Culture
Sunday Afternoon Marks Successful Premiere of ‘Our Town: Jackson’
By: Emily Votaw
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Jackson is a small town in Appalachian Ohio with it’s own unique long, winding history.
That history includes the likes of legendary outdoorsman Daniel Boone, famous explorer Major John Wesley Powell, Ohio mayor Jim Rhodes, and many others.
Sunday, March 26, WOUB Public Media premiered Our Town: Jackson, a documentary crafted by filmmaker and producer Evan Shaw, at Jackson Middle School. WOUB has been producing Our Town documentaries for the past several years, each one focusing on the development and history of small towns in the region. In the past, the series has focused on Nelsonville, Pomeroy, and Lancaster.
The documentary made use of a combination of historical photos, snippets of reenactment film, and gorgeous shots of the rural area surrounding Jackson to the tune of continually undulating music – much of which was provided by Shaw’s musician parents, Liz and Lynn Shaw. The film covered everything from a brief look at how prehistoric glaciers shaped what Jackson would become (creating salt deposits in the sandstone in the region) to footage from the most recent Jackson Apple Festival, which took place last September.
“I think that (Shaw) did an excellent job telling a very big story,” said Megan Malone, director of Jackson’s Lillian E. Jones Museum and one of Shaw’s interviewees for the film. “I’m very glad that I was able to help put this together in any way. And I’m very appreciative of all the people who did their part throughout history to preserve Jackson history. We all have our part to play.”
Jackson mayor Randy Heath, who was also interviewed for the film, echoed Malone’s sentiments.
“I don’t think there could have been a more comprehensive, wonderful job done in characterizing our community,” he said. “I think (Our Town: Jackson) captured every aspect of our history, our heritage, and our traditions. It also showed the direction we would like our community to go towards as we move into the future.”
Our Town: Jackson will broadcast on WOUB-TV Monday, March 27 at 8 p.m.