Whiting featured on ‘Late Show’ Letterman program heads Down East

WHITING – Sometime in the not too distant future, fans of “The Late Show with David Letterman” will be introduced to the Washington County town of Whiting.

Television crews for the show were scheduled to leave Machias Friday morning after tromping around the clam flats, lunching at the Whiting Village Store, visiting the town’s one-room schoolhouse and interviewing town stalwarts such as John Pope and Carroll Gilpatrick.

Field producer Jeremy Weiner said Whiting will be featured on “Biff Henderson’s America,” a Letterman show special that runs three times a year.

“We go to small towns all across the country,” Weiner said. “The population has to be under 500 and the people have to be interesting.”

Whiting – with a population of 430 – meets both criteria, he said.

Henderson was looking for a town on the East Coast because his most recent features, including the February special on Franklin, Idaho, were all west of the Mississippi, Weiner said.

“Maine seemed like a very nice place to go next and it also had the draw of the seafood industry – lobster and clamming,” he said.

Weiner said he selected a few Maine towns that met the show’s criteria and began contacting town clerks.

He was particularly impressed with Whiting Administrative Assistant Bernice McHatten.

“She was very helpful – putting me in touch with a lot of people,” Weiner said.

So the crew arrived at the Bluebird Motel in Machias on Tuesday evening. After breakfast at the Bluebird Ranch Family Restaurant, Henderson, Weiner, writer Chris Harris, director Jessica Santini, an audio technician and a cameraman from WABI-TV in Bangor set off for the day.

Weiner said they visited the town clerk’s office, the general store, the Puffin Pig gift shop and took a trip up to the Canadian border. Tuesday night found them on the clam flats of Holmes Bay with Paul Pelletier.

And they were looking forward to going lobster fishing and to a visit to the Whiting Village School on Thursday.

Weiner said he isn’t sure when the segment on Whiting will run.

Whiting is the ninth small town to be featured on “Biff Henderson’s America,” he said.

“The people here are fantastic,” Weiner said. “They’ve exceeded our expectations.”