One of my favorite projects involved writing the script for the documentary Threads of Victory: Upcountry South Carolina During WWII. I worked with Don Koonce of Ferncreek Creative, who did the real shooting and editing, and Dr. Courtney Tollison, a history professor at Furman University and staff historian for Upcountry History Museum. As she told me, I had to take her three years’ worth of research and interviews on the subject and condense it into a twenty minute documentary. I loved working on this and am still amazed by some of the wonderful material we got from local veterans. The finished film received a National Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History in 2008.

In 2009, I was asked by Dr. Tollison to write copy for the year-long museum exhibit Weaving Our Survival, encompassing more stories of the WWII era as it was lived locally. Once again, my role was to assimilate and condense her extensive research material into flowing, manageable, readable chunks. She published a lot of the material in a book, World War II and Upcountry South Carolina: ‘We Just Did Everything We Could’.

I wrote the script for the documentary Where Angels and Mortals Meet about historic Oakdale Cemetery in Wilmington NC. It’s a gorgeous, garden setting and I really enjoyed reviewing the history then turning it into a travelogue-like narrative.

Here’s a link to more information from the Friends of Oakdale Cemetery.

Below is a review that appeared in the 2009 Newsletter of the Gravestone Studies Association

The history of the cemetery, including famous and interesting burials, along with the history of the area is well explained in the narration and through stunning current and historical photographs.

The production quality of this video can only be described as outstanding. The photography is breathtaking. The viewer is taken on a stroll among the flowering shrubbery, the tombstones and crypts and the magnificent trees. One cannot help but want to visit the cemetery.

Tourists as well as local residents will enjoy this video. It will also attract, and retain, the attention of community leaders. The video will be a constant reminder that Wilmington has a treasure in this park known as Oakdale Cemetery.

I find myself envious not only of this wonderful cemetery but also of the DVD itself. Many cemetery friends organizations will watch this video and grind their teeth wishing that they too could produce something of this quality.

– Hugh T. Harrington

One of the projects I really enjoyed working on involved Camp Spearhead, a local camp for children and adults with special needs. I wrote the script for the capital campaign video. It’s a wonderful organization and they’ve got some great programs and are working hard on setting up a permanent site.

You can watch the video on the front page here.