April Cinema Night: Agriculture Double Feature

See a double feature at Cinema Night on Thursday, April 25, 6:00 p.m. in the Chapel! First up is "Bill Bailey and the Four Pillars of Income" (1945, 18 mins)--a story of land economy and one man from Clarksville--then "Common Ground" (2023, 87 mins)--a regenerative agriculture documentary sponsored by Interfaith Power and Light for Faith Climate Action Week 2024. Please REGISTER FOR FREE HERE.

Bill Bailey and the Four Pillars of Income (1945, 18 mins.)

A story of land economy and one man, Bill Bailey of Clarksville, Tennessee, through whose foresight and untiring effort the Four Pillars of Income were established in Montgomery County, Tennessee (adapted from the Reader's Digest story of the same name by J. P. McEvoy).

Charles William Bailey, a prominent member of the Clarksville community and of First Presbyterian Church, began as a teller at First National Bank in 1904 and in sixteen years rose to the position of bank president.  In the aftermath of the Great Depression, Mr. Bailey gained national fame with his espousal of "the four pillars of farm income."  The four pillars were tobacco in the winter, lambs and wool in the spring, wheat and other small grains in the summer, and beef cattle in the fall.  He saw these seasonal farm products as keeping farm income high and local merchants and banks happy.  (Leaf Chronicle, 1940.  July 2:1)

  There's more about Mr. Bailey in Following the Faith: A Bicentennial History of First Presbyterian Church (1822-2022).

Thanks to the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center, this rare film that had global circulation in the 40s (now housed at Indiana University) is receiving new attention with the recent interviews of a small group of retired bankers and agricultural leaders from this era.  The interviews were recorded for the completion of a 30 minute film about the four pillars to be aired soon by the museum.

Common Ground (documentary, 2023; 87 mins.)

Sponsored by Interfaith Power and Light, Faith Climate Action Week 2024.

Theme:  “Common Ground: Cultivating the connection between Faith, Food, and Climate.

From the filmmakers of Kiss the Ground (Netflix) comes the follow-up documentary Common Ground, winner of the Tribeca Film Festival. Directed by Josh and Rebecca Tickell, Common Ground provides hope for future generations with concrete ways to fix a broken planetary system. The film explores how regenerative agriculture can help heal the soil, our health and the planet.

Common Ground is the highly anticipated sequel to the juggernaut success documentary, Kiss the Ground, which touched over 1 billion people globally and inspired the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to put $20 billion toward soil health. By fusing journalistic expose’ with deeply personal stories from those on the front lines of the food movement, Common Ground unveils a dark web of money, power, and politics behind our broken food system. The film reveals how unjust practices forged our current farm system in which farmers of all colors are literally dying to feed us. The film profiles a hopeful and uplifting movement of white, black, and indigenous farmers who are using alternative “regenerative” models of agriculture that could balance the climate, save our health, and stabilize America’s economy – before it’s too late.

Trailer: