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November 11, 2018
Preview set for documentary on famous 1965 'Amish Incident'
Sheriff Fred Beier watches Amish children run into a cornfield behind the Amish Parochial School No. 1 near Hazleton, Iowa on Friday, November 19, 1965. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
by Melody Parker
Waterloo Courier
Gene Raffensperger stood next to the big yellow school bus in front of a country school and watched as Amish schoolchildren came out of the school. They were crying as their mothers embraced them, and then someone yelled “Run.”
“The children scattered like quail. They ran toward a cornfield, climbed over the barbed wire fences and kept running through the standing corn,” recalled Raffensperger in an interview with documentary filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films.
(View the teaser)
When local school officials decided to enforce compulsory public education laws, making the Amish children go to public schools in November 1965, a Des Moines Register photographer captured the image of children fleeing authorities. Raffensperger, who was the eastern Iowa reporter for the Des Moines Register, wrote about the inevitable culture clash which gained national attention and ultimately led to a public movement for private schooling.
“We came across the Amish incident in production for ‘Country School: One-Room — One Nation’ and for a while, considered including the story in that film. We decided it really was something important that needed to have its own film treatment,” said filmmaker and producer Kelly Rundle.
He and his wife, Tammy, formerly of Waterloo, have produced 12 award-winning documentaries including “Villisca: Living with a Mystery,” “Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg,” and four Emmy-nominated films, including “Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City.”
READ THE REST OF THE WATERLOO COURIER ARTICLE HERE!
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Through the project’s fiscal sponsor, The Moline Foundation, The Amish Incident: Rural Conflict and Compromise was partially funded by a grant from SSNHA. Filming took place in Fayette, Buchanan and Polk Counties, all within the SSNHA 37-county region in Northeast Iowa. The views and opinions expressed by this program do not necessarily reflect those of Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area.
Kelly and Tammy Rundle are the producers of twelve award-winning documentaries including the Lost Nation: The Ioway 1, 2 & 3 series, Villisca: Living with a Mystery, Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg (co-produced with Garry McGee), and four Emmy® nominated films including Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City, River to River: Iowa’s Forgotten Highway 6, and Letters Home to Hero Street (co-produced with WQPT-PBS). Fourth Wall Films is an award-winning independent film and video production company formerly based in Los Angeles and now located in the Quad Cities.
Fourth Wall Films' Country School: One Room - One Nation is an award-winning and Emmy-nominated documentary. To order the DVD visit: https://www.fourthwallfilms.com/dvds.htm.
October 31, 2018
New Documentary “The Amish Incident” Explores Iowa's Pivotal 1965 Amish School Controversy
Award-winning and Emmy-nominated filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films will present a FREE sneak preview of their new documentary The Amish Incident: Rural Conflict and Compromise on Monday, November 12 at the Starlight Cinema, Independence, Iowa. The special screening of the 25-minute documentary will begin at 7:00 p.m. with Q&A and discussion following with the filmmakers and others. The program is sponsored by Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area (SSNHA).
Film synopsis: When local school officials decide to bus Amish children into town schools in November of 1965, a newspaper photographer captures an iconic image of the kids fleeing from authorities into a nearby cornfield. The incident and the photograph ignite a firestorm of arrests, fines, and controversy leading to a unique precedent-setting covenant between the "Plain People" and the State of Iowa. The Amish Incident by award-winning historical documentary filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films weaves interviews with key people who were directly involved in the story, with newly discovered archival materials and period photographs to tell a fascinating and memorable true tale of rural conflict and compromise.
“We considered including the Amish incident story in our film Country School: One Room – One Nation,” said producer Tammy Rundle. “Ultimately we found that it was a complicated and dramatic story that deserved to be explored in a separate film.”
“I go to the Amish community to talk to an Amish patriarch. We’re talking in a room with no lights. There’s no water. There are lanterns around. They didn’t have telephones. And he’s talking about the school thing,” said Gene Raffensperger, the eastern Iowa reporter for the Des Moines Register at the time, “I never walked into one just like that and I’m saying to myself, ‘My God, this is the jet age colliding with horse and buggy.”
The Starlight Cinema is located at 2401 Swan Lake Blvd., Independence, Iowa. The free-to-the-public program will take place from 7:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. Q&A will be moderated by director Kelly Rundle of Fourth Wall Films. Film participants interviewed for the documentary will take part in the discussion.
The Amish Incident: Rural Conflict and Compromise was partially funded by a grant from SSNHA. Filming took place in Fayette, Buchanan and Polk Counties, all within the SSNHA 37-county region in Northeast Iowa.
The Starlight Cinema is located at 2401 Swan Lake Blvd., Independence, Iowa. The free public program will take place from 7:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m.
Through the project’s fiscal sponsor, The Moline Foundation, The Amish Incident: Rural Conflict and Compromise was partially funded by a grant from SSNHA. Filming took place in Fayette, Buchanan and Polk Counties, all within the SSNHA 37-county region in Northeast Iowa. The views and opinions expressed by this program do not necessarily reflect those of Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area.
Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area is one of 49 federally designated heritage areas in the nation and is an Affiliated Area of the National Park Service. Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area preserves and tells the story of American agriculture and its global significance through partnerships and activities that celebrate the land, people and communities of the area.
The Moline Foundation serves as a catalyst and leader in encouraging philanthropy and channeling resources to meet the needs of the Quad Cities and the surrounding area. The Moline Foundation serves the donors, citizens, and non-profit organizations in the counties of Rock Island, Henry, Mercer, Warren, Henderson, and McDonough in Illinois, and Scott County in Iowa.
Kelly and Tammy Rundle are the producers of twelve award-winning documentaries including the Lost Nation: The Ioway 1, 2 & 3 series, Villisca: Living with a Mystery, Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg (co-produced with Garry McGee), and four Emmy® nominated films including Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City, River to River: Iowa’s Forgotten Highway 6, and Letters Home to Hero Street (co-produced with WQPT-PBS). Fourth Wall Films is an award-winning independent film and video production company formerly based in Los Angeles and now located in the Quad Cities.
For more information visit FourthWallFilms.com.
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Fourth Wall Films' Country School: One Room - One Nation is an award-winning and Emmy-nominated documentary. To order the DVD visit: https://www.fourthwallfilms.com/dvds.htm.
October 22, 2018
"Country School's" Jerry Apps new book 'Simple Things' a nostalgic gem, says book reviewer
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
Quad City Times Book Review
Ropes of diamonds and gold are not for you.
A fancy car has no place in your garage, your home isn’t TV-worthy, and you’re happy with uncomplicated meals, hold the mustard. While it’s nice to have big luxuries, you recognize your quieter needs – and as in the new book “Simple Things: Lessons from the Family Farm” by Jerry Apps, you’re grateful for them, too.
Writer Jerry Apps during an interview for The Barn Raisers.
When Apps was born on a little farm in rural north-central Wisconsin in the midst of the Great Depression, his parents didn’t enjoy the benefits of electricity or running water. Those things didn’t arrive at the Apps household for many more years, so the family led a simple life with a bounty of goodness.
For instance, on the farm, Apps says, one of the first things you learned was to appreciate tools. Different kinds of shovels did different kinds of jobs, and a boy knew he was a man when he had his own three-tined pitchfork. Apps’ dad was never without a pocket knife or pair of pliers, and Apps’ mother had a different kind of tool: her apron, which was towel, hot pad, bucket, and tear-wiper.
Read the rest of the book review HERE!
Order "Simple Things: Lessons from the Family Farm" at Amazon.com HERE! Or visit https://www.jerryapps.com/.
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Fourth Wall Films' Country School: One Room - One Nation is an award-winning and Emmy-nominated documentary. To order the DVD visit: https://www.fourthwallfilms.com/dvds.htm
September 30, 2018
"Country School" Presentation at Black Hawk College's Lifelong Learners Luncheon Oct. 11
Black Hawk College Lifelong Learners Program will feature a discussion with filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films and include excerpts from their Emmy-nominated documentary Country School: One Room - One Nation Thursday, October 11, 2018, 11:30 a.m.-1:15 p.m. at the Quad City Botanical Center, 2525 4th Avenue, Rock Island, Illinois.
Reservations are required at https://www.bhc.edu/program/lifelong-learners-program/ by Thursday, October 4th. The presentation and lunch is $23/pp (fee includes admission to the Botanical Center).
Attendees will get a never-before-seen perspective on one-room schools in the Upper Midwest. From the very first schools in new states to the demise of their widespread use in the 1950s and 1960s, Country School: One Room – One Nation will take viewers “back to school” for a dramatic new look at the lasting impact of America’s one-room schools.
Order the award-winning documentary on DVD HERE!
September 17, 2018
"Country School" Filmmakers Receive Emmy-Nomination for New Film
Country School: One Room - One Nation producers Kelly and Tammy Rundle, of Fourth Wall Films, have received a Mid-America Emmy® nomination for their new documentary Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City. This is the Rundles' fourth Regional Emmy® nomination.
The Moline, Illinois-based independent production company successfully competed with 42 proposals by 36 other media production companies nationwide to win a contract to produce "Good Earth" for the visitors center at South Dakota's newest State Park, Good Earth at Blood Run.
Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City tells the fascinating and forgotten story of the Blood Run National Historic Landmark as told by a Native American grandfather to his grandchildren. Produced in 4K, the documentary combines vivid present-day views of the park's scenic vistas and wildlife with dramatic historical reenactments portraying daily life in the year 1650.
The Good Earth site in Iowa and South Dakota was occupied between 1500 and 1725 by ancestors of the present-day Omaha, Ponca, Ioway and Otoe-Missouria tribes, making it one of the oldest long-term habitation sites in the United States. At its peak around 1650, the site was home to 6,000-10,000 residents--more than Boston (2,000) and New York (New Amsterdam-1,000) in that same year--making It the largest city in what is now the United States.
Good Earth was an important Native trading center for pipestone, bison hides and culture. The once-vibrant city featured hundreds of lodges, earthen mounds, and a serpent-shaped effigy mound an eighth of a mile long.
Fourth Wall Films is an Emmy® nominated and award-winning independent film and video production company formerly located in Los Angeles, and now based in Moline, Illinois. The Rundles are the producers of the award-winning The Barn Raisers, Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg (co-produced with McMarr, Ltd.), Lost Nation: The Ioway series, Villisca: Living with a Mystery; the Emmy® nominated Country School: One Room - One Nation, River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6, and Letters Home to Hero Street (co-produced with WQPT); and the soon-to-be released docudrama Sons & Daughters of Thunder.
Fourth Wall Films focuses on telling Midwestern stories through historical documentary films that reach viewers via PBS broadcasts, theaters, film festivals, national DVD release and online streaming.
To purchase Fourth Wall Films' Country School: One Room - One Nation or their other award-winning documentaries on DVD, click HERE!
July 23, 2018
July 22, 2018
Marshalltown, Iowa's Historic Taylor No. 4 Country School Damaged by Tornado
Taylor #4 students sit outside the schoolhouse. Courtesy Julie Jontz Lang--All rights reserved.
We took this photograph of the freshly painted Taylor No. 4 Country School in 2009 in Marshalltown, Iowa as we were getting ready to film re-enactments with retired educator Julie Jontz Lang and over a dozen young kids playing the parts of country school students. Among those gathered at the schoolhouse was 98-year-old Gilbert Ingraham, who attended the country school some 90 years prior. The Historical Society of Marshall County was kind enough to allow us to stage the scene in the historic building.
98-year-old Gilbert Ingraham of Haverhill, IA sits for his on-camera interview while children do
their class work in the background while filming for "Country School: One Room - One Nation" at Taylor No. 4 in 2009.
On July 19, 2018, a massive tornado devastated Marshalltown residences, buildings, cars, the charming Main Street businesses, the historic Orpheum Theater Center--where Seberg's SAINT JOAN screened in 1957; and the 1913 Taylor No. 4 Country School.
Twenty seven tornadoes ripped through Iowa Thursday leaving destruction in several towns, including Bondurant and Pella. Thankfully no fatalities were reported.
CNN reported that ten people suffered injuries after the tornado struck Marshalltown, population 27,000. None of the patients are in critical condition, hospital spokeswoman Laura Rainey said.
Read the CNN coverage and view tornado video HERE.
Photo Marshalltown Times-Republican, downtown Marshalltown tornado devastation.
Taylor No. 4 Country School received some damage during the tornado, but stood solid. Photo by Leland Searles--All rights reserved.
Photo by Nancy Adams (curator of the Jean Seberg Collection) - Orpheum Theater Center tornado damage.
It is going to take a long time for Marshalltown to recover from this catastrophy. Efforts are already underway to clean-up and assess the damage and what can be done to save, restore and rehabilitate buildings. Fundraising efforts will begin soon. For those who are interested, we will post information about how you can help in the recovery efforts once it is available.
Video footage of the tornado captured by Mark Varnum (posted on Youtube 7/19/2018). He noted where he was located when he filmed: "Northwest from 18th st. and HWY 30. Funnel touched down just west of the Soldier's home and went down Main St., Marshalltown, Iowa.
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Fourth Wall Films' Country School: One Room - One Nation is an award-winning and Emmy-nominated documentary. To order the DVD visit: https://www.fourthwallfilms.com/dvds.htm
May 15, 2018
CSAA 2018 Conference set for Beatrice, Nebraska June 17-20
"Country School: One Room - One Nation" director Kelly Rundle captures footage at the Cracker Box School in Pawnee City, Nebraska.
The Annual Country School Association of America's Conference will take place in Beatrice, Nebraska June 17-20, 2018 and will be hosted by The Nebraska Homestead National Monument and Southeast Community College. This year's theme is "Free People, Free Land, and Free Schools".
Early bird registration is $50. To reserve your spot click here: CSAA CONFERENCE REGISTRATION.
Take a peek at the action-packed and informative presentations, schoolhouse tours and activities by clicking HERE.
The CSAA is an non-profit, national organization dedicated to preserving memories and scholarship of the country school. The organization is designed to offer all interested individuals with a professional community focused on early American schools, preservation, education, and curriculum. The CSAA prides itself on connecting research and practice for anyone passionate about our country schools. To become a member, visit https://www.countryschoolassociation.org/join-us.html.
Fourth Wall Films' Country School: One Room - One Nation is an award-winning and Emmy-nominated documentary. To order the DVD visit: https://www.fourthwallfilms.com/dvds.htm
May 05, 2018
Michigan One-Room Schoolhouse Assoc. to Showcase "Country School"
The Michigan One Room Schoolhouse Association will soon be announcing a special screening of "Country School: One Room - One Nation" at its annual conference. Details will be announced soon.
The Michigan One Room Schoolhouse Association is comprised of more than 100 members statewide. The Association holds an annual conference where people from all over Michigan come to learn how to research and restore one-room school buildings. Many attendees also come to trade their stories and reminiscences of experiences in one-room schools. In addition, the Association coordinates an ongoing survey and inventory of all existing one-room schools in Michigan. It has a 'survey' of over 7000+ schoolhouses for Michigan. The Association serves as a clearinghouse of communications and information for historians, historical societies, and other programs involved in the preservation, interpretation, and appreciation of one-room schoolhouses.
For more information on joining the Association, visit https://www.one-roomschool.org/join.html.
Fourth Wall Films' Country School: One Room - One Nation is an award-winning and Emmy-nominated documentary. To order the DVD visit: https://www.fourthwallfilms.com/dvds.htm
February 04, 2018
Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area awards Grant to new "Amish Incident" Film
Des Moines Register photographer Thomas DeFeo captured this iconic image of Iowa Amish children escaping into a cornfield. The photo and story were published around the world. Photo Copyright Des Moines Register.
Jonathan Turner, Moline Dispatch/Argus
A $7,819 grant from Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area will fund a portion of Fourth Wall Film's short documentary film The Amish Incident: Conflict and Compromise, about a 1965 attempt to bus Amish students to schools in Buchanan County, Iowa. The Moline Foundation is the fiscal sponsor on the project.
A Des Moines Register photographer captured a photo of Amish children fleeing local authorities by running into a cornfield, and the dramatic picture was reprinted in papers throughout the nation and world, Mr. Rundle said.
"When shooting footage for Country School: One Room - One Nation (another award-winning film Fourth Wall did in 2010), we did several interviews connected to that story, but we decided not to include that in Country School," he said.
"It was a tug of war between Amish, who steadfastly opposed being integrated into public education, and school officials trying to enforce Iowa law," Mr. Rundle said. "The resolution of the conflict is key to why the Amish have remained and thrived in Iowa."
The Nov. 20, 1965, photo produced "bad optics" for the state, as the "Amish were looked at as peaceful, productive people," the director said. "It's a fascinating little story I think a lot of people don't know about."
The Rundles are the producers of the regional Emmy® nominated historical documentaries Letters Home to Hero Street (co-produced with WQPT-PBS), Country School: One Room – One Nation, River to River: Iowa’s Forgotten Highway 6, and the award-winning Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg (co-produced with Garry McGee), Lost Nation: The Ioway series and Villisca: Living with a Mystery.
Their new docudrama Sons & Daughters of Thunder will be released in the winter of 2018. A special Silos & Smokestacks sneak preview of The Amish Incident: Conflict and Compromise will take place in November 2018 at the Heartland Acres Agribition Center. More details will be shared later.
To order your copy of the award-winning and Emmy-nominated Country School: One Room - One Nation, visit https://www.fourthwallfilms.com/dvds.htm.
ABOUT THE MOVIE
Recent Posts
- Preview set for documentary on famous 1965 'Amish Incident'
- New Documentary “The Amish Incident” Explores Iowa's Pivotal 1965 Amish School Controversy
- "Country School's" Jerry Apps new book 'Simple Things' a nostalgic gem, says book reviewer
- "Country School" Presentation at Black Hawk College's Lifelong Learners Luncheon Oct. 11
- "Country School" Filmmakers Receive Emmy-Nomination for New Film
- Take a peek at the
- Marshalltown, Iowa's Historic Taylor No. 4 Country School Damaged by Tornado
- CSAA 2018 Conference set for Beatrice, Nebraska June 17-20
- Michigan One-Room Schoolhouse Assoc. to Showcase "Country School"
- Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area awards Grant to new "Amish Incident" Film
