About KingstonBarn and Andrew Champ-Doran

Andrew Champ-Doran was born and raised in Iowa’s Missouri River Valley.  After learning not to refer to myself in the third person, I followed work around the country for a number of years.  I landed in the Mid-Hudson Valley in 1989, and met my beautiful bride here just a couple of years after.

We decided to buy our first home here in Kingston, and moved in with our family in 2005.  We found a great town with some problems, sure, but a lot of people were trying to make things better.  Some of those people were new to town, some had lived here all their lives, but most folks wanted to do something positive.  Disagreements sometimes heated up, but in the end, things got done.

Then, something changed.  I don’t know what happened.  Maybe it was the ascendance of polarized talk on TV.  Maybe it was the Tea Party.  Maybe it’s the anonymity and immediacy provided by the internet.  Maybe it’s all of that and a whole lot more.  Whatever the causes, it seems that people have forgotten how to listen and discuss now.  We more often shout each other down and think about our next point when other people are making theirs.  We attack other commentators on the comments section, rather than commenting on the story.  But, what are you gonna do, right?

Here is what I am going to do.  I am going to open up this blog as a forum to you to discuss what our problems are, and propose any positive solutions you might have.  From time to time, I hope to present brief stories about people who are trying to build something here.  It could be big or small, expensive or free, but it will be about someone trying to build a city, a community, or a, life here in  Kingston and Ulster County.

Here is what you can do.  Read the stories, share them with your friends, comment on them, and discuss what we can do to solve any troubles.  Email the links around to people you know who might be interested, and get them involved, too.  All I ask is that you be respectful, polite, and sign your real name to your comments  I will moderate.

If you’d like to submit your own stories that fit our bill, or story ideas, or need to contact me, please comment, or write to:  Andrew Champ-Doran,  Kingston, NY 12401, champdoran@gmail.com

ANDREW CHAMP-DORAN
KingstonBarn
photo by Quentin Champ-Doran