Historical society, FLCC turn popular illustrated book into a video

The project involved recording an original soundtrack in the college’s music recording studio and audio files in the podcast studio.

A local historical society book-publishing venture that came into existence thanks to a broad array of local collaborators will make its debut in video form — thanks to yet another round of local teamwork.

The Bristol Hills Historical Society in May 2023 published History and Mystery: The Folklore and Legends of the Bristol Hills. Local residents and businesses commissioned original watercolor paintings by East Bloomfield native Anna Overmoyer and paired the paintings with stories of the events, places and folklore that form what the book’s editor called “a love letter to our region.” The book’s creators consulted with historians and Native Americans to ensure the authenticity of the book, which since then has sold more than 1,000 copies.

On Nov. 9, the next phase of the project makes its debut: an animated video with readings from 11 of the book’s stories and interviews with the book’s creators about the origins and impact of the project, an audio and visual extension of the book made possible through a partnership with Finger Lakes Community College.

The cover of “History and Mystery: The Folklore and Legends of the Bristol Hills”

“What I want the people from the Bristol Hills to get out of this book is a sense of curiosity about the place that they love, and to go out and look and listen and observe,” said John Holtz, the book project’s leader and a member of the Bristol Hills Historical Society board. “I think they’ll find a wonderful area, a place that’s full of magic and a place that they will continue to explore.”

Lenore Friend, director of public relations and communications for FLCC, enlisted the college’s video and audio recording experts and facilities to bring the book to life. “John approached me with the concept, and I loved the idea of sharing the content of this fascinating book in a new way with audio and video techniques,” Friend said.

They broke the project down into parts, starting with music that matched the essence of the stories.

The Marion Band, local folk musicians, recorded original soundtracks in one of FLCC’s state-of-the-art music recording studios with the assistance of music professor Geoff Smith and student Landon Ingersoll.

Jay Gillotti, production specialist on the college’s Finger Lakes TV project, recorded storytelling by Overmoyer, Holtz, Bristol and South Bristol Historian Beth Thomas and Christopher Bennem of Glen Hollow, Ink. Gillotti also recorded interviews with Bennem, Holtz and Overmoyer and provided the video animation and editing.

Costs of the production were underwritten by the Stan Steele Agency, Inc., of Bloomfield.

The video debuted on Nov. 9 at Rochester Museum and Science Center’s Cumming Nature Center, another collaborator in the book, as a sponsor of two stories about the lore surrounding Cumming Nature Center’s South Bristol property.

After the initial screening, FLCC will broadcast the video on its Finger Lakes TV network daily at 7 a.m. and periodically as part of History Sundays, a weekly film festival of local history events every Sunday from 4 to 10 p.m.

Finger Lakes TV is available on Spectrum Cable channel 1304 in the western Finger Lakes, Roku, a 24/7 webstream at fingerlakestv.org/live, and the Cablecast app for Apple and Android.

The History and Mystery book can be purchased at the video screening, at select local retailers, or online. Details are at bristolhillshistory.org/history-and-mystery.