John McGivern to feature East Troy on TV show in April
By Tracy Ouellette
Editor
John McGivern, host and producer of Milwaukee Public Television’s “Around the Corner” spend much of last week touring East Troy and meeting its residents when he and his crew filmed for an episode of the show.
McGivern said they chose East Troy because of its location and small-town atmosphere.
“At the end of each season we sit around a table and talk about what we want to do next year and East Troy seemed to be a perfect spot,” McGivern said. “It’s what we call ‘long but can go home’ in that it’s a distance from Milwaukee, but we can still go home each night.”
He spoke about how he drove through East Troy a lot when he filmed in Whitewater two years ago and how he thought it would make a fascinating episode about small-town life.
“It feels kind of like yesteryear – it reminds me of the movie ‘Pollyanna,’” he said. “We’ve never been to a town with a village square before either. It’s so nice down here.”
The crew of Around the Corner spent three-days at 18 different locations interviewing community members and business owners. They shot footage at Alpine Valley Resort, a Lake Beulah couple, James R. Taylor and Sons, Corvia Technologies, East Troy Computer Club, Wisconsin Oven Corp., Lioness Marcia Belair, Seeing Eye Dog trainer for the Lioness Club, East Troy House, East Troy Electric Railroad, The Elegant Farmer, Booth Lake Memorial Park manager Kim Zaeske, Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, Alpine Valley Music Theatre, Uriel Pharmacy, Ann and Ted Zess, East Troy Village President Randy Timms, LD’s BBQ and SkyDive Milwaukee.
“James Taylor took us to that veteran’s house that they donated the roof for, that was really cool,” McGivern said. “And I met Ann and Ted Zess. They were really nice, but someone needs to tell them they don’t have to do everything.”
McGivern said he really enjoyed riding one of the trains from the East Troy Electric Railroad, the experience catapulting him into the days of old with memories, as the car he rode in was one that operated near his childhood home and he had memories of riding it as a child.
“They let me drive it, too!”
The episode of Around the Corner with John McGivern featuring East Troy will be the final episode of the 2014-15 season and will air April 16 on MPTV.
