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Memories of Midtown

Before looking ahead, WXXI asks that you take a look back. Tune in for this special presentation and recall your memories of Midtown Plaza. Narrated by 13 WHAM-TV’s Don Alhart, Memories of Midtown features never-before-seen footage, both archival and personal, along with anecdotal interviews with noted personalities. Chet Walker remembers working at Midtown Plaza, and how the Clock of the Nations always let him know if he was on time or late for work. Ken McCurdy remembers being able to miss school to attend the opening of Midtown Plaza. The Maggios remember meeting for the first time at Midtown, and fittingly, had their wedding reception at Top of the Plaza. These individuals and many others share their memories in WXXI’s latest documentary Memories of Midtown. 

In the late 1950s, the retail marketplace was changing. As people moved to the suburbs, businesses followed, which had a huge impact on downtown. It took the vision of two Rochester business leaders to rise to the occasion and reinvigorate downtown, and Rochester itself. Gilbert J.C. McCurdy and Maurice Forman joined together to build the first urban, in-door mall in America that would change retail and downtown. Midtown Plaza opened on April 10, 1962, and for the two decades that followed it kept the heart of downtown beating. But the times changed, and Midtown began to struggle in the 1980s when it couldn’t compete with the suburban shopping malls.

On October 16, 2007 the City of Rochester announced that Midtown Plaza would be torn down to make room for the new PAETEC headquarters. Today, a new generation of business leaders is working to reinvent downtown, giving it a new heartbeat of activity.

3 Memories from Midtown:

In this segment: Former Eastman School of Music student, Glenn Call, now conductor of Tuba Christmas, remembers visiting Midtown as a student. Rochester citizen, Richard Swereda, talking about Midtown being the place to go for shopping… everything you would ever want was available… especially at Christmas. Rochester citizen, Joe McDonough, talking about moving to Rochester in 1962, construction still finishing up, exciting to think of his new home as a vibrant place to live.

In this segment: Rochester citizen, Martha Bush, remembers “meeting by the clock” as a child.

In this segment: Rochester citizen and artist, Edith Lunt Small, remembers the high-end, first class shopping at Midtown Plaza.

Related Links:

American Buffalo PBS LearningMedia Collection

The American Buffalo PBS LearningMedia Collection is created from the two-part, four-hour film takes viewers on a journey through more than 10,000 years of North American history and across some of the continent’s most iconic landscapes, tracing the American buffalo’s evolution, its significance to the Indigenous people and landscape of the Great Plains, its near extinction, and the efforts to bring the magnificent mammals back from the brink.

To support conversation and instruction, WXXI Education has pulled together a list of educational resources available through PBS LearningMedia:

Native Way Forward: Roadtrip Nation On-Demand

 

For too long, TV and film have depicted Native American experiences in the past tense. It’s time to shine a light on the present-day lives of Native young adults, and explore what’s possible for their futures. In this Roadtrip Nation’s documentary—led by director Ryan RedCorn—Native leaders are telling their stories in their own words, and illuminating the path for Native youth everywhere.

Watch On-Demand

More Roadtrip Nation Specials

Before They Take Us Away: On-Demand

Chronicle the previously untold stories of Japanese Americans who self-evacuated from the West Coast in the wake of forced incarceration and internment during World War II.

About the Film from the Film’s website

Before They Take Us Away is an award-winning feature documentary that captures the previously untold stories of Japanese Americans whose families self-evacuated from California upon the issuance of Executive Order 9066 during World War II.  The option of “voluntary” relocation was available for only a very brief period from early February to late March, 1942.  In early February, the US Western Defense Command (WDC) indicated that it intended to remove all men, women and children of Japanese descent from a restricted zone consisting of all of California, Western Oregon, Western Washington and Southern Arizona.  In March, the newly established War Relocation Authority (WRA) urged those affected to move voluntarily rather than being subject to forced removal and incarceration in concentration camps.  However, the overwhelming majority of Japanese Americans lacked the resources or connections necessary to move anywhere outside the restricted zone.  Compounding the situation, officials in many states outside the restricted zone quickly declared that Japanese Americans were not welcome.

Despite the daunting circumstances and the short window of time available, approximately 5,000 Japanese American men, women and children managed to leave the restricted zone on their own before voluntary relocation was halted by the WDC in late March 1942.  As this film will show, the experiences of self-evacuees varied greatly.  Some fared well, while others encountered serious hardships including hunger, hostility, violence and forced religious conversion.  All endured a hurried and difficult uprooting from their homes and communities, and were forced to fend for themselves without even the most rudimentary support from the US government.  The self-evacuees experienced a unique kind of double-displacement, both from their homes and from the shared experience of the larger Japanese American community. Woven together, these personal stories powerfully capture a community in the midst of a forced migration, and the courage and tremendous hard labor it took to regain their footing.

Learn More: Film Website

Jamming on the Job Podcast Series

Activities, videos and podcasts from Jamming on the Job: https://pbskids.org/jammingonthejob/

“Jamming on the Job” is a multi-generational, music-inspired podcast for kids ages 4-8 and their parents and caregivers, starring Christina Sanabria and Andrés Salguero, the Latin Grammy Award-winning kids’ music duo known as 123 Andrés. Join Christina and Andrés as they tour the country and perform songs about the world of work. Each place they go, they meet a grown-up with a different kind of job who helps them along their way. As Christina and Andrés learn about the new and inspiring career-of-the-day and the skills needed to be successful in that job, they compose an original song about it with help from their Magic Beatmaster Boombox, voiced by Grammy Award-nominated musician, Pierce Freelon.

In addition to exposing kids to a wide variety of career paths, each episode will highlight foundational skills relevant to each job, such as empathy, social problem solving, and responsibility, as well as flexible thinking, impulse control, and persistence.

Some of the jobs include: Nurse Practitioner, Prescribed Fire Manager, Language Instructor, Wind Turbine Service Technician, Robotics Engineer, Veterinarian, Online Merchant, Airport Operations Manager

Watch Season Episode Compilation (YouTube)| Watch and Listen to All Released Episodes | Watch Shorts | Season 2 Episodes

Learn more at the PBS KIDS for Parents Jamming on the Job Page and Download Related Activities.

Check out 10 Picture Books that Relate to Careers!

WordGirl: Videos, Games & Activities

Play games and watch full episodes of WordGirl: https://pbskids.org/wordgirl

WordGirl follows the every day life and superhero adventures of “WordGirl” as she fights crime and enriches vocabulary usage, all in a day’s work. Disguised as mild-mannered 5th grader, Becky Botsford, WordGirl arrived on planet Earth when she and her monkey sidekick, Captain Huggy Face, crashed their spaceship. In classic superhero form, WordGirl possesses superhero strength with the added benefit of a colossal vocabulary. WordGirl has a family and friends who have no idea of her secret identity. As WordGirl, she battles and prevails over evil (albeit ridiculous and comical) villains.

Where to Watch:

WXXI Education Favorites
Here are a some of our favorite WordGirl Online Games and Story Adventures

Collection from PBS LearningMedia

Watch Full Episodes Here:

Watch Video Clips & Theme Song Here:

Learn more at the PBS Parents WordGirl Show Page

Rosie’s Rules: Videos, Games & Activities

Play games and watch full episodes of Rosie’s Rules: https://pbskids.org/rosiesrules

Rosie’s Rules is a PBS KIDS animated comedy series for preschoolers starring 5-year-old Rosie Fuentes, a Mexican- American girl just beginning to learn about the wow-mazing world beyond her family walls. Rosie’s Rules aims to teach children concrete social studies lessons about how a community works, helping them develop an awareness of themselves as individuals and as part of a broader society.

Las reglas de Rosie es una serie de comedia animada de PBS KIDS para niños en edad preescolar protagonizada por Rosie Fuentes, una niña mexicano-estadounidense de 5 años que recién comienza a aprender sobre el asombroso mundo más allá de los muros de su familia. Rosie’s Rules tiene como objetivo enseñar a los niños lecciones concretas de estudios sociales sobre cómo funciona una comunidad, ayudándolos a desarrollar una conciencia de sí mismos como individuos y como parte de una sociedad más amplia.

Where to Watch:

WXXI Education Favorites Rosie’s Rules Activities: 

Rosie’s Collections from PBS LearningMedia

Learn more at the PBS Parents Rosie’s Rules Show Page & en Espanol

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