North Country Kitchen Table Conversations

Eileen Visser left on a 2200-mile kayaking adventure on July 1st, for what she says is the first human powered traverse through the NorthWest Passage. The journey will take her through the summer and into early Fall. The seasoned paddler joins Jody Tosti on “Community Connection.”

Nancy Wilson of the famed rock band, Heart, has named Sierra Levesque as being one of the “new generation” of female singer/songwriters. In a poster that Wilson had designed to highlight the women in music she admires, Sierra is listed among artists that include Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish. From her home in Pembroke, Ontario, she joins Jody Tosti on “Community Connection.”

It is National Crime Victim’s Week and the St. the Lawrence County Safe Harbour Program is raising awareness of human trafficking and sexual exploitation through a week-long series of talks and films on the SUNY Potsdam campus. Bekah Charleston will share her personal story of survival tomorrow as she presents, Tragedy To Triumph: A Survivor’s Perspective.

Nancy Wilson of the famed rock band, Heart, has named Sierra Levesque as being one of the “new generation” of female singer/songwriters. In a poster that Wilson had designed to highlight the women in music she admires, Sierra is listed among artists that include Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish. From her home in Pembroke, Ontario, she joins Jody Tosti on “Community Connection.”

This was an amazing conversation with Sam Miller. I hope you enjoy it. 

It’s not uncommon to see an Amish horse-drawn buggy in the North Country or to see Amish folks shopping in local businesses or grocery stores. And while they’ visible, they’re lifestyle is still somewhat unknown to many of us. In a new book, “Memoir: Reasons Why I Left the Amish Community” Sam Miller shares his story of leaving his family and what that journey has looked like for more than a decade. 

https://www.amazon.com/Memoir-Reasons-Left-Amish-Community/dp/1639373101

To spice things up in the North Country, Beau Soleil avec Michael Doucet will be performing at the Norwood-Norfolk auditorium. Jody Tosti caught up with the two-time Grammy winner to talk about his long history of making Cajun music with his Louisiana band.

You may not have heard of Jackie Mitchell, but she took the baseball world by storm 90 years-ago when she struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in a preseason game against the Yankees. Her story of being a female athlete in the 1930’s for the Chattanooga Lookouts is chronicled in a new book by baseball historian John Kovach and he joins Jody Tosti on “Community Connection.”

If you’re a fan of the Boss, you’ll want to listen to today’s “Community Connection.” Retired SUNY Potsdam professor, John Massaro, will talk with Jody Tosti about his latest work, Shades of Springsteen: Politics, Love, Sports and Masculinity. The book focuses on the Springsteen course that he taught for nearly a decade and his experiences as a lifelong fan of the New Jersey musical icon.

In 2020, according to Microsoft News, New Yorkers reported 113 bigfoot sightings. Dean Gleason is the head of the Seaway Valley Bigfoot Association, which he began several years ago as way for people to report their experiences. He joins Jody Tosti today on “Community Connection.”

The exhibit “Akwesasne at Work” at the Akwesasne Cultural Center Museum opened earlier this month with images and stories that explore the historical work role of logging, ironworking and basket making. Museum manager, Iakonikonriiosta, (ya go ni gon lee yo sta) joins Jody Tosti today on “Community Connection.”

It’s Memorial Day, one day that is set aside each year to honor and recognize our fallen men and women in the military. Vietnam Veteran Stanley Crump, a Potsdam Amvets member and volunteer joins Jody Tosti on “Community Connection” to talk about today’s ceremony in Ives Park and what this day means to him.

North Country Bound is a play that explores the impact of prisons in the North Country from the viewpoint of retired New York State Corrections Officers and staff. Written by SUNY Potsdam Professor Rivka Rocchio, the staged reading tonight on ZOOM will include a Q&A and is free to the public. Rocchio has taught Theatre and English in prisons, high schools, and middle schools and joins Jody Tosti today on “Community Connection.” Rivka does amazing work and I look forward to a longer conversation with her when we're all vaccinated and can sit down at my kitchen table. 

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10224551918042700&set=a.3065371710543

Mountain Lake PBS will air the short film, Tree House tomorrow at 2 PM. It’s one of three films featured in the half-hour special Festival Films: Spotlight on New York Shorts. Producer and co-director of Tree House, Claire Kinnen joined me to talk about this movie that was shot in DeKalb, NY in a week with a very small budget. 

https://vimeo.com/336495086

It’s International Women’s Day, March 8th, a day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. All this week on “Community Connection” we’ll hear from teachers, artists, and grassroots organizers starting with Dr. Jessica Rogers, assistant professor of Environmental Studies at SUNY Potsdam about her work that has taken her across the world. 

David Penepent has been on the frontlines of COVID 19 for nearly a year now helping with relief efforts in New York City and starting a grassroots program he calls “Hands With a Heart.” The SUNY Canton funeral services director has been featured in the New York Times, CNN, Univision and interviewed by filmmaker Spike Lee. He joins Jody Tosti along with some of his students who’ve been with him throughout this journey. 

BBBA is a film written and directed by Elijah Winfrey, a Massena-native, who used all local talent in the dystopian picture that was shot in several areas in St. Lawrence County. 

Matt is a former Watertown Daily Times reporter who covered the St. Lawrence County beat for many years.

Beverly King survived the 2017 mass shooting at a country music festival in Las Vegas. The Malone-native spoke with me about the harrowing, life-changing experience and the work she now does with a non-profit group called Comfort Cubs, which sends teddy bears to help victims heal from trauma and loss.

This is my conversation with Potsdam-native, Jason Sutter, whose drumming journey started as a North Country kid honing his skills with the help of The Crane School of Music and a happening bar scene in St. Lawrence County.