Hello Sourcers!

We’ve got so much spooky action to get to, including a new column from our Chief Content Officer, Christine Dempsey, so let’s dive right in!

📖 History!

👨‍🎤 Opera!

👻 GHOSTS!

🥛 Glass!

🎶 Vinyl!

We’re starting this week in Norwich, where the Chenango County Historical Society is holding events for a statewide Path Through History weekend. Events will take place across Norwich’s Museum District, including Haudenosaunee singers & dancers, a fashion show Fashion Show, featuring the first Indigenous fashion designer to show collections during New York City Fashion Week, and an interactive workshop with legendary children's book author, Suzanne Bloom. You can find out more at the CCHS website.

If your interest in history knows no bounds, you may want to join us at the Lyceum Classroom at the WSKG Studios (601 Gates Road, Vestal, NY) on October 14 at 10am for the annual Faculty Lecture, The Medieval Monks Who Saved Lesbian History and the Nazi Who Tried to Erase It, presented by Bridget Whearty, Associate Professor of English and Medieval Studies at Binghamton University.

Speaking of lectures, I am nerdily obliged to inform you that Tufts professor Frank Lehman will be presenting The Perfect Luke-Alike: Musical Rhymes and References in the Skywalker Saga, at Ithaca College on Friday at 5pm.

Binghamton's Tri-Cities Opera kicks off their new season this weekend with Gianni Schicchi, a one-act comic opera about impersonating a dead man that features WSKG Classical’s own Bill Snyder!

But most importantly, this is the point in October when haunting really kicks into high gear. There are so many haunted houses, scream parks, and haunted hayrides packed into the next couple weeks, I’ve lost bodycount. I found a Real Fear of the Southern Tier and a Real Fear of the Twin Tiers. I’ve waded through spooktacular puns, terrifying graphic design choices, and enough rubber mask photos to fill a Spirit Halloween store, but the one that intrigues me is the Rolling Hills Asylum in East Bethany, NY. The claims of “real ghosts” are all very impressive, but what really got me was that they only allow incandescent flashlights on their ghost tours; no LEDs.

That’s a kind of specificity I can get behind.

What local spots are sending a chill up your spine these days, Sourcers?

Happy hauntings,

Bob Proehl

Locally Sourced editor

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Hello, Art Lovers!

This month is all about glass! 

On October 11th, the Corning Museum of Glass unveisl a site-specific installation by world-renowned artist and architect Maya Lin, known for her elegant environmental works and the iconic design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Part of Lin’s ongoing Marble River Drawing series, the piece interprets the four rivers that converge in the Corning region: the Chemung, Tioga, Cohocton, and Canisteo, through the shimmering medium of glass marbles.

Lin’s Marble River Drawing series transforms the fluid movement of waterways into sculptural form, inviting viewers to see rivers as interconnected living systems. “Waterways have a kind of magic,” Lin says. “We rarely see them as unified systems… but when you step back and take in the whole, these living systems reveal themselves as singular, interconnected entities.”

Can’t make it on October 11th for the unveiling? That’s okay! This work will be part of the museum's permanent collection. A trip to Corning and a stroll through the Corning Museum of Glass is a perfect way to spend any fall day.

In November, the Fusion Arts COLLECTIVE will open its 2025 exhibition. The Fusion Arts COLLECTIVE, presented by The Studio of the Corning Museum of Glass and Community Arts of Elmira, invites Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to explore artmaking in an inclusive, hands-on environment, no prior experience required.

Eight students were chosen through an application process to participate in an eight-week arts immersion program, combining photography and glass fusion to explore themes of community, connection, and identity. With all materials provided, they are guided through a multi-layered process that encourages experimentation, reflection, and collaboration.

The culminating exhibition will showcase the participants’ final works, offering the public a chance to experience the results of their hard work. The Opening Celebration on November 1, 2025, at Community Arts of Elmira (413 Lake Street, Elmira, NY) is free and open to all, inviting visitors to engage with the artists and celebrate the creative energy of the region’s BIPOC community.

Is there cool art stuff happening in your town? I would love to hear about it! amicha@wskg.org

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I’m a vinyl record enthusiast, have been since I was a kid. I love the tactile experience of holding a record, flipping it over to play the other side, reading the liner notes or any other “extras” it came with. There’s a pretty famous (among vinyl enthusiasts) New Yorker cartoon by Alex Gregory that hits the nail on the head.

(That inconvenience came into play every time I moved to a new place!)

When I moved to the Southern Tier, one of the first things I looked for was record stores. Luckily, there are three within my immediate area, and I’m sure more I’ll want to discover. So far, I’ve found myself visiting Angry Mom Records in Ithaca, Music City and Sound-Go-Round in Binghamton.

I’ll be sharing some of my finds with you and would love to hear about what you come across or places you recommend to find used vinyl.  

This week, I’m sharing some discs I picked up at Angry Mom Records.

I discovered Peggy Lee when I was in college. My radio station friends and I couldn’t get over the ridiculousness of “Is That All There Is,” inspired by the short story “Disillusionment” by Thomas Mann. However, the song about dealing with life’s adversities was really about how resilient Peggy Lee was. She co-wrote over 270 songs, produced over a thousand master recordings, was nominated for 13 Grammy Awards, and appeared in films, including a variety of voice-over characters in Disney’s Lady and the Tramp. After Disney released the cartoon on VHS, Lee successfully sued them for breach of contract for not paying royalties on the video sale. Not only was she resilient, she was pretty bad-ass.

While visiting Angry Mom, I hit the motherload of used Peggy Lee albums, pretty much cleaning out her section. Some of my finds:

Ole ala Lee! – The title says it all! The songs on this 1961 album are styled in a spectacular Latin fashion. This isn’t her first attempt at Latin rhythms, it’s a follow-up to her 1960 disc, “Latin a la Lee!” Here Peggy’s sultry voice comes through on the slower, romantic bolero style songs like “By Myself” and “You Stepped Out of a Dream.” The more pop songs like “Love and Marriage” don’t hold up to the authentic Latin sound.

I Like Men! - Both the album title and Peggy Lee’s sly, knowing smile on the front cover let you know you are about to hear some sexy song delivery on this 1959 record. She opened up the Great American Songbook to find some lesser-known songs like “Charley, My Boy,” and also co-wrote the title track.

Sugar N’ Spice – one of the best things about this 1962 album is the cheesy record cover! One side is the “Sugar” pic of Peggy and the other is her “Spicy” look. This disc has it all – jazz pop versions of Broadway tunes like “I Believe in You,” a cover of Ma Rainey’s  “See See Rider,” and even the novelty tune, “Big Bad Bill.” If you’re not that familiar with Peggy Lee, this is the album to get, highlighting her dynamic range of emotions.