FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, March 14, 2008
Contact: Dave Wellman, Director of Communications (304) 696-7153
 

Documentary on Hechler to be shown April 5 at Marshall University

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – “Ken Hechler: In Pursuit of Justice,” a two-hour documentary focusing on the life, career and legacy of the former West Virginia congressman and secretary of state, will have its first public showing on Saturday, April 5 on Marshall University’s Huntington campus.

Barbara Winters, dean of Marshall University Libraries, said the documentary will be shown at 7 p.m. in the Memorial Student Center’s Don Morris Room. It is free and open to the public.

Country music singer-writer Lionel Cartwright, composer, performer and producer of the documentary’s soundtrack, will perform during the event.

Created by filmmakers Russ Barbour and Chip Hitchcock, who began work on the project in July 2005, “Ken Hechler: In Pursuit of Justice” is a two-part, two-hour examination of the role of political office in 20th century America.

Winters said the program also documents the development of Hechler’s views on government and his commitment to helping individuals through public service and political office. The production traces Hechler’s political philosophy and subsequent actions to the progressive movement of the 1900s – and to the model President Theodore Roosevelt presented through his efforts on behalf of impoverished and disenfranchised Americans. 

Considerable insight is provided by Hechler’s former colleagues, including such notable public officeholders as U.S. Senators Tom Harkin, Bob Dole and George McGovern, as well as U.S. Congressmen John Brademas and James Symington. The documentary also features labor historians, reporters and several of Hechler’s former students, staffers, constituents, friends and family.

The production also makes use of archival photographs, motion pictures and sound recordings, including rarely viewed news film. The documentary employs excerpts from numerous addresses, including speeches by Presidents Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy.

“Ken Hechler’s life provides a great backdrop for illustrating President Theodore Roosevelt’s progressive ideals in a real and practical manner,” Barbour said. “The son of devout believers in progressivism, Hechler enthusiastically embraced and put into practice the governmental principles popularized by TR and his cousin, President Franklin Roosevelt. Through the extensive use of archival images, Hechler’s journey through the 20th century also presents an ideal opportunity to document significant events in 20th century America, from beginning to end, in a compelling and remarkably visual manner.”

Winters said that Marshall University’s partnership role in the project included assisting the filmmakers in accessing materials located in the Ken Hechler collection at the Marshall Libraries.   The university also provided an intern to work with the filmmakers during the research and filming phases.

Winters said Marshall University will receive all the original field tapes at the end of the project, and intends to distribute copies of the tapes containing interviews with Hechler to other archives, most notably the State of West Virginia Archives, as well as to the West Virginia Collection located at West Virginia University.

For further information about “Ken Hechler: In Pursuit of Justice,” call Winters at (304) 696-2318.

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