Station to Station with Joe Pavia

Paul Arnold's interest in farming started in his 20s as an experiment in his father's backyard. "In 1986 when I decided to farm, I farmed in [my dad's] backyard to see if I really liked it," said Paul in a 2013 farm tour. "I worked for another farmer for one summer. And then started looking for land and found the land that we're going to walk to. And that was in 1988. We bought it. It was just a cornfield and some hayland." Paul and his wife Sandy have been running Pleasant Valley Farm since the early 1990s. It is located near the village of Argyle, New York, about a one-hour drive north of the state capital, Albany. Since then, the Arnolds have mentored a number of others interested in farming and continue to farm themselves growing "a range of over 40 types of vegetables and fruits year-round," according to their website. In Episode 29 of Station to Station with Joe Pavia, Exploring Pleasant Valley Farm & Echo Creek Farm in New York State, the Arnolds and one of the people they mentored, Michael Palulis will share their agricultural journey.

Alanis Morissette was 18 years-old when she won her first big music award; Most Promising Female Vocalist at the 1992 Junos. She went by just Alanis and recorded music in the dance/pop genre. I was a young reporter in the media room that year, and recorded the backstage question and answer session she had with reporters.

Author and storyteller Robert Munsch released what would become his multi-million selling children's book Love You Forever in 1986. It was the 11th book Munsch had published, and it was a drastic change from his silly stories that made kids and their parents laugh. I was a first year college student when I conducted the interview with Munsch at his home in Guelph. Visit my website www.joepavia.com to read more about this interview and check out the photo.

The flu and serious injuries from a car accident didn't stop Abbie Hoffman from talking for two-and-a-half-hours to an audience at the University of Guelph in September of 1988. The co-founder of the 1960s counter-culture group the Youth International Party, or Yippies as they were commonly known, had a lot to say.Abbie Hoffman was in southern Ontario that year for the Festival of Festivals in Toronto, now known as the Toronto International Film Festival. I was given 10 minutes backstage for an interview. Read the story on www.joepavia.com

Sid Sedunary, who lived all of his life in England, had known the story of the sinking of the Titanic from a very young age. His mother had told him about the ship and of his father Sid Sedunary Senior. He was a third class steward on the Titanic, and one of 1,500 passengers and crew who died on the ocean liner’s maiden voyage in April, 1912. Read more about Sid on my website: www.joepavia.com

Canadian children's author Jean Little passed away on April 6, 2020 at the age of 88. She had published over 50 books since her 1962 novel Mine for Keeps. This interview with Jean Little was conducted in November of 1986 when she had released her 13th novel Different Dragons. There's more information about Jean Little on my website www.joepavia.com

Celia McBride is a Canadian playwright born in the Yukon and currently living in Port Hope, Ontario. She was the only female playwright to have her one-act play, Walk Right Up, performed at the inaugural season of the Stratford Festival’s newest venue, the Studio Theatre, in 2002. That play tells the story of the three adult children from the fictional Ruskin family, who need to make decisions about caring for their elderly parents. I first interviewed Celia McBride in the summer of 2002 after seeing the play. We catch up 17 years later and discuss other artistic projects she’s undertaken in the interim, as well as her latest writing project, a spiritual memoir. Photos, programs and the 2002 interview can be seen and hear at my website: www.joepavia.com

My friend needed to talk!  They needed to explain the reasons why we hadn’t seen much of each other and why, when we did agree to get together for drinks or dinner, there would be a cancellation at the last minute.  For years, they explained they experienced panic and anxiety attacks which would physically paralyze them. Their story inspired me to do my own research and  produce a radio feature on the topic for a news magazine show I contributed to called CJEZ Newsweek.

Episode 21 of Station to Station features my 1990 interview with Clarence Clemons, the original saxophone player for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

A group of fans wants David Cassidy inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and they’ve been adding their names to a growing petition. They argue there’s more about the former teen idol than the four years he was on a TV sitcom in the early 1970s. In this episode, a follow-up to Episode 17:David Cassidy part 1, I’ll speak to Alison, a member of a group in England who launched a campaign to get Cassidy into the Rock Hall and to have his back catalog of music and concert films released. Read more at www.joepavia.com

Former network radio reporter John McKay was already in the second decade of his career in the late 1980s when he was assigned by Broadcast News (BN), now the Canadian Press,  to the Washington D.C. bureau. His job was to report the Canadian perspective on American issues including a free trade deal between Canada and the U.S. and acid rain legislation. But a few other high profile events occurred while he was there. Check out the story at : www.joepavia.com

The same day a rumour about hockey legend Wayne Gretzky's imminent retirement from the game of hockey, the station I worked at received a faxed news release that had his dad’s home number on it. Was it a joke? Would Wayne have told his dad about his retirement plans from hockey? Was that really the home number of the parents of number 99?

My 1991 interview with teen idol, David Cassidy When I spoke to him he had been living in the U.K, working in musical theatre and cut a record that was making waves on the radio charts in North America. It was long after the glamour shots in Tiger Beat magazine and the 1970s sitcom The Partridge Family, when we had our six minute conversation on the phone. Cassidy had just turned 40. The music station I was working at was playing a song from that album called “Lyin to Myself”. Our talk was one in a set of media interviews organized in Canada to promote the album, the song and an upcoming concert tour. There's more on my website www.joepavia.com

Ann Medina discusses her career as a national television reporter with ABC and NBC in the U.S, and in Canada on the CBC, where she worked as a foreign correspondent. Part history lesson, part journalism lecture Ann tells great stories about her life on the road. Check out photos and blogs on Joe's website: www.joepavia.com

Meet Trudy Medcalf! At the age of 14 she asked about starting a fan club after seeing a band perform at a concert in Margate, England. That band was The Beatles. More info at: www.joepavia.com

Telecommunications company Motorola was marketing a really cool product in the early 1990s called SportsTrax that allowed you to receive real-time action from a Toronto Blue Jays game to wherever you were. In episode 14 of Station to Station, original early 90’s audio of the news conference Joe covered which introduced the product. As well the 1993 newscast he read the night the Jays won their second consecutive World Series. Check out photos and blogs on Joe's website: www.joepavia.com

Former history librarian Susan Hoffman described Oral History as:"the ultimate example of grass roots social history." This episode of Station to Station focuses on the voices from the past, preserved in the Oral History Tape Collection at the Kitchener Public Library. (KPL) The voices you hear share their every day life experiences in the community, while others share stories of international journeys. You will hear the stories of two women who were in the same room with former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill; another who describes starting her life as a writer in the 1930s; a former Mayor who made a deal with the South during the American Civil War; and another who fought in the Spanish Civil War. To guide you, are four individuals connected to the KPL program: history librarian, Karen Ball-Pyatt; former history librarian, Susan Hoffman; and former interviewers, Frances Hoffman and Dr. Andrew Thomson. Joe has posted a list of other oral history links that may interest you on my website www.joepavia.com

When Daniel Alter was 17, he made a commitment to see the movie, Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. The teen was at the front of the line, outside the Mann Village Theatre in Westwood, California in April of 1999. The movie would not premier until late May. Joe located him by calling a restaurant next door to the movie theatre. This is a recording of the conversation they had. Check out Joe's website: www.joepavia.com

In 1991, author Robert Draper went behind the scenes and wrote the book, Rolling Stone Magazine:An Uncensored History. It was a book that founder, Jann Wenner did not like. Draper explains to Joe why Wenner disapproved of the book in this interview that originally aired on DC 103.5 in Orangeville. www.joepavia.com

I was inspired to produce this feature after hearing the stories of 5 women who served in both World Wars. The audio was found in the Oral History Tape collection at the Kitchener Public Library in Kitchener, Ontario. The history room, which is called the Grace Schmidt Room is filled with photos, stories and audio interviews from heritage members of the community. The voices you’ll hear in this feature are those of Waterloo Region’s Women in War, Margaret Schreiter, Dr. Debora Glaister Hannay, Catherine Wilkes Thompson, Ann Screiber and Darlene McClennan. The extended interviews can be found online at www.kpl.org My website: www.joepavia.com

For as long as Joe can remember his family has cut down their Christmas tree. Every year, usually the day it opens, they trek to Benjamin Tree Farm north of Waterloo, Ontario to find the tree that will decorate their house for the season. Benjamin is one of just over 2 thousand cut your own farms in Canada. According to 2011 numbers from Statistics Canada most of these farms are located in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia. They would cut down their tree in late November which means the tree would be up for at least 6 weeks. Two things can happen when it's up for that long. It'll either die and start shedding needles. Or it'll start sprouting buds. During one of their traditional family trips Joe brought along a microphone and recording device to capture the sounds of the search. Photos and stories can be found on www.joepavia.com

American activist, Gloria Steinem discusses self-esteem and “outrageous acts” in a 1992 interview with Joe while she was on a tour promoting her book, Revolution from Within: A Book of Self-Esteem. Check out Joe's website: www.joepavia.com

You’ve heard the old cliche, “everyone has a book in them”. Lucy Kraemer thinks so. Kraemer, a free-lance writer and librarian in the small town of Mount Forest, northwest of Toronto, conducts memoir writing workshops. Joe discusses the process of getting started on telling your own, unique story. Check out Joe's website: www.joepavia.com

Joe speaks with restaurant blogger, Jan Whitaker who gives some insight into the career of Chef Joseph Cancel's. “I know you like to cook and that you like old stuff...” That’s all Joe's dad said as he handed him a small, black, very well worn, leather bound book . The book, Cancel's Ready Reference of Menu Terms, written by Chef Joseph Gancel, has been in the Pavia family since 1913. It was around that time that Joe's grandfather and great-uncle travelled across the Atlantic to the United States to pursue careers as chefs in some of the restaurants of Boston. Whitaker has researched and written many articles about the restaurant industry in the U.S and published an article on Cancel in 2012. Jan's work can be found via this web address: https://restaurant-ingthroughhistory.com Photos of the book Menu Terms can be found on Joe's website www.joepavia.com

Physician-assisted dying will become a reality in Canada this year. This episode deals with a town hall meeting I attended in Toronto. Ontario’s Ministry of Health wanted to hear from the community in person and through online surveys on this very emotional issue. If you’re interested in supplemental reading you’ll find the recommendations made by a Canadian advisory committee. Here is the link:final report and recommendations (PDF). As well you’ll find a link to the Death and Dignity Act from Oregon. https://public.health.oregon.gov/ProviderPartnerResources/EvaluationResearch/DeathwithDignityAct/Pages/index.aspx Check out Joe's website: www.joepavia.com

In 1994, “The Raptors” was one of ten contenders, in a contest to name the newly formed, Toronto NBA team. The day the list of names was released, Joe was given the radio news assignment to ask people what their choice would be. The list included the names of animals like Hogs, Terriers and Beavers. Check out Joe's website: www.joepavia.com

Cuoco in pensione Luigi Pavia ha ottenuto il lavoro di una vita , nel giugno del 1987 , quando è stato assunto per cucinare per Frank Sinatra . Sinatra era un giro di 7 città d'Italia e avrebbe chiamato una villa fuori Roma la sua casa . Come fanno le persone ottenere posti di lavoro come questo ? In questo episodio di Station to Station Joe parla con i figli di Luigi su il lavoro , il cibo e il concerto . www.joepavia.com

Retired chef Luigi Pavia got the job of a lifetime in June of 1987 when he was hired to cook for Frank Sinatra. Sinatra was on a 7 city tour of Italy and would call a villa outside of Rome his home. How do people get jobs like this? In this episode of Station to Station Joe speaks with Luigi’s children Anna and Pino about the job, the food and the concert. Check out photos on Joe's website: www.joepavia.com

The Philadelphia Media Network is operating under a new business model. The owner of the newspapers, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, and the web portal, philly.com, is a for profit company, owned by the non-profit Philadelphia Foundation. Joe speaks with Publisher, Terrance Egger about the organization's shift to: “keep journalism alive.” Check out Joe's website: www.joepavia.com

All the workout but without the sweat; Joe hangs out at the gym and speaks with two of his ‘coaches’ who he met through wellness programs at the YMCA where I am a member. Joe has been a member of the same gym for a lot of years, but only recently did it click that there was more to the place than, weights, treadmills and stationary bikes. In this episode Joe explains his experience taking part in two wellness programs; Diabetes Fit and Live Smart. You’ll hear the voices of two instructors Amanda Serschen and Jamie Mathews. As well, the voices of two classmates Peggy and Michelle. Check out Joe's photos and blogs on his website: www.joepavia.com