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God's Gift of a Wild and Wonderful Land
The Monongahela National Forest contains some of the wildest remaining forestlands in the eastern
United States. The “Mon” holds over 919,000 acres in 10 eastern West Virginia counties.
Its native ecosystem gives life to plants and animals and its rugged terrain embraces the headwaters
of five major river systems. For decades this Forest has provided a fragile oasis for calm, peace
and solitude in a world where these values are increasingly hard to find.
God’s Gift of A Wild and Wonderful Land
uses stunning photography, moving hymnal music and personal testimonies to articulate the way we
feel touched by God in our wilderness experience.
The film encourages viewers to learn more about what makes these areas special and why their
advocacy can protect them for generations yet unborn.
Christians for the Mountains is a non-profit, grass-roots organization that encourages the
preservation of God’s Earth and its human communities. Contact us to Learn More!
ChristiansfortheMountains.org
or Call 304-799-4137
Time: 20 minutes PatchworkFilms.com (c)2007 BJ Gudmundsson
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AN EVENING WITH CAL PRICE
A Patchwork Film
Directed & Produced by B.J. Gudmundsson
For over 100 years, a rural county in the eastern mountains of West Virginia
has remained connected to the lives and history of her people through the pages of
The homespun weekly was the last newspaper in the country to use handset type.
This intimate one-hour visit with the Sage Editor of the Times weaves words,
music and historical photographs to highlight his life and career.
Dr. Robert Conte, resident historian at The Greenbrier Hotel, brings the words of
Cal Price to life in this one-man play that was filmed in front of a live audience at
The Marlinton Opera House.
Running time: 62 minutes
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Inspiration
"Reach for the Sky"
Released: March, 2013 a B.J. Gudmundsson Film.
Andy Pendleton, first woman Mayor of Rainelle, West Virginia, lives in the place where she was born in western Greenbrier County.
Throughout her life she has worked tirelessly for her community and fellow citizens in the Town of Rainelle.
Her life is a story of family, faith and devotion.
Featured Music
John Wyatt and The Appalachians
Andrea Aide Pendleton
The Shepherd’s Center of Greenbrier Valley
2013 Community Service Award
Run Time: 47 minutes.
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"Angels in Disguise"
Released: March,2012
a B.J. Gudmundsson Film.
"For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty
and you gave me drink…truly I tell you, just as you did
it to one of the least of these…you did it to me."
Matthew 25:35-40
Fred and Scarlett Kellerman are the founders and co-directors of Wellspring of Greenbrier, Inc., a non-profit organization that assists the working poor, homeless, transient and other people living in poverty throughout Greenbrier County, West Virginia.
Wellspring began on the Kellerman's kitchen table in Frankford, West Virginia in 2004. For two years they operated out of their car and utilized a small space at Lewisburg United Methodist Church. In 2006 the Wellspring Center opened in Rupert where the Kellermans and their volunteers carry on the work of assisting disadvantaged people who live on "the edge."
Fred and Scarlett Kellerman
The Shepherd’s Center of Greenbrier Valley
2012 Community Service Award
Run Time: 46 minutes.
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"Heart, Mind and Soul"
Released: March,2011
a B.J. Gudmundsson Film.
The life story of Wood and Shirley McCue
"Love the Lord thy God with all your heart, mind and soul,
and love your neighbor as yourself. "
Mark 12:30,31
Wood McCue grew up on the family farm in Maxwelton, West Virginia. While pursuing a degree in physical therapy at the Medical College of Virginia he met and married Shirley, also a physical therapist.
"I'm not near as good as she thinks I am and she's better than she thinks she is, so we seem to fit together pretty good." Wood McCue
In 1980 the McCue's returned to the family home, "Hillhurst," and worked in their profession providing services throughout the greater Greenbrier Valley. For 23 years Wood provided free athletic training and treatment to the athletes at Greenbrier East High School. A tireless volunteer at the Lewisburg Elks Lodge and Country Club in Lewisburg, Wood McCue led their fundraising and rebuilding campaign following a disastrous fire in 1999.
William C. "Wood" and Shirley McCue
The Shepherd’s Center of Greenbrier Valley
2011 Community Service Award
Run Time: 42 minutes.
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“Answering THE CALL”
Released: March,2010
a B.J. Gudmundsson Film.
“ I have called you by name, you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1
Vivian Frances Crane was born in 1930 to James Allen and Winona McClung Crane in their home at Rupert, West Virginia. It was said that upon her arrival into the world Dr. C. C. Jackson exclaimed, “I’m proud of this one!”
“If he were alive today I hope he would still be proud.” Vivian Crane
Vivian is a direct descendant of the McClung family, which was one of the earliest pioneering families to settle in Greenbrier County. She and her brother James were raised by loving parents and grandparents who taught them the values of working hard and giving back to others.
After graduating with honors from Rupert High School, Vivian was a first-generation college student and earned her teaching degree from Concord College. Following a General Electric Fellowship at Purdue University and a National Science Foundation Fellowship at UVA, Vivian went on to receive her Master’s degree in Mathematics Education and her Doctorate in Educational Administration from the University of Virginia.
“Answering THE CALL” is Dr. Crane’s sentimental journey that traverses her childhood, her teaching career and her life of volunteer service both in her community and as a disaster relief worker with the American Red Cross.
“She just gets up every morning, looks outside her door and asks herself what needs to be done. And then she does it!” Joan C. Browning
Dr. Vivian F. Crane
The Shepherd’s Center of Greenbrier Valley
2010 Community Service Award
Run Time: 51 minutes.
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“The Long Runway Home”
Released: March,2009
a B.J. Gudmundsson Film.
Honoring Col. John and Ruth Gwinn
Lewisburg, West Virginia
Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel John W. Gwinn was born in 1915 in Lockbridge, West Virginia. He was 14 years old when the stock market crashed in 1929. “They say that we’re in the worst economic times since the Great Depression” Gwinn says. “I lived through the Great Depression and I know all about it.”
Ruth Tolley was born in 1919 near the once-booming coal town of Winding Gulf in Raleigh County. Her mother died when Ruth was 12 years old. The W.P.A. built an airfield on her family’s farm in Summers County. “I didn’t learn to drive,” Ruth says. “I learned to fly!” She soloed at age 16.
Col. Gwinn completed his distinguished military career in 1964. After moving to Lewisburg he accepted the monumental “assignment” of building a commercial airport. He then managed the Greenbrier Valley Airport for 27 years. He retired in 1994 – mission accomplished!
Ruth Tolley Gwinn took to the air again – teaching people to fly - and operating the family airport at Pence Springs. She holds the distinction of being the youngest woman in West Virginia to obtain a pilot’s license, which was in 1937.
The Shepherd’s Center of Greenbrier Valley
2009 Community Service Award
Run Time: 51 minutes.
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Gloria Martin is the former Executive Director of the Family Refuge Center in the Greenbrier Valley of West Virginia. Her narrative on women’s issues and family violence is appropriately titled
“Listen to the Women”
Released: March,2008
a B.J. Gudmundsson Film.
Gloria Martin was born in 1942 in Anaconda, Montana. Her hometown was filled with immigrants who worked at the copper smelter.
“My grandmother came from Croatia in 1901. In my early life she really influenced me. She taught me to believe that this country was a great place and that it was a place where people could come to make a new life.”
Gloria was also influenced by the Catholic social justice philosophy that “we have an obligation to help the poor. It is something that has stayed with me all of my life.”
Gloria’s passion for social justice led her to spend the past 21 years caring for the victims of family violence and abuse, educating the public on the enormity of the problem and advocating for better laws and policies to protect people and build safer and stronger families in West Virginia.
In 1995 Martin traveled to Beijing, China, as part of the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women. She served as co-chair of the WV Coalition Against Domestic Violence and received the Diane Reese Award. She co-chaired the WV Women’s Commission and in 2007 received the WV State Bar Association Public Citizen Award.
The Family Refuge Center serves victims of family violence and sexual assault in Pocahontas, Greenbrier and Monroe Counties. Gloria Martin retired as Executive Director in 2008. She and her husband, Bill, live in Lewisburg, West Virginia. They have four children.
“Some people live by themselves, but I really believe that we were meant to be together. Our community will only be as good as the people who are in it. Probably now in our history more than ever – we really need to take care of one another.” Gloria Martin
The Shepherd’s Center of Greenbrier Valley
The 2008 Community Service Award
Run time: 44 minutes
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"Love to Share"
A B.J. Gudmundsson and Joan C. Browning Film
Honoring Liz and Mitch Scott of Lewisburg, West Virginia
Shepherd’s Center of Greenbrier Valley
“Community Service Award for 2007”
“Lewisburg is really a nice town, because of shakers and movers like Mitch and Liz. They couldn’t have done it by themselves, but they certainly did more than their share.”
John McIlhenny, Lewisburg, WV
Liz and Mitch Scott are examples of the kind of people that make a difference in small towns all across America. Born and raised in Greenbrier County, West Virginia – Liz in Lewisburg and Mitch in Ronceverte – they each spent their early years under the influence of loving families and caring communities. “Love to Share” is their story. It is a memory trip through which they share with us their love and devotion to each other, to their families, and to this place we call home.
Time: 48 minutes
Format: DVD
Price: $20.00
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“He Went About Doing Good”
is a celebration of Rev. Renick’s life, his faith journey, and his service to The Shepherd’s Center of Greenbrier Valley, West Virginia.
B.J. Gudmundsson, Producer ~ Joan C. Browning, Executive Producer.
Released: 2005
In March of 2005, The Shepherd’s Center of Greenbrier Valley presented its “Community Service Award” to the Rev. Carl W. Renick, Sr., of Lewisburg, West Virginia. The story of his life, his faith journey and his community service is presented as a short documentary produced by B.J. Gudmundsson and Joan C. Browning.
Rev. Renick’s account of what it was like to be a black man living in Greenbrier County is a highlight of film. “In my own hometown, you’d want to go into the drugstore and sit down and have a sandwich, but you were refused – you had to go to the back door.”
Today, at the age of 92, Rev. Renick lives in his childhood home in Lewisburg with his wife, Edna. Together they continue to minister to the sick and the elderly. Their life story serves as a reminder of what it means to live a life of faith.
More on Rev Carl Renick
Running time: 47 minutes
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"Standing on Holy Ground" the Rev Patricia Jarvis Story.
B.J. Gudmundsson, Producer ~ Joan C. Browning, Executive Producer.
Released: 2005
“This woman is a unique expression of the grace of God, and an illustration, at the finest,
of what it means to be called to Christian ministry."
Bishop William Boyd Grove, United Methodist Church, retired.
“Standing on Holy Ground” follows the life and ministry of the Rev. Dr. Patricia A. Jarvis through her “home among the hills” of West Virginia. Born the granddaughter of West Virginia’s last Methodist circuit rider, she married Julian George Sulgit, Jr. in 1969. After teaching for 3 years in Sierra Leone, West Africa, Patricia and Julian returned to West Virginia. Declaring “whatever talents I have I want to give to the church,” her ministry led them to Charleston District Outreach Ministries, the integrated St. Stephen’s UMC at Coal Branch Heights and Trinity UMC in Glenville. Upon completing their doctorates, they were appointed the first husband and wife co-pastors of Trinity UMC in Bluefield, and finally, Lewisburg United Methodist Church in Greenbrier County, WV. This beautiful documentary is a portrait of a family living a life a faith, a couple with a strong commitment to social justice and the “disciples” that are following in their footsteps.
Running time: 62 minutes
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“A Sense of Values”
The life story of Charles Mundy, mayor of Rupert, West Virginia.
B.J. Gudmundsson, Producer ~ Joan C. Browning, Executive Producer.
Released: 2005
Charles W. Mundy
Shepherd’s Center of Greenbrier Valley
Community Service Award Honoree ~ 2006
The year is 1927. In the coalfields of western Virginia and southern
West Virginia families scramble to earn their daily bread.
In the wake of the Great Depression, the family of five-year old
Charlie Mundy experiences a terrible loss – the untimely death of his
father. In this time of want and grief, how does a young boy learn to
become the man he became? This is the story told in
“A Sense of Values.”
“I just have a different sense of values.
Things that don’t mean anything
to some people,
to me they mean a great lot.”
Charles W. Mundy, Mayor of Rupert, WV
“I think it comes from how we grew up.
He has all those ties in Tazewell…
maybe when he came to Rupert
it was just natural
to become a part of the community. “
Dr. Vivian Crane, Rupert, WV
Running time: 50 minutes
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"Greenbrier on Parade"
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Volume I
A Holiday Musical Video
Contents:
Sleigh Ride - Part One (2:32)
Sleigh Ride - Part Two (2:31)
Sleigh Ride - Part Three (2:23)
A Horse-Drawn Ride through the
Streets of Lewisburg WV – Set to the Holiday Music
of the Eastern Greenbrier Jr. High Band
EGJH Band – A Salute to Mr. Charles Fauber
“Thanks for the Memories” (2:52)
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Volume II
William Dysard - The last living son of a Civil War Veteran.
Contents:
Part 1 Boyhood Memories (3:52)
Part 2 Boom Days (3:52)
Part 3 Lewisburg Memories (3:19)
Part 4 A “Real” Son (3:05)
A Tribute to
Mr. William Asbury Dysard
1909 - 2005
"A Real Son" of a Confederate Veteran
Avg Run Time ea: 10 min.
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Volume III
Dr Roland Sharp - First O'School President.
Contents:
Part 1 Early Years (2:55)
Part 2 One-Room School (2:00)
Part 3 Walking To School (2:49)
Part 4 Medical School (4:59)
Dr. Roland P. Sharp
First President
WV School of Osteopathic Medicine
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Also, for us old fashions folks who still like to read, there is a wonderful train book written by William P. McNeal
called The Durbin Route. Click here to order the paperback from the Pocahontas Times Newspaper Web Site Book Store.
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