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"MARVELOUS MARGARETVILLE!" is the first feature-length documentary ever made of current life in and around Margaretville, a small village in the northern Catskills. The 76-minute film was written, photographed and edited by Margaretville resident Roger Bobley, perhaps best known locally as the facilitator of the Andes Roundtable discussion group (www.andesroundtable.com). According to the filmmaker, his foremost reason for making this movie was to create a personal artistic project motivated by his love for Margaretville. His goal, he says, was to present a realistic view of contemporary life in the Margaretville area that could serve as a historical record for posterity, but could also be used immediately to enlighten those who have heard tales of this wondrous place, but want a better view of what life up here really is all about. While candidly admitting that he is enthralled with life in the Catskills, he claims to have cast his opinion aside while making the documentary, in order to create an unbiased look at the pros and cons of life in our area. He maintains that audiences will, nevertheless, come away with a positive feeling of small-town life in the mountains, simply because that turned out to be the overriding sentiment of those interviewed on camera. The interviewees include old-timers and newcomers, full-timers and part-timers, native-born and transplants, young people and old, retirees and those with active vocations - in short, men and women from a variety of backgrounds, and with a diversity of interests and abilities - from farmers and students to scholars and artists; from plumbers and musicians to business owners and salespeople. "MARVELOUS MARGARETVILLE!" interweaves scenes of local activities and events with interviews of the people who populate Margaretville and the surrounding villages and hamlets of Andes, Arkville, Big Indian, Bovina Center, Denver, Fleischmanns, Halcottsville, High Mount, Kelly Corners, New Kingston, Roxbury, Roxbury Run, and Pine Hill. By extension, the documentary encapsulates life in the Catskill Mountains. |
Scores of local residents are interviewed in the movie, including waitress Linda Regel, whose honest exhortations about her difficult life add an invaluable (and, at times, hilarious) spark to the film; college dean Stanley Fish, who offers astute observations about the effect of newcomers on the lives of our natives; college student Santana Finch, whose outlook contrasts sharply with that of her contemporary, Jamie Vogler, a fifth-generation resident; farmer Bud Gladstone, who reveals his feelings about the inevitability of change; Robert A. VanBenschoten, a descendent of the area's original settlers, who brings his incomparable historical perspective to the screen; concert pianist Justin Kolb, and his manager-wife Barbara Mellon Kolb, whose love of the Catskills is evident in their every word; business consultant Maggie Inge, who teaches us lessons about getting along with our neighbors; ex-advertising saleswoman Doree Hubar, who tells a story of innocence and trust that she encountered shortly after moving to Margaretville; retired professor Bill Piervincenzi, whose observations about our local school systems are profound and encouraging; and Brenda Reeser, who tells her unique story of growing up on a local farm, only to leave the area and come back with a husband who offered her a very different lifestyle. |
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TESTIMONIAL an e-mail received by the filmmaker Mr.Bobley Friday, 5/19/06 a.m., dreary and dreamy. Wife and I went to Olive's Café (Shokan) on Rt 28 to grab a bite and a second cup of coffee. Kind of the Margaretville thing to do. Satisfied that all was well in our world, we went to the cashier to settle up...Helena, my wife noticed your DVD and presented me with an advance Father's Day Gift, your DVD... The doldrums continued for the rest of the day, and our TV reception last evening was un-watchable! So, we put on the DVD.... Simply marvelous..entertaining, insightful and provocative! We must find out where we have to go to see that hilarious waitress LINDA. Also, the younger lady with the long dark hair at the Pakistani restaurant, who seemed to be following your camcorder was certainly not without opinion on all topics!! Your presentation techniques were masterful in presenting side by side views of the glass is half empty or half full.... We reside in W.Hurley on the banks of the Ashokan for nearly 39 years. Margaretville has always been a part of our extended geography...For several years, we made the annual trip to George Fairbairn's Christmas Nursery to cut our tree. (usually 3 trees for the family). On more than one occasion, George would have to pull the truck out of the snow. On every occasion as we pulled into his farm, he would be there to greet us and his wife would open the window and invite us in for fresh coffee and home made doughnuts. I don't remember the name of the road, but it was a sharp incline right out of the village and about 4-5 miles away. George and his wife have passed on. His son Fred was also an IBM employee who retired some years ago. For several years, fishing the nearby streams was an early saturday morning ritual for me...I would time my trip to find me at about 5 a.m. in the little "greasy spoon" restaurant that was just over the bridge, at the entrance to the A&P. Of course, the BIG FLOOD took care of that little business. I got to know most of the regulars and frequently had a second cup with the A&P store manager. My fishing trips are not so frequent these days, but, I remember those days with a sense of all's right in the world! So, Mr. Bobley...Hope you can respond to "WHERE'S LINDA". Also hope your wife has found if not happiness, then acceptance in the land where consumerism is all but non existent...AND, the big question; WHEN IS THE SEQUEL COMING! Again, thanks for a great piece of work... Ed and Helena Baldyga (28a, W.Hurley N.Y.) PS: My wife found your biographical closing statement "has been married to the same woman for 37 years"....an interesting comment on your life!! |
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