Fox to launch TV history series

We read a short AP news story in the Black Hills Pioneer today that caught our attention.

Fox News Channel has announced it's unveiling a new 10-episode television series entitled "Legends & Lies: Into the West," whose executive producer will be Bill O'Reilly, the high profile and often controversial host of his own series, "The Factor."  The new series is scheduled to debut on Sunday, April 12.

The Associated Press observes that cable networks like CNN and Fox "...have been moving aggressively into the non-fiction realm because they're not dependent on news events to succeed and can be repeated frequently."

O'Reilly has teamed up with Martin Dugard to author a series of best-selling books, including "Killing Jesus,"  "Killing Lincoln," "Killing Kennedy," and others.

Not everyone is enamored with the historical accuracy of O'Reilly's books, but few can dispute their enormous popularity with the public.

We found interesting contrasts in how this new series was unveiled by a few media outlets:

News Release (Fox News Channel)

Black Hills Pioneer (AP story)

Investor's Business Daily (Business Wire)

Huffington Post

Media Matters

Variety

New York Times (AP story)

Get it right

In case you missed his "Letter to the Editor" in the Black Hills Pioneer last Saturday (10/30/10), this piece penned by long-time Spearfish resident and historian Linfred Schuttler is well worth a read:

GET IT RIGHT

The City Council and interested citizens are planning a historical video of Spearfish to be ready for the “125^th anniversary in 2013.”

The idea is great, but good heavens, let’s get the dates right.

Spearfish was established in 1876 by a town site declaration and survey made May 29, 1876, with occupancy effective May 30, 1876.   The legality of town site organization was effected under provisions of a law of the United States which authorized the location of town sites on government un-surveyed lands, which also set aside portions of such lands for school purposes.   The Spearfish town site document was signed by 32 founding stockholders, with at least three having descendants still living here.

Subsequent surveys confirmed the location and the town site plats which still exist as part of the present city records and maps.

On Feb. 28, 1877, President Grant signed the order abrogating the Sioux Treaty, which put all lands under territorial and county control and jurisdiction.

The town site came under county control, but few services were offered by the county.

On March 12, 1885, a charter of incorporation, under a board of trustees, was granted to the “city of Spearfish.”  Three years later, under a new territorial law permitting the adoption of a mayoral and aldermanic organization of local government, Spearfish voted, in a somewhat tainted election process, to adopt a new charter which still exists today.

If the last charter date of 1888 is accepted as the establishment of a city, then Rapid City, Sturgis and Hot Springs would be less than 60 years old.

If the last charter date is accepted, then what happened to history in the years previous?

Judge W. W. Bradley proclaimed Spearfish as the “Queen City” on July 4, 1877, because it was to be the best and leader of the rest.

Linfred L. Schuttler

Spearfish

Some people just "Vanished"!

It’s hard to believe that innocent citizens could be swept from their homes in the middle of the night and tossed in jail…..then transferred to a “detention camp” and held for months – even years – as “prisoners of war.” But it happened during World War II all across the United States.

The Alien and Sedition Act of 1798 had been enacted 140 years earlier, at the end of the American Revolution. It was later modified and only its “Alien Enemies” provision remained. But after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, heightened fear broke out across the United States, and there was great suspicion that aliens – even people who just “looked” to be an aliens – might be enemy spies or even saboteurs.

Because of their obvious difference in physical appearance, oriental persons were easy targets. It’s estimated that more than 120,000 Japanese-Americans were interned under the Alien Enemies Act during World War II. Most of the internees, probably about 80 percent, were U.S. citizens.

Less well know is the fact that between 11,000 to 15,000 German-Americans were whisked off to detention camps during World War II. Their story has been little known, but thanks to an exhibit aboard a reconditioned bus called the BUS-eum, we’re finally getting a glimpse of this frightening era in American history. Entitled Vanished, the exhibit uses posters, photographs, and old films to help tell the story. German-Americans were interned in camps all across the country. The nearest to our part of the world was Camp Lincoln, located near Bismarck, North Dakota.

I first learned of the exhibit earlier this week, while it was traversing the state. Alas, before the bus could make it to Spearfish, a cracked engine cylinder put the vehicle out of business. Fortunately, the exhibit was shipped on to Black Hills State University, where it was exhibited for a few hours today in the Student Center.

The Director of the exhibit (and bus driver) is Iowan Michael Luick-Thrams, whose passion for the subject is obvious. He told our small assemblage at BHSU, that the Bus-eum has visited 1,015 communities across the country and has been seen by more than 100,000 people.

Vanished tells another sad but important story in the history of our country. While tens of thousands of internees of World War II thought it couldn’t happen to them, we are left wondering: could such a thing happen today?

A good question….and this exhibit helps us better understand this chapter of U. S. history. If you’re interested in learning more, I’d recommend visiting the Vanished web site. An even better site, in my opinion, is that of the German-American Internee Coalition. To get to that web site, just click on GAIC.

As a grandchild of German-Russian immigrants, I appreciate the passion brought to this project, and I support efforts to learn more and better understand the circumstances surrounding these internments. Knowing our history will always stand us in good stead.

And while it is appropriate for the GAIC to try to get the U.S. government to “review and acknowledge” the violation of civil rights perpetrated on Japanese-Americans, German-Americans, and others, let’s hope it stops there. Document this experience. Understand it. Never forget it. But avoid the pervasive victimization mentality that cloaks much of our country and stop short of seeking reparations.

Better that we focus our vigilance upon open government and fight to ensure that civil rights of all citizens are doggedly protected. We should learn from the past, act in the present, and focus on the future.

Seth Bullock - Myths Debunked

The late pioneer lawman Seth Bullock came alive for an hour or so the other night (3/4/08) – resuscitated in the graphic narratives of historian David Wolff. It was the latest in an outstanding series of speakers lined up by the Spearfish Historical Society.

Wolff, an Associate Professor of History at Black Hills State University, spoke to a full house of society members gathered at the Spearfish Senior Citizen’s Center.

Using a wide range of little-known facts about Bullock, Wolff focused on just the first year or two after Seth arrived in Deadwood from Montana in 1876. Bullock had a diversified and colorful career as a miner, politician, merchant, rancher, lawman, and forest supervisor. He was an interesting character, but his story has often been needlessly embellished and exaggerated over the years. Wolff debunked several myths, including Bullock’s role as a lawman (he never killed anyone) and his role in creating Belle Fourche (he never lived there). Read more about Seth Bullock as assembled by the Adams Museum and House in Deadwood, a marvelous resource for old west history.

Wolff was asked about the Seth Bullock ghost that supposedly haunts the Bullock Hotel in Deadwood.

“The real story of the hotel,” said Wolff, “is that Bullock had very little to do with it…he started building a hotel and got his name on the building, and he was done. So if there’s a ghost in there, he’s haunting from his hardware days or his sheriff days. Bullock never ran a hotel.”

Wolff is writing a book about Bullock, whom he described as “a man nobody really liked.” He pointed out that Bullock was appointed to his 9 ½ months as Sheriff and was never elected to anything. In fact, he was defeated twice in back-to-back elections for Sheriff of Deadwood.

After his talk, Wolff visited with many of the folks who had attended the meeting and discussed other aspects of Bullock’s life. You'll find a few photographs from this meeting included among other pictures taken at Spearfish Area Historical Society gatherings. Wolff expressed a willingness to return next year to talk about other facets of the legendary lawman's life.

Next month, writer Paul Higbee will share some of his research into the creation of Black Hills State University and one of its early presidents, Lafayette Cook. That presentation will be in the Senior Citizen’s Center at 7:30 p.m., Monday, April 1st – no fooling!

Ed Murrow would be proud

Living virtually “over the hill” from historic Deadwood, South Dakota, Karen and I have visited that colorful community many times. Its scenic setting in the northern Black Hills makes the town a popular tourist destination, as does its raucous gold rush history. Of course, Deadwood also heavily promotes its present-day casino entertainment, too.

Nonetheless, I’ve never watched a full episode of HBO’s much-heralded TV series, Deadwood.

I must confess, I couldn’t get beyond the filthy language used gratuitously throughout the single episode to which I was exposed. How unfortunate that many folks like myself missed the series; on the other hand, knowing that liberal license was taken with authentic language of the period, I fear the whole series strayed quite far from reality. A friend suggested that perhaps I should be less prudish. After more than 24 years of exposure to "salty language" in the Navy, I've never thought of myself as a prude. Perhaps HBO could produce a good historical drama without incessant gutter language? Except for PBS, there aren’t a lot of folks doing that kind of quality programming anymore.

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Well, now they’ve gone and done it! HBO this month unveiled what appears to be a great series, John Adams, chronicling the lives of our second U.S. president, John Adams, and his remarkable wife, Abigail. The seven-part story is based upon the Pulitzer-prize winning book authored by David McCullough. The series premiered March 16th and subsequent episodes will air Sunday evenings during the rest of March and into April. I’ve watched the first two episodes, and I’m hooked.

The story is well told, finely acted, and leaves you wanting more. I’ve just visited the HBO John Adams web site, and before the day is over, I’ll visit our local library and hope that they have a copy of McCullough’s book.

Some reviewers have been critical of actor Paul Giamatti, who portrays Adams, but I found his character very credible. Laura Linney as Abigail Adams was superb. I was quite inspired by the first two episodes of John Adams. I want to revisit colonial history and the founding of our country. I want to know more about the Adams family. My curiosity has been aroused!

Programs like HBO’s John Adams series demonstrate the power of television. And it it comes like a breath of fresh air.

Legendary broadcaster Edward R. Murrow once said about television, “This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box.”

Congratulations to HBO for bringing us this outstanding series. I think Murrow would be proud of what they’ve done. I know I am.

What's in a Name?

A tip of the hat to Lorraine Collins of Spearfish, who has allowed us to use the following column, which originally appeared in the Black Hills Pioneer.

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The recent discussion of whether Hooker Street in Whitewood should be renamed because of unsavory connotations for the term made me think of some other renaming events in our area over the last couple of decades. The first thing that came to mind was the renaming of an elementary school in Belle Fourche a number of years ago. One of the well known, respected, longtime businessmen in Belle Fourche was named Tom Gay. Mr. Gay owned property on the hill in the north part of town and he eventually donated land for a city park, which became Gay Park. When an elementary school was built there, it became Gay Park School.

As time went on and language changed, you can see how a certain uneasiness about the name developed. The school district finally decided to change the name of the school to North Park School. This did, after all, reflect its location and it balanced with the South Park School on the other end of town. But some local citizens were outraged that the name of an honorable man and benefactor was no longer acceptable in that town. Why let other people’s definition of a word take over a respected citizen’s name?

There was a different sort of controversy in Rapid City in the last decade or so, also involving the name of an elementary school, but not because of the change in our language. This was more about the change in the way we perceive our history. The school was named for Annie Tallent, who was “the first white woman in the Black Hills,” coming with the Gordon expedition in 1874. She taught school and was the first superintendent of schools in Pennington County. Annie Tallent also wrote a book called “The Black Hills or the Last Hunting Ground of the Dacotahs.” This is what eventually got her reputation in trouble. In that book, Annie, as a product of her times, had some quite harsh and bigoted things to say about Indians, referring to them as “savages.” She enthusiastically endorsed the prevailing view that “the only good Indian is a dead Indian.”

The question became, was it a good idea to have a school named for a woman who had such racist views? It was decided not, so the name of the school was changed. While I could understand that, I did wonder whether Annie Tallent was being judged more harshly than quite a few other early pioneers. Because she was a teacher, maybe she is held to a higher standard by historians than is, say, a general in the army. Streets, towns, mountains and counties around here are named for men who, if they did not defame Indians, often slaughtered them. We have the towns of Custer, Miles City, Sheridan, Sturgis, Camp Crook and Crook County in Wyoming. We have mountains named for Harney, Terry, Custer. Those who conquer the land get to name the landmarks.

General Joseph Hooker may not be as famous out here in the west as these other fellows, but in terms of naming things for generals, I suppose he deserves at least a street somewhere. (The longstanding rumor that the present connotation of “hooker” came about because of his personal conduct has been debunked several times.) The present controversy does give us a chance to rethink things, though, in terms of what our history is and how we tell it. The monuments we build, the landmarks we name, the stories we tell our school children do influence how we define what’s important to us. So, what’s in a name?

In several cities, I’ve driven down Martin Luther King Avenue but I’d be interested to know if anybody has ever been on a street called, for instance, Susan B. Anthony Blvd, or Elizabeth Cady Stanton Avenue, or how about Mother Teresa Way? Anne Morrow Lindberg Circle? Or, more historic, Abigail Adams Street? The only landmark I can think of at the moment that’s named for a woman is on the outskirts of Phoenix, AZ. It’s called Piestewa Peak, renamed from “Squaw Peak” after Lori Piestewa was killed in Iraq, the first Native American woman soldier killed in combat. It was a good change, I think.

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Lorraine Collins is a free-lance journalist from Spearfish.