LCHS Mass Media class presents "Chalk in the Blood" documentary
LOUISA- Thursday evening, Lawrence County High School’s Mass Media class hosted a viewing of their documentary “Chalk in the Blood.” The film featured former notable Lawrence County students and teachers sharing their experiences in the school system in years past.
Mass Media teacher, David Prince said his students did 90 percent of the interviews and editing on their own.
"I came in at the end like an executive producer and tweaked what they had done," Prince said. "They are all very proficient at shooting and editing."
Senior Sahara Hundley said the documentary took most of the school year for her class to put together from start to finish, spending several hours at a time in front of a computer editing video clips.
"We started working on getting interviews back in late November and we just finished it Wednesday of this week," Hundley said. "It took a long time - way longer than any of us had thought it would."
Former Superintendent, Mike Armstrong provided his narration to the film as he toured one-room school houses around the county.
Former Lawrence County student and teacher, Sharon Kinner described her classroom as a child in the 1950's. She learned in a block school built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) as a result of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal. The school used natural light and had a potbelly stove that kept students warm.
“There were just chairs, no desks," Kinner said. "Students learning were in the front of class and rest of the kids were in the back, doing their work.”
Lawrence Countian, Fred Jones talked about his experiences as an African-American student in the midst of Brown vs. Board of Education, which ruled segregation of public schools unconstitutional.
Jones said the only problem he remembers experiencing on his first day happened during lunch.
"This lady said 'I can’t serve you anything to eat.' I didn’t know what she was talking about. I said 'okay,' and went to the side,” Jones said. "My teacher said 'come back to my room,' and she gave me a hotdog."
After that day, Jones's teacher made sure he was able to eat lunch with his fellow students.
Former Kentucky Governor Paul Patton lent his experiences to the film, as well, recollecting the first time Fallsburg School had electricity in the late 1940's and events the school held to raise money for supplies.
One particular fundraiser discussed in the film is a pie auction. Female students would bake a pie and male students could bid on the pie for an opportunity to share it with the girl who had baked it.
“If two boys were sweet on the same girl, they might get into a bidding war and bid on it up to $10, which was about a weeks' work at the time.” Patton said.
"Chalk in the Blood" features a variety of interesting anecdotes about the Lawrence County school experience spanning over several decades, but one theme runs consistent regardless of time: county pride.
“I got a great education in Lawrence County,” Patton said. “I got not only a great academic education, I got values. I feel very fortunate to be raised in this environment.”
The film is expected to be uploaded to YouTube in the future. A link will be provided once available.