In the summer of 2022, when Sandy Pierce, Rochester, Vermont, handed Kate Stauss 10 weathered diaries her family had possessed for 50 years, she said, “I can’t wait to see what you do with them.” A year later, the answer has arrived: a documentary film featuring the words and experiences of two early-20th-century Granville hill farmers, Riley Bostwick and his mother, Alma Ford Bostwick. The film’s first public performance is this Sunday, October 15, at the Corner School Resource Center in Granville at 7 p.m.
Over the course of 22 minutes, Stauss explores both the stories embedded in the texts as well as their puzzling and often heartbreaking omissions. She also observes her own reactions to the unfolding stories which span from 1901 to 1929.
Stauss, who recently retired as an English teacher from Harwood Union High School in Duxbury and previously taught in Bethel, is not a newcomer to filmmaking. She has been writing documentaries since the 1980s. Her work has appeared on networks like PBS, Discovery, History and National Geographic. Still, this particular piece is special for her.
“I think of this as a valentine to the community I’ve lived in for the last 34 years,” Stauss said.
There will be an opportunity for the audience to ask questions and share stories about their own old-time Vermont experiences after the film. This will also be the final viewing of the Made in the Mountain Art Show, a diverse collection of works by local artists.
The program is free and open to the public, though donations to the renovation efforts of the historic one-room schoolhouse are welcome and encouraged!
