March 30, 2015 at 5:06 p.m.
Around the corner with the Hodag
Around the corner with the Hodag
A large group of local residents gathered at the Expera Specialty Solutions administration building Saturday to watch the premiere of the Rhinelander-focused episode of "Around the Corner with John McGivern."
The show is produced by Milwaukee Public Television and broadcast on PBS stations across the Midwest. Originally, it focused solely on the Milwaukee area. Once all of those bases were covered, however, McGivern decided to expand his horizons and search out interesting places throughout the state. Eventually he found his way to Hodag Country.
"There are certain towns that really stand out, and Rhinelander is one of them," said Helene Phelps of the Wisconsin Public Television development department. "I know (McGivern) had a blast up here, saying it was one of the most fun productions that they've done, and I think that's certainly because of the colorful characters, the history, the mythology of the Hodag and just the friendliness of the people and the willingness to share what you have."
The episode is split into three sections - working in Rhinelander, living in Rhinelander and playing in Rhinelander.
During the working in Rhinelander section, McGivern focused on the various businesses, including the paper mill.
Jeff Verdoorn, the mill's manager, said he had a great time working with McGivern on the episode.
"It's just great to be part of the community and to be able to show what we do," he said. "Not a lot of people know everything we do. When they think of Rhinelander, they think of a paper mill, but in reality, we make a lot of other things like food packaging and liner, things that you don't associate with paper, so it was nice to get our story out."
It was that sense of community that made Expera want to host the premiere, Verdoorn said.
"We feel we're a big part of the community and we have this nice space, so we wanted to bring everybody in to enjoy this," he said.
Ponsee North America was also featured in the episode. President and CEO Pekka Ruuskanen said he enjoyed the experience of participating in a television show.
"(McGivern) was very easy-going and very easy to work with," he said. "I got to teach him how to run some of the equipment, which was fun."
As for the premiere, Ruuskanen said it was wonderful to see the community gather together for such a positive event.
"It's a really good feeling to see everybody gather together for this," he said. "This is a cool thing for Rhinelander."
Once it came time for the living in Rhinelander section, Rhinelander Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Dana DeMet appeared on the screen. He said filming the episode was one of the highlights of his year.
"The Around the Corner crew and John McGivern were a lot of fun to work with and it was apparent that they really enjoyed their time in Rhinelander," DeMet said. "I'm proud that Rhinelander will be shown off to viewers all across the Midwest on one of the premier programs on public television today. This is an excellent opportunity for us to show off the unique aspects of living, working, and playing in the Rhinelander area. Now viewers all across the Midwest will get a glimpse of what it's like to be a true Rhinelander resident."
Playing in Rhinelander featured what any resident would expect it would feature - the many activities available in the Northwoods no matter the season.
Those unable to attend the premiere will still be able to see the show. It will air at 7 p.m. April 2 on PBS. It will also be uploaded to YouTube and the Around the Corner website - www.mptv.org/localshows/around_the_corner.
Marcus Nesemann may be reached at [email protected].
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