By Jeanne Sager
JEFFERSONVILLE — January 25, 2005 – Residents of Jeffersonville were hauled into the national spotlight Saturday evening.
The Learning Channel (TLC) ran the first of six episodes of its newest show, “Town Haul” in its prime time 10 p.m. slot Saturday, offering Jeffersonville its 15 minutes of fame four times over.
The episode gave the world a brief introduction to Jeffersonville through the eyes of host Genevieve Gorder, famous for her design work on TLC’s hit series “Trading Spaces.”
After telling the world that Jeffersonville is a place where no one locks their doors, Gorder gave a rundown on the village – population, size and history.
The inevitable Woodstock references were coupled with a review of the heydays of hotels and a trip down Main Street today led by Mayor Ed Justus.
Local color was added to the scenery by Michelangelo’s Restaurant owners Mike and Angelo D’Abbraccio, Frank “the clock man” Haskell, the Starving Artist Mike Randals and the village’s own hometown hippie Duke Devlin.
But the premise of “Town Haul” – a makeover show in the style of most of TLC’s offerings – really got going when Gorder introduced the Sattler family, Kelly and Bill and their six kids who live and work on Center Street in the village.
For folks who don’t know the backstory on the village’s only ice cream stand, Bill shared the dirt on the transformation just a few years ago from Grandma’s Lickety Split to Kelly’s Kones – focus of much of the first episode of “Town Haul.”
Bill and Kelly first locked eyes over ice cream cones, and 25 years later he purchased the stand that’s kitty-cornered from their village home and dubbed it Kelly’s Kones.
And Saturday, the TLC crews started overhauling the small shack. The Sattler’s daughter, Bridget, was named “project manager,” and spent much of the show tussling with “Town Haul” General Contractor Ray Romano over the time she could spend on set.
A Peck’s Market employee, Sattler had to spend much of her day slicing cold cuts right up the street from her family’s ice cream stand – but Romano spent a lot of face time on camera complaining that his project manager was AWOL.
Kelly Sattler pitched in for a short stint at Peck’s to protect her daughter’s job, but Bridget eventually resumed her job – telling the cameras that the TLC crews didn’t understand she had bills to pay, and she needed to have a job when they left town.
Romano showed he was further out of touch with small town living later in the episode when his plans for a rooftop deck proved to be a problem for the neighbors.
Amazing Bargains co-owner Steve Antoniou stopped by to tell Romano his deck had overshot the property line by several feet – the stairway that was planned would be half on Sattler property and half on Antoniou-owned land.
Romano’s response?
The loud-mouthed contractor pulled a wad of cash from his pocket and offered to pay Antoniou $1,000 to let the project stand.
Antoniou sent him out of the store, and his father, Jimmy, was later seen with an actual survey in his hands trying to work things out with the crew.
By the time the hour-long show was completed, the problem had been resolved and the rooftop deck was completed – with some help from Bridget.
On a lighter note, “Town Haul” Landscaper William Moss had taken Kelly Sattler for a ride to keep her from snooping around the ice cream shop – which she was seen doing a number of times throughout the course of show, once in a disguise devised by “Town Haul” makeup artists.
Moss and Sattler donned beekeeping suits and joined Trees of the Woods owner Doug Woods in harvesting some honey – although Moss incorrectly identified it as Jeffersonville honey when the tree farm is 7 miles away in Callicoon Center.
Viewers also got an amusing glimpse at the village’s “starving artist” eating his lunch while no one was looking. Randals is expected to play a role later in the show – in addition to painting many of the new signs posted on businesses by “Town Haul,” he made the special golden helmets handed to the project managers who took charge of each overhaul.
A mealtime meeting at Ted’s Restaurant between Gorder and village homeowners Russ and Peggy Johansen set the stage for the next episode – they worked out the plans for a ground floor apartment for “Cowboy” Bob Webb, a wheelchair-bound man who has traditionally driven his motorized scooter from his home in Kenoza Lake into the village.
“Town Haul’s” Saturday night show will continue the work on Kelly’s Kones and begin renovations to the Johansen’s garage to make a home for Cowboy.
Folks who missed the first episode can catch a rerun on Saturday, Jan. 29, at 5 p.m. The second episode will air that night at 10 p.m.