Back in 1971 or 72, when I was about 20 and working as a camera salesman at the Meuer Photoart House (Madison's premier photo shop), I was really interested in becoming a filmmaker. Using all my earnings, I purchased a Bolex 16mm EBM, Nagra 4.2L, microphones, et al ad infinitum. The first film I produced was "Whistle On The Wind", a documentary about the Mid Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom, Wisconsin. I edited it on a Moviola at the University of Wisconsin; using some facilities on Bascom Hill the night of student protests up and down the State Street mall. I remember trying to get home late that night on a city bus, and dodging teargas and national guard soldiers.

Over 20 years later, I obtained a copy of the film from the museum's then-president Dick Goddard (who also had a huge part in the production of the film) and projected it on a wall....creating a 3/4" videotape of the entire 20-minute documentary. About fifteen years after that, I was able to convert part of it to VHS before the last available U-matic machine died. What you see here is the only segment of the part I found that could still be playable and converted to digital.

The original production was narrated by Madison radio personality Jim Mader...his narration being recorded on a Crown reel machine owned by UW professor Dr. Richard Greiner who I remember as not only an audio afficiando, but the greatest Leica collector in the world.

Incidentally, the 2nd film I made was called "Eleven Minutes To Glory", and followed the Madison Scouts drum and bugle corps as they presented the 'Alice In Wonderland' field show.

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