Above: Current NTCC Webb Society Film Troupe in Jefferson, August 2021
By: Dr. Andrew Yox, Honors Director
On 23 September, at 7 PM, at the Mount Pleasant Library, Honors Northeast, and the NTCC Webb Society will again present the story of perhaps most controversial and influential figure of modern Northeast Texas history—Lonnie [Bo] Pilgrim. This is the 9th feature-length film of a story from the Texas past in as many years produced by the honors program of Northeast Texas Community College. The movie is free, and the public is invited. Free individualized snacks will be provided afterward, courtesy of the donors of Honors Northeast.
This is the same film that premiered last March on the campus of Northeast Texas Community College.
An original interpretation of the Pilgrim story pursued by the scholars of Honors Northeast, and the local Webb Society informs the script. The Webb Society is the local chapter of the collegiate auxiliary of the Texas State Historical Association, composed mainly of Honors Students. The testimony of several former Pilgrim executives, and workers, as well as community leaders helped to shape the final script. The feature-length film was further enabled by the patrons of Honors Northeast, such as Jerald and Mary Lou Mowery of Mount Vernon, and administrative help at NTCC.
A 2020 graduate of Paul Pewitt High School, and current Gladys Winkle Scholar at NTCC, Cade Bennett, stars as Bo Pilgrim. Known for his versatility and affability as an athlete, a One Act Play participant, and a Texas Vice President of Phi Theta Kappa, Bennett has now played the star role for two NTCC films. He also presented his perspective on Pilgrim at the fall 2020 meeting of the state Webb Society. Brian Ramirez, NTCC’s current James and Elizabeth Whatley Scholar, served as both the producer, and the unit production director of the film. Israel Perez, the first winner of the college’s new Russell-Mowery Perpetual Honors Scholarship, served as the lead scholar of the film.
For the second time in as many years, the NTCC film also features an original film score. Kenny Goodson, a local Texas composer as well as a former band director at Mount Pleasant High School features his own compositions throughout the film. Goodson is currently the composer in residence for MADD Creations, which has created quality band arrangements and drill designs since 1995.
Honors Director, Dr. Andrew Yox, notes: “Our Pilgrim film, born in the midst of our 2020 COVID summer, owed much to different groups of supporters, coming though at key moments. We did have to work with some restrictions, but the enthusiasm of students, patrons, and administrators carried us safely through a difficult period.”
The cast includes: the current student (SGA) president of NTCC, Maxime Risner, from Winnsboro, as wife, Patty Pilgrim; Andrea Reyes, PTK/Honors Coordinator as both Pilgrims’s grandmother, Ada, and mother, Gertrude. Former Alpha Mu Chi President, and Honors Scholar, Carolina Alcocer-Salas, appears as Carol Countryman, a recurrent anti-Pilgrim reporter. Presidential Scholar, Dorali Hernandez appears in a variety of roles, most notably as “Daisy” a girlfriend of Pilgrim’s competitor. 2021 Texas Heritage Bank Scholar John Rodriguez appears in multiple roles, most notably as Pilgrim executive, Clinton Rivers. NTCC student, Martin Mendoza appears as Pilgrim executive, Cliff Butler. Abril Ramirez appears as a worker at the Pilgrim plant. The production was rescued from a last-minute actor-deficit by the Reyes family. Julio Reyes from Hughes Springs plays the role of Pat Johns who first partnered with the Pilgrim brothers, and Joel Reyes, as brother, Aubrey Pilgrim. Honors Director, Dr. Andrew Yox assumes the role of Pilgrim’s competitor, Don Tyson. Aaliyah Avellaneda, Hilda Rodriguez, and Israel Perez appear at the end of the production as film scholars.
Past films in this series have included the stories of Adina De Zavala, Barbara Conrad, Mary Kay, Sam Houston, and the Texas Cherokee, Ma and Pa Ferguson, Harriet Potter Ames, Wright Patman, and Morris Sheppard. All the films of the series can be viewed on www.ntcc.edu/honorsfilms. The honors program recently completed all but one of fifty scenes for their newest creation, on Carroll Shelby, the great Texas auto racer, and developer.
The filming for the Pilgrim production occurred over a five-day period in August of 2020 and included sites at NTCC, the Franklin County Historical Association buildings, and several bed-and-breakfast establishments in Jefferson, Texas.
