For the last few weeks, StoryCorps has set up their Mobile Tour in Brattleboro, Vermont, recording and preserving the stories of Vermonters for archive at the Library of Congress.
StoryCorps brings loved ones together for thousands of meaningful conversations about the things that matter most. And today, we hear from two Vermonters who formed a bond over fatherhood.
This interview was produced for the ear. We highly recommend listening to the audio. We’ve also provided a transcript below, which has been edited for length and clarity.
Keegan Albaugh: So, Marlon, you and I are both dads.
Marlon Fisher: Yes.
Keegan Albaugh: We've been dadding for a while.
Marlon Fisher: Eight years to be exact.
Keegan Albaugh: Eight years.
Marlon Fisher: All of my connections, because I was a stay at home dad with my oldest son, were a bunch of moms who I love and like, they're part of my OG mom group.
Keegan Albaugh: I knew about you in the community. You just have such a big personality, and you're on stage and, you know, Black men stick out in Vermont.
Marlon Fisher: Well, we should mention — yes, I am Black.
[Laughter.]
Keegan Albaugh: I remember seeing you a few times, but it wasn't until that day when we saw each other like, twice, it was just like, oh, this is fate telling us that we should be friends. And we should dismantle the patriarchy together.
Marlon Fisher: Yes. I think at that moment, like, you know when you buy a car, and it's like, "I'm gonna get this car," and then you see that car all over the place? You know, I think after that day, when we saw each other twice, I saw you all the time after that.
Keegan Albaugh: You're totally right, because it was that summer. And then that fall, you know, because you and I were talking just about like, "Hey, like, we have some dads who are interested, people are looking for connections, they're looking to have fun. What can we do?"
Marlon Fisher: Right.
Keegan Albaugh: And I remember we started this kind of slow process, talking to people and just kind of seeing what already existed. Just really wanting to build a community for dads, a place where, like, dads could connect with each other and feel comfortable and safe with each other. We were like, let's start something. Let's create this group. And so that was the birth of Dad Guild.
Marlon Fisher: Right. A Facebook group. And we just, we'd just throw events in there — meet at this playground at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Boom. Like, that was it.
Keegan Albaugh: Yeah. It was like, early on, too. Because like, you know, the concept of men and masc-identifying caregivers coming together to connect — especially connect over being a dad — was just like, not a thing. But we were like, "Nah, this is gonna be a thing." And yeah, we would do these playgroups. And like, sometimes they would just be like you and me showing up.
Marlon Fisher: Right, with our kids, with our two kids. I mean, I want to go back to what you said earlier. You said, like there was this nervousness around connecting, right? And I think that's like, what I've learned being part of the Dad Guild, there's this, like, hesitation to want to connect. And I'm glad that we've been able to break that barrier down for a lot of dads in the last six years. It's been awesome.
Keegan Albaugh: Yeah. We officially became a nonprofit back in 2019. And, you know, here we are five years later. You know, we started out with $0, we had a volunteer board.
Marlon Fisher: The three of us.
Keegan Albaugh: The three of us. And we had like a couple dozen dads awkwardly meeting up at playgrounds. And, you know, five years later, we're going into fiscal year 2024-25. We have, you know, a budget over $300,000, we have, you know, just about three full-time staff equivalents. We have a network of about 1,000 dads and masc-identifying caregivers across the state of Vermont.
Marlon Fisher: We have at least 10 programs a month.
Keegan Albaugh: Yeah, we're getting like 75 to 100 different dads participating every month. And it's been so fun. And I think back to those early days, because people are like, "How did you create this? How did you start it?" I was like, you know, stumbling a lot, but just sticking with it.
Marlon Fisher: What's really important for me, as I establish these values into my kids, like you have to have trusting relationships. And so because we all, as fathers, get so deep and vulnerable with each other, our kids see that, and now they have, you know, 12 trusted adults who are males in their lives, you know, which is super — well, not super important, but I'm grateful for.
Keegan Albaugh: Well, I think it is super important. When I think about our kids have been with it since the beginning. And it's been so amazing where you know, these kids during their developmental years, the norm is going to playgrounds and play groups with a bunch of dads, and their dads saying, "I'm gonna go talk with other dads and about how I'm doing, and they're my friends, and I need them for support." It's so powerful to be modeling that at such a young age.
Marlon Fisher: And for me, I have to model like, not only being a dad but I have to model being a Black dad, and so having my kids see, you know, here's a group and then, you know, here in Vermont, right, every Black person that walks by, they're like, "Dad, is that your friend?" I'm like, "Yup. that's my friend." "How do you know 'em?" "We just know each other."
[Laughter.]
To build community, especially with, you know, people who look like them. People who don't look like them. Because these relationships are so important, especially when we can be real and go below the surface.
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