Encore of Watch Hill: Portrait of a New England Seaside Village

Watch Hill is not a place you can visit just once. It becomes a state of mind. It is a place that enchants and inspires you all year long. Now, a new documentary captures the essence of Watch Hill's charm.

Rhode Island PBS presents the encore of Watch Hill: Portrait of a New England Seaside Village on Thursday, December 10 at 8 p.m. in a special presentation that includes segments recorded at the Ocean House.

Perched high on the bluffs of Watch Hill, the Ocean House is an iconic New England seaside resort, the first and only Forbes Five-Star and AAA Five Diamond Hotel in the state. Famously known for its warm yellow façade and stunning views of the Atlantic, Ocean House opened in 1868 just after the Civil War. It was completely rebuilt in 2004 after having fallen into disrepair, and incorporates more than 5,000 artifacts salvaged from the original building.

Watch Hill: Portrait of a New England Seaside Village documentary is based on the book, Watch Hill Through Time, the Watch Hill Conservancy's history of Watch Hill, written by Chaplin B. Barnes. The beautifully filmed documentary takes a look at the strong and enduring sense of community in southern Rhode Island's Watch Hill.

Located on a peninsula, at the most southwesterly point of Rhode Island, the community of Watch Hill is surrounded by the sea on three sides. It is the point where three states meet: Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York. Watch Hill is scenic 12 months of the year.

Watch Hill: Portrait of a New England Seaside Village traces the area's history as a look-out point for Native Americans, and allows viewers to explore and appreciate the beauty of this coastal village.

The film also features vivid reminiscences of residents who, for generations, have summered, lived, worked, and come of age in the picturesque seaside village.

The documentary was made possible through a grant from the Alfred M. Roberts, Jr, Charitable Foundation and The Watch Hill Conservancy.


Updated November 23, 2015 and December 1, 2015

Four Rhode Island PBS Locals Nominated for Emmy® Awards

Four local filmmakers have had their work recognized for excellence as nominees in the 38th Annual Boston / New England Emmy ® Awards.

One of two nominees in the category Documentary is 24|7|365: The Evolution of Emergency Medicine, WSBE/ONE Films/EMRA, Dave Thomas, Director; Ann Prum, Producer; Donald Stader, Executive Producer; Mark Brady, Executive Producer; Jim Isler, Editor; Andrew Young and Matthew Bradbury, Cinematographers. 24|7|365: The Evolution of Emergency Medicine chronicles the emergence of EMS and the specialty of Emergency Medicine, which became the 23rd recognized medical specialty only in 1979. The film is narrated by Anthony Edwards (Top Gun, ER) and features Brown University Warren Alpert School of Medicine professor and chair of Emergency Medicine Brian Zink, MD, as the historical consultant. The documentary’s executive producer is Mark Brady, MD, a 2009 graduate of the Brown Alpert School of Medicine.

Rhode Island PBS is pleased to present an encore broadcast of 24|7|365: The Evolution of Emergency Medicine on Monday, May 18 at 9 p.m. and Wednesday, May 20 at 2 p.m.

The second nominee for Documentary is America's Forgotten Heroine: Ida Lewis, Keeper of the Light, Goodnight Irene Productions, Marian Gagnon, Writer/ Director/Producer. This documentary tells the almost-forgotten story of this country’s most famous maritime heroine. It provides an intimate portrayal of Ida’s life from age 15 to 69 (from 1857 to 1911) and the passion and moral fiber she intrinsically brought to her work as a lighthouse keeper and unlikely heroine. It also explores the myriad decisions which led to a life of both fame and isolation, Ida’s unexpected celebrity in Newport as well as across the U.S., and the impact she inadvertently had on the early women’s rights movement.

In the category of Historical / Cultural Program / Special, the nomination went to a cinematic short about the 1938 hurricane called One Day... The Story of a Storm, WSBE/Carla Ricci Films, Tim Labonte, Editor Carla Ricci, Director/Writer.

In the Writer Program category, honors go to Watch Hill: Portrait of a New England Seaside Village Weathervane Communications / Ocean State Video Betty-Jo Cugini, Writer.

Emmy ® winners will be announced at a ceremony in Boston later this month.


WSBE Rhode Island PBS transmits standard-definition (SD) and high-definition (HD) content over the air on digital 36.1; on Rhode Island cable services: Cox 08 / 1008HD, Verizon FiOS 08 / 508HD, Full Channel 08; on Massachusetts cable services: Comcast 819HD, Verizon 18 / 518HD; on satellite: DirecTV 36 / 3128HD, Dish Network 36. WSBE Learn transmits over the air on digital 36.2; on cable: Cox 808, Verizon 478, Full Channel 89, Comcast 294 or 312.

updated May 15, 2015

Carved from Stone: Legacy of a Granite Town

Rhode Island PBS proudly premieres Carved from Stone: Legacy of a Granite Town at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, December 3. The film chronicles the processes, products, people, and legacy of the granite industry in Westerly, Rhode Island.

Written and produced by Westerly resident Betty-Jo Cugini, with director of photography and editor Jim Karpeichik, Carved from Stone: Legacy of a Granite Town is based on the book Built from Stone: The Westerly Granite Story.

The film shows Westerly granite as the "gold standard," with hundreds of blacksmiths, carvers, stonemasons, and other craftsmen brought from Europe to ply their artistry, each contributing to the reputation of the beauty of the work and the durability of the stone.

Photos, interviews, and rare archival film footage of workers at the quarry from around 1920 paint a vivid portrait of the hard work of the granite industry that thrived in Westerly from the late 1800s to the early 1900s.

Viewers will also travel to Gettysburg, where more than 70 monuments were built of Westerly granite, and on to Woodlawn Cemetery in New York, which boasts more than 30 Westerly granite mausoleums, statues, and other beautiful monuments.

Here is a link to the story in the Westerly Sun with insight about the film and Westerly granite.