1918 film to be screened

DOWNEY - Longtime Downey resident, Jean Tuohino and his brother, Bob Chenoweth, will screen their father's 1918 motion picture, "Delco Farm Lighting," at the Barbara J. Riley Community & Senior Center on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.The program is part of the Downey Historical Society's regular meeting inside the John Downey Room. In 1918, William Lowman, a Delco electric generator salesman, won a top salesman award and used the money to hire Harold Chenoweth to make a film demonstrating how electric lighting could transform rural life. The film demonstrated how Delco's system could be used not only on the farm, but also in rural businesses and churches. Chenoweth's career as a filmmaker spanned the first half of the 20th century and included hundreds of films. In 1997, a 35mm nitrate print from "Delco Farm Lighting" was found and donated to the Nebraska Historical Society. The badly-deteriorating film was restored digitally in 1999. A question-and-answer session will follow the screening. The community is invited to attend.

********** Published: January 22, 2010 - Volume 8 - Issue 40