By: Dr. Andrew Yox, Honors Director
Thanks to premier film patrons--Jerald and Mary Lou Mowery of Scroggins, a number of local citizens who were willing to be interviewed, administrative support at the college, and some influential encouragement of local friends, the honors program of NTCC finished five days of filming the life of Bo Pilgrim, 14 August. Pilgrimage: A Story of Northeast Texas hopefully will become the ninth feature-length production of Honors Northeast and the NTCC Webb Society, all on historical themes pertaining to Texas. The previous eight films, on the father of prohibition, Morris Sheppard; the populist from Hughes Springs, Wright Patman; Lake Caddo heroine, Harriet Potter Ames; Texas Governors Ma and Pa Ferguson; Sam Houston and the End of the Texas Cherokee; the cosmetics CEO, Mary Kay; the singing legend, Barbara Conrad, and Adina De Zavala, and the Making of the Alamo--can all be viewed in their entirety from the honors website: www.ntcc.edu/honorsfilms.
The pandemic made for some interesting variations in the usual process of filming. Once a film and its participants are decided on, it is usually imperative that all students involved take part. But this year, the film crew had to be very lenient about sudden absences, and improvisational. The changing guidelines throughout the summer and the need for social distancing tended to delay research and planning, and this created technical as well as sequencing issues down the line. Finally, the trip to Jefferson at the end of film-week was more expensive than other years as students needed their own rooms.
The NTCC film crew functioned with the efficiency of a soap opera set thanks to Director Jalyn English, and Unit Production Director, Brian Ramirez. English, the producer of NTCC’s 2019 Caldwell-Award-winning film on Adina De Zavala, provided a needed continuity in technical knowhow. Unit Production Director, Brian Ramirez, an incoming freshman in Honors Northeast, provided the set with a sense of drive, and focus.
The film, on one hand, communicates the controversial aspects of Northeast Texas’s poultry magnate, who died, recently, in 2017. It examines how the struggle of Pilgrim’s Pride--led by Baptist Sunday School teacher, Bo Pilgrim--with Tyson Foods--led by Arkansas playboy, Don Tyson--shaped our area. Pilgrim’s drive to be number one, and his Messianic sense of mission was a culturally condonable craving. And yet many local residents became vitriolic opponents of Pilgrim. His drive to be number one made his corporation oblivious to many environmental and social problems his business was creating.
The film, however, is also straightforward in demonstrating the importance of Pilgrim’s forays. Like cotton in the 1850s, Northeast Texas after a long period of searching, clicked with chicken in the late-twentieth century. Agribusiness flourished, farming declined. Pilgrim’s effort to “redeem rural America” restored a sense of purpose to the area, but also changed it in fundamental ways. Mexican-American immigration flourished after Pilgrim initiated a Mexican branch of his business in 1987. Indeed Pilgrim found Mexican immigration and development in Mexico to be a most alluring tactic to outflank Tyson’s. Pilgrim also worked to establish a conservative, church-going vibe to the region. He played an important role in the election of George Bush in 1994 as Governor against Ann Richards. Though oblivious to many traditional symbols of Texan identity, he worked hard to make the state business-friendly, and attuned to its roots in the Bible Belt.
Honors Students Jalyn English, Dorali Hernandez, Israel Perez, Brian Ramirez, Hilda Rodriguez, and John Rodriguez began working on the story last May. They were helped by interviews made this past summer, and also by previous interviews conducted by students of Honors Northeast. Patrons of Honors Northeast such as the Mowerys and former NTCC history instructor, Glenda Brogoitti helped fund out-door, patio get-togethers this past summer at Starbucks, and Nardello’s in Mount Pleasant.
Cade Bennett, a top graduate of Paul Pewitt High School, and incoming scholar of Honors Northeast, assumed the lead role of Bo Pilgrim in July. The script was frozen by Director Jalyn English on 1 August, giving Bennett about ten days to commit almost forty scenes to memory.
The film effort depended on a good deal of administrative support, and encouragement by patrons such as the Mowerys who visited the set on the second day, when the group filmed at the Majors-Parchman House of the Franklin County Historical Association. The effort was indebted to the family of Andrea Reyes, including family members Julio, and Joel who helped fill needed roles at the last minute.
The students and staff who have brought the film this far include:
Carolina Alcocer-Salas from Winfield, Cade Bennett from Naples, Jalyn English from Bogata, Dorali Hernandez from Mount Pleasant, Martin Mendoza from Mount Pleasant, Israel Perez from Mount Pleasant, Abril Ramirez a current student of Mount Pleasant High School, Brian Ramirez from Mount Pleasant, Andrea Reyes (Honors-PTK Coordinator) from Hughes Springs, Maxime Risner from Winnsboro, Hilda Rodriguez from Mount Pleasant, John Gregory Rodriguez from Mount Pleasant, and Dr. Andrew Yox (NTCC Honors Director) from Mount Pleasant.
