(Airdate: September 30, 2025) Maryanne interviews Joshua Bingham, aka “The Large Man of PT.” Joshua is indeed a very large man physically. He also likes helping people. He was employed as a caretaker for mentally challenged clients for a few years. But he was always available to help people move furniture and other bulky items. At some point it occurred to him that he could find more satisfaction and make a better income specializing in moving. So he started a company called The Large Man of PT. It’s a huge success with our senior population. Ten months of the year he’s here serving people who badly need help moving and/or downsizing. Here’s the twist: for two months of the year he goes to Tibet where he works with village elders to build schools or orphanages. Years ago he discovered that a lot of money donated to orphanages in Tibet never made it to the needy – the cash lined the pockets of many officials instead. Joshua’s a man of action so he decided to somehow get 100% of his funds to the needy.

(Airdate: September 16, 2025) Maryanne interviews Daniel Ferland, music teacher & founder of YeaMusic, the popular summer music camps for kids. Daniel’s passion for music has now been passed on to Port Townsend & Chimacum students for close to two decades. Against all odds and under Daniel’s direction those bands tell a David + Goliath story — consistently winning awards in competition with much larger high schools. Last summer’s camps were almost cancelled due to the sweeping cuts in arts funding by the Trump administration. First Federal Bank and the Jefferson County Foundation stepped in with grants at the very last moment and saved the camps. But the group rather desperately needs your donations. Go to yeamusic.org to donate — by the way, YeaMusic is an acronym for “youth education in the arts.”

(Airdate: September 2, 2025) Maryanne interviews John Paul Davies. owner of Key City Foods. John Paul bounced around for years trying to find his niche. While he was still in college he worked in seafood shops and found an affinity there. When he first came to Port Townsend he worked for New Day Fisheries setting up a big seafood market in a tent in their parking lot. It was quite successful until the winter rain and mud hit. Somehow shopping for seafood isn’t quite that appealing in heavy rain. John Paul ultimately started his own seafood shop thanks in part to a loan from the proverbial “bank of dad.” Seafood morphed into also selling meat. Today Key City supplies seafood and meat to restaurants all over western Washington. The shop is also open to the public. It rings up brisk sales but the bulk of his business — and profits —comes from restaurants and resorts.

(Airdate: July 22, 2025)  Maryanne interviews Sonny Flores, KPTZ’s man of a million talents. Sonny’s been with the station for over a decade. He’s been a DJ, Producer, Editor, trainer of new talen, and the go-to resource for anything at the station. Sonny is one of six kids and joined the military at age 18. He rose to the rank of Captain at the California Dept. of Corrections and instituted many programs designed to help inmates flourish ‘on the outside.’ When he retired, he headed north to Washington, based on glowing reports from a colleague. KPTZ is not his only community affiliation. He’s been part of the Farmer’s Market, the Food Bank, and the PT Film Festival. Now he plans on working with troubled young people through the Olympic Angels. He’s been a true partner with Maryanne on KPTZ’s Our Town. (The door’s always open Sonny!)

(Airdate: July 8, 2025) Today’s guest is Candace Mangold, owner of Corvus Crafts, a Marketing, Media Sales and Printing company here in Port Townsend.  Candace has a wide range of experience in various areas of marketing, and is now happy to offer her creative services to our community, and regional and national customers.   

(Airdate: June 10, 2025) Maryanne interviews Tyler Zwirtz, the owner Type Townsend Studio, a rather unique shop in downtown PT that specializes in old typewriters and various antiques. Tyler was, well, one of those kids who started serious collecting of typewriters when he was about 10 years old. By the time he was in his early 20’s he had seven storage lockers strung across the country. He was living in Seattle and exploring the Northwest. When he hit Port Townsend he fell in love with the town so he moved here without a job in sight. But he stumbled onto the shop and it turned out the previous owner was shutting down. But he bought it. It turned out the seven storage lockers had more than enough inventory to open his own shop. He’s now celebrating the shop’s one-year birthday. And – believe it or not — he’s making money!

(Airdate: May 27, 2025) Maryanne interviews Jose Borrayo, the owner of the PT Garden Center. Jose’s a classic entrepreneur. He started out as the maintenance guy at the Garden Center and after years of hard work and study he ended up owning the place. He’s been through some challenging times. During the pandemic his main supplier of plant starts and herbs went out of business. So he ended up buying land and erecting a large greenhouse. Now he grows his own. That results in better prices both for him and for his customers. He’s also expanding into landscaping, partnering with his brother. Jose’s insatiable curiosity has led him to read and absorb every label. When it comes to gardens he’s now a finely tuned expert.

(Airdate: May 13, 2025) Maryanne interviews Bob Wheeler, the President of the Friends of Port Townsend Golf Park. The nonprofit group has only been in charge of the historic golfing grounds for a little more than a year. But there are big changes. The greens have been totally groomed and revamped. Now every day groups of young 20 or 30 somethings show up to play disc golf, which is a form of frisbee golf. Families picnic on the grounds and a new playground will be installed shortly – funds permitting. Miniature golf is in the works, as are outdoor movies. The revamped clubhouse or restaurant is opening soon. This is not your classic country club – it’s open to everyone. It’s also the cheapest golf course in the region, by far. 

(Airdate: April 15, 2025)  Maryanne interviews Samantha Harper, the county’s Director of Waste Management. That means she’s in charge of making sure the new Hadlock sewer system becomes a reality. She estimates that by mid to late June we will have an operational sewer system at least for a small section of the territory. Existing septic systems will be “de-commissioned” and raw sewage will flow through the brand new treatment plant. This has major economic implications for the entire county. Zoning changes will allow development of many more commercial buildings and residential properties. Samantha (aka ’Sam’) believes the entire project will be up and running sometime in 2027.

(Airdate: April 1, 2025) Maryanne interviews David Ehnebuske, a tech pioneer and long-time IBM trouble shooter. David had assignments that took him around the globe — China, India, Western Europe, Japan and many other destinations. When living in New Mexico his wife taught at a predominantly Navajo high school. This was yet another cultural learning curve. In fact, that’s what David loves the most — learning about different cultures. Now that he’s in PT he’s part of the team that has been restoring the Point Wilson Lighthouse. His curiosity is endless and he loves a challenge, whether restoring lighthouses or building specialized cameras.