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The Gale Largey Film Festival continues with the showing of “People of Honor: Tioga County and WWII” next Saturday, May 20 at 7 p.m. in the Coolidge Theatre at the Deane Center for the Performing Arts at 104 Main Street in Wellsboro.

Admission is free. Donations are welcomed.

“May 20 is Armed Forces Day,” said Largey. “In honor of our soldiers, all donations will be given to Goodies For Our Troops.”

The one-hour and 50-minute film is a tribute to those who have been described as the “Greatest Generation.” Originally produced in 2001, the film is based on interviews with 104 Tioga County citizens who tell of their wartime experiences on both the home front and the war front.

It incorporates original film footage showing the first draftees leaving Tioga County; a war bond drive gathering in downtown Wellsboro; the removal of the cannon from The Green in the heart of Wellsboro; travel along Route 15 and a post-war victory parade in Elkland. Original government footage from the war front is also shown.

Local people featured in the film are: Beverley Smith Markowitz, “Red” Wetherbee, Albertine Collins, John and Betty Frazier, Isabelle Gitchell, Rhoda Ladd, Helen Coolidge, John Antonio, Orman Surina, Anne Clark, Phyllis Harmon, Robert Lugg, Joan Nash O’Dell, Ralph Kaltenbach, Catherine Miller, Francis Murphy, Jerome Copley, James Riepell, Colette Wilson, Jean Zarnick, William* and Arlene Obourn, Keith Lindie, John Mahosky, John Berguson, Kenneth McCullough, Allen Scranton, William Wanich, Archie Watkins, “Babe” Pecynski, Victor Mengee, Doris Mortimer, Erma Hotchkiss, Joan Hart, Linda Baker, Edwin and Annabelle Van Schaick, Aloysius Henkiel, Foster West, Malcolm Clarke, and John Dugan. *William Obourn was wounded at Iwo Jima and witnessed the famous flag raising.

General Edward Meyer, former Army Chief of Staff, gives the introduction and then a final reflection amidst the graves of Arlington. He underscores that “an army does not fight a war, a nation does.”

Many of these individuals are now deceased, but with this film their legacy of character remains alive.

The film closes with the listing of the names of all the Tioga County soldiers who gave their lives in service to their country during WWII.

Largey, the film’s writer, director and co-producer with Mark Polonia, Mark Hamilton and Mansfield University students, will give a brief introduction and answer questions following the presentation.

Young people are especially encouraged to attend to foster an understanding of and appreciation for the “greatest generation.”

For more information, call the Deane Center at (570) 724-6220.

Diane Eaton
dianetn@ptd.net
(570) 724-3800