The Way Things Worked

Plattsburgh was the first location this year for North Country Public Radio's “North Country at Work” project. “This is our second season of public programming,” said Amy Feiereisel, project coordinator.

“Our first was last year, and we did seven different locations. We've been meaning to get over here for a while because it's definitely one of the largest communities in the listening area of North Country Public Radio.”

She and the Clinton County Historical Association wrap up the Plattsburgh segment at 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 1, in Plattsburgh Memorial Chapel for “Clinton County at Work: Live!”

Project participants will tell stories about their work or the work their family did in Plattsburgh and Clinton County.  Feiereisel has worked with the association for two years going through its photographic archives to get them digitized and online.  “So we already kind of had a partnership and a relationship, which is always really nice,” she said.

Two scanning events in April brought in about 30 participants.  “It was really lovely,” she said. “We ended up having about 30 people coming in sharing their stories. That's a really high number for us actually.

"People are usually more willing to come out to something like an exhibit or a live storytelling event where they are just sort of an audience member and they are not required to do anything."  Everyone who came to the Plattsburgh collection sessions were either included in a photo, a short audio story or a larger audio story. “So they will be represented in some way,” Feiereisel said.

The project has received grant funding from the Adirondack Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, New York Humanities, National Archives and New York Regional Economic Development Council.