In the fall of 2010, an idea was conceived in Martina Fegan's Human Rights Literature classes to honor the WW II veterans and the Jewish survivors they helped to liberate. The idea was a lofty one: create an educational documentary film and publish a companion book featuring the stories of veterans and survivors as well as students' poetry, essays, and short stories in response to what they learned.
Two separate Learn and Serve grants administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, spanning two school years, enabled the students' dream to become a reality. Greencastle-Antrim High School was among only six school districts in the state to receive funding. History teacher, Ellen Kirkner supervised the school's STARS (Students and Teachers Achieving Results Through Service) program that was the oversight for the grant.
In the spring of 2011, the grant enabled the school to host Ellie Chapman, a Dutch Holocaust survivor, who shared her story of survival as a hidden child. Open to the community, the event drew a crowd of more than 500 people. Her taped interview was the first of six more interviews that would become part of the film. Interviews with five local veterans were completed before the end of the school year. Those veterans included Verne Baker, William Benson, Richard Gingrich, Richard Hamsher, and Paul Kriner. The last interview was with Sylvia Galman Bonebrake, who lived as a child in the Jewish East End of London, and survived anti-Semitism and the infamous "Blitz."
It wasn't until February 2012 school year that work progressed on the film because of a freeze on grant funding in the fall of 2011. "It was at this point that we thought the project was doomed," said Fegan. "However, we couldn't lose hope and as soon as we got word that the funding was released, we frantically wrote the script, selected images, poured through hours of taped interviews, and the project took on a life of its own." Doug Huber from Pro-Arts Advertising and Production was instrumental in working with the raw material and putting the pieces of the film together.
The companion book was a little easier to complete. Fegan had been collecting quality student writing for several years and engaged her current classes in writing pieces for the book. The veterans and survivors added their stories and photographs. Funding for the book was underwritten by a grant from the Greencastle-Antrim Education Foundation.
On May 1, 2012, the Premiere of The Glorious and the Brave was held at Greencastle-Antrim High School with over 750 people in attendance. As people arrived, they were able to view an outstanding exhibit, "Holocaust Remembrance Through Art," by senior Kayla Stahl. One of the pieces took third place in a juried art show at Wilson College. Tables of WWII memorabilia provided by Richard Walck were on display. At 7:00 pm, the Greencastle-Antrim Select Choir opened the evening with a patriotic medley.
Senior, Patty Kotrady, introduced the film. From the moment the lights dimmed and the 110 minute film began, you could hear a pin drop in the audience. When the film ended, senior Damien Light introduced the stars of the show, the veterans and survivors. They received prolonged applause and a standing ovation. "It was an awesome evening," stated Verne Baker, one of the veterans.
Following the film, a meet and greet was held so that the stars of the show, the student writers, interviewers, and narrators could autograph books and DVDs. Both sold out within minutes and orders were taken for close to a hundred more of each in less than an hour!
Proceeds from the sale of the book and DVD are donated to the Wounded Warriors Project and The United States Holocaust Museum.
Hundreds of students were involved in the project as interviewers, writers, narrators, Stars committee members, and Premiere workers.
This is the first chapter of our story! We are excited about the future of The Glorious and the Brave!
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