Photo by Janelle Patterson

Set your alarm for an early rise Saturday, Marietta will be on the national stage.

“Or make sure to DVR it or throw in the tape if you still have one,” said Nick Kessler, captain of the Discovery Channel show “Road Trip Masters.”

Kessler and fellow Pennsylvania teacher Brian Fulmer visited Marietta with film interns in tow in July 2019.

At 7 a.m. Saturday, the Marietta episode airs on the Discovery Channel — on Suddenlink that’s channel 60.

“And it’s one and done, we’ve not ironed out where it may stream online yet,” Kessler added.

The 30-minute episode highlights the Lafayette Hotel, Marietta Brewing Company, Sewah Studios the Valley Gem Sternwheeler and a few other spots along the way.

“You know, I woke up early this morning and was thinking about Marietta and our episode and just that beauty of where those two rivers meet,” said Fulmer on Tuesday.

He said what stands out in his mind from the pair’s trip was running on the River Trail in the mornings.

“And that trail is something that helped us discover more,” said Kessler.

In the episode, the pair stop at the Start Westward monument to highlight the historic carving and its connection to Mount Rushmore.

But the two also hope that as families have this time of isolation and quarantine, they also plan for more road trips, more opportunities for organic discovery.

“Brad there at Sewah Studios got me trained, these great ironworks aren’t signs, they’re markers,” said Kessler. “Now I see them everywhere and we know where they come from.”

Brad Smith, owner of Sewah Studios in Marietta, said he remembers the pair’s visit fondly and is excited to see the full episode.

“They were interesting because they don’t have a script,” said Smith. “So I got to participate in the editing. And what was cool is the scenes came out of those organic conversations, of learning the stories behind the stories. And a friendship came out of this, they send me pictures all the time when they find our markers, now. It wasn’t an act, they really fell in love with the idea of preserving, marking history this way.”

Kessler is a shop teacher for Parkland School District in eastern Pennsylvania and Fulmer teaches eighth-grade special education and math, so they hope, if nothing else families relax Saturday and accidentally learn something.

“It is a tough time families are going through right now, and as teachers we hate it, too,” said Kessler. “But I think coming out of this you’ll see more of what we try to highlight with the show, that these small towns have all the assets without the hassle of big tourist traps, these are the stories that make America.”

Both teachers are also dads, Kessler of teens and Fulmer of twin 7-year-old boys, and both said they could see their families returning to Marietta for a full vacation.

“When you go to Marietta not once were we stuck in traffic, not once did we wait 45 minutes to be seated for a meal,” said Kessler.

“And pictures of those rivers and that view from the (Lafayette) Hotel where we stay, they just don’t do the real thing justice,” Fulmer said. “If I were to go back I’d want to get out on the water more, I’d want to go mountain biking. The boys just got their second bicycles.”

He said his family’s goal on any vacation is to find something active to do, great food to eat and the hidden histories in the places they visit.

“The whole purpose of the show is to plant the seed, get you to want to do your own discovery,” said Kessler. “We know we couldn’t possibly hit every single gem in the community, we were there for just a few days and filmed with some incredible kids from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.”

Those interns then worked with Kessler in post-production to edit the entire segment, and the rest of the show’s episodes, including visits to other small towns in the Midwest.

“Just traveling across what they call middle Americana and exposing what these small gem towns like Marietta have, that’s cool,” said Smith. “I asked if anybody had taken them to the Harmar and they said ‘what’s the Harmar?’ I just had to take them. I could go on for days about Sewah and how cool we are but it’s also cool to share the stories that make our town.”

Smith said such stories should also be documented by communities pulling together during the present pandemic.

“This is the first time Sewah’s been closed since it opened, even during the metal rationing during World War II,” said Smith.

But Smith predicts, more stories will be cast soon and commemorated once the threat passes.

“I’d say there will be hundreds if not thousands of markers that come out of this,” he explained. “Every day there are orders coming in from New York right now… There will be some grim ones, too, about a new site where a hospital was constructed and some hostile ones, where controversy happened or a raid. But historical markers tell the story. They’re important for society so that we don’t forget what happened before us.”

Janelle Patterson may be reached at jpatterson@mariettatimes.com.

How to watch:

– What: Road Trip Masters: Marietta edition.

– When: 7 a.m. Saturday

– Where: Discovery Channel, for Suddenlink customers channel 60.

Source: Times research.