As some of you may already know, Documentary Educational Resources founder and President, John Kennedy Marshall, died on Friday, April 22nd. He had a short, but courageous battle with lung cancer.

We are grateful that he accomplished the completion of A Kalahari Family, a documentary unequaled in ethnographic film and was able to participate in the success of its release to world acclaim. We are also grateful that he received a lifetime achievement award from the Society for Visual Anthropology at a time when it was most meaningful for him.

We are planning to celebrate DER’s 35th anniversary in 2006 at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and we know that John will be with us in spirit at that event. John would be pleased to know his legacy will live on and that we will help to ensure it.

There will be a memorial service for John at Memorial Church, in Harvard Yard, on Saturday April 30th at 1:00 with a reception after at the Harvard Faculty Club.

We hope you will join us then to celebrate the life and work of John Kennedy Marshall.

Obituary:
• WBUR: Remembering Film Maker John Marshall with Cynthia Close and Bob Oakes
• The Nambian
• The Boston Herald
• The Boston Globe
• Associated Press

Video:

A Time To Reflect, The History Of Whalom Park is an in-depth look into a disappearing piece of Americana, the classic amusement park. The film chronicles the rise and fall of Whalom and covers over 100 years of the park’s history.

Like so many other small amusement parks at the turn of the century, Whalom began as a weekend destination for streetcar riders. Quickly, the park developed into a recreational gathering place with an abundance of rides, food vendors and first-rate entertainment. Sadly, with the combination of poor management and the emergence of big theme parks, Whalom Park would begin to decline in the late 20th century. The park eventually closed its gates for the last time in the fall of 2000.

The story of Whalom Park is eerily similar to what has happened to so many of these vanishing national treasures. A Time To Reflect, The History Of Whalom Park is, without a doubt, a film that can be enjoyed by anyone who has an appreciation for the social significance of the classic amusement park.

A Time To Reflect . . . will premier on Wednesday April 20th at Fitchburg State College, in the Hammond Building, in the Ellis White Lecture Hall. Screenings will be held at both 2:00 and 7:00 PM. Admission is free.