Thanks Robin. I'm on the road the rest of this week and the beginning of next so I won't be watching for at least week. I do plan to join when I get back. Thanks for the heads up on Mike Seeger. I miss him. We had some good times when he was here to do some concerts.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I'm glad Mark Brewer got back to you, KenL, with this advice! (I only know Rusty and he's on the radio side of things for WOUB.)
P.S.-A friend suggested you all may be interested in knowing Mike Seeger plays "Waterbound" on the episode with Elizabeth Cotton.
Today I received a very nice reply from Mark Brewer who is the general manager of WOUB. Here is part of his reply:
"Best advice I can give you at this time is to join WOUB Passport at https://donate.woub.org/woub/passport . As you probably know, it’s a $5 minimum monthly donation. Create and use a different email address that is not tied to your current WPSU Passport so nothing wacky happens there.
We currently have 15 episodes of Ramblin’ on Passport and 6 episodes of Hocking Valley Bluegrass (produced in 1978) available.
If you can watch them all in a month, just reach back out to us to let us know you want to cancel. If it takes two months…..well, you get the idea! If you want to go this direction, when it’s time to cancel, just reach out to membership@woub.org and we’ll take care of it."
As you can see, the advice is pretty much watch KenH suggested, but a little less expensive. The folks in Athens get a good deal on their membership price for Passport.
So, I'm away at a dulcimer festival this week and then on to NJ to visit my cousin. When I get back I'll join because I should probably be home for a month and can binge watch all of the programs.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Yes... Donate one month, then cancel it...
Does the website actually check your IP address? I wonder if you could register an account with PBS and just choose WOUB as your local station. I'm going to give it a try.
I already tried that Dusty, and it didn't work. So it looks like if you want to view the program it will cost at least $12. Our local stations cost for Passport is a donation of at least $60, btw. Ken, I think you mean $12 per month donation.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Sorry I misled you guys about that WOUB program availability. I couldn't get it either, in spite of the fact it showed on my Passport. I had our local WGCU Passport person check, and she just got back to me this morning, saying it's only available if you make a $12 per year donation to WOUB, watch the program, then cancel your donation before the first month is up...
Does the website actually check your IP address? I wonder if you could register an account with PBS and just choose WOUB as your local station. I'm going to give it a try.
Rusty (at WOUB-- he's radio program director, I think) got back to me after my first query to let me know he thought just WOUB-area folks could stream the program. I asked him, then, specifically, if it would be somehow possible for others to watch. I'm guessing he may not even be able to check about it until Monday (tomorrow).
Thanks, Robin. I sent an email to WOUB but it goes to a general inbox, so I don't know if anyone at the station will read it and respond. I'm sure they get a lot of email. There was no way that I could find through the website where you can contact a specific person.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
@ken-longfield and all, I messaged a guy who works at WOUB. I think he's going to check if it's possible for someone outside the WOUB viewing area to somehow view the episode.
Thanks, Dusty. I've seen Mountain Born a few times.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Well, if it will cheer you up, @ken-longfield, you can watch Mountain Born: The Jean Ritchie Story (1996).
Well, I'm disappointed. The live stream was not available outside of the WOUB viewing area. It was not available through my PBS Passport membership through WPSU. I'm not sure how the agreements work with Passport, but there must be some contract that needs to be approved between PBS stations for items produced by other stations to be carried by the local station.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
In the Ramblin' piece, it was nice to see how many were in the audience to see Jean Ritchie!
The Ritchie video called Mountain Born is different from the one on the series Ramblin'
I managed to find and stream the show on West Virginia Public Broadcasting's Passport listings last night. My route was a search for "Ritchie" and it was way, way down on the list. I think the actual title may be "Mountain Born," with a 1996 copyright date.
It is well done. A "musical biography," not a concert piece.
I just finished watching-- a real gem!
Thanks, KenL and KenH, for the information which pointed me to where I could watch the program.
If you have PBS Passport, the entire Ramblin series is available there. Jean's episode is Season 1 episode 104. I'll be watching it later tonight....
Yes, Richard, it's a little late for me too. Worship starts at 9 a.m., so I might get 5 or 6 hours sleep if I'm lucky.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Thanks Ken. A little late for me. Maybe I can find a recording of it later.
We are members of WPSU, a PBS Station in Clearfield, PA associated with Penn State University. Not all PBS stations follow the same schedule, nor do they broadcast the same content, which is why I'll likely be streaming the show.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Way cool! We're members of Ohio University's WOUB-- it's located the next county south of where we are here in Perry County OH. 
On an unrelated note, though I have never lived in Athens County OH one set of my ancestors married there in 1818.
I received a notice today that WOUB, a PBS TV station) will broadcast a program about Jean Ritchie on Saturday, April 20, at 11 p.m. EDT. It looks like it can be streamed if you are not in their broadcast territory. All I know about this is what is in the link: Jean Ritchie on "Ramblin'"
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
