By James Kent
For nearly 30 years, PEGTV has served as Rutland County’s public access television station, documenting local events, high school sports, and community life. Executive Director Tom Leypoldt, who has been with the station for most of its existence, recently led a project to digitize and preserve hundreds of long-lost videos—bringing a treasure trove of Rutland history back to life.
Leypoldt remembers when PEGTV operated from the basement of the local cable station, where Comcast/Xfinity is currently located on Route 7. In 1996, PEGTV moved to the Stafford building, but space constraints meant many archived recordings had to be stored elsewhere. Dozens of boxes were placed in the basement of the Longfellow School building, where they remained forgotten for over two decades.
A few years ago, occupants of the Longfellow building reached out to PEGTV, asking if they wanted to retrieve the boxes before discarding them. Unfortunately, a broken water pipe damaged several of the recordings. At first, Leypoldt assumed nothing was salvageable, but he found a few in pristine condition among the moldy, deteriorated tapes.
Curious about their contents, Leypoldt played the tapes on an old VCR and was surprised by how well some had held up. Among them were classic rivalry football games between Rutland High and MSJ—recordings he knew the community would want to see. The collection also included VHS, ¾-inch, and Hi-8 tapes, requiring specialized equipment to transfer them to digital format.
After careful planning, Leypoldt gathered the necessary converters and equipment to begin the extensive digitization process. The first test was simple—uploading a single video to PEGTV’s YouTube channel to gauge interest. The response was immediate. “I didn’t realize this project would have this much of an impact,” Leypoldt said. People were thrilled to see footage of past sporting events and eagerly requested more.
Over the past two years, Leypoldt and PEGTV Public/Education Coordinator Chelsea Vogel have worked tirelessly to digitize and upload over 1,000 videos to PEGTV’s YouTube channel. Under the “PEGTV: Sports Rewind” playlist, viewers can watch historic high school games (some featuring commentary from legendary WSYB sports announcer Jack Healy), while the “PEGTV: Video Vault” offers a glimpse into Rutland’s past, featuring footage of past Halloween parades and even a rare 16mm film capturing a WWI veterans’ welcome-home clambake at the Rutland Fairgrounds.
For many, these videos are more than just entertainment—they’re a connection to the past. One particularly moving example involved a 1985 interview with John Cioffredi from the Rutland Parks and Recreation Department. When his grandson, Dan, discovered the footage, he was deeply touched, as it was the only known video of his grandfather. “It makes it all worth it,” Leypoldt said, reflecting on the emotional impact of the project.
PEGTV’s archival project continues to grow, preserving Rutland’s history for future generations. To explore the collection, visit youtube.com/@PEGTVRutland.
