Waukon's Nona Hansmeier and Little Red Schoolhouse featured in Emmy®-nominated film

Former one-room school teacher Nona Hansmeier of Waukon and the Allamakee County Historical Society’s Little Red Schoolhouse are featured in the film "Country School: One Room - One Nation", an award-winning documentary film by Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films of Moline, IL.
The Rundles say receiving grant funding in 2009 from Humanities Iowa and Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area was instrumental in making the film possible, with northeast Iowa being near and dear to their artistic hearts. "Northeast Iowa is one of our favorite locations to film because of its interesting and beautiful landscape," they said. "We researched the one-room schools in the area and focused our attention on the Locust School in Decorah and the Little Red Schoolhouse in Waukon."
In August 2009, the Rundles contacted Ada Marie Kerndt of the Allamakee County Historical Society about the documentary project and the possibility of filming at the Little Red Schoolhouse. "Not only did the historical society allow us to film in the one-room school, but Ada Marie arranged to have former country school teacher Nona Hansmeier there to talk with us," the Rundles explained. "We spent an hour and a half talking with her and then shot about 30 minutes of footage inside and outside the schoolhouse.
"Nona was absolutely wonderful on film and articulated the country school experience so well," the Rundles continued. "She immediately stood out in our minds as we began to identify the film’s key story-tellers. Nona is one of our main interviews in 'Country Schools'."
The film contains interviews with more than five dozen individuals closely connected to the subject of country schools: scholars, teachers and former students of rural schools in Iowa, Wisconsin and Kansas. “So many of the ladies we talked to,” says Kelly Rundle, “they just have teacher DNA, you know what I mean? They were just wired that way. They loved what they did. And to be able to teach eight grades, and all subjects, every day, and take care of a building. As former country-school teacher Nona Hansmeier describes her duties, 'We were nurses, we were musicians, we were art teachers, we were physical-ed teachers – everything'.”

THE MAKING OF THE DOCUMENTARY
The Rundles say that Preservationist Bill Sherman of Des Moines (the man who proposed a schoolhouse for the Iowa quarter) suggested the topic of one-room schools to them at the premiere of one of their other documentary films. "After researching and developing the subject, we felt we could do something more than a nostalgia piece and could bring something new to the table," they said. "Over the course of the two-year project we shot over 80 hours of interviews, vistas, and historic sites during all four seasons in five states and edited a 72-minute feature-length documentary that tells the dramatic true story of the life, death and rebirth of one-room schools in the Upper Midwest."
"Country School" is one of three films nominated for a Regional (Mid-America) Emmy® in the Historical Documentary category. The 2012 Mid-America Emmy® Awards will be held Saturday, September 22 at 6:30 p.m. at the historic Midland Theatre in Kansas City, MO.
This is the first time the Rundles have entered a film in the Emmy® competition following a March 2012 qualifying broadcast on WQPT-PBS. “We are deeply honored by this nomination,” said Tammy Rundle. “And, we gratefully share this wonderful distinction with everyone who helped us make the film,” added Kelly Rundle.
Country schools took rough-hewn pioneers and multilingual immigrants and transformed them into a literate and patriotic new nation. "Country School: One Room - One Nation" provides a never-before-seen perspective on one-room schools in the Upper Midwest. From the first schools in new states to the demise of their widespread use in the 1950s and 1960s, the film takes viewers “back to school” for a dramatic new look at the lasting impact of America’s one-room schools.
The critically-acclaimed film premiered at the State Historical Building in Des Moines and has screened in cities throughout the U.S. It was released nationally on DVD in 2011. Iowa Public Television (IPTV-PBS) just broadcast the documentary this past Sunday, September 2. Unfortunately, this news release was not distributed in time for earlier publication to alert area viewers to that broadcast.
However, the broadcast will be featured again on Iowa Public Television's IPTV-WORLD Channel September 26 at 7 p.m. and September 29 at 9 p.m. More broadcasts on other PBS stations will continue through the balance of 2012. That IPTV-WORLD channel is available in this area through Mediacom channel 118 (KDIN) through high definition (HD) viewing, with the additional possibility of viewing by means of an antenna hook-up. DirectTV and DISH Network do not carry the IPTV-WORLD channel in this area.
The DVD film is available for purchase through the Rundles' film company website, www.fourthwallfilms.com, or through www.countryschoolmovie.com. Although IPTV does do some online screening of its programming, the Rundles say that feature is not available for its production but may be in the works for the future.
"Country School" was partially funded by grants from Humanities Iowa, Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area, the Wisconsin Humanities Council, and the Kansas Humanities Council.
The Rundles’ Fourth Wall Films is a film and video production and distribution company formerly based in Los Angeles, CA and now located in Moline, IL. In addition to "Country School", they have produced the award-winning films "Lost Nation: The Ioway" and "Villisca: Living with a Mystery". They are currently in post-production on "Lost Nation: The Ioway 2&3" slated for release in November 2012. Visit www.FourthWallFilms.com for more information.
The Mid-America chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) includes television markets primarily in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Arkansas, Illinois and surrounding DMAs. NATAS is dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and the promotion of creative leadership for artistic, educational and technical achievements within the television industry. It recognizes excellence in television with the coveted Emmy® Award. For more information visit www.emmymid-america.org.