History of the American West Series - Old Segundo Productions

Willard, Colorado

Vernon Williams — Sun, 25 Oct 2020 20:00:09 +0000

The Burlington Railroad, Community, and Life on the Twentieth Century’s Colorado High Plains

Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad built a new line to extend its service from Chicago through Nebraska, northeastern Colorado to Cheyenne, Wyoming. The railroad's land subsidiary, Lincoln Land Company, promoted land sales along its route to prospective farmers and other settlers using marketing campaigns in the eastern United States and in Europe.

The Homestead Act brought many settlers to the Willard area where they "proved up" their land.

The Willard town plat takes shape and Willard incorporates in 1888. A growing community brought families together as Willard became the center for a rural, agricultural society .

Drought and the Depression of 1893 slows the economic engine in Willard. Church, school, and community makes the turn of the Twentieth Century as Willard looks to the future.

Two world wars, boom times, and the Great Depression sees Willard through adversity, growth and expansion.

Postwar World War II brings growth, but changes in the American economy and the shift to urban areas spells the beginning of the end for Willard and its people.

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Cokedale, Colorado, 1907-1947

cobalt — Wed, 12 Dec 2018 19:24:24 +0000

In 1907 the American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO) built a company town in Reilly Canyon, about 12 miles west of Trinidad, Colorado. Anxious to mine the coal in the local canyons, ASARCO’s Cokedale attracted hundreds of families to move into the southern Colorado area to sign on for jobs with the company. Many of the new comers arrived from eastern or southern Europe with few possessions but were determined to make a new life for themselves. Most immigrants were convinced that hard work and a thrifty outlook would insure that the American Dream was theirs for the taking.

This film is the story of people–people who came to Cokedale and lived out their lives in the struggle that proved to be the norm for miners and their families in the early part of the twentieth century West. In 1947 the Cokedale story came to a close as the nation turned to other fuels to supply the growing industrial output of post-war America. Between 1907 and 1947, thousands of men, women, and children lived in Cokedale as families grew up and the community matured.

Length 58 minutes

The post Cokedale, Colorado, 1907-1947 first appeared on Old Segundo Productions.

From Dublin to Madison Square Garden

cobalt — Wed, 12 Dec 2018 17:45:12 +0000

This film traces the story of the Dublin World Championship Rodeo from the early boyhood days of Everett Colborn’s upbringing in Idaho to the heady days of Dublin’s Lightning C Ranch, the Dublin Rodeo, and the Rodeo Train to Madison Square Garden and Boston Garden in the northeast. From 1937 to 1959, the heart of America’s rodeo country was Dublin, Texas. This documentary provides an exciting look at the human story of rodeo and living the western life in America during the first half of the twentieth century.

Length 58 minutes

The post From Dublin to Madison Square Garden first appeared on Old Segundo Productions.

Our Journey

cobalt — Wed, 12 Dec 2018 17:39:26 +0000

This documentary traces the story of Yotaro Arimura from late 19th century Japan to his search for the American Dream in the United States. Along the way, he discovered the promise of a new life in the farm country in California, experienced the San Francisco earthquate, and returned to Japan to marry Aya. In 1917 Yotaro and Aya arrived in the United States and began their family in the agricultural countryside near Fresno, California.

By the beginning of World War II, the Arimura family had ten children and a successful farm business. World War II changed all that forever. Using the voices of the Arimura children, this film tells the story of life in California and of relocation to Camps Jerome and Rohwer in Arkansas, and the impact of that experience on the Arimura family during and after the war.

Length 58 minutes

The post Our Journey first appeared on Old Segundo Productions.

Primero, Colorado, 1901-1928

cobalt — Wed, 12 Dec 2018 17:15:33 +0000

Colorado, Fuel, & Iron Company (CF&I) began construction of Primero, Colorado in 1901. Primero was positioned about 15 miles west of Trinidad, Colorado at the site of the most promising coal deposits in the region. While CF&I built other towns and opened other mines, Primero quickly proved to be the wealth producer that company officials had hoped for. During the first twenty years, Primero set new production records as coal miners and their families struggled to survive in the hostile environment of coal country.

In the 1920s coal production fell off markedly, and in 1928, the company closed the town and the mines down for good. For a quarter century, thousands of citizens had lived and worked in Primero. In 1913-14 miners struck against the company and suffered through one of the most severe winters in Colorado history. In the good years John D. Rockefeller, Jr. built churches, a clinic, schools, a band stand, and supported other community activities. In the end, the mines played out and the people moved on. This film is an important look at working families and the human drama that played out in the canyons of southern Colorado during the first quarter century of America’s emerging modern era.

Length 71 minutes

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