Print
E-Mail
tool name
close“My Home Town” explores Sumner sights
Dorothy Wilhelm finds the good and tells it in local show
Roxanne Cooke
Recently, shop owners in downtown Sumner got a taste of Dorothy Wilhelm’s character.
Wilhelm, host and producer of the Comcast 76 show “My Home Town,” made the rounds in Sumner earlier this month in preparation for filming an episode about Sumner.
“We focus on what is going right,” she told most shopkeepers. “We do no bad news. We do no politics.”
Shelly Schlumpf, executive director for the Sumner Downtown Association, accompanied Wilhelm on the tour, which covered a number of downtown shops, including paperMuse, A Picket Fence, SugarBabies and VanLierop Garden Market.
Wilhelm, 75, interviewed each shop owner to get a feel for their personality and what kinds of interesting stories they had to share.
“What would you love people to know about?” she asked LuAnn Iselin, owner of A Picket Fence.
Iselin talked about her shop, and then told her story of a customer who lived out of the country but had a relationship with a woman in the area. For two Decembers, he requested that Iselin deliver a Christmas present each day of December until Christmas.
At SugarBabies, Wilhelm asked owner Ashley Salas to show her a unique item in her children’s toy and clothing store. Salas selected the “Hooter Hider,” a clothing item that provides nursing mothers some privacy.
This wasn’t Wilhelm’s first visit to Sumner — she has previously filmed two other Sumner editions of “My Home Town.” She definitely noticed a change, though; there was a new energy she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
“There is certainly a new feeling,” she said.
Wilhelm has been in the television business for 25 years, formerly working for KIRO and KH20. “My Home Town” was originally supposed to be a 13-month series.
“That was 10 years ago,” she said. “It’s gotten bigger.”
She has filmed approximately 100 shows since its beginning, covering 55 towns in Western Washington. Some, like Sumner, have been revisited. Wilhelm filmed a show on Sumner eight years ago and another five years ago.
Schlumpf appeared in one of those with her mother, Madeline Jones, and her sister, Tracy Odd. All three are former Daffodil Princesses. Now, as the executive director of Sumner Downtown, Schlumpf said helping Sumner with its branding has been an exciting opportunity.
“It’s an inspiration for me,” Schlumpf said.
For Wilhelm, producing the show has been an inspiration in itself.
“It’s restored my faith in America,” she said. “There’s so much to raise your spirit. It really is absolutely the best thing I’ve ever done.
“These towns are full of people with great ideas. Everywhere we go, something wonderful is happening. People really do want to hear good news. This is really kind of a happy solution.”
Most recently Wilhelm produced shows about Gig Harbor and Eatonville. The Sumner show will air during the month of May and can be viewed on Comcast 76.
------------------------------------------------------------------
MY HOME TOWN SCHEDULE
Starting May 1, Comcast 76 will show the Sumner edition of “My Home Town,” a 30-minute program that focuses on one Western Washington town per month. The show is also available On Demand: Go to Channel 1, select “Get Local,” “Around the Sound,” “My Town,” then “My Home Town.”
> Monday, 7 p.m.
> Tuesday, 6 p.m.
> Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.
> Thursday, 5 p.m.
> Friday, 6:30 p.m.
> Saturday, 10:30 p.m.
For more information, visit www.itsnevertoolate.com.