Country School: One Room - One Nation

Country Schools and Axe Murders Part of Historic Event in Red Oak, Iowa

Courtesy Fourth Wall Films. Copyright 2004.

Country Schools and the 1912 Villisca axe murders will be the focus of attention when the centennial anniversary of Iowa's worst mass homicide will be commemorated June 9-10, 2012 in Red Oak, Iowa. The special commemoration event is organized by Director David McFarland of the Montgomery County History Center, and co-sponsored by the Villisca Historical Society.

Courtesy Fourth Wall Films. Copyright 2010.

Opening the historic weekend will be Kelly and Tammy Rundles' award-winning feature-length documentary Country School: One Room - One Nation which will screen at the Montgomery County History Center on Saturday, June 9, 2012 at 2 p.m. The film features several one-room schools in the area including the Pittsburg School in Red Oak, the Cramer School in Stanton, and the Goldenrod school in Clarinda.

On Sunday, June 10, 2012 (the 100 year anniversary date of the Villisca axe murders), a sneak preview of AXMAN, a new short documentary by the Rundles, and an encore showing of their award-winning film Villisca: Living with a Mystery will be presented at 2:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. Dr. Edgar Epperly, the foremost historical authority on the still-unsolved crime, will join the Rundles for Q&A following the film presentations. An accompanying historical display will include the actual murder weapon, a long-handled axe removed from the crime scene by authorities on June 10, 1912.  The axe is on loan from the Villisca Historical Society and the State Historical Society of Iowa.

Tickets for Country School: One Room - One Nation and the Commemorative Film Screenings and History Center exhibits are $5 per person and may be purchased in advance at the Montgomery County History Center, 2700 North 4th Street, Red Oak, Iowa, or by visiting www.villiscamovie.com/. Seating is very limited. This special commemoration event is sponsored by The Montgomery County History Center and the Villisca Historical Society. Call (712) 623-2289 for ticket information.

Minnesota Premiere of "Country School" Set for April 28th

Pipestone Performing Arts Center, Pipestone, MN. Photo courtesy TravelSouthwest.com

Country School: One Room - One Nation is set for its Minnesota Premiere at the Pipestone Performing Arts Center, 104 East Main Street, Pipestone, Minnesota on Saturday, April 28th.

The special screening of the 72-minute award-winning documentary is sponsored by the Pipestone County Museum and the Pipestone County Historical Society with the support of the United Way of Pipestone County.  The program will begin at 2:00 p.m. and a Q&A discussion with filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle will follow the movie.  Admission is free to the public. 

This is Fourth Wall Film’s third documentary, including the critically-acclaimed Lost Nation, the Ioway. Country School: One Room - One Nation and Ioway are both available in the Museum Gift Shop.

Julien Dubuque International Film Festival Opens with "Country School"

Screening to be Dedicated to the Memory of Preservationist Richard Ganzer

Country School: One Room - One Nation is an official selection at the Julien Dubuque International Film Festival and will be one of four films to open the stellar event.

Kicking off with a celebratory Launch Party and Award Ceremony from 5:00pm-7:00pm at the Mississippi Moon Bar (Diamond Jo Casino), the festival will showcase films and filmmakers from all over the world.  Screen stars Kate Mulgrew ("Star Trek: Voyager") and Matthew Modine ("Full Metal Jacket," "Vision Quest") are special guests and the festival will screen some of their current film work. Tickets to attend the Launch Party are $10/pp and include free appetizers, cash bar and VIP seating. 

Following the Launch Party, Kelly and Tammy Rundle's award-winning documentary Country School: One Room - One Nation will screen at 7:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn, 405 Main Street, Dubuque, Iowa. 

The Rundles will dedicate the screening of Country School to preservationist Richard Ganzer, who appears in the film and was a former country school student at North Bend Community Center.  Ganzer was instrumental in helping to preserve the one-room schoolhouse located in Spragueville, Iowa.  He died tragically in a tractor accident near his home.

 
North Bend Community Center's Richard Ganzer during his 2009 interview for Country School.

"During his interview, Richard shared with us that he was a bit of a stinker as a young boy and spent quite a bit of time being punished by standing on his tip-toes with his nose pressed against the classroom chalkboard," filmmaker Tammy Rundle said.  

His carved initials "RG" are still sharply visible in the school's wooden floor.  

"Richard said he never dreamed that later in life he would care so much about saving the school. But he did. He joined forces with former-students, teachers and local preservationists, and volunteered his skills, time and effort to help make it the treasure it is today.  The school draws people of all ages from all over to experience a bygone era of America's early educational system."

The Julien Dubuque International Film Festival runs Thursday, April 19 through Sunday, April 22, 2012 in various venues in downtown Dubuque.  The event also offers cinema exploration labs and seminars and filmmaker panel discussions.  For more film festival information, screening schedule and to purchase tickets, visit: www.jiffd.com/ 

Country School: One Room - One Nation was partially funded with grants by Humanities Iowa, Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area, the Kansas Humanities Council, the Wisconsin Humanities Council, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

"Country School" Screening to Help Restore Stephenson County Historical Society's Schoolhouse

Stephenson County Historical Society Museum's one-room 
schoolhouse. Photo by Journal Standard.

Freeport, Illinois' Lindo Theatre will showcase Kelly and Tammy Rundle's Country School: One Room - One Nation on Wednesday evening, April 11, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. The award-winning documentary will be shown as a fundraiser for the restoration of the one-room schoolhouse at the Stephenson County Historical Museum. 

Country School discusses the role of the one-room school in American history, as well as providing a glimpse into what it was like to attend the rural school of the past.

A discussion of the film will follow the screening. All proceeds from ticket sales will go toward the cost of the renovation of the schoolhouse. Tickets may be purchased at the museum for $5.

This event is sponsored by the Stephenson County Historical Society and Lindo Theatre which is located at 115 S. Chicago Avenue, Freeport, Illinois.  Call 815-232-8419 for more information.

Steamboat Rock to Showcase "Country School" February 13

Kelly Rundle shoots the Cracker Box Schoolhouse in Pawnee City, Nebraska.

Country School: One Room – One Nation will be showcased at the Steamboat Rock Schoolhouse, 308 Market Street, Steamboat Rock, Iowa on Monday, February 13, 2012 at 6:30 p.m.  This special program is sponsored by the Steamboat Rock Historical Society and is free to the public. 

The award-winning documentary, produced by husband and wife filmmaking team Kelly and Tammy Rundle, was shot in Iowa, Kansas, Wisconsin, Missouri and Illinois.  When the Rundles were in need of photographs for the project, Steamrock Historical Society's Terry Folkerts stepped forward with his personal collection.  Several of his images are featured in the documentary.

Visit www.steamboat-rock-historical-society.com for more details about this special screening or contact Terry Folkerts at 641.425.2752.  Seating is limited. 

Dubuque’s Grand Opera House to Showcase Documentary and Filmmakers October 16

The Grand Opera House in Dubuque, Iowa will showcase "Country School" October 16th, 2011.

The award-winning documentary film Country School: One Room – One Nation will be showcased at the beautiful Grand Opera House, 135 West 8th Street in Dubuque, Iowa on Sunday, October 16, 2011 at 2:00 p.m.  A Q&A with the Rundles and other film participants will follow the documentary presentation.  Tickets are $5 and can be purchased on the day of the show.

The Grand stage, newly renovated.
 
From immigration issues in early schools to the controversial demise of their widespread use in the 1950s and 1960s, Country School: One Room – One Nation combines visually stunning images of a myriad of restored and decaying buildings—including one designed by Frank Lloyd Wright—with surprising, humorous, and heartwarming stories from former teachers, students and scholars.  More than just nostalgia, Country School also delves into the dark side of the one-room school experience and dispels the myths behind the revered institution that helped bind a young nation together.

Shot in all four seasons in Iowa and four other states, the feature-length documentary tells the dramatic true story of the life, death, and rebirth of the one-room school.  Several historic sites in Dubuque and Jackson Counties are featured in the film.  Among them are Dubuque’s Mathias Ham House one-room school, Spragueville’s North Bend Community Center and Emeline Schoolhouse in Emeline, Iowa.

“The country school was the center of the rural community,” said Jackson County preservationist Caroline Bredekamp.  “The restoration work on the North Bend Community Center (formerly Fairfield #2 Schoolhouse in Spragueville) has once again brought the community together.”

“I think we all need a personal hook into the past, and the one-room country school is that kind of a “hook,” said Jackson County historian Donald Wentworth.

Quad City Times film critic Linda Cook gave the film 4-out-of-4 stars and wrote: "Another documentary gem...vivid and fascinating.

Film reviewer Mike Schulz of the River Cities Reader wrote, "Country School emerges as a definitive portrait of education in a one-room environment, a work that's every bit as informative, engaging and impassioned as those telling its tales."

Iowa is ground-zero for one-room schools.  Just after 1900, Iowa had nearly 13,000 one-room schools—more than any other state.  Iowa still has 3,000 existing buildings and 200 restored schools—more than any other state.  Over 50 one-room schools are still in operation in Iowa and three of those are still part of a public K-12 school district.

“One-room schools are a page in American history that is turning, and perhaps in another generation or two, there will be no one left to tell the story,” said writer/historian William Samuelson.

Country School: One Room – One Nation premiered at the State Historical Building in Des Moines in November 2010 and has been screening throughout the U.S. ever since. The documentary has won several film festival and other awards.  The DVD will be released nationally in December.  Midwestern PBS broadcasts are planned for Country School in 2012.

Country School: One Room – One Nation was funded in part by Humanities Iowa, the Kansas Humanities Council, the Wisconsin Humanities Council, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area.

The Rundles previously produced the award-winning documentaries Lost Nation: The Ioway and Villisca: Living with a Mystery. They are currently in production on the documentaries Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg, River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6 and the sequel Lost Nation: The Ioway 2 & 3.

Creston Screening of "Country School: One Room - One Nation" Friday, October 7

Country School: One Room - One Nation continues is tour with a special screening Friday evening, October 7, 2011 at Southwest Community College, 1501 W. Townline St., Creston, IA.  The program begins at 7:00 p.m. in the Instruction Center, Room 220 and is free to the public.

This presentation is part of the 12th Annual Iowa One-Room School House Conference and is sponsored by Humanities Iowa and Preservation Iowa.  A panel discussion with filmmakers Kelly & Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films, and film participants preservationist Bill Sherman, North Bend Community Center preservationist Caroline Bredekamp and former one-room school student John Palmquist will follow the screening of the award-winning documentary.

Encore Screenings of "Country School" in Moline and Davenport September 24-25, 2011

Moline Public Library.

Two encore screenings of the award-winning documentary Country School: One Room – One Nation will take place in the Quad Cities this weekend.

The film will screen on Saturday, September 24, 2011 at 2:30 p.m. at the Moline Public Library, 717 3210 41st Street, Moline, Illinois. A Q&A session with filmmakers Tammy & Kelly Rundle will follow the film.
  
On Sunday, September 25th, 2011 the film will be featured at the German American Heritage Center, 712 West Second Street, Davenport, Iowa at 2:00 p.m. The program will feature a special presentation on German influences in Davenport schools, the documentary film and Q&A with the filmmakers.

German American Heritage Museum in Davenport, IA.

A display of one-room school memorabilia will be included at each presentation.

Country School: One Room - One Nation received grant awards from Humanities Iowa, the Kansas Humanities Council, the Wisconsin Humanities Council, and Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area.

Grout Museum to Feature "Country School" and Q&A with Filmmakers and Historian Bob Neymeyer

The Grout Museum of History and Science in Waterloo, Iowa.

Country School: One Room - One Nation will be showcased Saturday, September 17, 2011 at 10:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. at the Grout Museum, 503 South Street, in Waterloo, Iowa.  Seating is very limited and reservations are recommended.

Several country schools in Black Hawk County appear in the documentary, including Bennington #4 in Waterloo, “R” Little Red Schoolhouse in Cedar Falls and Marshall Center School on the UNI Campus.  Grout Museum historian Dr. Robert Neymeyer and UNI Museums Director Dr. Sue Grosboll were interviewed and served as consultants on the film.

Q&A with film producers Tammy and Kelly Rundle, and historian Robert Neymeyer will follow each presentation.  Tickets are $8 for museum members and $10 for non-members, and include admission to the Grout Museum of History and Science and the Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum. 

Visit www.groutmuseumdistrict.org for more information or call 319.234.6357.

“Jean Seberg” Documentary Teaser to Premiere with “Country School” at Film Festival Opener

Landlocked will open its 5th annual Film Festival with the critically-acclaimed documentary Country School: One Room – One Nation on Thursday, August 25th, 2011, 7:00 p.m. at the Englert Theatre in Iowa City. The film will be followed by a special Q&A with award-winning filmmakers Tammy & Kelly Rundle and include a glimpse of their new upcoming film Movie: Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg.  The husband and wife team have partnered with Emmy-nominated Garry McGee to produce a biographical documentary focusing on the controversial Iowa-born actress, activist and icon.

The Rundles’ Country School: One Room – One Nation has screened to packed theaters and venues since its premiere in November 2010.  More theatrical bookings throughout the U.S., a national DVD release later this year, and PBS broadcasts of Country School are planned for 2012.  Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg is slated for release in 2012.