'Working' Then And Now: A Gravedigger's Unexpected Joys

Homer Martinez, a gravedigger and caretaker, tells author Studs Terkel about the unexpected joys of his job at Shalom Memorial Cemetery in Illinois.

This interview and others that Terkel recorded for his 1974 book, Working, were boxed away in his house until recently, when Radio Diaries and Project& combed through them and produced a series of audio stories, Working Then And Now.

In the book, Martinez appeared under the pseudonym, Elmer Ruiz.

Thanks to the WFMT Studs Terkel Archive and the Chicago History Museum. More stories from the series are also available on The Radio Diaries Podcast.

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