Short Videos
Using the tools of digital communication, these home-made productions are simple yet elegant, not glossy and commercial, but from the heart.
These selections are from the Western Folklife Center’s Ranch Communications Program, which provided an opportunity for ranch people to utilize new technologies as a medium for communicating their original stories. Some of these selections are available for sale in the Western Folklife Center Gift Shop.
Ranch Communications was made possible through the generous support of Dick Burton, the R. Harold Burton Foundation, and the Dick Burton Foundation.
Ins and Outs of Ranching / 6:28
A tour of ranch gates and fences, and their personalities.
Susan and Peter Church, 2004
- high speed connection (DSL. cable modem)
- dial-up
Searching for Heroes - A Tribute to Leroy Horn / 11:18
A tribute to a revered horseman.
Linda Bunch, 2003
- high speed connection (DSL. cable modem)
- dial-up
A Beautiful Pair / 4:00
A tribute to Oregon rancher and cowboy Merlin Rupp by his daughter.
Ronda Van Norman, 2003
- high speed connection (DSL. cable modem)
- dial-up
Sometimes on the Right Kind of Morning / 6:24
A story about the challenge of focusing on small things amid the vastness of ranch country.
Carolyn and Linda Dufurrena, 2004
- high speed connection (DSL. cable modem)
- dial-up
What is a Leppy? / 5:48
A story about ranch calves abandoned by their mothers.
Peter, Susan, Andrew, and James Church, 2003
- high speed connection (DSL. cable modem)
- dial-up
A Letter from Home / 11:29
A letter from a ranch mother to her son serving in the military.
Robin Boies, 2003
- high speed connection (DSL. cable modem)
- dial-up
It’s Just a Small Town Fair / 5:17
A documentary about the Elko County Fair
Tracy Mori, Peter and Susan Church, 2003
- high speed connection (DSL. cable modem)
- dial-up
Pay Day / 4:05
The year’s work culminates in shipping day on the ranch.
Shammy McLain, 2004
- high speed connection (DSL. cable modem)
- dial-up
Welcome as a Spring Rain / 10:07
The emotional and environmental effects of drought and how one ranching family endures.
Peter and Susan Church, 2002
- high speed connection (DSL. cable modem)
- dial-up
2005 Deep West Videos
Eight homemade media projects were screened at the first Deep West Video session at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. We present a selection of five of these.
50 Miles From HomeAn exploration of both the country and the metaphysical meaning that radiates out from the Dufurrena Ranch headquarters. Photographed by Linda Dufurrena with writing and narration by Carolyn Dufurrena.
- high speed connection (DSL. cable modem)
- dial-up
Ranchers can have a really bad day when Mother Nature decides to get extreme. It’s all put into perspective in this compact story by Peter Church.
- high speed connection (DSL. cable modem)
- dial-up
The best and most difficult way to tell a story is while it’s happening. Susan Church had the presence of mind to single-handedly document the storm and the resulting drama of rescuing her stranded husband.
- high speed connection (DSL. cable modem)
- dial-up
Winters are long and isolating on the Mary’s River Ranch in northeastern Nevada. The renewal of spring is celebrated in this song and slide show by Merrily Wright.
- high speed connection (DSL. cable modem)
- dial-up
