Hey everybody, welcome to Seneca Lake Mysteries,
the podcast exploring the unusual, strange, and
unexplained on New York's largest finger lake.
There's no other way to say this except that
it's time for me to end the podcast. So this
episode, unfortunately, won't have any more stories
for you. Instead, I just want to say a few things,
including a special recommendation. before I
sign off. Now, as I mentioned a couple episodes
ago, the podcast was never meant to continue
indefinitely. When I started it, I really didn't
have much of a plan. I just felt that it was
time for me to share some of the stories I'd
gathered over the last 10 years or so. I figured
it would last as long as it was meant to last.
And now it feels like it's time to call it a
day for the podcast and redirect my energy into
other aspects of the Seneca Lake Mysteries project.
It's really not more complicated than that. For
the first bunch of episodes, it came quite easily
and naturally, but now it just doesn't give me
that same feeling of effortlessness. I'm not
feeling negatively about it at all. It's just...
It's just time. So although there have only been
15 episodes, it's still long enough to make me
feel a little bit sentimental. So I've really
had a blast doing this. And far and away, the
most rewarding part is finding out just how many
of you also enjoy these stories. I'm so grateful
for all the support, the feedback, the emails.
the messages, the comments, the stories you've
shared with me, and the guests who've been willing
to come on the podcast. So thank you all again
from the bottom of my heart. And as I mentioned
in a previous episode, I'm not going away, and
I have other ideas to continue spotlighting the
unusual, strange, and unexplained on Seneca Lake.
Tops on that list is the book that I've been
plugging away at for the past several years.
And really, I'm more of a writer than a podcaster,
to be honest. And it's the right time for me
to refocus on finishing the book. Now, the format
of the podcast has been to tell several different
types of stories. in every episode in order to
kind of keep it engaging and interesting each
time. And what's really been exciting to me in
putting together the book is arranging these
stories in a way so that they flow and they connect
to make it feel like it's one. big story and
that's really been my goal for the Seneca Lake
Mysteries project all along to try and help other
folks feel the same way that I've felt over the
last decade or so when researching these stories.
Now taken individually the stories are wild and
weird and compelling enough but when they're
woven together and kind of seen in their entirety
over the course of hundreds or even thousands
of years The mysteries of Seneca Lake make me
feel like I live somewhere that is enchanted
and magical and mystical. And that all of the
stories connect and that we're all connected
to it and we're all part of it. So writing the
book for me is the only way to really effectively
communicate that message and that meaning and
that feeling. So the book will have... Many of
the stories that I've covered on the podcast
and many that I haven't. And I hope that when
it's published, you'll check it out. And while
I'm going to be focused on finishing up the book
in the coming weeks and months, if I feel the
need to put out some other content, whether it's
a video or an article on the website, whatever,
I'll be doing that too. So I invite you again.
to sign up for the mailing list at SenecaLakeMysteries
.com and follow Seneca Lake Mysteries on social
media to stay up to date on what I'm doing. And
before I sign off, I'm going to offer up one
recommendation for all of you. It's actually
a piece of music, a song that, when I first heard
it, was a huge source of inspiration for me and
the Seneca Lake Mysteries project, including
this podcast. The song is by one of, to me, one
of the most important and talented musicians
to come out of the Seneca Lake area, former Watkins
Glen resident Willie Watson. Now, if you haven't
heard of Willie Watson, he's one of the founding
members of the Grammy -winning iconic Americana
string band Old Crow Medicine Show. Old Crow
formed in the late 90s. and first recorded in
1998. Their debut major label album OCMS came
out in 2004, eventually reached gold status,
and it included the hit song Wagon Wheel, which
is a truly iconic tune that reached platinum
status in 2013. Wagon Wheel's been covered several
times by other artists, most notably Darius Rucker
in 2013. It's one of those songs that's instantly
recognizable to millions upon millions of people,
whether they're country or Americana fans or
not. So Willie Watson wrote and performed on
the first four. Old Crow Medicine Show albums
between 2004 and 2012 before he left the band
to pursue a solo career. And since that time,
he's released two critically acclaimed folk albums.
He won a Grammy, won an Academy Award, appeared
in the Coen Brothers film The Ballad of Buster
Scruggs, performed at the Newport Folk Festival.
And then in 2024, he released his first album
of all original songs entitled Willie Watson.
Now that's just a really brief summary of the
remarkable career that this kid from Watkins
Glen has carved out for himself over the past
couple decades. So I encourage you to dig into
his catalog yourself if so inclined. Willie Watson
has a really unique and... moving singing voice,
something that fans and other artists always
rave about. He's insanely talented. And I hope
the people of Watkins Glen really feel a lot
of pride for their hometown artist. So anyway,
there's a song on his 2024 release, the final
track on the album that many fans and followers
talk about with almost a reverence. It's an old
time style folk song, mostly spoken word. And
it's called Reap Em In The Valley. Look it up
and give it a listen. And I'll put a YouTube
link in the description, a link to the song so
you can check it out. It is really one of the
most touching and meaningful songs I've heard.
I don't want to spoil it because if I describe
the song, it's not going to do it any justice.
So I'll just say that I found it stunning and
moving and beautiful. Seneca Lake and the area
around the lake figure prominently in the song
in which Willie tells a story from his youth,
a moment that he describes as being a liminal,
informative moment in his life and career. And
if you read the comments and reviews from fans
and others about the song or listen to recent
interviews with Willie, you'll find out that
time and again people are deeply and profoundly
touched by this song, often being brought to
tears. And I'm one of those people. For me, when
I first heard the song last year, it was at a
time when I was kind of feeling stuck when it
came to writing the book and formulating whatever
Seneca Lake Mysteries was going to become. And
when I heard Reap Em In The Valley, it made me
feel like... Someone had, in a way, put words
and music to whatever it was that I found so
special and so magical about the Seneca Lake
area. So I'm going to recommend that you check
out this song. I'm not saying that it will move
you the same way it moved me or the same way
it moved other people, naturally, because it's
art, after all. But at the very least, you'll
get to hear a little bit of music. from a wildly
talented guy from Watkins Glen. And at best,
you might find yourself loving and appreciating
Seneca Lake and the people in the communities
around its shores in a new and deeper way. So
again, thank you all for listening. You have
my love and appreciation for everything. And
if you're feeling it, please stay tuned and join
me for the next step. in the journey to discover
and celebrate the unusual, strange, and unexplained
on New York's largest finger lake.