Home Town Cable was founded by Calvin Castine of Champlain, NY. For more than 20 years, he has filmed thousands of events across the North Country. Calvin and his partners, Bob Venne (deceased) and Gordie Little, have conducted hundreds of interviews, most of them 90 minutes or more, and many involving two or more sessions. The interview list reads like a virtual "Who's Who" of the North Country.

Calvin has also filmed thousands of sports contests, music festivals, parades, graduations, school musicals, bazaars, grand openings, business tours, and just about anything of significance that has occurred across the region, creating an incredible historical archive that is both highly entertaining and educational.

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Note: You may also view productions of "What's Going on Here?" (with Bob Venne) and "Our Little Corner" (with Gordie Little) separately.

Roy Hurd

Roy Hurd has developed a following unparalleled in the Adirondack Mountains. His song "Adirondack Blue" has become a modern-day Adirondack anthem, and his recordings are regional best sellers.

Roy is a world-class singer/songwriter, and there is no more popular performer in the Adirondacks. He has used his fame and musical abilities to reach out to youngsters through his Arts in Education programs, and has been ahead of his time in teaching the concept of Earth Morals.

From 1990 to 2001, Roy held a staff songwriting position in Nashville, writing for two of the largest publishing companies in the world: Sony Music Publishing and Warner/Chappell Music. Roy has written deftly crafted commercial country hits recorded by the likes of Paul Brant, David Kersh, Sonya Isaacs, The Oak Ridge Boys, Duane Steele, and The Gibson Brothers. Jo Dee Messina has recorded one of Roy's songs, "Nothing I Can Do," on her platinum Curb Records release "Burn."

However, Roy's magic is in the songs he records himself, where he speaks TO his fans and FOR his fans. The Adirondacks have not had a better spokesperson than Roy Hurd, one who sings what he believes.

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Tom Kalinowski is a biologist and naturalist who has lived in and explored the Adirondacks for over 25 years. He retired from Saranac Lake High School in 2006 after 33 years with the district. In April 2002, Tom won the APA Award of the Month for "insights into the flora and fauna of the Adirondack Park." He has conducted nature and environmental seminars across the region.

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Edward Kanze

Edward Kanze, former naturalist at Teatown Reservation in the Lower Hudson Valley and curator at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation in Westchester County, NY, is one of the most prolific nature writers in the Adirondacks. His new book, Over the Mountain and Home Again, a collection of essays about life in the Adirondacks, has received high critical acclaim.

The story about the now extinct Passenger Pigeon, "In Search of Something Lost," won the 2005 John Burroughs Award, widely considered the "Oscar" among nature writing awards. Ed's writing has been compared to that of Burroughs, Henry Thoreau, and Rachel Carson.

An alumnus of Middlebury College, Kanze runs a guiding service in the Adirondacks and lives on the Saranac River with his wife and two children.

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Jeff Kelly grew up in Chappaqua, NY. He attended Horace Greeley High School and Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. He built his home in the woods in Elizabethtown in the Adirondacks, and now lives in Saratoga Springs and Port Henry.

Kelly's passion for the region comes from his days as a reporter for the Plattsburgh Press Republican and Denton Publications, and from four years as the editor of Adirondack Life magazine.

He has recently released the third novel in his Adirondack adventure trilogy. The events in the first two books take place across the North Country, and are based in Moriah and Crown Point. The story for the third book is set in Whitehall.

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Rebecca Leonard

Rebecca (Becky) Leonard has an AAS in Business Marketing and Merchandising and a BS in Computer Science. She has owned and operated her own successful video rental business since June of 1990, Under One Roof Video.

Becky's experience with computers helped her develop her own web site and start her self-publishing company, Leonard Enterprises. Her son Nick used his computer skills to produce the illustrations for Adirondack Nightmare. Becky shares a home with her family in Plattsburgh, NY.

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Gordie Little is well known across the area. His work on radio, television, and writing a weekly column for the Press Republican has kept him constantly in the public eye. He is a man of many interests, and a strong advocate for the preservation of history at all levels. Gordie has long been a collector of ghost stories, making him a natural choice for the Campfire Tales CD, on which he is accompanied by several other well-known North Country personalities:

Dr. Doug Skopp was a Distinguished Teaching Professor of History at SUNY Plattsburgh, a college that he called home for over thirty years. He was involved with The Institute for Ethics in Public Life, and served a three-year term as a member and Chair of the American Historical Association's Nancy M. Roelker Mentorship Awards Selection Committee. The award honors a history teacher who has mentored his or her students and colleagues with distinction.

Chris Ortloff was born in Lake Placid and has led a varied career. He was an Eagle Scout and salutatorian at Lake Placid High School; Chief of Ceremonies and Awards for the XIII Olympic Winter Games at Lake Placid; organized the Lake Placid unit at the 1984 Olympics Opening Ceremony in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia; and is a trustee of the Olympic and Winter Sports Museum.

Chris has written two books, and has won four NYS Broadcasters Association awards, plus a NYS Publishers' Association award. He worked for NPR in the mid-1970s, and has worked in newspapers, radio, and as Managing Editor of WPTZ-TV news in Plattsburgh from 1981-1985. He was elected to the state assembly in 1986 and served as an assemblyman for 20 years.

Penelope Clute has been an attorney for three decades. She served for 13 years as Clinton County District Attorney, and currently is a Plattsburgh City Court Judge. She was honored as the Mental Health Advocate of the Year in 2006, and has become somewhat of a historian, delving into many subjects involving Plattsburgh's past.

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Peggy Lynn

Peggy Lynn, better known as "The First Lady of Adirondack Music," is recognized nationwide for her soulful songwriting and extraordinary vocal versatility. Her work has been featured at the famous Bluebird Café in Nashville.

Frequently honored for her efforts on behalf of women, in 1996 Peggy was selected "Adirondack Woman of the Year." She is also well known for her Arts in Education programs.

She has released several solo recordings, and has collaborated on others in various combinations with her husband, Dan Duggan, and their friend, Dan Berggren. Peggy tours nationally, and is an Adirondack favorite.

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Note: Peggy also appears on albums featuring Dan Berggren and Dan Duggan.