Canton, NY, May 22, 2012 — Long-time Canton resident Peter Van de Water is out with a new book, This is What I Thought at the Time. It's a collection of his essays originally published in the St. Lawrence Plaindealer: everything from farming to politics.

Todd Moe spoke with him about writing essays based on what he was reading, childhood memories on the farm and changes in society. Van de Water has spent most of his life in Canton, graduated from St. Lawrence University, retired in 1984 and says his essays were inspired by his father's newspaper columns in the Watertown Daily Times.