The Rural Co-Op Film: Pare Lorentz & the New Deal Documentary in Rockingham County

“Stories of the Valley” is this year’s theme for the annual Deyerle Program Series on Local History, to be held at 7 PM on Thursday evenings throughout the month of October at MRL’s Central Library in downtown Harrisonburg. The Deyerle Program Series features local historians, scholars and area experts who explore a broad range of subjects surrounding the history of the central Shenandoah Valley.

“The Rural Co-op Film: Pare Lorentz & the New Deal Documentary in Rockingham County” This program will feature a screening of The Rural Co-op, a documentary filmed in Rockingham County circa 1940-49. Directed by Pare Lorentz, who came to be known as “FDR’s Moviemaker,” the 20-minute film shows how farmers in Rockingham County improved their businesses by forming cooperative enterprises. Following the film, Professor Shaun Wright from the JMU School of Media Arts & Design will discuss Pare Lorentz, filmmaking and the depiction of the local life of Rockingham County.