Warm up this winter at the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm Film Festival in February. Films are shown in the Calf Barn at the Museum at 7:00 p.m., with $5 admission for the public and free for Museum Members. Guests can register by using the PayPal Option, emailing rhmuseum@rochesterhills.org or calling 248-656-4663. Refreshments provided.
Friday, February 2: UP a River – a Kristin Lee Ojaniemi Film
Over 100 hunting/recreational camps within the Ottawa National Forest in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula were to be removed, destroyed or abandoned by January 1, 2017.
“UP a River” is a cultural documentary about the people who built decades of traditions around these camps. Laughs are shared, tears are shed and all agree that “goin’ to camp” is something that everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime.
“UP a River” documents the end of an era for many people with ties to these hunting camps.
This film was nominated for the West Michigan Eclipse Award for Best Documentary in 2016.
Friday, February 9: River to River: Iowa’s Forgotten Highway 6 – Fourth Wall Films
What do Bonnie & Clyde, Jesse James, Nancy Drew and Jack Kerouac have in common? U.S. Route 6 in Iowa takes two-lane motorists from Davenport on the Mississippi River to Council Bluffs on the Missouri River. Built in one day by 10,000 farmers and businesses across the state, Iowa’s Route 6 was part of the longest transcontinental highway in America.
This award-winning film by Kelly and Tommy Rundle guides viewers on a nostalgic classic car journey through yesterday’s soda shops, filling stations, general stores, drive-ins and roadside attractions. Experience the sights and sounds and the people and places that the four-lanes have forgotten, before they are gone forever.
Friday, February 16: Letters Home to Hero Street – Fourth Wall Films
Letters Home to Hero Street – February 16
Letters Home to Hero Street focuses on a young Mexican-American veteran’s personal view of World War II as told through the letters and V-Mail (Victory Mail) he sent home to his family on 2nd Street in Silvis, Illinois.
Frank Sandoval was just beginning a new job at the Rock Island Arsenal when he was drafted by the Army in 1942. He sent dozens of letters to family and friends during the two years he was in the service, and the more than 100 letters that remain, tell a story of one man’s epic journey from Illinois to India.
Killed on the Irrawaddy River in Burma in June 1944, Frank becomes one of eight veterans of WWII and the Korean War, killed in combat from the same block-and-a-half long street – more than any other street in America.
In memory of Frank Sandoval, Tony Pompa, Claro Soliz (Solis), Joseph Sandoval, Peter Masias, William Sandoval, Joseph Gomes and John Munos, 2nd Street was named Hero Street, U.S.A.
The Rochester Hills Museum is located at 1005 Van Hoosen Road, off Tienken Road between Rochester and Dequindre Roads. The Museum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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