AZ Centennial project growing in size and scope
June 15, 201110/4/2010
CAMP VERDE – “If I could find a photograph of Mac Rodgers’ wife and children I think it would help to show just how sad a story it really was.”
By the time Hailey Like and her partner Vance McBain finish with their research, gather all the photos and other elements they need and begin telling the story of the senseless murder of Mac Rodgers and Clinton Wingfield, they will in fact discover it was an event that went beyond sadness.
For the small community of Camp Verde, living on the cusp of the 20th century, it was nothing less than a tragedy. It is also a piece of the lower valley’s history that will be told in a new and different way as part of Arizona’s 100th birthday.
Like and McBain are among seven students from Mike Showers’ digital media class at Camp Verde High School who are participating in one of dozens of Legacy Projects statewide, intended to capture pieces of the state’s history.
Their contribution will be to make a full length movie, composed of short vignettes known as digital stories, made by students and adults in the area, that captures Camp Verde, Beaver Creek and the Yavapai-Apache Nation’s history through a 21st century lens.
Digital stories are short (3 to 5 minutes) movies that combine digital video, old photographs, voice recordings, special effects and whatever else can be digitally reproduced and made into the element of a story.
Since the Legacy Project first began a year ago, it has grown in both size and scope. The group doing the planning, now known as the Verde Confluence Centennial Committee, includes students from the Camp Verde and Beaver Creek school districts, area charter schools, and numerous partners.
“It’s getting huge,” says Shirley Brinkman, president of the historical society and a member of the centennial committee. “The level of enthusiasm seems to go up a notch or two every month.
“What sets the project apart is that it has crossed many lines, both between the Camp Verde and Beaver Creek communities and the Yavapai-Apache Nation, and perhaps most importantly, across generational lines. I hope it instills a desire among a new generation to keep our story alive.”
Among the partners are Yavapai College, Yavapai-Apache Nation, National Park Service, Arizona State Parks, Camp Verde Historical Society, Camp Verde Chamber of Commerce, Beaver Creek Kiwanis and the Beaver Creek Regional Council and The Bugle.
The committee recently received a $2,400 donation from the National Park Service for video equipment and scholarships for students to attend digital workshops provided by Yavapai College’s Zaki Gordon Film Institute faculty.
The public is invited to participate in the project, either by producing a digital story or by supporting those who are. For more information contact the Camp Verde Historical Society at (928) 567-9560 or The Bugle office at (928) 567-4101.
