Along The Mohawk with Sharry Whitney
Weekly Radio Show & Podcast in the Mohawk Valley area of Central New York.
New shows Sunday mornings at 7am on 92.7FM The Drive and 9am as a podcast.
Along the Mohawk features local music and interviews with musicians, storytellers, restaurateurs, and manufacturers and also features Soundscapes with local naturalist Matt Perry. The show will also include a short weekly old-time radio serial, Annie and the Loomis Gang, written and produced by Sharry and performed by a cast of local voice actors.
Along The Mohawk with Sharry Whitney
Along The Mohawk #7
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For the Mohawk Valley, Central New York region.
Along the Mohawk features local music and interviews with musicians, storytellers, restaurateurs, and manufacturers and also features Soundscapes with local naturalist Matt Perry. The show will also include a short weekly old-time radio serial, Annie and the Loomis Gang, written and produced by Sharry and performed by a cast of local voice actors.
Steep Ponty Chevrolet and Herkimer, your local family-owned and operated Chevy dealer, presents Along the Mohawk.
SPEAKER_03Come with me as we travel along the Mohawk, sharing the stories of the people and places where we belong.
SPEAKER_14Good morning and welcome to Along the Mohawk. I'm Sherry Whitney and I'm happy to have you traveling with me. On today's show, we learn a little behind the science of cheesemaking with Harper Jones at Jones Family Farm in Herkimer and catch up with the band Maybe Sunday working on their new album at Big Blue North Recording Studio in Utica. But first, let's visit with Herkimer County historian James Griner, who tells us about the infamous Roxy Drews.
SPEAKER_01Just the other day, we had a book signing for the uh second edition of Roxalana Drews The Last Woman Hanged. She is uh probably one of uh the more infamous characters we have here in uh Herkimer County history. It was a grisly murder. I think the poor one probably snapped after years of abuse from her husband. Uh when she killed her husband, she beheaded him and she did it right in front of her children. Then, in a panicked state, I believe, she and her daughter Mary dragged the body into an adjoining room where after they sent the boys out to the barn to get shingles to start a fire, they pulverized this body, chopped it up into pieces, and fed it into a wood stove. Again, trying to hide the evidence. As far as hiding the evidence is concerned, she did a pretty good job. They didn't catch her until mid-January. And then she was brought right here to Herkmer to stand trial for murder. It was a sensational murder trial in its day. It literally was standing room-only crowds. She was pronounced uh guilty and to be hanged by the neck until you were dead. Those are the exact lines in the court order, behind the jail. And after many appeals and protests and things like that, that event eventually took place on the last day of uh February in 1888.
SPEAKER_12Now they say nowadays it might have been a very different scenario for her.
SPEAKER_01Of course it would have been. Uh, this was an all-male jury, lots of prejudice in that time. There's no freedom for women, they couldn't do anything. She was adjudged sane by Dr. John Perdue Gray of the Utica Asylum. He came down and interviewed her and said she was sane then and sane now. So you couldn't use the insanity plea. I thought for sure when I started this, the women's rights movement, which was really gaining strength in those days, would have been a great help. But of course they backed right off because they wanted equal rights. And if you give special privileges to her, that doesn't mean equal rights. And so that was one of the big things I learned about that one. Had Roxy just shot him, this would never have been a big story.
SPEAKER_14Read more about the fascinating history of Herkimer County. Visit the Herkimer County Historical Society and peruse the many books written by historian James Griner.
SPEAKER_09Attention, listeners, your Mohawk Valley time travel experiment is about to commence. Stand by as we recalibrate the decades.
SPEAKER_111978. Welcome to Skaterama. Do you recognize this sound? Wheels rolling across a polished wooden floor, the DJ booth blasting the bee Gees, and the occasional voice over the loudspeaker. All right, couple skate, couple skate. The air smells like popcorn, pizza, and that sweet rubber scent from brand new roller skate wheels. Kids are racing around the rink, some gliding like pros, others clinging to the wall for dear life. Along the side benches, teenagers are lacing up their skates, tightening those orange wheels, while a disco ball throws spinning lights across the floor. Over in the arcade corner, someone just dropped a quarter into Space Invaders, and the snack bar is doing brisk business, selling sodas and paper trays piled with nachos. On the rink, a few brave skaters are trying backward skating, while others attempt the legendary shoot the duck. And just like that, the DJ calls out, all right, everybody, it's time for the all-skate. The music gets louder, the lights swirl, and for a moment the whole Mohawk Valley seems to be rolling in circles together. Well, time to jump back in the machine, but the sound of those wheels on the floor might just follow us home.
SPEAKER_14After the break, I talk with lead singer of the band Maybe Sunday, and we're live from the tram in Utica.
SPEAKER_03Come with me as we travel along the Mohawk.
SPEAKER_11Big Apple Music in New Hartford has served Central New York and the best musicians since 1979. Guitars, amps, drums, sound systems, digital pianos, and school instruments, and providing sales, rentals, repairs, and musical instrument private lessons. Got an instrument that needs a little love? Let Big Apple Music repair it for you. Check us out for Sound System installs and repairs. The best brands for the best bands. Shop local, shop smart, shop Big Apple Music in New Hartford. Loving people for over 46 years. Check us out on Facebook and our website.
SPEAKER_08Since 1917, NGMs Flooring America has delivered quality floors and expert installations, save on carpeting, laminate flooring, ceramic tiles, and more. Plus, we offer 12 months of interest-free financing for qualified buyers. Stop by our location today.
SPEAKER_11For 18 years, Primo Pizza Route 5 and Clinton has been making fresh dough daily for the best pizza around: New York style, upside down, and cauliflower gluten-free pizza. If you live in their delivery area like Kirkland and Hamilton College residents, lucky you, you can have it delivered to your door. If not, stop by and pick up some hot, delicious pizza and crispy wings from Primo Pizza. Call 315-381-3231 or order online at enjoypremopizza.com.
SPEAKER_10You work hard here in the Mohawk Valley. You make a difference. You leave your mark. You deserve a financial advisor who works hard to make a difference for your future.
SPEAKER_07Investing for retirement, college, thinking about your legacy. We have spent most of our adult lives giving you straightforward answers for your financial decisions.
SPEAKER_10We pride ourselves on being local, prudent, and trustworthy for you. Van Meter and Van Meter, with three offices to serve your financial future.
SPEAKER_11Tom's Natural Foods in Clinton is a vibrant community food hub carrying local produce from area farmers like Jake's Guda, Jones Family Farm, Shaw's Maple, and Kingfisher Farm. Shop Tom's Natural Foods. Open Wednesday through Saturday at 3 Fountain Street in Clinton.
SPEAKER_14Big Blue North Recording Studio on Genesee Street in Utica. That's where I found Brian Honeywell and his band Maybe Sunday working on the next album.
SPEAKER_15Hi! How are you? Brian.
SPEAKER_14Hi Brian, she was just chasing it that way.
SPEAKER_15I'm sorry. I was come on in.
SPEAKER_14Okay. So Brian, tell us what's happening here today at Big Blue North.
SPEAKER_15Uh, right now we're finishing up uh bass tracks on four of the eight songs we're recording. Um, and then I'll do my guitars, and then if we have time, we'll do Julie's keyboards, and then uh the rest of it tomorrow. We have four more songs we're gonna do next weekend.
SPEAKER_14Now, have you recorded here before?
SPEAKER_15Yeah, this will be our third time here. Love it.
SPEAKER_14And what is it like here?
SPEAKER_15It's the best. Uh Jeff and Pam are the best. The ambiance is great, the equipment's world class. Um it's I I feel like not enough people kind of know what's here, like right here in Utica, as far as uh a facility of this quality and and uh it's not just the facility and stuff, but but these guys and the vibe it brings.
SPEAKER_14We'll let Brian get back in the studio and catch up with him later in the show. Here's a sample of the song Riverside from Maybe Sunday's last EP, Tabula Rasta.
SPEAKER_06Marginal time, baby I was late. Yeah, baby I wanted me.
SPEAKER_14If you're looking for a fun night out, check out an open mic night at the Traumentane Cafe in Utica. On this night, owner Garrett Ingram took the stage.
SPEAKER_02I'm Carito Garita. Uh the scene here is uh elementary school 1976. The title is Instant Silence. Noisy cafeteria. Noisy! Kindergartners, first graders, unimpressed lunch ladies with their poofy plastic hats and pink latex gloves. Wildly crazed wall of shrieking chatter, metal lunchboxes banging around in pure percussive chaos, spoons dropped randomly in cascading succession, waves of giggles, and incomprehensibly garbled layers of high-pitched, hyper-exaggerated blather, completely out of control, when suddenly the principal enters the doorway. Everyone falls silent at the same time. Five seconds pass, five quick, long, awkward seconds. All the kids look around at each other. Everyone is amazed and confused that this moment of instant silence just happened. The principal, seeming befuddled, lets loose an uncharacteristic chuckle. With this, the entire cafeteria, lunch ladies included, erupts into unbelievably hysterical mass laughter, lasting minutes until the bell finally sick open. It was time to head back to classrooms. True story. Appreciate you being here and wanting to highlight.
SPEAKER_14Today I'm at Jones Family Farm in Herkimer, where I'm about to gear up in my hairnet and protective booties to talk with Harper Jones. She grew up on the family farm and has been involved in cheesemaking the last five years. Today she's making feta. And I'm told it's not as easy as you might think. So what are you making today?
SPEAKER_00Feta? Feta. Feta's really hard to get right. A lot of people try and make feta and they can't get the culture right, or the brine isn't right. And it's a pain, and it you feel awful when it fails. Because it's like, I I worked nine hours on this, and it's not edible, really. And you just kind of want to sit in a corner and cry about it, but you have to keep trying at it. It's a lot of experimenting because it's really science focused. You're doing experiments, you've got your different variables, and every single batch, because we work at such a small scale, is highly variable. And the steps that each cheese goes through, you're adding similar enough ingredients. You add your magic powders and you add your rennet, and it makes entirely different cheeses.
SPEAKER_14What are magic powders?
SPEAKER_00It's the way we culture cheeses. The cultures are enzymes, bacteria, yeasts that back in the olden times, we would just kind of find them in the wild. You'd have like, oh, I want to make like a San Marslan. And the way I know I can get that fuzzy white rind is by aging it on uh sea reed mats. Those reeds had that mold that we want, but we didn't know what mold was. But now people much smarter than me have isolated the actual molds, and you can get them in like just freeze-dried powders, and you can exactly control what you're adding to your cheese.
SPEAKER_14Now, what's then your best mistake?
SPEAKER_00Best mistake? Uh I've been working on an experimental cheese that we've been calling puzzuzu, a brie kind of cheese with a layer of sumac through the center. Very nice. Uh, it's been very difficult to get right. But the last time I made it, I forgot to put in some of the culture, and so I underdosed it, and it came out way better than any of the previous ones. When do we see it on shelves? When I finally get it reliably correct. Once you have a cheese down and you can reliably make it, and you know it in and out, you know when you've gone wrong and you know how to fix it, because you know that cheese so well, because you spent months making it. That's one of the best feelings in the world.
SPEAKER_14Look for Harper's Pazuzu cheese on shelves soon. Just kidding, Harper, no pressure. But you can keep up with the Joneses on social media or find info and link at alongthemohawkradio.com. I caught up with Brian Honeywell from the local band Maybe Sunday on the phone earlier this week to discuss the band's new album.
SPEAKER_13The last time I interviewed you, it was 2024, and you had just released your EP, Tabula Rossa. Yeah. Um so how's the reception then?
SPEAKER_15Um pretty good. I mean, it's uh uh sometimes in the area doing like original music and in local bars and stuff, you know, people want to come out and hear the stuff they want to hear a lot of times. We get a lot of support from our fans. We get tons of support from other local musicians. So for those who haven't heard you yet, how would you describe your music? We're a rock fan. Except for Nick, who's 30 something. We're we're in that 80s, late 80s alternative era through the 90s crunch, through the the jam bands, and through all the 2000s. So a lot of it I think we get from stuff we like, stuff we've listened to in the past. The tragically hip in a blender. The cure a little bit, you two a little bit. I mean, you know, that of that ilk. Okay, so we're gonna recording session going. Tell us. Amazing. Uh we love uh Jeff and Pam at Big Blue North, they're always fun. So we're excited for us to come out in uh hopefully late spring, early summer. Our main focus for the summer is getting that doing doing a couple shows here and there. So much fun.
SPEAKER_12So you're gonna be basically going on tour with your new album.
SPEAKER_15Yeah, I guess a little bit. But yeah, we're gonna go out and support our uh music and play it and hope people like it. And if they don't, we know we like it, we're gonna have fun doing it. We never fail to have fun when we play out for sure.
SPEAKER_14Here's another sample from the local band Maybe Sunday's Last EP, a song titled That Song.
SPEAKER_11Music in New Hartford has served Central New York and the best musicians since 1979. Guitars, amps, drums, sound systems, digital pianos, and school instruments, and providing sales, rentals, repairs, and musical instrument private lessons. Got an instrument that needs a little love? Let Big Apple Music repair it for you. Check us out for sound system installs and repairs. The best brands for the best bands. Shop local, shop smart, shop Big Apple Music in New Hartford. Loving people for over 46 years. Check us out on Facebook and our website.
SPEAKER_08Since 1917, NGMs Flooring America has delivered quality floors and expert installations, save on carpeting, laminate flooring, ceramic tiles, and more. Plus, we offer 12 months of interest-free financing for qualified buyers. Stop by our location today.
SPEAKER_10You work hard here in the Mohawk Valley. You make a difference. You leave your mark. You deserve a financial advisor who works hard to make a difference for your future.
SPEAKER_07Investing for retirement, college, thinking about your legacy. We have spent most of our adult lives giving you straightforward answers for your financial decisions.
SPEAKER_10We pride ourselves on being local, prudent, and trustworthy for you. Van Meter and Van Meter, with three offices to serve your financial future.
SPEAKER_11For 18 years, Primo Pizza, Route 5 and Clinton, has been making fresh dough daily for the best pizza around New York style, upside-down, and cauliflower gluten-free pizza. If you live in their delivery area like Kirkland and Hamilton College residents, lucky you, you can have it delivered to your door. If not, stop by and pick up some hot, delicious pizza and crispy wings from Primo Pizza. Call 315-381-3231 or order online at enjoypremopizza.com. Tom's Natural Foods in Clinton is a vibrant community food hub carrying local produce from area farmers like Jake's Guda, Jones Family Farm, Shaw's Maple, and Kingfisher Farm. Shop Tom's Natural Foods open Wednesday through Saturday at 3 Fountain Street in Clinton.
SPEAKER_16This is Mohawk Valley Soundscape for April 12th, 2026. There was a time in the Mohawk Valley when winter bird feeders pulsed with flashes of gold and black. The arrival of the evening gross beak felt almost guaranteed, their presence as much a part of the season as snow itself. But by the mid-1990s, something changed. Across much of the region, these birds became scarce, their visits reduced to brief and unpredictable appearances. And yet, they never vanished entirely. In the higher elevations to our north and south, where broad swaths of mixed carnivorous forests still hold, evening gross beaks remain more reliable winter visitors. There, from November into May, their flocks still gather, moving through the trees and descending at times to bird feeders with great urgency. The voice of the evening grow speak is easy to overlook at first, but once learned, it is unmistakable. A rapid series of ringing bell-like notes, often described as a bell-like trill or a tuneful purr. When a flock is present, those calls overlap into a continuous, almost electric chorus. It is less a song than a shared signal, a constant conversation among birds that rarely travel alone. So when they do appear, whether for a day or for a season, they offer something more than a fleeting sighting. They are a reminder of distant forests, of shifting cycles beyond our immediate view, and of a time when the winter in the Mohawk Valley rang regularly with their bright metallic chorus.
SPEAKER_14Thank you for traveling with me today. Next week we catch up with singer-songwriter, New Hartford native Daryl Ron, and episode 7 of Annie and the Loomis Gang, when Annie meets the gang's matriarch, the deliciously dangerous Rhoda Loomis. Hope you'll join me again along the Mohawk.
SPEAKER_04Come with me as we travel along the Mohawk, sharing the stories of the people and places where we belong. Come with me as we travel along the Mohawk.