TORNADO!  Where is the Joy in the Rubble?   (329 mB 720p 14:34) 

    During the night of Oct. 21, 2019 the horrors of a tornado was all around. Early in the morning our son-in-law was here to check on us. There were 25 downed Oak trees in our yard and about 30 more outside the decimated fence but the house was not damaged. 

    Cutting the trunks of the big trees was a challenging task. In some cases, the tractor and winch were used to pull the root ball back into the hole.

   15 to 20 hours a week were spent on the clean-up during this year's mild  winter months. Now, we are looking forward to the beauty and JOY of Spring.

Dantomba, Ivory Coast, West Africa Through the

Eyes of American Second Grade Students

School Presentation  (PDF 46mB  9 pages)

    My husband and I have traveled to many countries. It was an incredible time as we met and learned about the peoples around the world. In 2004, one of the special joys I had was sharing my experiences with the children in the second-grade classroom of my grandson. I told them of a village I visited in the fall of 2000. It is far away and the people were very different than the students. These second graders were attentive and interested in the video that I showed as well as looking at the items from Dantomba. They asked good questions too. … The letters that the children wrote to me touch my heart even today.

The Video was produced in 2001. Welcome To Dantomba (163mB  480p 17:47)

Dad and Mom's Antiques (161mB 1080p 3:45 )      In the late 1950's, while still living on the farm, Dad and Mom began buying and selling various types of antiques. This new venture allowed them to get away from the confines of their 100-acre dairy-cattle farm.

    Purchasing, repairing, cleaning and displaying the large and diverse array of items was a full-time job for my parents. During the next twenty years, they traveled to 37 different States in search of just the right items for their antique business.

    Tourists and collectors alike were enamored with the diversity of the items as well as the quality, authenticity and price.

 Baguio and Bontoc  (370 mB   720p  10:56)  

STEAM   More information and download options Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Math are integral and interlocking disciplines. They transcend time, space and cultures. It is instructive to observe small snapshots relating to these concepts as we look at:

Where we have been?        Where we are now?

Where we are going?     How do we move forward?

This video represents a personal perspective of these areas with major emphasis on middle school students who are growing up in an environment much different than mine in the 1940's and1950's.

Ozark Chinquapin Trees in Our Yard  (720p  13:46 380mB)    Chinquapin Trees were once plentiful in the Arkansas and Missouri Ozarks producing a bountiful crop of delicious nuts. The wood was strong, decay resistant and often used for building materials, furniture and musical instruments. Sadly, during the 1950's, the trees began dying. This devastation was caused by the Chestnut Blight first appearing in New York during the early 1900's. Fortunately, a few trees survived. Several people and organizations have worked to propagate these survivors. Go to the Chinquapin Script for more information including several photos that can be used to help identify the trees.

 Our Old Barn (720p 4:28 124 mB)   

    As of March 2016, Our Old Barn near Gateway was still standing, but it will not be long until it is a pile of rubble.
    This barn, like many throughout the rural Ozarks, once was a symbol of the family lifestyle and livelihood. It was where, growing up, children learned responsibility, integrity and hard work. Sadly, these iconic structures are becoming few in number. We often wonder how the children of today are developing the character essential for the world of tomorrow.
  

 Morel Mushroom (720p 7:06  270mB ) The devotion to the unique flavor and texture of the Morels is deeply steeped in history, culture and family. When I was a kid, my brothers and I would go with Dad out in the woods to gather the mushrooms. We brought them home and Mom prepared them for a family feast. The time to search for Morels is when the Dogwood trees are in full bloom. Also, May-apple plants among the undergrowth is often observed. However, one should not expect to find these mushroom treasures on the first day of search. Rain fall and soil temperature are critical for their growth. 

  Alec Products   (720p  6:33  155 mB)

    ALEC Electronic Animal Control Products were designed for control of cattle, horses, sheep, swine, and other animals. They used a technology that provided for much longer battery life than conventional fence chargers. The small, rugged, water-tight, polyester resin unit gives significant flexibility in application and installation techniques. The performance monitor gives an indication of the charger, the battery, and the fence status. They cost $25 to $50 depending on the unit capacity and were sold on the internet during the late 1990's.These devices are no longer in production.

Joy Comes in the Morning  (720p  4:20  142 mB)

    Looking toward the south on one strange day in March, there was an eerie calm.  The dark, billowing clouds swirled around and soon hung over the barn lot.  Now to the southeast, and seemingly just beyond the old oak tree, a tornado was stretching from the sky to the ground. 

    Another traumatic event was the train wreck in Garfield, Arkansas that occurred one day before Easter.  The wreck was caused by a broken rail in which the eleven cars in the center section of a 164-car train derailed just south of the old tomato canning factory. These events occurred in the early spring of 1961 near Gateway, Arkansas.

Three brothers find many "Treasures of the Past" located near Gateway, Arkansas.

 Onyx Cave  (720p  11:57  393 mB )  It is often difficult to find treasures of the past.  Weeds and brush fill the once well-worn trails.  Memories of important guideposts become dim.  Last Fall, Bill and Fay, after a long search, finally found the Onyx Cave near Gateway, Arkansas. Today, the three of us are returning to this once well-known spot.  Remnants of the road leading up to the cave are now observable only as we approach the cave entrance.

 The Old Home Place  (720p  20:27  689 mB)  There were many treasures that Bill, Fay and I wanted to find at the "Home Place" but ... perhaps the most valuable was the inside of the barn.  This structure, ... like no other, ... is a symbol of our growing up years and of a time much different than today.  Still, the three of us have many lasting images of our home, our family and the roots that bind us together.  As brothers, the treasures we found represent a valued part of our past.  They are reminders of long ago days when we lived and grew up on this farm as a family.

Memories: Digital Mastering (720p 13:04  319 mB)   This video documents how we have transferred thousands of filmed memories of years past to the digital Blu-ray format . The process of approximately three years was a labor of love for myself and my wife as a gift for our children. 

    The task included translating about 30,000 feet of 16mm movies covering the time period from 1957 to 1987 to HD 1080p. By careful adjustments and editing, the resulting videos turned out to be near HD 1080p quality.  The quality of the translated 1200 feet of 8 mm film taken during 1955 to 1957 was about equal to standard definition video.  Thousands of still pictures dating from the 1800's, -- some in albums, others stored in boxes -- were scanned and added to the digital archives.  Also included in this collection are audio recordings, VHS, High 8, DV and HDV tapes, then the latest solid state memory cards for High Definition videos and digital still pictures. These digital files help define our families during times past.

    With all of these precious memories stored in various formats and questionable longevity, our concern was that these archives would soon be gone and, over time, the content would fade from our minds, our hearts and our grasp.  Soon, it would all disintegrate into fragments of long ago. 

    Innovations of the past have provided these treasured reminders.  By using today's technology, the memories have been made available for generations to come.  They can be easily updated and will no longer fade.  At the present time, we have a total of ten completed Blu-ray discs covering the early years through 2011.  Each disc is divided into several chapters with narration, text overlays, on-camera audio and background music. The total run time of these ten discs is approximately 24 hours.

    Memories are precious.  Do not let the film and pictures stored in boxes go to waste!  It is our hope that by sharing this experience and expertise, others will be inspired to try to save their own memories in a reliable format.

    In addition to the 720p video file posted for download, we have included 4 short clips rendered at full HD resolution (1920 X 1080 pixels), to better illustrate some of the examples in the video.

 Format Comparison--- 0:54  (53mB)  Format 1080p               Resolution --- 0:13  (14mB)  Resolution 1080p      

 Image Stabilization --- 0:29  (29mB)  Stabilization 1080p      Sample Clips --- 0:37  (97mB)  Sample clips 1080p

Back Home in Arkansas  (720p  6:45  230mB)

    I had leave and was anxious to be at home in Arkansas and strawberries!

    Dad and Mom’s farm was about 100 acres. Most was used to pasture their 20 milk cows. After my older brother and I left home, my younger brother and Dad and Mom milked the cows morning and evening. Most of the cows were Jersey’s and Guernsey’s. Their primary source of income was from this small dairy. We got a tractor in 1947 and electricity in 1953.

    This video was filmed in early summer of 1958 using my 16 mm Bell and Howell 70DR movie camera and at 16 frames per second.  Included are scenes of strawberry picking time, Monte Ne, Roaring River and life on our farm.

    Enjoy this time of visiting my roots in the Ozarks.    

 Greetings from Rogers, Arkansas, USA

(720p 15:47 365mB)   With horns blowing and cars filled with cargo, the trains have been following this route since the year 1881. It was then that Rogers was founded,

   This video was produced in 2006 for use in English as a Second Language (ESL) classes held in various foreign countries and  has been distributed as a DVD in both the NTSC and the PAL format. The script in English as well as other languages is included with the DVD's.

    An invitation to visit Northwest Arkansas is given by Congressman Steve Womack, at that time the mayor of Rogers. He encourages viewers from other countries to come and visit Rogers, Arkansas.

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