Home on the Range – Why Stories Matter

I was privileged to attend the world premiere of the new film, Home on the Range, recently.  It took place at Wichita’s Historic Orpheum Theater just a few blocks from our own historic landmark home.

Even with the threat of ice and snow tossing adversity into its’ path, in usual Kansas fashion, over 800 people came out to enjoy the fruit of this project.  The website has lists of screenings where you can view the film.  It is worth any effort to see.

We happen to know the producer/director, Ken Spurgeon.  My husband serves on the same faculty at Northfield School of the Liberal Arts, so we enjoy a bit of the inside scoop and benefit of Mr. Spurgeon’s gifts and talents on a regular basis.

We also know many of the actors, some in person and others from their iconic place in our own lives through their careers in the entertainment world.  It was inspiring to see the merging of such seasoned with new talent, from local and beyond, into this wonderful film.

The film is about the story behind the song, Home on the Range, first known as “My Western Home”.  About where it really came from and how we almost lost it.  It is the Kansas state song but, more than that, it is a song that is timeless and familiar.  It is known worldwide and some call it the national anthem of the West.  The places used in the film are all familiar to me. From the countryside to the buildings, I know these places, and even though used to portray a different location in some cases, I was home as I watched.

Yet, behind this film and its story underlies the purpose of this and the other projects Lone Chimney Productions does.  They go beyond entertainment, past education to identifying stories.  Then proceed to, not just repeating the story, but to preserving them.  In the process, one is entertained, educated and nurtured.

This resonates with my soul and illustrates the purpose of this BLOG.  It’s the stories, yours and mine, from which we learn, are entertained, build on and interrelate with each other.  Stories give voice to the voiceless and substance to the intangible.  Without story, our own and others, life is empty and even pointless.  It contains no history or future.  Although living in the present is vital, connecting to our past and future hint at the eternalness within our hearts.

Today’s activities are tomorrow’s stories, no matter how exciting or mundane they may be.  When the words to Home on the Range were written, its author had no idea that 150+ years later, His story would inspire 800 people on a cold Icy evening.  Your stories matter.  Tell them, write them down.