WOSU Public Media brings its popular Columbus Neighborhoods project to Worthington

Next Stop: Worthington WOSU Public Media brings its popular Columbus Neighborhoods project to Worthington.

As you may have heard, Worthington is the next community to be featured in the Columbus Neighborhoods series from WOSU Public Media. The wildly successful documentaries began as a visible way to celebrate the Columbus bicentennial. With seven completed documentaries to date, the multi-media project seeks to capture both the history and culture of several Columbus communities. Worthington is next on the list, and research and filming for the documentary are already underway.  We spoke with Cindy Gaillard, executive producer for programming and television at WOSU, and she updated us on what to expect in the weeks and months ahead.

“I have done a lot of research so far, talked to some historians, and now I’m embarking on gathering people to tell the story on camera for me,” she said about the upcoming Worthington documentary. So far, that includes filming at popular Worthington hotspots like Igloo Letterpress, The Worthington Inn and Sassafras Bakery.

At the Worthington Library, Gaillard spoke with Lisa Fuller, director of community relations and development, who shared the history of the Worthington Library, which dates back to the town’s original charter. And since manufacturing played a role in the town’s early days, Gaillard wanted to showcase a Worthington business that makes things today. For that, she turned to Igloo Letterpress, the popular letterpress and bookbinding shop.

In the months ahead, Gaillard plans to work with the Worthington Historical Society to stage some reenactments. This is no small task, considering she has to recruit reenactors with clothing to match the time period. But even that may pale in comparison to her recent search for two oxen, which she eventually found in Kentucky.

In spite of the challenges associated with a project of this magnitude, Gaillard remains enthusiastic. “I have the best job in the world,” she said. “I get to meet everybody who has a story to tell and capture the character and flavor of a place. It’s great to be among these people; they value history.”

The series, which continues to build on itself, is growing in popularity. No doubt everyone in Worthington is excited to see the final product, which will likely air this fall (although a date has not yet been determined). Until then, if you’re out and about and run into a crew from WOSU Public Media, make Worthington proud--and smile for the camera.

The following is a list of completed documentaries, and they can be viewed at http://video.wosu.org/program/columbus-neighborhoods/.

Downtown and Franklinton

German Village

Short North

King-Lincoln

Olde Towne East

University District

Clintonville

These communities will be featured in upcoming documentaries:

Worthington

Bexley

Tri-Villages (Upper Arlington, Marble Cliff, Grandview Heights)

New Americans (a look at the growing immigrant population in Columbus)

For continuing updates about the Columbus Neighborhoods documentary and other events in Worthington, go to visitworthingtonohio.com.