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Liz Kay
Hello and welcome to the Providence College podcast. I'm your host, Liz Kay, and I'm joined by producer Chris Judge of the class of 25 here in the Providence College podcast. We bring you interesting stories from the Fryer family this week. We're talking with John Smith, a member of the class of 2013. Smith, who majored in social science and minored in film at PC, is celebrating the premiere of his latest documentary films, Hi Neighbor, the story of the Narragansett Brewing Company and Rhode Island PBS.

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Liz Kay
The film details the incredible comeback of an iconic Rhode Island brand, which is at one point New England's largest brewery. John, thanks so much for joining us.

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John Smith
It's great to be here. Thanks for having me.

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Liz Kay
So how did this project get started?

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John Smith
Well, the inspiration came about right after my grandfather died. My grandfather was an employee of the brewery for most of his. His is working, working life. And he passed away about a decade ago. And that was right about the time when I think a lot of people start to take when I was of the age, when you start to take an interest in family history.

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John Smith
And so he passed away and I kind of lost that connection to the past that the opportunity to ask him what it was like. So and that was also about the time that Narragansett, in its new form, as we as we know it now, was beginning to become popular again in in the state and in the region. So I decided just to do some research to see if I could find some answers on my own about my grandfather other and what it was like for him to work at the brewery.

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John Smith
And as I did more research, I realized that there was really a story there, and it went beyond just a somewhat iconic brewing company with a catchy slogan to a really human story about determination and grit and failure. And triumph, and that my grandfather was a part of that in some way. And so that got me thinking that, you know, how many other folks are in my position and around my age who have lost a connection to the past, who are looking for answers?

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John Smith
And that's when I realized that there was a story to tell and so I pitched the idea to to our director of production and our president, and they loved it. And they supported me and trusted me to tell the story.

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Liz Kay
So can you tell us a little bit about the process behind the project? How long have you been working on it?

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John Smith
I it's it was about three years, and it's a little bit longer that's a little bit longer for a one hour doc. But COVID really kind of put the brakes on the production process. And so we really had a lot of momentum going into the, the winter of 20, 20 and then COVID happens. We had to kind of stop and we had to get creative with completing the documentary but it really started with just doing the research, beginning to assemble the players that I knew who would possibly provide answers.

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John Smith
And then talking to them, interviewing them and seeing if they had connections, if they knew folks that I could speak to. So it just sort of just sort of sprouted from the ground and began to grow. And, and before I knew it, I had this great network of people and resources who I could speak to.

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Liz Kay
And how much would you say you knew about the cancer brewery? History before you got started?

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John Smith
I knew very little. I would say that I knew what I would I referred to throughout production as the hits. So the things that kind of everyone remembered or knew about, whether you were alive during the cancer glory days in the fifties and sixties, or whether you're younger like me and you're just, you know, aware of the brewery and its new form, things like it's you know, it's iconic scene in Jaws where Captain Quint crushes the can or Curt Gowdy, who was a sportscaster for the Red Sox, who really made that tagline famous, hi, neighbor, have a gadget.

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John Smith
And you know, all those famous commercials and jingles in the fifties and sixties. So it was after doing that kind of research, I realized that there was much more to it than just that it was iconic things that we all sort of knew. And the story began to develop, and it became very much about the human element because I had the opportunity to speak with former employees who were there, who experienced what it was like to actually be there on a day to day basis.

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John Smith
And that that really humanized the story.

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Liz Kay
I'm curious what surprising elements of the brewery's history you might have uncovered in your research.

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John Smith
Well, I it was fascinating to learn how they survived Prohibition. They they really gained a lot of momentum leading up to Prohibition. And then they had to get creative. And like a lot of breweries at the time, they found ways to make some some kind of money, whether they were producing sodas or ice. Narragansett Brewery, actually, they were a big producer of ice because this was before the time when people where was common to have your own refrigerator.

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John Smith
So you buy ice from someone who drive by in a wagon and they chip off a huge chunk of ice that you put in an insulated box and then a very fascinating story that I learned is that the advertising manager for Narragansett, his name was Jack Haley, and he was the man who created all those hits that we that we look back on for marketing, such as Hi Neighbor Danson.

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John Smith
He was actually involved in some way in the creation of what we know today as the Jimmy Fund. He was very close with a lot of executives for the Boston Braves and the Red Sox and he was very inspired by the original broadcast with the original Jimmy. And he played a part in making sure that the appeal continued on and I was able to speak to his daughter and she's interviewed in the documentary.

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John Smith
She discussed with me how that was one of the most proudest accomplishments of his life and how he was so proud to have been a part of it some way.

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Liz Kay
This wasn't your first PBS documentary. Can you tell us a little bit about your first project, revisiting Smith Hill?

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John Smith
Sure. So when I was a senior at PC I began working on a senior project for the film Minor, which explored restoring old houses and using them as affordable housing in the neighborhood of Seattle. And my father was the executive director of the Seattle CDC at the time, so it was a great way to connect with him. I'll learn about what he does, but also learn about the important work that community development corporations do.

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John Smith
And that project grew from my senior year and to what I could say that continued on as I got my MBA and PC as well. So I continued working on that through the course of my MBA. And it was a just a very interesting way to connect with my father and learn about the important work of community development corporations, but also learn about the community that PC is a part of and and so that that film actually aired on Island PBS.

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John Smith
And that was my first kind of introduction into broadcast with PBS.

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Liz Kay
You also grew up in the Smith Hill community. What was it like for you to come and enroll at Providence College after having been a neighbor of the college for so long?

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John Smith
It was interesting. I mean, junior year, senior year of high school was really thinking that I would be somewhere else further away from home and as fate would have it, I decided that PC was the right fit for me. And it was interesting at the same time, I went to high school with my then girlfriend and she decided to go with the PC as well.

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John Smith
And the decisions that we both made were not connected with each other. It was just totally independent. And we both decided independently that we would go to PC and so it was it was different in many ways because growing up in the Elmhurst neighborhood, I was always on PC campus in one way or another. So to have gone from being a younger kid to being a student was was a unique perspective, but one that I really enjoyed.

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Liz Kay
And now in addition to working as a producer, at Rhode Island PBS, you're also an adjunct professor in PCS, Department of Theater, Dance and Film. What classes have you been teaching and what's it like to return to PC now as a faculty member?

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John Smith
I had the wonderful opportunity to to take over for Father Gomberg during his his sabbatical this past academic year to teach intro to video production and the fall and then advanced video production this past spring. It was a that was a really unique experience to be on the other side of the podium, I guess you would say and it was it was a very surreal experience because those were the courses that really introduced me to this world that I now work in learning the basics of camera, operational, lighting, editing, scripts, writing.

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John Smith
And I was really grateful because I was able to pass on my experiences in the world of broadcast and content creation with the current students. And yeah, it was it was wonderful. It was challenging because it was certainly, you know, I think as a student you think it's much harder to be the student. But then having the perspective of being the instructor, I I can say that I think it in many ways can be a lot harder.

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John Smith
And I now have that appreciation for all of my professors when I was an undergrad and grad there. Just how much work they have to do to be prepared to be the best instructor that they can be to make sure that they're giving you the best quality education.

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Liz Kay
That makes a lot of sense, but sometimes you've got to live it to understand it, right? You've got to walk.

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John Smith
Absolutely. Absolutely.

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Liz Kay
So, John, you're an alum working in the field that, you know, you were a trainee at PC and you've already alluded to this a bit, but I'm curious what classes or experience you feel that you had at PC are helping you in your career now? You know, so you've already talked a little bit about Internet studies, but if there are others that other experiences that helped you along the way?

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John Smith
Sure. I think I think in general, the the liberal arts education that I got a PC was really critical to helping shape me as as a producer because as a producer, you're really a project manager in just a very specific field. And you have to be someone who can think critically and kind of look at all the angles and be able to understand all the angles.

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John Smith
And what the liberal arts education gave me was that ability to do that and to do that well. And I'm not certain that I would have the same success that I have now without that experience. And then when I continued on and got my MBA, having that business background has also helped me tremendously because I was able to couple the critical thinking component of the liberal arts education to the more more application based knowledge that I gained in the MBA program, because a lot of what I do, too, involves public speaking, it involves budgeting, it involves understanding the costs of production, timing so it's it's really been a great combination of an education for me

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John Smith
that I've been able to use every day here at PBS in the in the production world.

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Liz Kay
The college is celebrating this year its 50th anniversary of enrolling women as undergrads in honor of that anniversary. I wonder if there any Fryar women, faculty, staff, students or alumni who particularly stood out as role models for you?

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John Smith
Yes. When I was an undergrad, before I had committed to the social science major I was briefly a history major. And I took a historical research class with Professor Rousseau and it was it was a very tedious class because it was all about understanding how to properly research and source material and identifying material but I always look back to that class because it really helped me to understand how you have to be very aggressive with how you research and to make sure that you're getting the right content and that you're you're sourcing the right materials and siting the right materials properly.

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John Smith
I still have one of the books that I had in my class that I will often use sometimes to make sure that I'm I'm approaching it properly. And I really am grateful for Professor Russo's dedication to that to that class. I also had her in one of my SIB classes, and she was just a real great energy in the classroom, and it really helped me to enjoy.

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Liz Kay
So, John, tell us a little bit about how you're still involved with some of the student organizations that you were involved with as a student yourself?

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John Smith
Yeah, for the past few years I've had the wonderful opportunity to to be able to come back and serve as an advisor to the student radio station and the student television station, ETV. And as an undergrad, I was on the executive board for four PC TV, and it's a really great opportunity to come back and share some knowledge and just just be a source resource to the current the current team there.

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John Smith
And they've done a tremendous job of growing as we move into a world that looks to be much more digital and much more accessible in mobile applications. Both Dom and PC TV have really grown into move into that digital world. So it's a great experience for those students, and I'm really just very grateful to have the opportunity to be there for them in whatever way that I can.

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Liz Kay
Well, it's so interesting how much the world has shifted to video in general in so many different fields. So if the opportunity to get to think about it critically even in the club setting, even for students who aren't, you know, pursuing a film minor, it's got to be valuable.

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John Smith
Absolutely.

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Liz Kay
So, John, what's next for you at PBS?

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John Smith
It's sort of unknown at this point in time. I'm going to recuperate from finishing this project, and I can't speak specifically to what our plans are moving forward. But as PBS as an entity nationally has recognized that there's a there's been this huge fundamental shift in the way that viewers consume the content. People want to see shorter content.

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John Smith
They want to see content that's accessible on their phone in a in a digital package, rather than the traditional broadcast, which is what has been PKs, sorry, PBS's is bread and butter for so long. So it's exciting that we're aware of that. And we've been developing some really interesting ideas. And I'm looking forward to the next year where we're going to start to implement those those new programs and new forms of giving the viewers ways to consume content.

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Liz Kay
So finding ways to help people who may not be able to make a broadcast time at a specific time on a specific day, but watch it when they want to watch.

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John Smith
Yeah, just yeah, just creating creating more options and opportunities for folks to consume our content and also appeal to a younger audience as well who does not consume content over a broadcast. It's all on their phone, all on their tablet or on their computer when they want to on their time. And it's important to be aware of that.

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John Smith
And that's the direction that we're moving in. And I'm glad that we're aware of that, and I'm looking forward to all this new content that we're going to be producing.

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Liz Kay
Well, John, it's been wonderful chatting with you today, and I try again. John, it's been wonderful. Chatting with you today. Thank you so much for joining us.

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John Smith
Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

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Liz Kay
In case people want to catch a documentary, where can they watch it?

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John Smith
They can watch it if they're in our broadcast area in southern New England, it it'll be broadcasted on several different dates continuing on through the end of May and into June. And they can find that information at pbs.org. If you're outside the broadcast area, you'll be able to watch it on demand after June 10th. And you can also find that information at pbs.org as well.

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Liz Kay
And we'll share that information with the show notes for anyone, any of our listeners Thank you so much. Again, subscribe to the Providence College podcast and all the usual places, including iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify, as well as your smart speaker if you like what you hear, please review and share with others. Thanks for listening and go Friars.