The Bay Theatre will show “Saving the Barn,” a locally produced short film on the history, preservation, and future of the Leelanau County Poor Farm/ County Infirmary.
The screening is free and open to the public on Sunday, Aug. 4 at 1 p.m.
The documentary is a multiyear project of the Leelanau County Historic Preservation Society (LCHPS) and was broadcast by CMU Public Television in March.
Following the 26-minute film, Norm Wheeler musician/storyteller and (narrator of the documentary) will moderate a panel discussion which will include the following:
• Kim Kelderhouse, executive director of the Leelanau Historical Society and Museum in Leland.
• Barbara Siepker, historian founding LCHPS board member, and author of “Historic Cottages of Glen Lake.”
• Susan Stein-Roggenbuck, Associate Professor, James Madison College, Michigan State University and author of “Negotiating Relief: The Development of Social Welfare in Depression-Era Michigan, 19301940.”
• Joe VanderMeulen, Ph.D., documentary filmmaker and writer and independent consultant and writer working with people and organizations dedicated to increasing community sustainability and resilience through civic engagement and the preservation of cultural and natural resources.
“This film helps bring to life a little-known part of Leelanau County’s history,” VanderMeulen said. “ A history shared by nearly every other county in Michigan.
“The film combines interviews with expert historians and the childhood memories of elders with images and artifacts from the last century.
Beginning in 1901 and for many decades thereafter, the county Poor Farm provided compassionate care and rehabilitation to people in need from throughout the county.
LCHPS founding president and barn preservation, Steve Stier reports that the unusual architecture of this 100-year-old barn makes it a historically significant icon from the time all farming was done by hand.
LCHPS is near the end of its rehabilitation.
Project leaders, Siepker and Tina Mehren, secured a $20,000 in funding, including a grant from Rotary Charities of Traverse City and a matching grand from the Michigan Humanities Council.
“We feel so fortunate to have had (VanderMeulen’s) expertise on capturing in detailed cinematic view to appreciate the stories behind this familiar and renowned building,” Mehren said.
