The South Charleston Museum and The West Virginia Labor History Association will be presenting the Kanawha Valley premiere, and only the second showing of the film since its world premiere at Marshall University in April 2008, of Russ Barbour and Chip Hitchcock’s 2-hour documentary “Ken Hechler – In Pursuit of Justice.” It will be shown on Saturday, September 20th, 2008 at 7 PM at The La Belle Theater. Admission is FREE.
The West Virginia Labor History Association will be exhibiting the plaque that was placed in its WV Labor Hall of Honor in fall 2006. He was inducted into the hall of honor along with Battle of Blair Mountain leader Bill Blizzard. Hechler was included because of his staunch support of all WV and American workers while a Congressman and WV Secretary of State, especially coal miners. He was the lead sponsor of the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969. He had to fiercely fight both Tony Boyle, then president of the UMWA, and medical groups that minimized the effects of coal dust on miners’ heath.
The film was created with the assistance of Dr. Barbara Winters, the dean of libraries at Marshall University, and the WV Humanities Council. Winters was the lead fundraiser for the project and provided director Barbour with massive assistance, copying photos from the Hechler Archive at Marshall University, getting student assistants to work with him doing research, and arranging finally for the world premiere at the Student Union last April. The film was co-produced by Barbour and Chip Hitchcock from Morgantown WVPBS TV. They worked over two-years on the project, interviewing more than 50 people all over the country including political leaders such as Robert Dole and George McGovern.
Hechler should be made an honorary archivist/librarian because he has somehow kept copies of almost everything about him including flyers he handed out during his college days. He also has collected TV, newspaper, and everything else he could about his many, many activities as a White House speech-writer, assistant director of the American Political Science Association, college professor, TV show host, author, and a thousand other things. Barbour and Hitchcock could have easily made a 4.5 hour program – like the PBS documentary on President Truman in which Hechler appears many times.
Hechler is presently working on at least two books – one on coal miner safety (black lung)and a photo essay book on his own life. He will be traveling to Missouri in September, giving a lecture at the Truman Library and visiting various classes at The University of Missouri, Kansas City. He will also return to Roslyn, Long Island, New York, where he grew up, to present this film in early September at the local public library.
Recently the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress sent out an e-mail letting all of their members know about the new film on one of the most influential living former Congressmen. WVPBS will be airing the film sometime in the future, and perhaps even national PBS will show it. A copy of the film will be given to every public library in the state when copies have been made. Copies will be for sale at this screening for $19.95. Hopefully every West Virginian as well as many Americans will get to see this triumphant film about a man who has forever altered West Virginia and American history.
People have said to me, “Steve, Ken sure is lucky to have a friend like you….” My answer has always been, ” West Virginia sure is lucky to have a friend like Ken Hechler.”
Huntington Herald-Dispatch story on April 2008 premiere.
Huntington Herald-Dispatch preview of the film online.
Press release from Marshall University Libraries about the film.
WVPBS radio story on premiere of film.
Another WVPBS radio story on the film – Aging with Grace and Dignity
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