Dr. Dorothea “Susan” Badenhausen of Brasher Falls, New York, was a country doctor. She was likely one of the last of her kind to make house calls to patients, even in the dead of a North Country winter.
Born in 1935 in New York City, Dr. Badenhausen started out her medical career as a researcher. But, after a while, she realized she wanted more. She decided to go back to school, and in 1971, at age 36, Susan Badenhausen received her Doctor of Medicine from Boston College. She set her sights on the North Country, moving to Brasher Falls in 1975.
“She didn’t want to open a private practice in the city. She wanted to use her education to go where she would really be needed. St. Lawrence County, New York is such a place,” said long-time friend Pat McKeown. “I think the Tri-town Region, Brasher and Stockholm and Lawrence advertised for a physician, a community physician. She saw it, checked out the place, saw that it was pretty low on the income scale, saw that the majority of her patients would be Medicaid or Medicare patients, they didn’t have a lot of private insurance. And she said, as she said to me later, ‘That’s the place I wanted to be.’”
Dr. Badenhausen gave over 30 years of service to her North Country patients. She passed away in 2018 at the age of 83. The Dr. D. Susan Badenhausen Legacy Fund was established through her bequest at the Northern New York Community Foundation. Her bequest included grant awards to several area non-profits, including WPBS-TV.
Mark Prasuhn, President & General Manager of WPBS noted that “Dr. Badenhausen was a passionate fan of the opera and the arts, and so WPBS was a natural choice to be included in her bequest. Our team has worked to leverage the resources provided in this generous grant to raise awareness of the arts in St. Lawrence County through several interrelated initiatives, which we believe effectively honor Dr. Badenhausen’s legacy and love of the arts and the North Country.”
In 2021, WPBS received a grant from the Dr. D. Susan Badenhausen Legacy Fund of the Northern New York Community Foundation. Four specific initiatives were supported by the grant:
1. Great Performances: Now Hear This virtual screenings
In the height of the pandemic in January 2021, North Country audiences were able to enjoy two virtual screenings of episodes of this classical music documentary hosted by Orchestra of Northern New York Music Director and Conductor Kenneth Andrews with program host Scott Yoo.
2. Artists of St. Lawrence County
WPBS created a series of ten short-form video programs highlighting North Country artists, singers, and musicians in St. Lawrence County, along with a biographical segment on Dr. Badenhausen. The programs aired as segments on the station’s flagship current affairs series, WPBS Weekly: Inside the Stories, Tuesday nights at 7:30, and are available on the WPBS video player (watch.wpbstv.org) and mobile app. The stories can be found below.
3. Back Road Museums: The Frederic Remington Art Museum
This half hour documentary television program profiling the Frederic Remington Museum in Ogdensburg premiered on WPBS on Tuesday, June 7th at 7:30 pm. A native of Canton, renowned artist Frederic Remington depicted scenes and figures of the American Old West, and the museum’s impressive collection makes it one of the leading cultural institutions in Northern New York.
4. Community Event in St. Lawrence County
To promote and debut Artists of St. Lawrence County, WPBS worked with partners to organize a community event including a screening of the ten short programs and artistic performances in September of 2022 at the Frederic Remington Art Museum.
In 2023, WPBS received a second grant from the Dr. D. Susan Badenhausen Legacy Fund of the Northern New York Community Foundation. This grant supported the production of five segments highlighting North Country Folk Artists, along with a community screening.
These segments, found below, will air on WPBS Weekly: Inside the Stories, and will be celebrated at a community event to be held at Traditional Arts of Upstate New York (TAUNY), on Thursday, January 18, at 6:30 pm. The screening is open to the public.
WPBS Weekly: Inside the Stories
Artists of St. Lawrence County
Dr. Dorothea Susan Badenhausen Biography
(Broadcast Date: Tuesday, April 5, 2022 at 7:30 pm)
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Dr. Susan Badenhausen of Brasher Falls was a country doctor, likely one of the last of her kind. She gave over 30 years of service to her patients, including house calls even in the dead of a North Country winter. When she passed away in 2018, she left a legacy that continues to give, showcasing many of the artists and musicians of St. Lawrence County.
John Morrow
(Broadcast Date: Tuesday, April 12, 2022 at 7:30 pm)
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John Morrow is an Ogdensburg artist whose creative style weaves nature, man, and time as an underlying theme. Internationally, his work has been on the cover of Readers Digest. Regionally, he and his wife own the Clark Art gallery in Ogdensburg.
Carrie Hill
(Broadcast Date: Tuesday, April 19, 2022 at 7:30 pm)
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Carrie Hill is a talented basket maker on the Akwesasne Reservation.
Douglas Rubio
(Broadcast Date: Tuesday, May 3, 2022 at 7:30 pm)
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Classical guitarist Douglas Rubio is a talented musician and professor is a solo recitalist and chamber musician. He is also a massive fan of the Beatles and teaches a class on their style of music.
Brian Dunbar
(Broadcast Date: Tuesday, May 10, 2022 at 7:30 pm)
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Brian Dunbar is a talented flutist who teaches at SUNY Potsdam. Brian stands out not only as an award-winning musician but also as a change maker for black artists in the music community.
Margaret Chalker
(Broadcast Date: Tuesday, May 17, 2022 at 7:30 pm)
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Margaret Chalker is an educator and opera singer whose talents and career have taken her across the globe.
Scott Ouderkirk | Glass Goat Studios
(Broadcast Date: Tuesday, May 24, 2022 at 7:30 pm)
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Nestled in a studio along the St. Lawrence River in Hammond is an incredible artist, Scott Ouderkirk. His stained glass creations and boat restorations are undeniably unique.
Bear Fox
(Broadcast Date: Tuesday, May 31, 2022 at 7:30 pm)
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We take you to the Akwesasne reservation for the powerful music of Bear Fox.
Len Mackey
(Broadcast Date: Tuesday, June 14, 2022 at 7:30 pm)
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We take you inside a drumming circle at St. Lawrence University, where instructor Len Mackey teaches West African drumming.
Frederic Remington Museum
(Broadcast Date: Tuesday, June 21, 2022 at 7:30 pm)
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A small museum in the heart of Ogdensburg expands and deepens the appreciation and work of artist Frederick Remington.
An additional segment with Gouverneur artist and national television host, Wilson Bickford, who passed away in December 2021, aired in the spring of 2021.
Wilson Bickford
(Broadcast Date: Tuesday, April 27, 2021 at 7:30 pm)
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In case you missed it, we spoke with artist, author, teacher and host of “Painting with Wilson Bickford” aired nationally on CreateTV. Fans in Northern New York and Ontario might be surprised to know, that world famous WILSON BICKFORD grew up right here, in Gouverneur, New York and still calls the North country, home.
WPBS Weekly: Inside the Stories
Folk Art Expressions of St. Lawrence County
Roxanne Locy: Pottery
(Broadcast Date: Tuesday, January 2, 2024 at 7:30 pm)
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Roxanne Locy is a retired art teacher who spends most of her days in her colorful studio, throwing and sculpting earthenware masterpieces. Her work is featured at TAUNY in St. Lawrence County.
Ruth Varley: Jewelry Making
(Broadcast Date: Tuesday, January 16, 2024 at 7:30 pm)
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Ruth Varley is an artisan jeweler, specializing in river glass pieces. From earrings to rings, she carefully seeks out, on her local beach, colorful pieces of river glass to shine and shape for her jewelry.
Mathilde Lind: Weaving
(Broadcast Date: Tuesday, February 6, 2024 at 7:30 pm)
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Mathilde Lind is the Director of Programs and Research at TAUNY, as well as a well-traveled fiber artist and expert, with a specialty in spinning and weaving.
Sarah Platt: Barn Quilts
(Broadcast Date: Tuesday, February 20, 2024 at 7:30 pm)
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Barn quilts originated in Europe. Today we find them all over the North Country. Sarah Platt has fallen in love with the concept and teaches a barn quilting art class at Hermon-Dekalb.
Matt Rozler: Woodworking
(Broadcast Date: Tuesday, March 12, 2024 at 7:30 pm)
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Matt Rozler is a retired New York State police investigator, fully dedicated to his craft of designing masterful pieces that are fully functional.
