- Tonight on WPBS Weekly.

Inside the stories from running a small business to representing the North Country Assembly member, Scott Gray shares the unexpected lessons that shape how he leads.

Then you've never heard Erie Canal history like this one.

Woman's lifelong connection to the Erie Canal told from her home beside one of the locks, your stories, your region coming up right now on WPBS Weekly, inside the stores, - WPBS Weekly inside the stories is brought to you by - When you're unable to see your primary care provider.

The Carthage Walk-in Clinic is here for you.

Located off Route 26 across from Carthage Middle School.

Comfort and Healing close to home when you need it most - North Country Orthopedic Group is there for your urgent ortho or sports related injuries.

With our onsite surgical center and same or next day appointments, we're ready to provide care for patients of all ages.

Your health matters to us North Country Orthopedic Group, keeping healthcare local.

- We are the north country.

We're protecting one another like family is who we are and where our tomorrow will always be worth defending.

Find out how we keep the north country Strong, at claxtonhepburn.org.

Today, - Select musical performances are made possible with funds from the statewide Community Regrant program, a REGRANT program of the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of the office of the Governor and the New York state legislator administered by the St. Lawrence County Arts Council.

- Good Tuesday evening everyone, and welcome to this edition of WPBS Weekly Inside the Stories.

I'm Michael Riecke.

We are on a mission to get to know our elected leaders beyond politics.

What drives them, what inspires them, and so much more.

Tonight we hear from New York Assemblymen Scott Gray.

We sat down inside the Watertown Flower Shop that's been and his family for generations.

During our conversation, assembly Member Gray shared lessons from decades of small business ownership, the surprising ways flowers can bridge divides and what still gives him hope for the future.

Assemblyman Scott Gray, thank you so much for a having us right here inside your family's flower shop.

- I'm glad to have you here today.

Thank you very much for coming.

- Tell me a little bit about this, this business.

It's been in your family for a long time, right?

- Four generations.

Wow.

So we started in 1918.

We actually started my great-grandfather, F. Burton Gray, started in Clayton, New York, and then he maintained that business while my grandfather went to Carthage and actually bought an existing flower shop there in Carthage, which was Klein's at the time.

And then my great, my great-grandfather came to Carthage to live with him.

And so then my father started this store, the Watertown store.

And then from there I grew it from the Watertown store back to the Clayton.

We went back to Clayton and then we went to Fort Drum.

So at the peak we were four stores.

- Wow.

- Yeah.

- What does that legacy mean to you and how has it shaped your values?

- Oh, it means a lot.

I mean, and that's really how I got started in public service was, you know, the fact that I wanted to, the community was so, has treated us so well, our business very well.

I'm grateful for the community and for everything that they've done to make our business successful.

You know, we really worked hard to make sure that we put out a, you know, a good product that was reasonably priced and affordable for everybody.

And, you know, that was really my desire to get into public service was really to give back to the community.

So - Is there anyone in particular, past or present who really kind of influenced you to get involved or motivated you to get involved in public service?

- You know, I would say if I'm gonna credit anybody for my service, it would be Senator Wright, Senator Jim Wright.

So I was very close to him at the time and he kind of encouraged me to get involved at that time at actually had considered running for city council, Watertown City Council.

And then I was actually asked if I would consider running for the Jefferson County Board of Legislators.

So, and you know, he really kind of mentored me to this day.

He still mentors me.

So Jim is, I respect Jim a lot and he's, you know, he's taught me really how to take decisions and take, you know, ideas and, and really to try to execute 'em.

So, so he is been a great influence in my public service - And still is today - And still is today.

I still consult with him all the time, always talk to him.

Of course, Jim served in the New York State legislature for a long time and so he's, you know, just a little bit on him.

He's got a very rich history in terms of public service, right?

He started in CPS and Oswego County, so Department of Social Services went from Oswego County.

Then he went on to become an administrator down there before becoming administrator to Jefferson County, then the New York State Senate, and then on to the development authority of the north country.

So in terms of public service, he's got a wide, wide scope of service, if you will.

And so he's got a really, really, I mean, he's just incredibly intelligent.

So I use him today for back and forth and bouncing ideas, you know, with him talking through issues and trying to get to, you know, where should we take this, where should I go with this?

Or, you know, help me with this.

So tremendous influence then still is today.

- So those mentors can be so important.

- Absolutely.

Yeah.

Absolutely.

Especially somebody with Jim's caliber.

- Yeah.

- Yep.

- It will surprise no one that, you know, when I say that running a small business is not an easy task, but, but you managed to do that and, and your work on the assembly, how do you strike a a balance between the, - Between the two?

Yeah, so fortunately I have, you know, my wife is here and helping me with the business now.

So our family has always been involved.

It was family when I was growing up.

This is what we did.

We worked every holiday, you know, we would work right from Thanksgiving right through Christmas, all the holidays.

I remember getting off the delivery truck when I was younger and going to midnight mass.

And so that's exactly, I mean, that was just, and my grandmother, so it was back then, you know, you had the push button phones and the dial phones of course, and my grandmother would have an extension in her house and she would get up from the, from the dinner table to answer the phone for somebody.

My grandmother was extremely committed to to, to customer service.

And she was a wonderful person.

And she's, so, you know, her and my, I didn't work with my grandfather that much, but I worked with my grandmother and I worked with my father a lot.

So they were great.

Influences me influence on, you know, my time in, in the business.

- So when I've talked to lawmakers in the assembly, they often talk about still being so, so close to their constituents, right?

The smaller, smaller area that, that you cover and you talk about your grandmother's commitment to customer service.

A lot of being an a an assemblyman is, is customer service related, right?

What, what did you take away from, from her?

Right?

- And that's exactly what I draw to my public service, right?

To my, I I, so my private service, my private customer service that has really I think made our business successful.

We really have drawn that.

I drove it to my, to my public service, right?

And try to instill on my staff, you know, my, in the assembly office, that we have to have that same level of customer service and you know, we really drive that hard.

So it is important there.

So there's a lot of things in that, right?

Because, you know, the assembly, there's a move to take away outside income.

And so not to get into policy, but what I say is it is important that we understand the decisions that we make in Albany and how they affect, like, for instance, small business or whatever, whatever element of the pri public or private that you're in, that you understand the policy decisions in Albany and how they translate down to, you know, back into the community.

And I think that's why being in small business, you know, you understand the difficulties of trying to do business in New York, and I think it's critically important.

And the other thing is, I think you stay in touch with your constituents.

So, you know, it's, it's good that we continue to, to run the business.

You know, I continue in my public service to be out in the community because I believe our first six months, which is Albany session, we're very much in tune with trying to make things and make policy and, and decide on legislation.

The second six months.

What I like to tell people, it's my time to listen, right?

It's my time to interact with individuals.

It's my time to listen, to learn, and to understand what I have to do to advocate for them when I get back to Albany and what their concerns are and how to take those, this six months that we're in right now, take it back to Albany and make it benefit the district.

- Certainly as a small business owner, that gives you unique perspective that many lawmakers simply don't have it.

It also probably gives you a, a bit more of an edge when it comes to really identifying some of the challenges facing small businesses, particularly in upstate New York.

Yes.

What are some of the biggest challenges right now?

- Yeah, so I will tell you, so what I say often in Albany is that there's a lot of people that don't understand how to sign the front side of a paycheck, right?

Because that, I think that's critically important, not only to sign the backside if you're cashing one, but you sign the front side if you're trying to make payroll.

And I think that's critically important.

So, you know, decisions when it comes down to insurance, right?

In the cost of insurance, whether it's workers' comp or whether it's, you know, unemployment insurance, whether it's, you know, automobile or business insurance, all of those decisions translate down to the local level.

And so you see them in policy and then you see them in implementation.

And I think that's what is important with remaining in the private sector as well as the public sector.

So - Having grown up in, in Jefferson County and, and really being embedded in this community, when you go back to Albany, what do you, what do you tell your colleagues about this part of the state and, and what maybe do they get wrong about this part of the state?

- Yeah, so there is, you know, that's an interesting question because you know, a lot of times, you know, the other side of it is a lot of the upstate lawmakers go to Albany and they'll complain about New York City.

And I will say to the upstate lawmakers, listen, they don't understand upstate and our way of life up here and our rural nature, and we don't understand their urban nature.

So, and I said, our job here is to listen to them and to understand what their challenges are, and we hope that their job is to listen to us and understand what ours, I think there is a disconnect in Albany between upstate and downstate.

There's no question about that.

And the most that I try to do is to make sure that the north country is represented and we understand that, you know, other policy makers and other legislators understand the upstate challenges that we have that is very prevalent in energy, the energy sector, right?

We are the generation portioned and then New York City, obviously the consumer portion.

So there is a give and take in that policy discussion that I think really we try to educate the downstate lawmakers so they understand what the challenges are.

We invite them up here, right?

You know, I represent the power project in St. Lawrence County, so we invite them up there to, to do this.

We, and we just try to get them to understand.

But the flip side is that us as upstate lawmakers, we also have to understand their challenges, right?

MTA is a not a foreign concept to us, but it is not a way of life for upstate in New York, right?

Mass transit is not a way of life.

That is the being down in New York City.

MTA is everything to them.

We fund MTA to a great extent.

And the, and the other thing is we try to get capital money for our infrastructure up here.

So that is the give and take between upstate and downstate.

And a lot of people despise for some reason or another may despise or disdain downstate.

But the fact of the matter is there's really revenue, downstate revenue supports the entire state.

So it's a critical, it's critical.

So it's, it's important to look at the whole, the entire state and to understand the different pockets and how they are differ from each other - And how they can be symbiotic and support each other too, it sounds - Like.

Absolutely, absolutely.

It's important that we bring it together so we make sure that it's working for everyone and not just for one section or one sector of New York state.

- Yep.

This part of the state is, is obviously close to the Canadian border is as, as well.

And we have a different relationship, I think, with our Canadian neighbors than other parts of the, of the state.

Certainly do, we do as, as we've gone through this bit of a, of a, call it a hiccup, if you will, with trade negotiations.

How is that impacting what you do and, and, and, and how do you see our relationship with our Canadian neighbors?

- So first, I have a great relationship with our Canadian neighbors.

I have met with, you know, John Bellos over to Gananoque Judy Spears, mayor of Frontenac Islands.

I have addressed the EOMC, which is the Eastern Ontario Mayor's Conference, the mayor, you know, all the mayors in Eastern Ontario.

And really the message is, we, we are greater than just the current rhetoric out there, right?

We have survived a lot of things, you know, going back to what the war of 18, 18, 12.

And so we've survived that.

We have survived COVID.

So we have survived these incidences in our time, in our history, and we still have remained very close, very good neighbors.

We have a lot of commonality.

We share a border obviously, and we have a lot of common interest along that border, especially along the St. Lawrence River.

So my message is stay calm, stay friendly.

You're welcome here.

Hopefully we're welcome there.

I met with the mayor and of Cornwall up in Messina.

So I am constantly reaching out to them to make sure that essentially for the general public that our message remains on a positive note and that we will, and there is so, and there's policy issues that, that concern us.

There's no question about that.

We have seen human trafficking on the northern border.

We're seeing it coming across the water, you know, we're seeing, you know, people abandoning boats, you know, trying to get across, you know, we see people smuggling and trafficking people.

We, there's concern over whether it's, you know, fentanyl coming across.

So, so are there, there are legitimate concerns, but those are issues that are not insurmountable.

We can work through those issues, we can work together and the Canadian government, to their credit, came to the table and committed $1.3 billion to ensure greater security along the border.

That doesn't mean we can't be friendly, right?

And so we have to look and we have to be friendly and we have to keep working through all those issues, but we have to remain very positive.

- That's something been great.

Thank you so much for your time, my and for joining - Us.

My pleasure.

Yeah, my pleasure.

Thank you very much.

- Soon after this interview with assembly member Gray Gray's Flower Shop announced it was closing its doors permanently after more than 100 years in business.

It's last day was September 1st.

We will miss this family owned neighborhood landmark, but wish Assemblyman Gray and the shop's employees all the best.

Well, 2025 marks the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal.

We're celebrating this technological marvel with a multi-part special series.

Tonight we step inside a personal canal side museum in Lions, New York, where one woman shares her vivid memories of growing up alongside the Erie Canal from lock tenders and tugboats to horseshoes and history.

Alan Perry's reflections capture a way of life.

Few remember, and even fewer preserve.

- I've drawn a bit of attention.

I would, some of them are way back when they see me, they way back, come see my mini museum.

This is my collection.

The canal people has allowed me to have brochures to hand out.

We lived downtown in Lions until I was five.

My older brother was born in New York City, then I was born in Alien and my younger brother was born in the apartment that we lived in in Lions.

They caught the poor house lock road and then this was the poor house lock because there was a road and that's how people got to the poor house, which was for people that didn't have anything.

Mother bought it in 43.

My father was in the service at the time he was in the Navy.

I loved it, resented it to a point because I wasn't a town kid and I didn't have a bike until I was 10.

So if I went somewhere, I walked.

So I just wander around here and around the other part of my canal, the double chamber.

I would wave to the barges there in the forties.

Barges went 24 7.

As the tugboats got by here, they would toot three times for the lock time to know.

We're almost there.

Do you know what it's like as a kid there?

The whole oh three tubes scared the deal.

I thought of us, you know?

And for quite a while it didn't happen a lot, but enough to be memorable.

You know, my father became a lot tender down here in the fifties.

He worked the night shift.

I would take a supper down, I'd take a pail lunch, pail down for him, no lights back then.

No traffic.

Very little traffic.

My brothers and I inherited, as you can tell, did very little.

The naughty pine wabo.

My father put in the hybrid floors.

My father put in.

Everything just stayed.

We just lived, survived here.

Oh gee, it's changed so much.

I used to ride a bicycle a lot and I met some people when I be down by the lock and they were going through or something, I chit chatted a little bit.

I said, oh, come on, go and look at my house.

That's part of the old lock.

When I started to share the story, then found people were interested.

Just the idea of the past history and that there's such an abundance of it right here.

I've had odds and ends over time and, oh gee, that's got to do with the house.

And it just kind got into the joy of it.

The fun of it.

Found this horseshoe outside once stuck it on a branch.

The branch grew over it so that it was embedded.

Sometime later I found out it wasn't a horseshoe that was embedded in the branch.

It was a mule shoe.

So it is authentic.

Then I started to think as theodor, I get, there's not too many people my age that have that kind of a memory.

I'm glad I have been able to tell people about my small amount of history, but they can always open the door to somebody else's bigger fine.

- 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the United States.

On July 4th, 1776.

The Declaration of Independence was finalized and adopted.

However, the Revolutionary War actually began a year earlier on April 19th, 1775 with the first shots fired at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts.

PBS is commemorating this historic anniversary with a new six part, 12 hour documentary series from Ken Burns that examines how America's founding turned the world upside down.

Here's a sneak preview - From a small spark kindled in America.

A flame has arisen not to be extinguished.

- We think about independence movements of the 20th century.

You don't always recognize the fact that the United States actually started that.

- The American Revolutionary movement served as a model for freedom from oppression.

- America is predicated on an idea that tells us who we are, where we came from, and what our forebearers were willing to die for.

- Colins said no taxation without representation.

The fear was, if we give into this precedent, what will they do in the - Future?

Crisis changes people.

It gave different people different ideas about what they should be doing.

- It gave them a space to make this democracy real.

- The founders thought, we can start over again.

We could begin the world anew.

The British objective is to suppress the rebellion, force them to acknowledge the authority of the King.

Washington understands the war he's fighting.

He doesn't have to win.

He - Only has not to lose.

He becomes quite eloquent in trying to persuade people.

We're all Americans.

- We see regiments with individuals who are not carrying arms doing essential labor, including women.

They are at the forefront of this movement.

- One of the most remarkable aspects is that you had such different places come together as one nation.

It mushrooms into a global campaign that touches Europe and all parts of the world.

- It so excites us that we're the product of a revolutionary moment where the world turned upside down.

- To believe in America is to believe in possibility.

- Ken Burns, the Revolutionary War six part series begins Sunday, November 16th, right here on WPBS.

Well, that does it for this Tuesday night.

Join us next time for a fresh look.

Inside the stories, Marty Yenawine stops into Johnny Spezzano's kitchen to cook up a West African recipe called Shaka and Laura Tiberiu is back with her review of the book Happy Place by Emily Henry.

It might just convince you it is your next must read.

Meantime, if you have a story idea you'd like us to explore, we would love to learn more.

All you need to do is email us at wpbsweekly@wpbstv.org and let's share it with the region.

That's it for tonight.

Everyone have a safe.

Until next time, take care.

- WPBS Weekly Inside the stories is brought to you by - When you're unable to see your primary care provider.

The Carthage Walk-in Clinic is here for you, located off Route 26 across from Carthage Middle School.

Comfort and Healing close to home when you need it most - North Country Orthopedic Group is there for your urgent ortho or sports related injuries.

With our onsite surgical center and same or next day appointments, we're ready to provide care for patients of all ages.

Your health matters to us North Country Orthopedic Group, keeping healthcare local.

- We are the north country.

We're protecting one another like family is who we are and where our tomorrow will always be worth defending.

Find out how we keep the north country Strong, at claxtonhepburn.org.

Today, - Select musical performances are made possible with funds from the statewide community Regrant program, a REGRANT program of the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of the office of the Governor and the New York state legislator administered by the St. Lawrence County Arts Council.