PORTAGE —
All day long Saturday, Portage-area residents filtered in for televised interviews to let everyone know just what makes their piece of the world so special.
And there was plenty.
Conversations included the Sonman Mine disaster, renovated football stadium, drive-in theater, Cassandra railroad overlook and a kids’ reading group, said Dick Rice, a resident volunteering with the public television crew.
And glancing at a fire truck parked outside the Portage Station Museum, Rice quipped, “They bring props.”
Two dozen residents were scheduled for interviews at the museum as WPSU filmed for an episode of “Our Town,” in which residents do most of the videotaping.
The Portage segment – 58th in the series, dating to 1996 – will air at 8 p.m. Dec. 9, said Whitney Chirdon, a producer of the “Our Town” shows.
She saw two recurring topics as the day progressed.
“The themes I’ve seen today are those who are tied to the heritage and the sense of giving back to the community,” Chirdon said. The interviewees included representatives of women’s and civic clubs.
“They’re people who obviously have a lot of pride in the area.”
One of those is Richard Bernazzoli, superintendent of the Portage Area School District.
He dropped by to sketch out the history of the district, including the 34 separate schools that have existed since 1829.
“We have a very unique, a very rich history of our district,” he said.
“It’s an honor,” Bernazzoli said about participating in the filming. As superintendent, he got to speak for the district, and said, “I guess I was just in the right place at the right time.”
The show will feature Portage – borough and township – along with Cassandra.
Chirdon said one appealing element of the show is that producers don’t choose what they like.
“We let people decide about what is important about their town,” she said.
Chirdon singled out high school student Shane Tarachko for praise. Tarachko did a lot of the location filming as part of his senior project.
Local News
Related Photos
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Richard Bernazzoli, superintendent of the Portage Area School District, is filmed Saturday by WPSU videographer Dick Knupp at the Portage Station Museum. Local residents were scheduled for interviews at the museum as WPSU filmed for an episode of “Our Town,” in which residents do most of the videotaping. Gregg Doll/For The Tribune-Democrat
Discussion
Lights, camera ...
Interviews filmed for Portage’s ‘Our Town’ episode
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