was the senior who gave them their inspiration.

* * *

First to the microphone was student Hope Brecto and FVV’s Carol Cherkasky.

Hope shared the story of a woman, her husband, their four kids and the many adventures they’ve gone on. Cherkasky spent her life as a nurse and a teacher, went on to enjoy the company of five grandkids and, all told, visited 29 countries along the way.

Brecto even provided a correction for The Times, which originally reported that Storied Lives would involve seniors in their 80s, 90s and past the century mark.

“She’s not 80 yet,” Brecto said, earning a round of chuckles from the crowd.

* * *

The second speaker for the day was student Noah Larson and the man who shared his story with Larson, Joe Schneider.

When invited to take a seat while Larson read his story, Schneider insisted on standing alongside his young friend.

Schneider, it turns out, led a childhood of meager means, but that wasn’t something he fretted over at the time.

“Nobody thought only having two pair of trousers was a big deal,” Larson said.

“Joe had one pair for Sunday and one pair for the rest of the week.”

Joe eventually grew up and found employment, which inevitably led to the purchase of his first car and, according to Larson, he “thought he was hot stuff.”

Schneider’s life took many twists and turns, including a trip to the Korean War and raising some kids of his own. He’s stood strong, though, as Larson pointed out that “despite his age, Joe still has one of the firmest handshakes I’ve ever felt.”

* * *

Next to share a tale was Laura Anderson, who met with Barbara Steiniche for the Storied Lives Project.

Now 102, Steiniche’s story began with a trip to Europe and some confusion while trying to drive on the “wrong” side of the road. On vacation with her family, Steiniche’s anecdote ended with everyone deciding to take trains for the remainder of their time overseas.

Steiniche’s travels didn’t end in Europe, though, as she and her family continued to tour the world, including her favorite place of all, Costa Rica.

Anderson clearly got a real feel for Steiniche’s experiences, peppering her work with the sights and sounds of the journeys that were shared.

She concluded by sharing Steiniche’s advice to the younger generation: “Have an ambition to travel before settling down.”

* * *

Max Giger’s story was next on the agenda, telling the story of Maxine Lundin-Decker. Giger was unable to attend the ceremony, however, so fellow Falcon Reilly Milligan was kind enough to step in and read the final essay aloud.

As a young woman, Maxine aspired to become a missionary and was advised to pursue social work in preparation.

She fell in love with working with youngsters, though, and eventually went on to become a kindergarten teacher and raise three kids of her own.

After moving into the field of real estate and right back into teaching, Lundin-Decker and her husband became snow birds, visiting the area annually and staying in Rio Verde.

“Education was a theme throughout her life,” Giger said of Lundin-Decker, before putting in a final note about both of their love for the Washington Redskins.

* * *

Derek Weinreich got to know 103-year-old Bill Kaufman for the Storied Lives project, with Weinreich telling the story of a man who has lived more than five times longer than this FHHS youngster.

Kaufman was born in Frankfurt, Germany, and moved to the United States before the big war. He’s been married for 70 years, but that came after joining the Army and building/repairing typewriters for Uncle Sam.

Kaufman’s father also worked on typewriters professionally, and that’s exactly how he made his own living after the war, too.

Kaufman eventually decided to travel the world, usually opting to take his favorite means of transportation along the way: cruise ships.

* * *

Cathy Underwood was born in Lowell, Mass. In 1925 and, according to student Katie McErlean, her story was best defined by the number two.

“She had two jobs, two kids, was married two times, lived through World War II and graduated number two in her class,” McErlean explained.

Underwood was a diligent worker, going so far as to try to take up smoking once just to get a break every now and then.

Like several of her peers, Underwood went on to become a world traveler. She said her favorite trip of all, though, was a recent Viking River Cruise through Italy.

* * *

The final student/senior pairing for Storied Lives included Sierra Jarriel and Adrienne Smoja. The duo were not able to attend the closing ceremony, however, so Jarriel’s retelling of Smoja’s life was read to the group by Teri Larson.

Born in Hungary “under Communism’s wicked grasp,” Smoja and members of her family were eventually smuggled out of the country before finally earning their freedom in the United States.

Here, Smoja and her family were able to start over. They bought a home, started their own business and even managed to send their daughter to college and grad school.

Despite rough times in Hungary in her earlier years, Smoja told Jarriel that she still visits her first home every couple of years.

* * *

So inspired by the work of local students, organizer Patti Milligan decided to tell the story of her grandmother, Elsie, who also resides in Fountain View Village.

Born in 1918 in Minnesota, she went on to raise four successful children, two of whom were born deaf.

Elsie has lived through seven presidents and managed to get in a lot of travel over the years. Her name means “plentiful,” which Milligan said is exactly the type of life she has lived.

As for her advice to today’s youth?

“Just go for it,” she said. “Don’t let fear hold you back.”