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Filmmaker Interview
Producer/Director - Walter Brock is an acclaimed independent filmmaker whose previous documentaries have been screened broadcast throughout the US, Europe and Japan, and have earned international recognition, critical plaudits, and a host of awards. His last, If I Can’t Do It, a powerful, challenging look at the life of disability-rights activist Arthur Campbell, earned two PBS/POV national broadcasts, and numerous awards including the Dupont-Columbia award, and an Emmy nomination for Brock’s direction. An earlier work, A Season in Hell, about a young women’s struggle with eating disorders, was also featured on PBS/POV, won Best Documentary at the USA and Atlanta Film Festivals, and was screened at the Modern Museum of Art in New York City and at the Georges Pompidou center in Paris, France. Walter Brock is intimately familiar with the story of Woodford County. Most of his life was lived in adjacent Fayette County. Presently he lives with his family in Louisville, Ky. and teaches art at St. Francis High School.
Interview with Land (and how it gets that way) filmmaker Walter Brock
What did you set out to accomplish with this doc?
WB - This film has its genesis in the obliteration of the fields and creeks I roamed as a boy. I played in trees older than the constitution and I saw them felled to make way for the bypass. It hurt to see those rolling fields all scarred and ripped apart and I never heard any discussion of these matters in those days. The wheels of progress just rolled on and the fields gave way to endless rows of rooftops and cul-de-sacs. I always wondered whom these people were who bulldozed the magical places of my childhood and if they ever felt even the slightest twinge of remorse? In those days I imagined - naively, I guess - that all humans must have, at least as children, felt the same sense of wonder and mystery and kinship with nature as I had.
I wanted the film to be a space for thoughtful reflection on land and our feelings about it, to discover what land means to people beyond all the rhetoric and politics. So making this film was a way to listen to all the players on the chessboard of the land, particularly those people whose feelings about these matters differ greatly from my own.
Regardless of how I might feel personally the reality is that developers and car dealers and businessmen have enormous impact on the land and it does precious little good to vilify them. I just wanted to understand where they were coming from and if there was more than self-interest at work and it turns out to be more complex than that.
Who do you hope the audience is?
WB - A few years ago in a feedback call to discuss why my grant proposal was rejected for funding I was told that this foundation was only interested in funding topics of national interest and this film was too provincial in its scope. I said,” where do you live that this isn’t occurring all around you?” I always thought the audience for this film was everyone because what’s going on here goes on everywhere.
I read not long ago that Woody Allen was making an advocacy film for his neighborhood association to block a proposed skyscraper that would have obstructed a view and a way of life they valued. It doesn’t matter whether you live in the country or in midtown Chicago the arguments are the same. The film is much more about human character and how our aspirations and fears and loyalties shape our actions and by extension the landscapes we inhabit.
Why did you choose Woodford County?
WB - By the time I took up filmmaking, the Lexington that I had cared about was already a thing of the past. There was not a lot to preserve and little inclination to do so. Then, in the early 90’s I saw a television news report on a heated community meeting in Versailles, Ky., which is the county seat of Woodford County. It’s just a few miles from where I was born.
I called Lori Garkovich who is a professor of Rural Sociology at U. K and a very passionate and knowledgeable authority on land use – who also lives in Woodford County. She told me that people in the county had really refined their arguments on land use because they had been fighting about it since the 1970s. It was a small agricultural county, widely renowned for it’s fertile land and horse farms and that way of life was threatened because it lay in the shadow of Lexington in one direction and Frankfort, the state capital, to the other. The pressure on the county to develop into a bedroom community for those 2 cities was then and remains to this day constant and intense. Preservationists in Woodford County understood very clearly that what had happened in Lexington could and would undoubtedly happen there if they didn’t organize. It helped that it was a small county and everyone knew everyone. It seemed ideal.
How did the film change from your original conception?
WB - At the outset I thought the film would focus on Harvey Jones who is a farmer and a real character but in the end Harvey appears in the film very briefly for just one cut.
There never was a script or template. My documentaries evolve organically out of the stories people tell. I wanted to know how they see and define themselves and their actions in their own words.
What most surprised you in the course of making the film?
WB - I was surprised to discover the degree to which people’s perspectives on social class shaded their arguments in this conflict because I was always taught that there is no class system in America. But of course it’s a very real thing and people have very strong feelings about class. The preservationists, who are not necessarily wealthy or upper class argued that the land is a communal resource to be cared for and passed on and that class and wealth really have no place in a discussion of what’s best for the land. This, I suppose, would be true except for the fact that the other side doesn’t see it that way, in the end, and perception is everything.
One man told me after seeing the film he felt confused and pulled in different directions because he felt more sympathetic to Jack Kain in terms of his class and background, but was much more attuned, philosophically, to the preservationists whom he saw as bluebloods with whom he couldn’t otherwise identify
This is a big part of what the film is about. A viewer’s identification with one character in the film as opposed to another operates as a kind of Rorschach test for social class among other things. And when that same character says or does something that seems completely contradictory and out of character and it can be quite surprising and confusing. For example, when Jim Boggs who is a farmer and preservationist – in his own words“ more of a Greenpeacer than a Sierra Clubber” - told me that for the right amount of money he’d sell his land to Jack Kain who is a developer – my jaw just dropped. Or Mr. Kain’s confession that there were times when he felt he was sinning when he bulldozed the land and that it would be wrong to develop his present property which is prime bluegrass farmland. People don’t create problems; people are problems. I think Wendell Berry said that.
Another thing that struck me was that we frequently use the same words to convey very different meanings. For example, Daniel Boone represented something very powerful to me as a boy. I saw him in romantic terms as an adventure and lover of nature and the wilderness – an archetypal tree-hugger. So when Charles Baker told me that he felt he was born 200 years too late, that if he’d been around then he would have been out in the wilderness staking out land like Daniel Boone. I projected upon that statement my own sense of loss and nostalgia. But what he meant was something quite different, I think. Charles saw Boone as the prototypical developer and entrepreneur.
How has the experience of making the film changed you?
WB - When I began this film in 1993 I saw this issue much more in black and white terms. So it really challenged all my convictions and preconceptions.
For starters it broke me of any notion that there is one incontestable and demonstrable right relationship between people and land that we could all eventually find agreement on. A new suburb might appear to one man as an abomination. But to someone fleeing some socialist regime it might be a vision of paradise.
I have a much deeper appreciation now for how profound and fundamental the differences are between people in this country. It’s like there are and have always been 2 Americas. On the one hand there’s a colonial, communitarian america with its roots in European social traditions and on the other hand, a unique American type – the individual who is self-defining – a virtual law unto himself. And because land had always been the basis for wealth and class in Europe and because it had been locked up for centuries it works out that If you didn’t have any land you were locked out of the game and in some sense without worth. So America was wide open and presented an opportunity for the first time in forever for an entrepreneurial individual to better himself. But those ancient resentments and grudges are bred deeply into us. Too often we act out of loyalty to parents and grandparents and inherit, without questioning, beliefs and sympathies that are way out of date. It’s almost like a tribal thing. We keep acting out these old dramas only the world has changed and we’re slow in catching up.
What do you hope an audience will come away from the film with?
WB - I think that human spirit needs contact with nature in some very profound and real and abiding way- I know I do. As it says at the end of the film,”who are we apart from the air we breathe? And by extension, I might add, who or what do we destroy when we destroy the land. The natural world is receding at a rate of millions of acres a year and once it’s gone it’s gone.
So I want people to understand that the world they move about in is fragile and almost certain to be lost if something doesn’t happen. The question of what should be saved deserves much more attention then we as a culture seem willing to lend at the present moment.
Film Transcript
TRANSCRIPT - 7/4/04
ANNOUNCER
MAJOR FUNDING FOR THIS PROGRAM WAS PROVIDED BY THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING. ADDITIONAL FUNDING WAS PROVIDED BY KENTUCKY EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION, THE KENTUCKY HUMANITIES COUNCIL, THE JOSEPHINE ABERCROMBIE FOUNDATION, THE KENTUCKY HERITAGE FOUNDATION AND THE KENTUCKY ORAL HISTORY COMMISSION.
CHARLES BAKER
WHEN I WAS A KID, YOU KNOW THAT'S ALL THERE WAS WAS FARMS, YOU HAD VERSAILLES, A SMALL COMMUNITY, ONCE YOU GOT A HALF MILE OUT OF VERSAILLES THERE WAS NOTHING BUT FARMS, JUST EVERYWHERE, AND YOU KNOW TALKING ABOUT MY GRANDFATHER EVEN, WHEN HE WAS A KID, GOOD GOSH, IT MUST HAVE LOOKED LIKE THIS WHEN DANIEL BOONE WALKED INTO IT PRACTICALLY BECAUSE THERE WAS NOTHING,
HE'S TOLD ME ABOUT WHAT THE COUNTRYSIDE LOOKED LIKE, HOW BIG THE FARMS WERE, AND THE LAND BARONS THAT OWNED THEM, I MEAN IT WASN'T JUST HUNDREDS OF ACRES, IT WAS THOUSANDS OF ACRES.
AND THE STORIES OF HOW THE FORTUNES HAVE BEEN KEPT AND HOW THEY’VE BEEN LOST. THEY’VE BEEN - THIS FAMILIES HAD IT FOR GENERATIONS THEN YOU HAVE ONE BAD SEED AND IT’S GONE.
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE WORLD THROUGH HIS EYES, WHEN HE'S DRIVING DOWN TO KNOW WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE BUT I WOULDN'T WANT TO FEEL THE FEELING THAT HE DOES OF SEEING HOW IT'S CHANGED, YOU KNOW, THAT THERE'S NOT ANY LAND LEFT. BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT MAKING ANY MORE LAND, THAT'S THE ONLY THING IN THIS WORLD THAT THEY'RE NOT MAKING ANY MORE OF, IS LAND - NOBODY'S FOUND THE ABILITY TO DO THAT YET.
TITLE
LAND (and how it gets that way)
TITLE
A Documentary By Walter Brock
TITLE
1993
(FARMERS MARKET)
LADY
WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING?
JIM BOGGS
WE’RE HAVING FUN.
LADY
MAKING A VIDEO FOR YOUR HOPE CHEST OR WHAT?
JIM BOGGS
WELL NO I WISH, THIS IS A DOCUMENTARY ON WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN WOODFORD COUNTY. AND FARMING AND LIFE IN GENERAL OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS.
LADY
THE GOOD PART OR THE BAD PART.
JIM BOGGS
BOTH-BOTH AND WE DON’T EVEN, WE - SOME OF US HAVE SOME OPINION AND SOME ANOTHER.- THOSE ARE 3 FOR A DOLLAR PICK OUT HOW EVER MANY YOU WANT - O, LET ME GET THAT MUD OFF. PICK YOU UP HOWEVER MANY YOU WANT.
LADY
HOW TO RUN DEVELOPERS OUT OF TOWN ON A RAIL, DID YOU PUT THAT IN THERE?
JIM BOGGS
WELL, WE’RE WORKING ON THAT - YOU HAVE TO BE TACTFUL ABOUT IT. YOU CAN’T JUST SAY RUN THE BASTARDS OFF.
LADY
O, PARDON ME.
NARRATOR (V.O.)
THE BATTLE THAT GOES ON HERE IN WOODFORD COUNTY, KY. - AROUND SPRAWL, PROPERTY RIGHTS, AND CONSERVATION - OCCURS EVERYWHERE THESE DAYS; EVERYWHERE PEOPLE CONFRONT CHANGE
THE THING IS, 3 PEOPLE CAN LOOK AT A FIELD WITH A WOODLAND BEHIND IT. THE FARMER SEES A STAND OF CORN, THE CONSERVATIONIST A WILDLIFE PRESERVE AND THE DEVELOPER A ROW OF ROOFTOPS, A SHOPPING CENTER AND A PARKING LOT.
SAME LAND, DIFFERENT VISIONS, DIFFERENT MEANINGS. THAT’S WHERE YOU GET CONFLICT
ANN RICHMOND
IF YOU HAVE A COUNTY GOVERNMENT OR A COUNTY CITIZENRY WHO'S NOT READY TO STAND UP AND PUT THE BRAKES ON SOMETHING, THEN THE DEVELOPERS WILL CUT UP AND BUILD ON EVERY SINGLE AVAILABLE SQUARE FOOT OF PROPERTY THEY CAN GET THEIR HANDS ON THAT THEY THINK THEY CAN PUT UP ON SIGN ON AND SELL, AND THAT'S WHAT THESE PEOPLE ARE DOING.
JACK KAIN
THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THEY WOULD SAY, THAT IF THERE WASN'T MONEY IN IT THAT I WOULDN'T BE DOING IT.
Q: IS THAT TRUE?
A: THAT IS NOT TRUE. ALL I'M TRYING TO DO IS TO PROVIDE BUSINESS, PROVIDE INDUSTRY, AND PROVIDE HOMES FOR THE PEOPLE WHO WORK IN THESE INDUSTRIES IN WOODFORD COUNTY.
ANN RICHMOND
THEY WANT TO MAKE AS MUCH MONEY AS THEY CAN AS QUICKLY AS THEY CAN, THEY'RE BUSINESSMEN. I DON'T FAULT THEM FOR THAT, IT'S LIKE SHARKS HAVE TO EAT, CROCODILES HAVE TO EAT, I DON'T WANT THEM EATING ME, BUT IT DOESN'T MAKE THEM BAD SHARKS OR CROCODILES. THESE ARE NOT BAD BUSINESSMEN, THEY'RE JUST, THEY NEED TO BE STOPPED.
NARRATOR (V.O)
THE CONFLICT OVER LAND-USE IN WOODFORD COUNTY MAY NOT BE UNIQUE BUT THE LAND IS. SOME SAY THE DIRT HERE BLUEGRASS REGION OF CENTRAL KY. MAY BE THE BEST ON THE PLANET.
HISTORIAN TOM CLARK HAS DESCRIBED THE BLUEGRASS REGION OF CENTRAL KENTUCKY AS THE VERITABLE IDEAL OF AGRARIAN LIFE IN NORTH AMERICA.
TOM CLARK
I ARRIVED IN KENTUCKY ON SEPTEMBER THE 14TH 1928. WHEN I GOT TO LEXINGTON I SAW A TOWN THAT WAS STILL BACK IN THE 19TH CENTURY. I HAD NEVER SMELLED TOBACCO PRODUCTION AND I GOT A REAL STRONG WHIFF OF IT. FARMERS CAME IN FROM FAR AND NEAR. SOME CAME STILL IN WAGONS DRAWN BY HORSES AND MULES.
NARRATOR (V.O)
MY FONDEST MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD IN LEXINGTON ARE OF ENDLESS DAYS
SPENT ROAMING THE FIELDS BEHIND MY HOUSE, AS AT HOME IN THE WORLD AS I’VE EVER BEEN I KNEW EACH TURNING CREEK FOR MILES BY HEART AND LOVED THE SMELL WHERE THE CRAWDADS HID.
IT WAS EASY IN THOSE DAYS TO IMAGINE WHAT THIS LAND MIGHT HAVE LOOKED LIKE BEFORE WE MOVED HERE, BEFORE THE WHEEL, IN THE TIME OF THE INDIANS.
IT SEEMED LIKE NOTHING BUT THE WIND AND THE SOUND OF CROWS ONE DAY AND BULLDOZERS, AND HAMMERS THE NEXT
LIKE WILDFIRE
ONE ROOFTOP - A HUNDRED - A THOUSAND
NOT A SQUARE FOOT OF THOSE FIELDS LEFT UNTOUCHED AND
NOT A WORD SAID IN THOSE DAYS.
TOM CLARK
WELL, I SAW LEXINGTON UNDERGO A COMPLETE REVERSAL OF IT’S WAY OF LIFE. WHEN YOU BEGIN TO BRING INDUSTRY IN, YOU CHANGE THE PICTURE COMPLETELY. I BUILT MY HOUSE IN A TOBACCO FIELD, TOBACCO STUBS WHEN I BROKE GROUND FOR IT... WELL NOW FOR FIVE MILES ON SOUTH OF THERE AT LEAST IS SOLID SUBURBAN COMMUNITY.
LIBBY JONES
LEXINGTON HAS THE WORST PLANNING OF ANY METROPOLITAN AREA I’VE EVER SEEN, EVER. ITS UNBELIEVABLE;... AND ITS UGLY, ITS UNBELIEVABLY UGLY.
BEN CHANDLER
LEXINGTON AS A COLLEGE TOWN WAS THE GREATEST PLACE IN THE WORLD. AND IF I’D BEEN ABLE TO I WOULDN’T HAVE TRADED IT FOR PRINCETON OR HARVARD OR ANYWHERE ELSE. NOW I CAN SAY I HATE LEXINGTON. THERE’S TOO MANY PEOPLE AND TOO MUCH TRAFFIC AND THEY’RE GETTING SO LOUD THAT I CAN HEAR THEM. WE DON’T WANT THAT. THIS IS SUCH A SPECIAL PLACE. WE JUST DON’T WANT THAT.
ANN RICHMOND
IT’S KIND OF LIKE YOU HAVE A GORGEOUS PATCH OF FLOWERS IN THE WOODS AND EVERYBODY WANTS TO COME AND SEE IT. PRETTY SOON THEY’RE ALL STANDING ON THE FLOWERS AND THERE ARE NO FLOWERS ANYMORE AND SO NOBODY WANTS TO COME SEE IT ANYMORE. YOU CAN'T GO BACK IS THE SITUATION. THAT'S THE PROBLEM. YOU CANNOT BACKUP AND GO BACK AND SAY, "OH GEE, THAT WAS REALLY STUPID 50 YEARS AGO. I DON'T WANT TO BE SITTING HERE IN 50 YEARS, AND HAVE TO EXPLAIN TO MY DAUGHTER HOW I LET THIS HAPPEN.
NARRATOR (V.O)
WOODFORD COUNTY LIES FIFTEEN MILES TO THE NORTH OF LEXINGTON IN THE VERY HEART OF THE BLUEGRASS.
ONE MAN TOLD ME THAT GOD MUST HAVE BEEN HAVING A GOOD DAY WHEN HE MADE THE NORTH END OF THE COUNTY. THE GARDEN OF EDEN THE FIRST SETTLERS CALLED IT, THE SOIL IS DEEP. THE BEST LAND IN THE WORLD FOR GROWING SPORTING HORSES.
ANOTHER MAN TOLD ME THAT IN THE SOUTHERN END OF THE COUNTY YOU CAN’T RAISE NOTHING BUT A LITTLE BIT OF HELL ON A SATURDAY NIGHT. NOT SUCH A GREAT DAY FOR GOD, APPARENTLY.
I KNOW AMERICANS DON’T LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THINGS LIKE CLASS AND WEALTH AND POWER BUT OUR FEELING ABOUT THESE THINGS DIVIDE US MUCH MORE DEEPLY THAN THIS BLUEGRASS DIRT.
JACK KAIN
THERE'S NO DOUBT ABOUT IT THAT WOODFORD COUNTY HAS AN IRON CURTAIN AROUND IT, JUST AS REAL AS THE IRON CURTAIN WAS IN EUROPE.
I FEEL AND A LOT OF PEOPLE FEEL HERE IN THIS COMMUNITY THAT THEY WANT TO KEEP US AT A CERTAIN LEVEL, THAT THEY DON'T WANT US TO RISE ABOVE A CERTAIN LEVEL THEY WOULD LIKE TO KEEP IT AS SOME TYPE OF BARONIAL SYSTEM, A COLONY SORT OF THING. AND THEY'VE DONE A PRETTY DARN JOB OF DOING THAT.
LIBBY JONES
OUR FAMILY PURCHASED THIS LAND IN 1790 ORIGINALLY, AND ITS HAD AN INTERESTING HISTORY. WE’VE RAISED THOROUGHBRED HORSES, STANDARD BRED HORSES, SHORT HORNED CATTLE, ANGUS. ITS GROWN MANY DIFFERENT CROPS, INCLUDING HEMP, WHICH OF COURSE, IS NOW ILLEGAL.
JACK KAIN
MY DAD WAS A TENANT FARMER AND THE FELLOW HE WAS A TENANT FARMER FOR WAS A BIG LANDOWNER, HAD HORSES, THINGS OF THIS NATURE AND I ALWAYS HOPED THAT SOMEDAY I WOULDN'T HAVE TO BE A TENANT FARMER LIKE MY DAD WAS, THAT I COULD RISE ABOVE THOSE THINGS, AND BE SUCCESSFUL IN MY OWN BUSINESS AND MAYBE REACH THE LEVELS OF THESE PEOPLE THAT I SAW. I SAW THE BIG PARTIES THAT THEY HAD WITH EVERYTHING, THE SERVANTS, AND ALL THIS- THE GLITTER THAT GOES WITH SUCCESS
LIBBY JONES
MY FATHER USED TO SAY THAT THE LAND DOESN’T BELONG TO US. IT BELONGS TO THE COMMUNITY, TO THE WORLD, TO THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD; AND IT IS OUR OBLIGATION TO CARE FOR IT AND TO LEAVE IT BETTER THAN WE FOUND IT.”
JACK KAIN
I'VE BEEN FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THE CAR BUSINESS, I RAISED NINE CHILDREN IN THIS BUSINESS. IT WAS NOT EASY. I THINK THAT THE STRUGGLES THAT I'VE HAD IN COMING ALONG AND BUILDING MY PLACE, THAT I DO SYMPATHIZE WITH THE PEOPLE OUT HERE THAT ARE TRYING TO GET AHEAD AND CAN'T BECAUSE OF THE LIMITATIONS THAT ARE PUT ON US BY THE SAVE THE LANDERS AND PEOPLE OF THIS ILK IN WOODFORD COUNTY.
LIBBY JONES
WOODFORD SAVE THE LAND IS A BROAD-BASE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION, A VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATION, THAT BEGAN IN 1972, OR THEREABOUTS, AND THE CATALYST FOR IT WAS THE PROPOSAL TO BUILD A 125 HOME SUBDIVISION IN THE HEART OF SOME OF WOODFORD COUNTY’S BEST FARMLAND, AS A MATTER OF FACT IT WAS NEXT DOOR TO OUR FARM AND AT LEAST SIX MILES FROM THE NEAREST COMMUNITY.
LIBBY JONES
WE CALLED ALL THE NEIGHBORS, THERE WERE PROBABLY 25 OR 30 PEOPLE THERE REPRESENTING MAYBE 7 OR 8 FAMILIES, AND WE TALKED ABOUT WHAT WE COULD DO. THE MORE PEOPLE IN THE COUNTY OUTSIDE OF OUR IMMEDIATE NEIGHBORHOOD BECAME AWARE OF IT, THE FORCES REALLY RALLIED. AND SO THAT WAS THE BEGINNING OF WOODFORD SAVE THE LAND AND THAT ORGANIZATION THEN WENT ON TO MANY OTHER ZONING BATTLES, SOME OF WHICH WE WON AND SOME OF WHICH WE LOST, BUT THE VAST MAJORITY BUT THE VAST MAJORITY WE’VE WON.
CHARLES BAKER
EVERY PUBLIC MEETING WE WENT TO SHE WAS RIGHT THERE WITH HER FIGURES AND HER BOARDS AND SHE WAS UP THERE TELLING EVERYBODY HOW THIS OUGHT TO BE AND HOW THAT OUGHT TO BE
LIBBY JONES
I REALLY BECAME SO INVOLVED IN COMMUNITY LAND USE PLANNING THAT IT ALMOST CONSUMED EVERYDAY, I MEAN THAT EVERYDAY THERE WAS AN ISSUE TO BE ADDRESSED IN FARM LAND PROTECTION, AND THAT HAS REMAINED SO UNTIL NOW; I’M INVOLVED ON A DAILY BASIS.
CHARLES BAKER
I DON'T THINK SOMEBODY THAT'S INHERITED 1500 ACRES, OR 1000 ACRES, OR 200 ACRES SHOULD SIT UP AND TELL ME THAT I CAN'T SELL MY FARM. I DARN SURE DON'T GET TO GO TO THEIR FARM AND GO IN ON IT AND TELL THEM WHAT TO DO,
CHARLES BAKER
I MEAN I'M NOT SAYING THEY DON'T WORK TO MAKE A LIVING BUT BASICALLY IF YOU TOOK AWAY WHAT THEY'D INHERITED, THEY WOULDN'T BE ANY DIFFERENT FROM ME. THEY'D BE OUT THERE WORKING EVERY DAY TO MAKE ENDS MEET
LIBBY JONES
TO ME ITS IRRELEVANT HOW HOW YOU HAVE OBTAINED YOUR LAND. FOR MANY OF US, EVEN THOUGH WE’VE INHERITED OUR LAND, THAT IS OUR VOCATION, AND WE LIVE BY IT. ITS NOT A HOBBY, IT IS OUR VOCATION
HARVEY JONES
WOODFORD SAVE THE LAND SO THE POOR MAN CAN'T GET ANY? PRICED IT SO HIGH, HAVE 630 ACRE REGULATIONS, YOU KNOW, WOODFORD SAVE THE LAND, WELL, WHO YOU SAVING IF FROM? THE YOUNGSTER OUT THERE THAT'S TRYING TO MAKE A LIVING, WANTS SOME PRIVACY LIKE THEY GOT?
LET'S DIVIDE THIS UP, THE GOOD LORD WOULD WANT US TO DIVIDE IT UP. WHAT HE TOLD THE MAN TO GO GET RID OF ALL YOUR PROPERTY AND THEN COME BACK AND TALK TO ME. YOU TELL ONE OF THEM THAT, BUT THEY'RE GOOD CHURCH MEMBERS, THEY GO GIVE THE COMMUNION AND TAKE COMMUNION AND GIVE THEIR DONATION EVERY WEEKEND, BUT THEY DON'T PRACTICE WHAT THEY PREACH.
CHARLES BAKER
HARVEY JONES HAD A FARM IN THE SOUTH END OF THE COUNTY AND THERE WAS A FIVE ACRE TRACT LAW IN EFFECT AT THE TIME AND HARVEY HAD DIVIDED ALL HIS ROAD FRONTAGE OFF IN FIVE ACRE TRACTS AND SOLD IT ACCORDINGLY. THEN HE CAME BACK BEFORE THE PLANNING AND ZONING REGULATION AND WANTED TO SUBDIVIDE OR TRACT OFF THE INNER PART OF HIS FARM THAT HE'D KEPT.
THE REASON I REMEMBER IT SO WELL IS I HAD BOUGHT A FARM RIGHT AT THE SAME TIME TO DO WHAT HARVEY HAD DONE. I HAD ANTICIPATED SELLING 8 FIVE ACRE TRACTS KEEPING 150 ACRES TO MOVE TO AND REDO THE FARMHOUSE AND RAISE MY FAMILY ON IT. BUT, HARVEY GOT PLANNING AND ZONING IN SUCH AN UPROAR THAT THEY WOULDN’T LET YOU SELL 5 ACRES AR TEN ACRES DECIDED TO CHANGE THE LAW FROM THE 5 ACRE LAW TO 10 ACRES TILL THEY MADE UP THEIR MIND AND THIS WENT ON FOR ABOUT 3 YEARS. I WORKED MY BUTT OFF FOR 3 YEARS JUST TO PAY INTEREST ON A PIECE OF PROPERTY WHILE THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION IN THIS COUNTY DECIDED WHAT THEY WANTED TO DO WITH THE COUNTY.
ANN RICHMOND
THE USUAL PATTERN HAS BEEN, IF IT'S NOT NEXT DOOR TO ME I WON'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT.
THAT'S HOW COUNTIES GO DOWN THE DRAIN,
10 ACRES, OR 50 ACRES, OR 100 ACRES AT A TIME.
THAT'S WHY WE CALL OUT THE TROOPS. THEY'RE DOING THIS OVER HERE, AND YOU PROBABLY AREN'T EVEN AWARE OF IT, BUT SOMEBODY'S GOT TO STAND UP, SO LET'S ALL SHOW UP AT THE COURTHOUSE.
COURTHOUSE/ JUDGE
WE’RE GONNA ASK THAT YOU BE LIMITED TO 1 MINUTE.
COURTHOUSE/ ENGLISH WOMAN
I’M REAL SAD TO BE HERE TONIGHT. I’M REAL TO BE HERE AND SEE WHAT’S GOING ON BECAUSE I THINK WHAT’S GOING ON IS A TRAGIC MISTAKE. THE BEAUTY OF THIS LAND IS A HERITAGE,SOMETHING THAT DOESN’T JUST BELONG TO YOU AND ME, IT BELONGS TO YOUR CHILDREN AND THE GRANDCHILDREN THAT COME FROM THEM. AND ONCE YOU DEVELOP AN AREA AND THOSE HOUSES ARE PUT ON THAT LAND IT CAN NEVER BE TAKEN AWAY.
CHARLES BAKER
THEY HAD SEVERAL MEETINGS, PUBLIC HEARINGS, IT SEEMED LIKE ONE EVERY WEEK AND I ATTENDED ALL THESE MEETINGS BECAUSE I FELT LIKE MORE THAN ANYBODY ELSE IN THE COMMUNITY I HAD MORE TO LOSE.
COURTHOUSE/ CHARLES BAKER
HI MY NAMES CHARLES BAKER, I DON’T THINK I HAVE TO TELL ANYBODY WHO I AM. I SEE ALL YOUR GREEN ARM BANDS. I FARM FOR A LIVING, I FARM MY REAR END OFF DOING IT. I ALSO OWN A FARM I WANT TO SELL PART OF.
CHARLES BAKER
THE OPPOSITION I RAN INTO MOST OF ALL WERE THE PEOPLE THAT LIVED IN TOWN AND ON THE FIVE ACRE TRACTS THAT THEY HAD BOUGHT IN THIS COMMUNITY.....
AND MY THOUGHT WAS, YOU BOUGHT FIVE ACRES, THAT'S ALL YOU OWN, YOU DIDN'T BUY THE WHOLE COUNTY, YOU DIDN'T BUY THAT FIELD ACROSS FROM YOU THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT WITH THE COWS OR THE TOBACCO IN IT, YOU BOUGHT FIVE ACRES.
JIM BOGGS
A SUBDIVISION AND A FARM DON'T MIX. THE PEOPLE COME OUT AND WHAT THEY WANT IS FIVE ACRES WITH A PRISTINE FARM AROUND THEM. THEY DON'T WANT TO SEE ANY BLOOD, THEY DON'T WANT TO SEE DEATH, THEY DON'T WANT TO SMELL MANURE, THEY WANT LIKE IT IS IN THE MOVIES, THEY THINK, WHY I'VE WATCHED LASSIE, I'VE WATCHED ALL THESE MOVIES, EVERYTHING IS PRETTY AND PRISTINE, MY CHILDREN CAN ROMP ACROSS THE LITTLE PASTURES. THEY DON'T REALIZE THAT THE POND DOESN'T HAVE A BOTTOM IN IT, THAT HORSES KICK, THAT COWS RUN OVER CHILDREN AND DON'T CARE ONE BIT ABOUT IT.
JIM BOGGS
I WAS NOT INTERESTED IN WOODFORD SAVE THE WORLD IN THE BEGINNING. WE CAME HERE TO GET AWAY, TO HIDE OUT BASICALLY. I DID NOT WANT TO BECOME INVOLVED WITH ANYTHING IN THE COMMUNITY, I WAS HAPPY OUT HERE, THAT'S WHY WE WERE HERE.
I HAD REALLY NEVER DONE ANYTHING, EVER, THAT WASN'T JUST FOR ME OR MY FAMILY PARTICULARLY, I HAD NEVER DONE ANYTHING FOR THE COMMUNITY AND THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT I THOUGHT I MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO AND NOT TOTALLY TAKE ME AWAY FROM MY LITTLE HIDEOUT.
COURTROOM/ BOGGS
MY NAME IS JIM BOGGS AND MY WIFE AND I ARE FARMERS.
JIM BOGGS (VO)
BECAUSE I WAS THE ONE SOLE FARMER IN THE GROUP. I WAS CHOSEN AS THEIR SPOKESMAN.
COURTROOM/ BOGGS
I REALLY DON’T WANT TO BE HERE TONIGHT. WHERE I WANT TO BE IS HOME SITTING ON MY FRONT PORCH WATCHING MY SHEEP GRAZE OVER THE BACK FIELD. I DON’T WANT TO BOTHER ANYBODY, I DON’T WANT ANYBODY BOTHERING ME BUT YOU GUYS ARE MESSING WITH ME.
JIM BOGGS
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT TURNED ME OFF IN THE BEGINNING ABOUT THE COALITION WAS THAT I DID NOT SEE ANYBODY IN THE GROUP WHO I IDENTIFIED WITH. IT APPEARED TO ME FROM THE BEGINNING THAT THESE WERE THE RICHER PEOPLE IN THE COUNTY WHO HAD A LOT OF LAND AND WHO DIDN'T WANT HOUSE TRAILERS BUILT NEXT DOOR TO THEM.
CHARLES BAKER
IT WAS A HARD PILL TO SWALLOW TO GO TO THESE MEETINGS AND YOU HAVE THESE ARISTOCRATS STANDING UP THERE SCREAMING IN YOUR FACE THAT YOU'RE GREEDY AND THAT YOU'RE RUINING THE COUNTY, WHEN THEY COULD HAVE GONE RIGHT DOWN TO THE SAME SALE I WENT TO AND BOUGHT THE PIECE OF PROPERTY AND LEFT IF SITTING THERE.
JIM BOGGS
AS I BECAME INVOLVED I REALIZED THAT MOST OF THE PEOPLE, WHILE THEY WERE THE LANDED GENTRY SO TO SPEAK, REALLY WERE CONCERNED WITH WHAT BECAME OF WOODFORD COUNTY.
COURTROOM/ BOGGS
WOODFORD COUNTY IS NOT UNIQUE IN THIS, THE WHOLE WORLD IS HAVING THIS SAME PROBLEM TODAY. LET’S NEGOTIATE THIS THING OUT. I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT THE DEVELOPERS, THE FARMERS AND THOSE TREE HUGGERS OF US CANNOT GET TOGETHER AND REACH SOMETHING THAT WE ALL AGREE ON - MOST ALL - NOBODY'S GONNA AGREE ON EVERYTHING. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
JIM BOGGS
EVERY TIME FISCAL COURT WOULD HAVE A MEETING, THERE'S 300 PEOPLE HALF OF WHICH ARE SHOUTING ONE WAY, HALF WERE SHOUTING THE OTHER WAY, YOU PASS WHAT USED TO BE FRIENDS ON THE SIDEWALK DOWNTOWN THEY ALMOST CROSSED THE STREET TO GET AWAY FROM YOU, IT WAS TECHNICALLY DIVIDING THE COUNTY.
CHARLES BAKER
HERE I'D GROWN UP, I WAS 27 YEARS OLD, AND I'D GROWN UP ON A FARM, ALL I'D EVER DONE WAS FARM AND ALL OF A SUDDEN CHARLES BAKER WAS DUBBED A DEVELOPER, AND IT REALLY TICKED ME OFF THAT I WAS MARKED THAT BECAUSE ALL I WAS TRYING TO DO WAS BUY A FARM AND GET IT AFFORDABLE TO WHERE I COULD KEEP IT AND FARM IT.
NOBODY CAN GO OUT AND BUY AN ENTIRE FARM AND PAY FOR IT UNLESS THEY'VE BEEN AT IT A LONG TIME OR THEY'VE HAD SOME HELP.
I MADE A LOT OF ENEMIES, MADE A LOT OF PEOPLE MAD, BUT AT THE TIME I REALLY DIDN'T CARE BECAUSE I FELT LIKE, YOU KNOW, HEY, I'VE GOT RIGHTS JUST LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE.
NARRATOR (V.O.)
THE COURTHOUSE HAD BECOME A BABEL OF CONTENTION AND CONFUSION.
EACH SIDE ACCUSED THE OTHER OF POLITICAL MEDDLING AND SELF-INTEREST,EACH CLAIMED TO REPRESENT A SILENT MAJORITY THE COURTHOUSE HAD BECOME A BABEL OF CONTENTION AND CONFUSION. THINGS WERE GOING NOWHERE FAST. FINALLY, THE COURT APPOINTED A TASK FORCE TO COME UP WITH AN ORDINANCE TO REGULATE RESIDENTIAL GROWTH IN THE AGRICULTURAL ZONE. THE COURT APPOINTED THREE PEOPLE FROM EACH SIDE.
CHARLES BAKER
WE MET, I DON'T KNOW, SOMETIMES TWO OR THREE TIMES A WEEK, THE SIX OF US, AT EACH OTHER'S HOMES, WE TOOK TURNS, AND THESE WERE NOT WHAT YOU CALL FRIENDLY MEETINGS. YOU WOULD SIT ON EACH SIDE OF THE TABLE AND YOU WOULD GET RIGHT IN EACH OTHER'S FACE, I MEAN FINGERS WOULD BE POINTED, YOU WOULD JUST REALLY ALMOST COME TO BLOWS.
ANN RICHMOND
ADAMS WOULD START OUT BY, YOU KNOW, "I'M RIGHT AND I'M SPEAKING FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE COUNTY BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE I ONLY HAVE A 6TH GRADE EDUCATION, AND I LIVE DOWN HERE ON A DIRT FARM IN A TRAILER AND, YOU KNOW, NOBODY EVER LOOKS AFTER ME, SO I'M RIGHT BECAUSE I'M THE ONE GETTING DONE TO." AND, THAT WAS WHO HE WAS. AND CHARLES WAS ALWAYS, "WELL, I'M RIGHT BECAUSE I'M THE POOR LITTLE KID WHO TRIED TO MAKE MY OWN WAY BECAUSE MY DAD IS IN JAIL AND, YOU KNOW, ONE THING AND ANOTHER, AND THEY TOOK OUR FARM WHEN WE ONLY HAD TWO PAYMENTS LEFT TO MAKE," AND STUFF LIKE THAT. WELL, ALL OF THAT DOESN'T MEAN A HILL OF BEANS. I MEAN, TO ME THAT'S RIDICULOUS TO DISCUSS THAT KIND OF STUFF. BUT THAT'S WHAT THEY'D ALL GET IN SHOUTING MATCHES ABOUT. WELL, YOU’RE A SO AN SO AND I’M THIS AND THEREFORE I’M RIGHT.
CHARLES BAKER
THIS PARTICULAR LADY LIVES ON A FARM WITH HER MOTHER, IT’S 400 ACRES, SHE WILL INHERIT THAT FARM, AND HAS NEVER HAD TO GET OUT THERE AND WORK TO PAY FOR A FARM, AND SHE STUCK HER FINGER RIGHT UP UNDER MY NOSE AND LOOKED ME RIGHT IN THE EYE AND SHE SAID, SHE WAS SICK AND TIRED OF LISTENING TO ME TALK ABOUT MONEY, THAT I WAS A DEVELOPER AND I WAS GREEDY AND THAT'S ALL THAT THERE WAS TO ME. IT MADE THE HAIR STAND UP ON THE BACK OF MY NECK, CAUSE I GOT OUT THERE AND WORKED ON THAT FARM EVERY DAY, AND I THOUGHT THE LAST THING I WAS WAS GREEDY. I'VE CONSIDERED MYSELF A GOOD BUSINESSMAN. I BOUGHT THE FARM TO SELL PART OF IT TO MAKE A TURNOVER TO HAVE A CHEAP FARM.
ANN RICHMOND
THE MAN NEEDED THE CASH FROM SELLING THE LOTS. AND THAT WAS HIS NUMBER ONE AGENDA. WHAT CAME BEHIND THAT WAS, "IS THIS A GOOD THING FOR THE COUNTY?" WAS THIS A LEGAL THING TO DO? I MEAN, WHAT WAS GOING TO BE THE RESULT OF THIS, WHAT WERE GOING TO BE THE PRECEDENT RAMIFICATIONS AS FAR AS WHAT THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR AND WHAT IF EVERYBODY DID WHAT IT IS CHARLES WANTED TO DO.
CHARLES BAKER
I SAID, WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THESE BIG COMPANIES GO OUT AND BUY UP OTHER COMPANIES, THEY CONSOLIDATE THEM AND THEY LAY OFF 1500 WORKERS, AND YOU'VE GOT 1500 PEOPLE OUT OF WORK? I SAID, THAT'S GOOD BUSINESS, I SAID, OR IF YOU GET UP IN THE MORNING AND YOU READ KROGER STOCK IS $10 AND YOU THINK IT'S GOING TO BE $20 NEXT WEEK BECAUSE YOU HAVE AN INSIDE TIP, YOU BUY IT AND RESELL IT, YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT THE PEOPLE THAT LOSE THEIR JOBS OR THE STORES THEY CLOSE DOWN, THAT'S GOOD BUSINESS. I SAID - BUT I CAN GO SELL A PIECE OF LAND FOR A PROFIT AND I’M GREEDY - I SAID NOW THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH THAT SCENARIO,
ANN RICHMOND
TO ME WHEN PEOPLE SAY THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO GET THE MOST MONEY THEY POSSIBLY CAN FOR THEIR LAND, EVEN IF IT'S AN INAPPROPRIATE OR NOT ZONED USE, TO ME THAT'S LIKE ME SAYING WELL I HAVE ALL THESE TOBACCO BARNS AND THE PRICE OF TOBACCO IS NOT VERY GOOD THIS YEAR SO I'M GOING TO GROW MARIJUANA BECAUSE THAT WILL BRING ME A WHOLE LOT OF MONEY, AND I HAVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE THE MOST MONEY FROM MY FARM I POSSIBLY CAN. WELL THE LAW SAYS THAT'S NOT LEGAL BECAUSE WE HAVE DETERMINED THAT THAT'S NOT IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE COMMUNITY. YOU CAN'T HAVE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT IN AN AGRICULTURAL AREA BECAUSE IT'S NOT IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE COMMUNITY, EVEN IF IT'S IN YOUR BEST INTEREST, JUST LIKE IT MIGHT BE TO MY BEST INTEREST TO GROW MARIJUANA, IT IS NOT IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE COMMUNITY SO YOU CAN'T DO IT, THAT'S WHY IT'S ILLEGAL.
CHARLES BAKER
SHE NEVER DID CHANGE HER MIND. SHE STILL THINKS TO THIS DAY THAT I WAS GREEDY,
NARRATOR (V.O.)
FINALLY THE TASK FORCE PRESENTED IT’S RECOMMENDATIONS. THE RURAL RESIDENTIAL ORDINANCE, AS IT WAS CALLED, MANDATED DENSER DEVELOPMENT ON FEWER ACRES. 20% OF A FARM COULD BE DEVELOPED IN A CLUSTER PROVIDING THAT THE REMAINING 80% BE RESERVED FOR AGRICULTURAL USE ONLY. BY THE TIME THE COURT HAD MODIFIED THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS BOTH SIDES COULD AGREE ON AT LEAST ONE POINT - THE ORDINANCE WOULD BE A FIELD DAY FOR LAWYERS.
CHARLES BAKER
MY ULTIMATE FEAR WAS I WOULD GIVE IN FOR A COMPROMISE, AND AFTER WE REACHED THE COMPROMISE THEN THEY WOULD NOT STOP, THEY WOULD COME BACK AND KEEP PUSHING FOR LESS AND LESS DEVELOPMENT, AND I HAVE SEEN THAT HAPPEN, IT'S COME TRUE.
LIBBY JONES
ONE OF THE DISCOURAGING THINGS ABOUT ANY SORT OF ORDINANCE, IS THAT SOME PEOPLE ARE GOING TO FIND WAYS TO BENEFIT FROM IT ENORMOUSLY THAT MAY GO AGAINST THE GRAIN OF WHAT THE ORIGINAL INTENT WAS.
CHARLES BAKER
IT’S HARD. IT'S A HARD LIFE. I'VE CUT A FINGER OFF, I'VE CRUSHED A FOOT. I'VE KIND OF GOT BURNED OUT AND I'M TIRED OF IT. I'M READY FOR A CHANGE SO I BOUGHT THIS FARM ON THE EDGE OF TOWN AND IT'S 80 ACRES AND I BOUGHT IT WITH THE SOLE INTENTION OF SUBDIVIDING IT, THAT'S WHERE WE'RE STANDING RIGHT NOW. I DIDN’T BUT IT TO TO BUILD A HOUSE ON IT OR RAISE TOBACCO ON IT OR FARM IT THE REST OF MY LIFE. I BOUGHT IT TO SUBDIVIDE.
COURTROOM/ TIM THOMPSON
HELLO MY NAME IS TIM THOMPSON, I’M A PROFESSIONAL LAND SURVEYOR FROM HERE IN VERSAILLES, KY. I WAS RETAINED BY CHARLES BAKER TO PROVIDE A DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR THIS 80 ACRES OF PROPERTY AND ....
LIBBY JONES
THE MARKET IS SO STRONG FOR RURAL-RESIDENTIAL LOTS, IS THAT WE’RE SEEING FAR MORE FARMERS GIVE UP THEIR ENTIRE PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE AND BECOME FULL TIME DEVELOPERS AND PURSUE BUYING FARMS FOR THE PURPOSE OF CREATING RURAL-RESIDENTIAL SUBDIVISIONS. SO THEY HAVE LEFT AGRICULTURE AND NOW BECOME DEVELOPERS, AND IN DOING SO HAVE COME IN ABSOLUTE CONFLICT WITH WHAT THE ORIGINAL INTENT OF THE RURAL-RESIDENTIAL ORDINANCE WAS ALL ABOUT
IF YOU DRIVE INTO SOUTHERN WOODFORD COUNTY TODAY YOU’LL SEE ENORMOUS CHANGES OF BLOCKS OF 1 AND 2 AND 3 ACRE TRACTS AND THEN A DOUGHNUT OF FARMLAND AROUND IT; BUT ITS NOT A GOOD WAY TO FARM AND ITS NOT A GOOD WAY TO GROW, WE REALIZE THAT NOW; IT WAS A MISTAKE.”
CHARLES BAKER
I ENJOY WHAT I THINK IS A GIFT THAT I HAVE IS BEING ABLE TO LOOK AT A PIECE OF PROPERTY AND HAVE A VISION OF WHAT IT CAN BE. A LOT OF PEOPLE LOOK AT A 20 ACRE FIELD AND THEY SAY, THAT'S A 20 ACRE FIELD, THAT'S THE WAY IT'S BEEN AND THAT'S THE WAY IT'S GOING TO STAY, AND I CAN LOOK AT IT AND SAY, WELL, BOY THAT'D MAKE A NICE DRIVING RANGE FOR PEOPLE WHO LIKE TO PLAY GOLF, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
I HAVE MORE OR LESS DECIDED IF I CAN SUBDIVIDE THIS FARM OR WHEN I SUBDIVIDE THIS FARM THAT'S PROBABLY WHAT I'LL DO THE REST OF MY LIFE. I'LL PROBABLY KEEP TRYING TO ACQUIRE PROPERTIES THAT I THINK ARE A GOOD PRICE OR IN A GOOD LOCATION AND MAYBE NOT PUT HOUSES ON ALL OF THEM, BUT IF IT'S 100 ACRES MAYBE I'LL DIVIDE IT INTO TWO TRACTS, SPLIT IT UP AND SELL IT.
NARRATOR (V.O.)
WHY ONE MAN SEES THE LAND AS A COMMODITY AND ANOTHER AS SOMETHING ALIVE AND SACRED MAY BE A MATTER OF CLASS OR EDUCATION AR FINANCIAL NEED OR IT MAY NOT.
THE LAND IT SEEMS TO ME IS LIKE A CHESSBOARD ON WHICH ANCIENT GRUDGES ARE PLAYED OUT - YOU AND I MAY WIN OR LOSE BUT WE LIVE TO PLAY ANOTHER DAY, BUT FOR THE LAND - WITH EACH NEW DEVELOPMENT, THE GAME IS OVER.
JACK KAIN
ONE OF THE MOST IRONIC THINGS THAT HAS HAPPENED IN WOODFORD COUNTY IN THE LAST FEW YEARS IS THE FACT THAT THE LAND I BOUGHT FOR DEVELOPMENT OUT ON MIDWAY ROAD WAS OWNED BY THE NOW GOVERNOR AND HIS WIFE LIBBY JONES. AND LIBBY JONES, AFTER THE SALE OF THAT FARM TO ME RETIRED AS CHAIRMAN OF THE SAVE THE LANDERS.
LIBBY JONES
FIRST OF ALL, I WAS NOT PARTY TO THAT TRANSACTION PERSONALLY, MY HUSBAND WAS. I HAD NO IDEA PEOPLE FELT THAT WAY.
JACK KAIN
TO ME IT WAS SORT OF A COMPROMISE OF PRINCIPLES OF PEOPLE WHO HAD ALWAYS FOUGHT DEVELOPMENT OF ANY TYPE IN OUR COMMUNITY. WHEN THEY HAD A NEED THEY SOLD THE LAND KNOWING IT WAS GOING TO BE DEVELOPED. IT’S SORTA LIKE THE SAVE THE LANDERS - YOU SAVE YOUR LAND I’LL SELL MINE AT WHATEVER CONVENIENT TIME IT IS.
LIBBY JONES
MY RESPONSE IS THAT THE ZONING WAS ALREADY IN PLACE; THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN ALREADY TARGETED THAT LAND FOR DEVELOPMENT WHICH WAS A COMMUNITY DECISION, AND WE WERE ATTEMPTING, BRERETON WAS ATTEMPTING TO PROTECT IT. AS IT TURNED OUT, THE THOROUGHBRED MARKET AT THAT POINT WENT INTO AN EXTREME RECESSION AND WE COULD NOT HOLD ONTO THE LAND.
JACK KAIN
I THINK THE LANES VIEW PROJECT REALLY IS AKIN TO THE MOVIE JIMMY STEWART'S FAMOUS FOR, IT' A WONDERFUL LIFE. HERE'S A FELLOW WITH A SAVINGS AND LOAN THAT WAS TRYING TO PROVIDE HOMES FOR POOR PEOPLE IN A COMMUNITY THAT COULD NOT AFFORD TO LIVE IN THAT COMMUNITY WITHOUT IT, AND A WEALTHY FELLOW WHO IS SORTA MASTERMINDING EVERYTHING TRIED TO BREAK HIM ... I LIKE TO THINK THAT THOSE OF US THAT BUILD DEVELOPMENTS LIKE THAT ARE SOMEWHAT AKIN TO THAT. THAT WE’RE HELPING A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT REALLY NEED IT MORE THAN A LOT OF OTHERS IN OUR COMMUNITY AND I THINK THEY’RE GRATEFUL TO PURCHASE A HOME IN WOODFORD COUNTY AND PURCHASE IT AT A PRICE THEY CAN AFFORD TO PAY FOR IT.
LIBBY JONES
I FEEL VERY SAD ANYTIME PRIME FARMLAND IS DEVELOPED.
THE THOUGHT OF THAT BEING COVERED WITH CONCRETE, WHICH WILL SURELY HAPPEN IF WE DON’T TAKE SUBSTANTIAL STEPS TO PROTECT IT WOULD BE A TREMENDOUS LOSS.”
JACK KAIN
WHEN I SEE THE HAPPY PEOPLE THAT ARE OUT IN THIS COMMUNITY, IT JUST MAKES ME FEEL GOOD, IT MAKES MY HEART WARM UP AND ALSO WHEN I DRIVE BY THERE AND I SEE A FEW FORDS IN A FEW GARAGES, IT MAKES ME FEEL EVEN BETTER.
NARRATOR (V.O.)
WHEN I BEGAN THIS TAPE IN THE EARLY 90’S TOBACCO WAS STILL A VIABLE CROP AND THE HISPANIC POPULATION IN THE BLUEGRASS WAS NEGLIGIBLE. NOW FARMERS TELL ME THAT THE AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY IN CENTRAL KENTUCKY WOULD COLLAPSE WITHOUT THE THOUSANDS MEXICAN WORKERS WHO MOVED HERE IN THE PAST DECADE. RURAL LAND IN THE UNITED STATES IS BEING CONVERTED AT A RATE OF 2 ACRES PER MINUTE, OVER A MILLION ACRES A TEAR. MOST OF IT IN PLACES LIKE WOODFORD COUNTY THAT ARE LOCATED NEAR CITIES. IN THE 50 YEARS SINCE MY BIRTH THE WORLDS POPULATION HAS DOUBLED AND AND SHOWS NO SIGNS OF SLOWING. THE PRESSURE UPON THE LAND IS UNRELENTING.
TITLE
2000
CHARLES BAKER
18 YEARS AGO I HAD $600 AND A FORD GALAXY AND A $10,000 DEBT ON A TRACTOR AND THAT WAS IT. NOW, 18 YEARS LATER, THE PROPERTY THAT GERRI AND I OWN IS PROBABLY ASSESSED AT $3.5-4 MILLION DOLLARS. THAT’S OVERWHELMING BY MY STANDARDS, OK?. THAT’S WHY, THIS IS ON MY SHIRT, AS I’VE SAID BEFORE, LIFE’S BEEN GOOD TO ME.
WHEN WE MOVED OUT HERE TO OAK HILL, I HAD A PLAN. BUDWEISER HAD AGREED TO SPONSOR $2 MILLION DOLLARS FOR A COMMERCIAL HUNTING OPERATION. I WANTED TO PUT IN A LODGE, USE THE SLAVE HOUSE OUT HERE FOR GUNS AND FISHING EQUIPMENT. I WANTED TO SEVEN LAKES IN, HAVE DIFFERENT FISH IN EACH LAKE. I WANTED ONE POND TO HAVE SHRIMP IN IT; RAISE FRESHWATER SHRIMP, AND HAVE MY BEEF. I DIDN’T CARE ABOUT PEOPLE LIKE ME. I WANTED IT TO BE FOR THE ELITE, OK? PEOPLE THAT WANTED THEIR PRIVACY, WANTED TO COME BACK AND WANTED TO SPEND MONEY AND HAVE FUN. AND, UH,SOME NEIGHBORS STEPPED IN AND SHOT ME DOWN. THEY SAID THEY WOULD FIGHT IT, SO INSTEAD OF GOING THROUGH THE FIGHT I WENT ON TO DO THE LOTS.(DOG BARKING)
FROM MY PORCH I’LL BE ABLE TO SEE THE TWELVE HOUSES. I’M GOING TO BUILD A BERM ABOUT 700 FEET AWAY FROM MY HOUSE. MAYBE A 3 OR 5 FOOT BERM AND I’LL OUT MATURE TREES ON IT. I WILL SCREEN MYSELF FROM THOSE TWELVE HOUSES, THAT’S MY PLAN. AND IF WE DON’T LIKE IT WE’LL SELL IT AND I’LL GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.”
WE DON’T PLAN ON MOVING. IF IT HAPPENS, IT HAPPENS, BUT THAT’S THE STORY OF EVERYTHING WE DO; IF IT HAPPENS IT HAPPENS, THERE’S NO BLUEPRINT.
JIM BOGGS
WE BUILT WHERE WE ARE FOR PRIVACY. WE’RE IN THE CENTER OF 100 ACRES. WHEN WE CAME HERE THERE WAS NOBODY HERE BUT ONE LITTLE FAMILY UP HERE AND WE COULD PRETTY WELL DO WHAT WE WANTED TO DO BACK IN HERE.
WELL, IN THE LAST 5 YEARS THERE HAVE BEEN 1 NEW FAMILY MOVE IN HERE, 2 NEW HOUSES BUILT JUST OVER HERE. AMBROSE HAS 15 HOUSES APPROVED HERE. MAC HAS BUILT 7 NEW HOUSES BACK OVER HERE. ALL WITHIN DOG DISTANCE OF US.
I USED TO BE ABLE TO COME OUT AT NIGHT AND SIT ON MY PORCH AND LISTEN TO THE SOUNDS OF THE NIGHT AND NOW I HEAR THE STEREO OF THE NEIGHBORS RADIO OVER HERE. I OUGHT TO HAVE RIGHTS JUST LIKE HE DOES TO KEEP MY PRIVACY AND MY QUIET.
CHARLES BAKER
ONCE YOU’RE IN THE ARENA I’M IN NOW THERE’S NO DOWNTIME. YOU HAVE TO HAVE THAT HAPPY FACE YOU HAVE TO LOOK SUCCESSFUL. YOU HAVE TO LOOK LIKE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING, YOU HAVE TO ACT LIKE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING. YOUR OLD FRIENDS FALL BY THE WAYSIDE. YOU’RE JUST JUDGED. YOU’RE LOOKED AT DIFFERENTLY. EVERYBODY’S OUT TO GET YOU.
MR. KAIN’S GOT HIS CAR LOT OUT ON VERSAILLES RD. THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH IT IT’S GREAT, IT’S A WONDERFUL PLACE FOR IT. HE’S IN THE RIGHT, THE ZONINGS RIGHT AND LOOK AT THE COMMUNITY, BASH HIM UP ONE SIDE AND DOWN THE OTHER, AND HE’S DONE SEVERAL THINGS ON MAIN STREET., A SENIOR CITIZENS THING. HE GIVES TO THE COMMUNITY BUT PEOPLE TEND TO FORGET THE GOOD THINGS YOU DO WHEN YOUR SUCCESSFUL, WHEN YOUR SUCCESS ESCALATES OR YOU KEEP GETTING BIGGER, PEOPLE GET MORE JUDGMENTAL, AND THAT’S THE TOUGH PART.
JACK KAIN
THERE HAVE BEEN ALL KINDS OF PUBLIC MEETINGS. WE’VE EVEN HAD PEOPLE IN PUBLIC MEETINGS SAY THAT THE INSECTS THAT GET ON THE BLACKTOP THAT I’LL PUT THERE WILL CREATE AN ORDER THAT WILL WAFT OVER ONTO THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS, THINGS OF THIS NATURE. IT’S QUITE CREATIVE THE OPPOSITION ARGUMENTS THAT WE’RE GETTING.
THEY SAY THE TRAFFIC WILL INCREASE ... I DON’T THINK IT WILL CREATE A PROBLEM.
IT’S JUST A FIELD THAT LOOKS BAD. IF I CAN’T MAKE THAT FIELD LOOK BETTER I SHOULD BE RUN OUT OF TOWN ON A RAIL. IT’S A VERY, VERY UGLY PIECE OF PROPERTY. WITH THE MONEY I’M SPENDING ON LEGAL FEES FIGHTING THIS I COULD PUT UP A DARN GOOD SCREEN THAT WOULD MAKE IT AMENABLE FOR EVERYONE. WE’RE GOING TO GET THIS DONE NO DOUBT ABOUT IT, WE’RE GOING TO GET THIS DONE. I HAVE A FAMILY THAT’S AS ENERGETIC AS I THINK I AM AND ONE WAY OR ANOTHER WE WILL GET A DEALERSHIP OUT THERE ON US 60 OUT THERE ON HUNTERTOWN.
I FEEL GOOD. I KNOW MY DAD AND MOTHER WOULD BE PROUD OF THE THINGS WE’VE OVERCOME AND NOW HAVE REACHED THE STAGE IN LIFE WHERE MY WIFE AND MYSELF CAN ENJOY THE SUCCESS AND THE MONEY THAT SUCCESS BRINGS. WE HAVE A LOVELY FARM HERE, IT’S A GREAT LOCATION AND WE’VE BEEN HERE ABOUT 5 YEARS AND WE’RE JUST VERY, VERY HAPPY. NO DOUBT ABOUT IT.
JACK KAIN
WE HAVE HERE DEER ALL THE TIME. WE’VE HAD AS MANY AS 30 DEER WALKING RIGHT ACROSS OUR FRONT YARD AND THAT’S WONDERFUL.
INTERVIEWER
WHAT IF THE MAN NEXT DOOR DECIDE TO SUBDIVIDE THAT PROPERTY?
JACK KAIN
HERE’S WHAT HE WOULD RUN INTO. I KNOW HIM. HE’S A GOOD FRIEND OF MINE. HE’D HAVE TO ... ONLY 30 NACRES IS THE WAY BUT .. I HAVE 9 CHILDREN AND I COULD PUT 9 HOUSES ALL AROUND ME HERE. 9 HOUSES BUT THEY WOULD HAVE TO LIVE HERE. I WOULDN’T DO THIS TO - I FEEL LIKE THAT WOULD BE WRONG FOR ME TO DO THAT , TO BE HONEST WALTER.
WE GOT TO LEAVE SOMETHING FOR THESE PEOPLE TO SEE, THE PRETTY PLACES. HERE IT’S A PRESERVATION DEAL. I’LL LOOK AT IT THAT WAY. YOU’RE MAKING ME HYPOCRITICAL, I KNOW THAT. HA HA. YEAH.
LIBBY JONES
THESE TREES WERE HERE WHEN THE INDIANS WERE HERE. SOME OF THEM WERE DEFINITELY HERE THAT LONG AGO. THEY’VE SEEN A LOT OF HISTORY.
THE LAND WHERE WE’RE STANDING RIGHT NOW IS UNDER CONSERVATION EASEMENT. SO WHOEVER BUYS THIS LAND WILL UNDERSTAND FROM THE VERY BEGINNING DAY OF PURCHASE THAT THIS LAND IS EASED FOR CONSERVATION PURPOSES AND THEY ACCEPT THAT WHEN THEY BUY THE LAND.
INTERVIEWER
WHAT DO YOU THINK THE COUNTY WOULD LOOK LIKE TODAY IF YOU HADN’T DEFEATED THAT FIRST SUBDIVISION PROPOSAL BACK IN 1070?
LIBBY JONES
THIS IS IT , WHERE WE’RE STANDING. YOU DIDN’T KNOW THAT. THIS IS CHARTER OAKS. RIGHT HERE, THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN HOUSES. IMAGINE THAT. 125 HOUSES ON 5 ACRE LOTS RIGHT IN THIS FIELD WHERE CATTLE ARE GRAZING AND CENTURIES OLD TREES ARE STILL THRIVING. THAT’S WHY WE FOUGHT. PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE THAT THIS LAND IS HERE AND STAYS THIS WAY JUST BY CHANCE ARE COMPLETELY ERRONEOUS IN THINKING THAT BECAUSE IT TAKES A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF HARD WORK AND EFFORT
CHARLES BAKER
I CAN UNDERSTAND WHERE THE SAVE THE LANDERS COME FROM, IF I HAD MY DRUTHERS I COULD WIN THE LOTTERY, PAY FOR ALL THE DEBT THAT I CARRY RIGHT NOW, AND I COULD KEEP ALL THESE FARMS, JUST WHERE THEY ARE.
I UNDERSTAND THE PEOPLE THAT ARE MOVED HERE ON THE 5 ACRE TRACTS OR THE SUBDIVISIONS THAT ARE NOW BEING BUILT, OR WHAT I BUILD OUT HERE, NOT EVER WANTING TO CHANGE WHAT’S AROUND THEM, I UNDERSTAND THAT. WHAT I WANT THEM TO UNDERSTAND IS THAT THERE ARE CERTAIN REALITIES THAT I HAVE TO FACE. MY JOB IS WHAT I DO; MY RETIREMENT IS WHAT I DO. MY HEALTH INSURANCE THAT I PAY, EVERYTHING THAT I HAVE, BEING SELF-EMPLOYED WHERE I AM, I HAVE TO FURNISH. SO I HAVE TO MAKE DECISIONS THAT I DON’T ALWAYS LIKE, BUT I HAVE TO MAKE THEM ANYWAY, THE CHOICES I MAKE TO MEET THE NEEDS THAT I HAVE AND THE WANTS THAT MY FAMILY HAS AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
I WAS THE FIFTH GENERATION FROM CARTER LANGSTER, MY GRANDFATHER’S SIDE TO LIVE IN WOODFORD COUNTY. EVERYDAY AFTER SCHOOL FROM AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER, MY GRANDFATHER CAME AND GOT ME, PUT ME IN A BARN HANGING TOBACCO WHEN I WAS IN THE FIFTH GRADE, I COULD BARELY STAND ON THE RAILS, BUT HE WAS ALWAYS RIGHT UNDER ME. I WAS STANDING RIGHT ON HIS SHOULDERS. I WOULD HANG THE TOP RAIL, HE WOULD HANG THE OTHERS. THAT WAY IF I FELL I WOULD LAND RIGHT ON HIS SHOULDERS, AND I DID A FEW TIMES.
MY GRANDFATHER HAS A FARM, I’M FIVE GENERATIONS THAT HAVE LIVED ON IT; I’LL BE THE ONE TO DEVELOP IT SO THAT MY MOM CAN QUIT WORK, SO THAT MY BROTHER CAN HAVE SOME PROPERTY AND THAT MY GRANDMOTHER CAN HAVE SOME MONEY. BUT I’LL BE THE ONE EVERYONE READS ABOUT IN THE PAPER, IT’LL BE CHARLES BAKER, AND IT’LL BE, “HE’S SELLING HIS GRANDFATHER’S FARM”... WHO WAS THE BEST FRIEND I EVER HAD, DIED THREE YEARS AGO, AND NOW THAT’S WHAT I’M DOING, BUT ITS COME TO THAT POINT, IT HAS TO BE DONE. THERE’S NO CHOICE.”
I WISH I COULD MAKE SOME DIFFERENT CHOICES, AND PEOPLE WILL LOOK AT YOU AND WILL HEAR THIS AND SAY, “WELL, YOU CAN - YOU DON’T NEED THIS, YOU DON’T NEED THIS, AND YOU DON’T NEED THIS.”, BUT THAT’S WHERE I DON’T WANT TO BE JUDGED. I WANT WHAT I WANT AND I’LL GET WHAT I NEED BY THE MEANS THAT I HAVE AVAILABLE TO ME. AND IF I’M WITHIN THE LAW, OR ANYBODY IS THAT’S DEVELOPING WITHIN THE CONFINES OF THE LAWS THAT WE HAVE, THEN IT OUGHT TO BE OK.
JIM BOGGS
I JUST REALLY GOT DISENCHANTED WITH THE WHOLE PROCESS. I FELT LIKE THE ORGANIZATION FOR WHICH I HAD BEEN CHOSEN AS SPOKESMAN AND WITH WHICH I WAS INVOLVED, THEY WANTED TO SAVE THE LAND THROUGH THE COURTS , THROUGH THE THIS THAT AND THE OTHER AND IT ISN’T GOING TO WORK EVER. PEOPLE JUST WANT TO SIT AROUND AND EAT DONUTS DRINK COFFEE AND TALK AND BURN THE DAMN COURTHOUSE DOWN, YOU KNOW. SO ANYWAY, I’M MORE OF A. GREENPEACER THAN SIERRA CLUBBER, SO I JUST GOT DISENCHANTED WITH NOBODY REALLY WANTING TO DO ANYTHING OTHER THAN FUSS AND BITCH AND MOAN.
I TRIED TO IMPRESS ON THEM THAT THE ONLY WAY THEY WERE GOING TO SAVE FARMLAND ULTIMATELY WAS TO BUT FROM LOCAL FARMERS; MEAT, VEGETABLES, HAY, STRAW, WHATEVER IT WAS THAT THEY COULD. BUY IT FROM A LOCAL FARMER. BUT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE MOST VEHEMENTLY INVOLVED IN WOODFORD SAVE THE LAND WOULD PASS THROUGH THE FARMER’S MARKET TO GO TO THEIR MEETINGS ON SATURDAY MORNING AND NOT STOP AND BUY ONE DAMN RED TOMATO.
INTERVIEWER
WOULD YOU SELL YOUR FARM?
JIM BOGGS
WE‘VE GIVEN IT A LOT OF THOUGHT BECAUSE WE REALIZE THAT WE’RE SLOWING DOWN AND WE HAVE TO SLOW DOWN AND THE ANSWER WOULD HAVE TO BE THAT, YES, IF A DEVELOPER CAME DOWN HERE IN THE MORNING WITH ENOUGH MONEY IN THE SATCHEL HE’D OWN THE FARM. I WOULD SELL, AND HELP HIM DEVELOP IT REALLY.
NONE OF MY CHILDREN ARE INTERESTED IN THIS FARM AT ALL. IF I WERE TO DIE TOMORROW THEY WOULD PUT IT ON THE MARKET IMMEDIATELY.
I WOULD SELL IT. I’VE NEVER BEEN MARRIED TO A PIECE OF GROUND,
INTERVIEWER
WHAT IF SOMEONE CAME AND OFFERED YOU, I DON’T KNOW, WHATEVER THE PRICE MIGHT BE. YOU DON’T HAVE A PRICE?
ANN RICHMOND
NO, NO, NO
INTERVIEWER
AND YOUR CHILDREN?
ANN RICHMOND
WELL, WE’RE EXPLORING OPTIONS TO MAKE IT UNATTRACTIVE FOR THEM TO DO SOMETHING.
MY BROTHER AND SISTER AND I HOLD IT AS A FAMILY CORPORATION. WE ARE UNANIMOUS. IT’S NOT FOR SALE, IT’S NOT FOR DIVISION FOR ANY PURPOSE.
WHEN MY BROTHERS SON IS 25 MAYBE SOME GOLDDIGGER GETS HOLD OF HIM, SAYS HA, THERE’S THIS THING WE COULD DEVELOP AND WE COULD SELL AND MAKE A BUNCH OF MONEY AND WE COULD HAVE A GREAT TIME.
IF THAT’S OUTSIDE THE PICTURE THEN NO MATTER WHAT THEY DO THE THEY WILL ALWAYS HAVE A PLACE TO LIVE. CAUSE FORTUNES COME AND GO.
CHARLES BAKER
WHEN I WAS 20 AND MY DAD WENT TO JAIL AND THEY SOLD OUR FARM, THAT GAVE ME WHAT I SAID WAS MY DRIVE. MY NEED TO REESTABLISH MYSELF.
I NEVER WAS WHAT I’D CALLED ASHAMED, I WAS MORE DISAPPOINTED-- DISAPPOINTED THAT I’D WORKED MY ENTIRE YOUTH AWAY KNOWING THAT I WOULD OWN THIS FARM. .... AND WHEN THAT WAS TAKEN AWAY IT WAS MORE OF A, IT WAS JUST A TOTAL DISASTER, IT WAS A LETDOWN, I WAS ANGRY.
THE ROOM I WAS IN HAD EVERYTHING; AND WHEN THEY GRABBED THE CORNER OF THAT RUG AND JERKED THAT RUG OUT FROM UNDER ME, EVERYTHING WENT WITH IT BUT ME, EVERYTHING. I HAD NO NAME, I HAD NO WORD. NOTHING ABOUT ME WAS LEFT THERE THAT I FELT LIKE WAS GOOD. I COULD’VE GONE ON A DOWNWARD SPIRAL BUT I GRABBED MYSELF BY MY BOOT STRAPS AND MADE UP MY MIND I WAS NOT GOING TO BE THAT WAY Y, I WAS GOING TO BE DIFFERENT. YOU STUMBLE ONCE, THE FIRST THEY SAY IS, “JUST LIKE HIS DAD”; THAT DOESN’T GO AWAY. AND YOU KNOW, THAT’S A PRETTY HEAVY CROSS TO CARRY IF YOU WANT TO LET IT BE
I GUESS THE BOTTOM LINE IS I WOULD FEEL TOTALLY NAKED IF I DIDN’T OWN ANY LAND.
ITS A CURSE MORE THAN IT IS A BLESSING, THIS OVERWHELMING URGE TO ACCUMULATE MORE LAND, OR JUST MY DRIVE, THERE’S NO VALVE TO TURN IT ON OR OFF.
I WISH I DIDN’T HAVE IT SOMETIMES; I WISH I COULD JUST TAKE IT OFF LIKE YOU DO A SHIRT AND JUST BE SOMEBODY ELSE, BUT I JUST CAN’T DO THAT. SO THAT’S SOMETHING I’VE STRUGGLED WITH
HOW PEOPLE VIEW ME IS IMPORTANT TO ME. ITS IMPORTANT THAT I’M VIEWED AS THE PERSON I AM, NOT THE PERSON THAT THEY, THAT I’M PORTRAYED TO BE.
INTERVIEWER
WHO ARE YOU PORTRAYED TO BE?
CHARLES BAKER
A LAND BARON - REMEMBER THE GUY THAT SAID THAT TO ME THE OTHER DAY - THAT’S WHAT I’M PORTRAYED TO BE AND THAT’S FINE. I MEAN THAT’S A HELL OF A TITLE, THAT’S GREAT IN THIS DAY AND TIME, IT’S WONDERFUL - I GUESS IF THE SHOE FITS YOU HAVE TO PUT THE DAMN THING ON.
ANN RICHMOND
I REMEMBER SOMETHING THAT MARGARET THATCHER SAID ONE TIME. SHE SAID IF YOU DON’T WANT TO GO TO A PLACE IT DOESN’T MATTER WHETHER YOU GET ON A SLOW TRAIN OR A FAST TRAIN. DON’T GET ON THE TRAIN IF YOU DON’T WANT TO GO TO THAT PLACE. WELL WE’RE ON THE SLOW TRAIN RIGHT NOW, KIND OF, BUT WE’RE STILL ON THE TRAIN TO THE PLACE THAT I DON’T KNOW WHERE TO GO. AND I DON’T QUITE KNOW HOW WE DON’T GO THERE.
JIM BOGGS
WE’VE KIND OF TAKEN AWAY THE FACT THAT YOU CAN DO BEAT YOUR WIFE ANYMORE, WE ALL AGREE THAT YOU CAN’T DO THAT. YOU CAN’T MISTREAT YOUR CHILDREN, MAKE THEM WORK. WE’VE KIND OF AGREED, ALL RIGHT, YOU DON’T HAVE THE RIGHT TO DO WITH THOSE POSSESSIONS WHAT YOU WANT BUT WE’RE STILL A LONG WAY FROM SAYING YOU CAN’T DO WITH YOUR LAND WHAT YOU WANT TO DO BUT IT’S ONLY A MATTER OF DEGREE AND TIME.
NARRATOR (V.O.)
ONE RESIDENT TELLS ME THAT AGRICULTURE WILL SOON BE HISTORY. THAT SOON WE WILL TAKE PILLS FOR NUTRITION. NASA HE TELLS ME IS WORKING ON THIS NOW. MAYBE WHAT WE DO WITH THE LAND DOESN’T MATTER. FORMER SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR JAMES WATT JUSTIFIED THE EXPLOITATION OF THE LAND IN TERMS OF CHRIST’S IMMINENT RETURN. ENDLESS GREEN PASTURES OF PLENTY FOR ALL WHO BELIEVE. THE SLATE WIPED CLEAN. OTHERS SEEM TO SEE IT IN TERMS OF MEN VERSUS THE LAND - IF YOU’RE FOR THE LAND THEN SOMEHOW YOU’RE AGAINST PEOPLE.
WHERE EXACTLY IN THIS WORLD IS THE LINE THAT DIVIDES US FROM THE LAND?
WHERE DOES IT END AND DO WE BEGIN?
WHO ARE WE REALLY APART FROM THE AIR WE BREATHE? THE WOODS, THE AUTUMN FIELD , THE SILVERY WATER?
JACK KAIN
WHEN I WOULD GO INTO PLANNING AND ZONING MEETINGS THEY WOULD USUALLY BRING TO THE FOREFRONT SOME OLDER PEOPLE WHO HAD LIVED HERE ALL THEIR LIVES AND THEIR CHILDREN AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE AND THEY WOULD SAY HOW THE LAND WAS AND HOW THE SPRINGS WAS AND HOW THE WATER WAS AND ALL THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WENT IN TO MAKING THIS A BEAUTIFUL, SO MUCH LIKE AN INDIAN PARADISE THAT DID NOT NEED TO BE DISTURBED, THAT IF WE BROKE GROUND WITH A BULLDOZER THAT WE WERE ABSOLUTELY SINNING AND WE FELT THAT WAY AT LEAST I FELT THAT WAY. I THOUGHT MY GOD, WHAT HAVE I GOTTEN MYSELF INTO. I’VE GONE OUT AND PAID THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS FOR THIS LAND AND THEY ARE NOT GOING TO LET ME BE ABLE TO BUILD ON IT - AND IT WAS A REAL, UH - SOMETIMES I WANTED TO GET ON THEIR SIDE. I REALLY DID. BECAUSE IT WAS SO CONVINCING.
LIBBY JONES
THIS EFFORT TO PROTECT THE QUALITY OF THE LAND WILL GO ON INFINITELY, IF WE’RE ARE LUCKY.
TOM CLARK
APPROACHING MY 99TH YEAR, I’VE LEARNED OVER THOSE YEARS TO ACCEPT INEVITABILITIES, I HOPE GRACEFULLY. I AT LEAST ASPIRE TO.
CHANGE, CHANGE IS INEVITABLE. ONE PRECIOUS THING IS THAT YOU CAN PACK MEMORIES AWAY.
I CAN’T TAKE YOU BACK TO A BIG OLD LOG HOUSE WITH FRUIT TREES GROWING AROUND IT, WITH CHICKENS IN THE YARD, WITH CATTLE IN THE PASTURE , WITH HORSES AND MULES IN THE BARN, I CAN’T TAKER YOU BACK THERE, I CAN’T GO BACK THERE MYSELF. I GO BACK TO THAT SCENE GROWING UP IN PINE TREES AND I COME AWAY WITH SOMETHING THAT’S DROPPED OUT OF MY SOUL. I COME AWAY WITH A SADNESS AND A HEAVINESS OF HEART THAT’S HARD TO DEFINE, BUT IT’S NOT THERE. IT’S NOT THERE ANYMORE.
ANNOUNCER
MAJOR FUNDING FOR THIS PROGRAM WAS PROVIDED BY THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING. ADDITIONAL FUNDING WAS PROVIDED BY KENTUCKY EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION, THE KENTUCKY HUMANITIES COUNCIL, THE JOSEPHINE ABERCROMBIE FOUNDATION, THE KENTUCKY HERITAGE FOUNDATION AND THE KENTUCKY ORAL HISTORY COMMISSION.
