10/22/2018
Where people get their scare on this Halloween in the Quad Cities
Oakland Cemetery in Iowa City, home of the Black Angel. Photo by Kevin Schmidt, Quad City Times.
Enjoy the recent story below printed in Sunday's Quad City Times, featuring Halloween Haunts in and around the Quad City area--a number of them on Highway 6!
By Barb Ickes and Amanda Hancock
Quad City Times
Shorter days and falling leaves are music to the minds of Halloween lovers.
As some carve pumpkins and pick out costumes, others set out for more serious seasonal undertakings.
In the spirit (ahem) of the season, two Times staffers hit the road to find area places where things are said to go bump in the night.
Fishing for frights, the duo discovered local lore, spooky stories and unnerving places.
Their curious finds are our Big Story. Check it out the Quad City Times story HERE!
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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' River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6 or other award-winning documentaries on DVD, click HERE!
09/17/2018
"River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6" Filmmakers Receive Emmy-nomination for New Film
River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6 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 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 Garry McGee, McMarr, LTD.) Lost Nation: The Ioway series, Villisca: Living with a Mystery; the Emmy® nominated 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 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' River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6 or other award-winning documentaries on DVD, click HERE!
09/07/2018
2018 River to River Retro Road Trip 2018 Promises Beautiful, Fun Cruise on Iowa's Route 6
The Historic US 6 Iowa Association's annual River to River Retro Road Trip is set for September 13-15, 2018 beginning in Davenport, Iowa and ending in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
This year's event promises fun stops, sights to see, car shows, history to take in, wonderful food, and beautiful Iowa landscapes along Iowa's winding Route 6.
The popular cruise was started in 2011 by former Iowa Historic Route 6 Tourist Association executive director Dave Darby in response to Fourth Wall Films' desire to film classic cars cruising the historic 2-lane highway for their documentary River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6. Each year the cruise has grown and added more fun activies and stops in small-town America during the three-day cruise.
For details about the cruise visit US Route 6 Iowa's Facebook page.
To register visit http://usroute6iowa.org/Cruises/River-to-River-Retro-Road-Trip/Registration-Form.
For information on lodging during the cruise, click HERE!
For more information about Historic Route 6 Iowa, visit www.usroute6iowa.org.
Dave Darby recently retired as the executive director of Iowa's Historic Route 6 Tourist Association after serving for nearly a decade. Formed by new leadership in 2018 the Historic US 6 Iowa Association is a non profit organization and its purpose is: To educate the public about history and original route of Highway 6, using maps, old and new photos, post cards, and travel brochures; To increase awareness, traffic, and commerce in the cities, towns, and businesses along original route ; To place historical signage designating Historic Route 6, along with the River to River Road, and the Great White Way auto trails; Encourage cooperation of communities along Highway 6, to hold festivals, concerts, car shows, garage sales, etc, to boost tourism; As well as to encourage car clubs, bicycle clubs, and others to hold River to River cruises along highway 6 in cooperation with local communities and locally owned businesses, i.e., motels, gas stations, and restaurants.
To order a copy of the award-winning and Emmy-nominated documentary "River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6" by Fourth Wall Films, visit http://www.fourthwallfilms.com/dvds.htm.
07/24/2018
RAGBRAI Riders travel through Iowa Route 6 towns
The Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI), an annual seven-day bicycle ride across the state, will be traveling through several Highway 6 towns--Newton, West Liberty, Iowa City, Atalissa, Moscow, Wilton and the final destination Davenport!
Heading into its 46th year, RAGBRAI is the oldest, largest and longest recreational bicycle touring event in the world. The RAGBRAI route averages 468 miles of often times rolling Iowa landscape and this year's participants is about 10,000 riders.
Route 6's Newton, Iowa City and Davenport are Host Cities along this year's route. For more information about RAGBRAI, visit www.ragbrai.com.
Keep an eye out for the riders and give them a thumbs up, honk, wave and wish them a great and safe ride!
To purchase the award-winning and Emmy-nominated River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6, visit http://www.fourthwallfilms.com/dvds.htm.
05/27/2018
"Everyone eats at Harlan's" on Route 6 - Saying goodbye to Harlan Hagberg
Harlan A. Hagberg, 93, an historic fixture himself on Historic Route 6 in Davenport, Iowa, and later a resident of Brandon, Florida, passed away on May 21, 2018. He was a WW2 veteran of the Marine Corps, and a fixture in the Iowa-llinois Quad-City area restaurant business for many years.
It was the early 1950s when he bought the Triangle Truck Port in Davenport. He later changed the name of the restaurant to HARLAN'S Fine Food, coining the phrase on the menus “Everyone eats at Harlan's.” The iconic image of Historic Highway 6 jammed with semis and traffic during a massive Iowa blizzard, with Harlan's Fine Food a safe haven for the weary and hungry traveler, was incorporated into the restaurant's menu.
He and his wife Shirley ran the restaurant in Davenport until the early 1980s, turning over the business to Harlan's son, Jeff. Harlan and Shirley relocated to Brandon, Florida to retire.
Harlan's Fine Food Restaurant is still open for business, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner daily from 6:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. at 3905 Hickory Grove Rd. in Davenport.
Harlan's Facebook page touts: "Since November 23, 1953, real home cooked meals at a reasonable price has always been the Harlan’s philosophy for every meal of the day!"
A celebration of Harlan Hagberg's life will be scheduled later this summer. Thank you, Harlan, for your service to our country, and to providing us with a spot on Historic Route 6 to fill our coffee cups, visit with our neighbors, enjoy fine food and memories.
To read the full Quad City Times obituary, click HERE.
To purchase the award-winning and Emmy-nominated River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6, visit http://www.fourthwallfilms.com/dvds.htm.
05/03/2018
Happy 88th Birthday to Nancy Drew
Did you know that Nancy Drew's original ghost-writer, Mildred Wirt Benson (aka Carolyn Keene) was born and raised in Ladora, Iowa, a small hamlet located right on Historic Route 6?
Mildred graduated from the University of Iowa in 1925 with a degree in English, and returned two years later to become the first student to earn a Master's degree in journalism at the college.
She worked 58 years as an American journalist and authored a number of children's books. But it was the early Nancy Drew mysteries she is best known for. Wirt-Benson is credited for creating the independent, spunky and adventurous spirit of the female sleuth that captured young girls' imaginations.
"From the very beginning Nancy exhibited all the qualities that have made her beloved by generations of readers. The teen sleuth was the last brainchild of Edward Stratemeyer, owner of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, who had already created such popular series as the Bobbsey Twins, Tom Swift, and the Hardy Boys. Seeing a need for a girls’ mystery-adventure series, he created Nancy and hired a young journalist to write the stories based on plot outlines that he provided her. The Secret of the Old Clock,by “Carolyn Keene,” was published in 1930 — the same year that Edward Stratemeyer died. His daughter Harriet Adams carried on the work of supervising the series and later wrote many of the books herself," Nancy-Drew.Mystery.com notes. (Read more at the site by clicking HERE.)
Happy 88th birthday, Nancy Drew! And thank you, Mildred Wirt Benson, for creating her for all of us to enjoy these eight decades later.
Order Fourth Wall Films' Emmy-nominated RIVER TO RIVER: IOWA'S FORGOTTEN HIGHWAY 6 and learn all about the Nancy Drew connection! http://www.fourthwallfilms.com/dvds.htm
04/16/2018
10th Annual "River to River Retro Road Trip" is set for Sept 13-16
Copyright Dave Darby, US Route 6 Iowa. Used by permission.
US Route 6 Iowa's Dave Darby announced that the River to River Retro Road Trip 2018 is ON, celebrating its 10th year!
The popular cruise will take place September 14-16, 2018, with the traditional "Cruising the Ones" in Davenport, Iowa opening the event on Thursday evening, September 13.
"This cruise is to help educate, preserve and promote the Heritage of US Route 6 through the State of Iowa. US Route 6 is the longest transcontinental highway in the US. It covers 14 states, 3652 miles and starts in Provincetown, MA and ends in Long Beach,CA," said the River to River cruise organizer Dave Darby. "We will start in the City of Davenport, Iowa with a Thursday night Welcome Show and Cruise through the downtown streets.
"On Friday, September 14 we start our journey from Davenport with a police escort along Historic Route 6 through town. From there it is all two lane small-town Midwest America. We pass through about two dozen small towns on the first day. We will have a couple of stops along the way to showcase some of the amazing gems they have to offer. We end the first day with all the participants in a car show.
"Saturday, September 15, we start out from our Day 1 ending location and continue west, where you get to see the really beautiful parts of the rolling hills through Iowa. We again pass through about two dozen towns and will have places of interest to stop and experience along the way. We end in Council Bluffs, Iowa where we are guests at the 100 Block Car Show.
"We encourage everyone to stick around Sunday, September 16 when we drive just south of Menlo, IA, off of Route 6, to visit Iowa's first Freedom Rock which pays tribute to men and women of the armed forces. It is truly a site to experience.
Dave Darby, US Route 6 Iowa.
"So we invite you to join us. You don't have to go all the way and you can do day one, day two or all four. It is an amazing drive and a great time. And remember, it's not what you drive, it's about the drive," said Darby, who stars in the Emmy-nominated documentary River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6 produced by Fourth Wall Films.
To register early Visit http://usroute6iowa.org/Cruises/River-to-River-Retro-Road-Trip/Registration-Form.
For more information about Historic Route 6 Iowa, visit www.usroute6iowa.org.
To order a copy of the award-winning River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6 DVD, visit http://www.fourthwallfilms.com/dvds.htm
03/24/2018
Iowa's Historic Route 6 Executive Director Darby Retires
Photo by Dave Darby.
It was as if the traffic stopped on Iowa's Historic Route 6 to pay tribute.
A standing ovation is in order for Dave Darby who has 'retired' as executive director of Iowa's Historic Route 6 Tourist Association. His accomplishments over the years are legion: researching, spreading the word in print, on radio, televison and social media; raising awareness in the treasured-towns and cities that anchor the route; fundraising and promoting; marking and signing Iowa's historic Route 6 from Davenport to Council Bluffs. His camera captured countless beautiful images of the road, the people, and the places that make Route 6 so memorable.
He convinced Fourth Wall Films' Kelly and Tammy Rundle that a documentary should be made to preserve the story of this forgotten highway--no longer forgotten at all. River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6 went on to win an Emmy nomination and became an award-winning crowd-pleaser at film festivals.
His 'River to River Classic Car Cruise' has grown each year with fans celebrating the small town eateries, museums, and town squares. He reminded us that there is nothing like hugging the curves of the two-lane road in a classic car (...any car...motorcycle...bicycle...whatever your pleasure...) and soaking up the beauty of the Iowa landscape.
He made us believe there was no better route to take. We caught his 'dream'. He is the face of Iowa's Route 6 as sure as the signs he helped erect along the way. Join us in shouting bravo to Dave and thanking him for teaching us that "the journey should be the destination". It has been and always will be.
He is the face of Iowa's Route 6 as sure as the signs he helped erect along the way. Join us in shouting bravo to Dave and thanking him for teaching us that "the journey should be the destination". It has been and always will be. A heartfelt thank you, Dave, for convincing us to take 'the ride' with you...and what a ride it has been.
To order the award-winning and Emmy-nominated River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6, click HERE.
Below is Dave's announcement:
Hello Everyone,
2018 marked 10 years as Executive Director of the Route 6 Tourist Association. I am very proud of the accomplishments we’ve made over that time period. In 2008 I made it my goal to raise awareness of the original route, to sign it, and boost tourism.
10 years ago, very few people were aware, or cared that Historic US 6 didn’t travel concurrent with Interstate 80 in Iowa. We changed all of that. Most portions of Historic 6 that were relegated to county road status are now properly marked. With your help we erected hundreds of signs all the way across Iowa.
I partnered with Fourth Wall Films to help create the Emmy nominated and award winning Route 6 documentary “River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6”.
I also partnered with the Sons of Union Veterans to create and help place new Grand Army Highway signs with restored artwork across Iowa.
With Fourth Wall Films and Dahl Motors of Davenport, I organized the very popular River to River Retro Road Trip.
Two and a half years ago, my wife Cristi and I welcomed a son, Max into our family, and with that, I realized over time that my family needs to be my main focus.
So to that end, I have stepped down from my position as Executive Director. I will continue to be an ambassador for the road, and will assist in any way possible in the completion of the signage, but I am no longer involved with the Route 6 Tourist Association. I thank them for the opportunity to make a difference, and I wish them well. I also wish to thank the countless volunteers along the way.
From Cristi, Max, and I, we wish you happy trails, and remember, US 6 will take you more places than the interstate will, with more fun and less stress.
Godspeed, and God Bless.
David W. Darby
01/26/2018
RESCHEDULED! Michigan's Rochester Hills Museum Screens “River to River” February 16
Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm.
Due to hazardous winter weather, the February 9th screening of the award-winning crowd-pleaser River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6 by Emmy® nominated documentary filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films has been rescheduled for Friday, February 16, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. at the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm, 1005 Van Hoosen Rd., Rochester Hills, Michigan. Fourth Wall Films and WQPT's Emmy® nominated documentary Letters Home to Hero Street will also show that evening. The event is $5/pp and free to Museum Members.
Inspired by the research and photography of Dave Darby, Executive Director of the Iowa Division of the Route 6 Tourist Association, River to River: Iowa’s Forgotten Highway 6 guides viewers on a nostalgic classic car journey through yesterday’s soda shops, filling stations, general stores, drive-ins, historic sites and roadside attractions that line Iowa’s U.S. Highway 6. Historic Route 6 was once the longest transcontinental highway in the United States, running from Provincetown, Massachusetts to Long Beach, California.
“Most travelers are unaware of the many colorful stories from the past around every turn in the road,” said Dave Darby, who will appear at the Wilton screening for Q&A. “Iowa’s portion of the transcontinental Route 6 has a past that includes Bonnie and Clyde, Jesse James, Nancy Drew, Jack Kerouac, the Great Race Across Iowa, and others.”
“With Interstate 80’s near universal use by travelers, Route 6 and the memories that define it have faded from the public’s consciousness,” said director Kelly Rundle of Fourth Wall Films. “The film is a celebration of a journey.”
The one-hour film has been delighting capacity crowds at its showings and at film festivals. The documentary was an official selection at numerous film festivals and won Best Documentary at the 2016 Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival. River to River: Iowa’s Forgotten Highway 6 is the third Emmy® nomination for the Rundles. Their documentaries Letters Home to Hero Street (co-produced with WQPT-PBS) and Country School: One Room – One Nation also received nominations.
Guests can register by emailing rhmuseum@rochesterhills.org or by calling 248-656-4663. The DVD of the award-winning film is available for purchase at http://www.fourthwallfilms.com/dvds.htm.
River to River: Iowa’s Forgotten Highway 6 was funded in part by grants from Humanities Iowa, Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area and the National Endowment for the Humanities through the documentary’s fiscal sponsor, The Iowa U.S. Route 6 Tourist Association.
Fourth Wall Films is an award-winning independent film and video production company formerly located in Los Angeles, and now based in Moline, Illinois.
12/30/2017
Fourth Wall Films - Making 'Movies That Matter'
Filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle of the award-winning Fourth Wall Films celebrated their tenth year in the Midwest producing historic Midwestern documentary film stories.
"Fundraising is the single most challenging part of independent filmmaking," said producer Tammy Rundle. "And while Fourth Wall Films has received more than a dozen Humanities Media Grant Awards from seven Midwestern states for various documentary projects, we must raise matching funds for each grant awarded to our film projects."
"Each year we reach out to supporters and fans of our film work for contributions to help us continue making Movies that Matter," said director Kelly Rundle.
You can help Fourth Wall Films continue to make "Movies That Matter" through a new GoFundMefundraising campaign. Supporters can contribute any amount at GoFundMe.com/fourthwallfilms.
Money raised will be used as matching funds for recent grants awarded to two Fourth Wall Films projects ("Riding the Rails to Hero Street" and "Sons & Daughters of Thunder") and will be used for editing, licensing and production fees.
The campaign is live December 2017 (for year-end-contributions) through the end of 2018.
Fourth Wall Films' River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6 is an award-winning and Emmy-nominated documentary. To order the DVD visit: http://www.fourthwallfilms.com/dvds.htm
