Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – Some people may not think of the potato as a modern marvel, but Philip Kruener does.
Kruener is the brains behind “Modern Marvels: The Potato,” which will air in the near future on The History Channel.
Photo courtesy of Voscar
PHILIP KRUENER, left, speaks with Jim Gerritsen, who with his family owns and operates the organic Wood Prairie Farm in Bridgewater, prior to shooting footage for an upcoming episode of “Modern Marvels: The Potato.” Kruener and crew visited Aroostook County last August. While in the area, he interviewed Don Flannery, executive director of the Maine Potato Board, as well as Gerritsen. A portion of the documentary also includes Cold River Vodka, which is produced and bottled in Freeport. “Modern Marvels: The Potato” will air in the near future on The History Channel.
“‘Modern Marvels’ is sort of the flagship series on The History Channel,” said Kruener, who works and resides in Los Angeles. “Now in its 15th season, the series has featured everything from the Golden Gate Bridge to Hoover Dam.
“Over the 15 seasons, the show has evolved into looking at all sorts of ways that technology, engineering and science intersect with our daily lives. I’ve done episodes on everything from welding and leather to Leonardo da Vinci tech,” he said. “The last couple of years, however, they’ve done a fair number of shows focusing on foods and how our food gets from the fields to our tables. The potato is just one in a series of episodes they’ve done. They’ve done wheat, corn, salt, wine, etc.”
Kruener works for Actuality Productions, which produces most of the “Modern Marvels” episodes.
“The network will send them a list of titles that they want to feature that year,” he said. “I was over there editing … I had just finished a show called ‘Modern Marvels: The Secret Life of Oil,’ and while I was there, I heard that one of the titles they wanted to do was the potato. Since I have deep roots in northern Maine, I asked to do it.”
Though born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Kruener’s mother, Cheryl (Waddell) Feldpausch was the former 1958 Miss Mapleton, who went on that same year to be crowned the Maine Potato Blossom Queen. Cheryl’s sister, Darlene, is married to Oscar Nelder, better known as Voscar: The Maine Photographer.
“Voscar took photographs when I was a little boy and I was on the cover of a bunch of German magazines,” said Kruener. “We’ve got long-standing roots with Voscar and I would also go up and visit my grandparents who were in Aroostook County.
“My dad was a minister, so my dad, mom and I would go up to Maine every summer,” he said. “I was in Maine beginning June 1 and went home Sept. 1. We were in Tenants Harbor, but I still have a home in South Thomaston.”
Kruener and crew visited Aroostook County last August. While in the area, he interviewed Don Flannery, executive director of the Maine Potato Board, as well as Jim Gerritsen, who with his family owns and operates the organic Wood Prairie Farm in Bridgewater. A portion of the documentary also includes Cold River Vodka, which is produced and bottled in Freeport, but has local ties, as well.
According to the company’s Web site, the idea for Cold River Vodka originated with brothers Lee and Donnie Thibodeau. Growing up in the Star City, they listened to their father and uncles tell about their history of turning potatoes into vodka. However, the realities of tending to the potato crop and the rigors of the annual harvest left little time.
Three years ago, the idea of commercially producing a distinctive Maine vodka resurfaced between Donnie and Lee as they were driving back to their childhood home in Presque Isle. After years of thinking of business ideas and talking about the future of Maine’s potato industry, the two decided to make the best potato based vodka from Maine potatoes.
Another local connection to the upcoming episode, Kruener said, is that the person who handled the sound equipment while shooting footage in Aroostook County was Phil Soucy, originally from Presque Isle.
“Phil used to be a drummer in a high school band called the Mustangs,” said Kruener. “Everybody we talked to up there knew of the band. When we went out to lunch, people were coming to him in the diner saying, ‘Aren’t you the guy from the Mustangs?’ It was a riot.”
Kruener said the hour-long documentary has no set format.
“The goal is really to blend how stuff is made and works – like potato chips or french fries – with a little bit of history – like the potato famine – with some of the more playful or unique stories out there,” said Kruener.
“We even shot a couple of guys who have potato canons that they love,” he said. “We shot it in San Diego and they explained how they built their potato guns. It’s a mix of things and it tries to be entertaining, but also informative, as well.”
Though Kruener hasn’t seen the finished product yet, he’s excited for people to see the episode.
“I think it’s a fun kind of romp through all the different ways the potato is used. We shot at Ore-Ida Potatoes on the Oregon-Idaho border for french fry and tater tot making … kind of a pop culture thing. We did the gourmet potato chips out of Oregon,” he said. “I shot an old potato knish factory in the lower eastside of Manhattan, and I shot in a very high-end L.A. restaurant, as well as the big Santa Monica Farmer’s Market. We also did dehydrated potatoes, which uses a process to get the water out of the potato that dates back to the Incans.”
In total, segments for the documentary were shot in seven different states including Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, California, Idaho, Washington and Colorado.
“It’s about a 10-week process to produce an episode. I get a research binder and then do some Internet reading for a couple weeks. You have to write an outline of the show and get The History Channel to sign off on that outline,” said Kruener. “Then we go around and interview and shoot everything.
“It takes about a week and-a-half to two weeks to write the script, then we go into the edit suite for 10 days and the animations are sort of going on simultaneously,” he said. “At the end of the edit, the music guy comes in and builds his music track, and that’s pretty much it. Since this is part of a series, there’s an organizational flow that all of the producers work within.”
Fond of the “rich heritage” in Aroostook County, Kruener said he enjoyed filming in the region.
“As far as I was concerned, there was no way to do that show without going to northern Maine,” he said. “I just adore Maine, and anything to draw attention to all the really remarkable people up there is definitely important. It’s an amazing state.”
Flannery, who is featured in the episode, said anytime you can put your industry in front of millions of people “has got to be a very positive thing.”
“It brings attention to your industry and shows the diversity of our industry,” he said, “and those are all very positive things. The next time a consumer goes into a store, they may ask, ‘I saw on ‘Modern Marvels’ that Maine has potatoes. Do we have Maine potatoes here?’ Getting that consumer awareness out and asking for the product is always good.”
Flannery said he’s interested in seeing how the documentary turned out.
“I spend a lot of time talking about our industry whether it’s locally, in Augusta, or wherever,” he said, “so I took this as the opportunity to talk about our industry and the things that we’re doing. It was easy for me to do. When it runs, I expect to hear from friends that I haven’t heard from in a long time.
“I watch ‘Modern Marvels’ all the time,” said Flannery. “As a matter of fact, the DVR is set to record all the new ones anyway. I’ve always watched it. I’m just glad I was able to help promote Maine potatoes in some small way.”
Kruener, who finished the “Modern Marvels” episode five months ago, was also the executive producer for “Snow 2: Brain Freeze,” which aired on ABC Family as part of the channel’s 25 Days of Christmas celebration. The movie starred Tom Cavanagh of the sitcom “Scrubs.”
“I sort of jump back and forth between documentaries and movies for kids and families,” he said. “I’m going to start working on a movie for Nickelodeon and also another movie for ABC Family.”
Viewers are encouraged to consult their local listings for the airdate of “Modern Marvels: The Potato” or log onto www.history.com and view the “Schedules” link.
Photo courtesy of Voscar
PHIL SOUCY, originally from Presque Isle, returned to his roots last fall as he handled the sound equipment while shooting footage in Aroostook County for the upcoming episode of “Modern Marvels: The Potato.” Soucy is known for being a member of the high school band, the Mustangs.
