CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A film depicting the history of the gorgeous Sandstone area of Summers County will premiere in Hinton on Jan. 14.
Jon Averill is a retired Spanish teacher and resident of Summers County. He's been making films since he was 15 and says while he's the producer of the film "Passing Thru Sandstone," he had a lot of help.
"It's really a community film," said Averill.
"A lot of people like to tell stories around here about their past so it's really been a great way to bring the community together, pulling out their old photographs and memories," he said. "So many people are willing to sit down and talk about it."
Averill's research on the area that was once considered the gateway to the New River Gorge, took him to Washington and the National Archives.
"Passing Thru Sandstone" recalls the days when the area, so well known for its stunning falls, also was a major railroad hub.
Averill describes the project as a docu-drama, saying there were aspects of the area's history "crying out" to be re-enacted.
"The main focus of the movie is a man named Samuel Richmond who came from the founding family of this area, and who was one of the large landowners around here around the time of the Civil War," said Averill.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A film depicting the history of the gorgeous Sandstone area of Summers County will premiere in Hinton on Jan. 14.
Jon Averill is a retired Spanish teacher and resident of Summers County. He's been making films since he was 15 and says while he's the producer of the film "Passing Thru Sandstone," he had a lot of help.
"It's really a community film," said Averill.
"A lot of people like to tell stories around here about their past so it's really been a great way to bring the community together, pulling out their old photographs and memories," he said. "So many people are willing to sit down and talk about it."
Averill's research on the area that was once considered the gateway to the New River Gorge, took him to Washington and the National Archives.
"Passing Thru Sandstone" recalls the days when the area, so well known for its stunning falls, also was a major railroad hub.
Averill describes the project as a docu-drama, saying there were aspects of the area's history "crying out" to be re-enacted.
"The main focus of the movie is a man named Samuel Richmond who came from the founding family of this area, and who was one of the large landowners around here around the time of the Civil War," said Averill.
"He was a staunch Union supporter in what became a pretty heavily Confederate-dominated area. And he was bushwhacked, assassinated during the war."
"So we try to give people a piece of what his life was like."
Averill's film weaves his research with stunning outdoor visuals, archival photographs, maps, oral histories and other donated resources.
He also got permission to use a travelogue written by Emmy-winning writer Millard Lampell.
All of this is threaded together with music performed by several local musicians -- some seasoned, and some just starting out.
"We found this 17-year-old guitarist in Hinton named Jordan Hart who is phenomenal," said Averill.
"He wrote six songs for the movie and he plays on 2 others."
"Passing Thru Sandstone" will premiere at 1:30 p.m. today at the Ritz Theater in Hinton.
"I think locally people really enjoy seeing their history portrayed in a positive light, and pretty accurately at that," said Averill. "Hopefully it will inspire others to do something like it with their town because every town has great stories, great history, that are worth remembering."
