Julie A Pappalardo

     I live in Newstead.  Newstead is the town around the Village of Akron.  Outside the village, is mostly farmland where farmers grow corn and soy (for now at least).  On any given day when I go outside, depending on the way the wind is blowing, I can smell the sweet smell of bubblegum from the Ford Gum Factory, Ice Cream from the Perry’s Ice Cream Plant, or, you know, farm smells. 

After growing up in a Connecticut suburb of NYC, and spending the bulk of my 20’s in South Florida, I transplanted here in Western NY.  Both of my parents families are from Batavia.  I’m a DJ by trade, meaning I went to school for “radio broadcasting”.  My first job was at 1490 WGCH-AM in Greenwich CT when I was 15.  I was too cool for school when I got to drive around in the WGCH van with my cassette recorder and WGCH microphone 🎤 to go interview people, and write/edit news.  Naturally, I ended up being a radio DJ for a while, which turned into starting a Mobile DJ service that I ran for years.  I DJed everything you could imagine from bars, to parties, to parties on drift fishing boats, to playing music for people who had suffered horrific brain injuries and could maybe only tap their pinkie to the music.  At some point I decided that it would be a great idea to be a bar owner, so I did that🤦‍♀️….Twice🤦‍♀️.  I also thought it would be a great idea to buy rental property (I could write a book on that🙄). I have been out of the bars and DJing for about 10 years, and have now started winding down my real estate.  That means it is time for something new. 

So now, I am getting back to my roots like when I worked at the radio station, and have started The Newsteader, a new online only site for community/cultural event info, news, weather, recipes, and who knows what else for Akron/Newstead and the surrounding areas.  This is a completely new journey for me.  I’m going to make mistakes along the way, but hopefully learn from them.  I look so forward to learning about different topics and enriching my own life in doing this.  I hope you all find this site engaging, informational, and entertaining.  JAP

PS: You can also catch me playing bass guitar in the local Folk Noir Band, Harvey Brice & The Unbroken.  We are on break for Winter, but will be out again in Spring! #ShamelessSelfPromotion