PRESS RELEASE
PAVING THE WAY: The National Park-to-Park Highway
On ______(date), ______(station) will present a two-part historical documentary that looks back to the convergence of post-WWI America, the rise of automobile tourism, and the National Parks with a classic story of the Great American Road Trip—in a time when the roads were barely paved.
Stephen T. Mather, the first director of the National Park Service, needed a way to increase attendance to the parks under his care. With automobiles suddenly becoming more affordable thanks to Henry Ford’s assembly line, Mather appealed to ordinary people to come tour the parks, no longer just the wealthy. The National Park-to-Park Highway, a route created by AAA’s field representative, Anton L. Westgard, became Mather’s tool for drawing larger crowds to the national playgrounds. “Each Park is highly individual,” Mather said, but “the whole will be a revelation.”
Director, Brandon Wade and his crew experienced this revelation while filming along the same five thousand mile loop, from Denver to Rocky Mountain, Yellowstone, Glacier, Mt. Rainier, Crater Lake, Lassen Volcanic, Yosemite, General Grant (now King’s Canyon), Sequoia, Zion, Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, and back to Denver. The film includes breathtaking cinematography from the American West—giant forests, sweeping plains, towering mountains, and shimmering deserts, echoed in the archival photographs of the 1920 tour by Albert G. Lucier.
PAVING THE WAY includes the talented voice of Bill Painter as its narrator, as well as dozens of interviews of experts on the National Parks and the post-WWI Good Roads Movements. Among these are historians Alfred Runte and William Tweed. Drawing its inspiration from The Playground Trail: The National Park-to-Park Highway, a book by Lee and Jane Whiteley, PAVING THE WAY adds its own perspective on this unique historic event and what it meant to the shaping of American culture.
“Our film brings the soul to the visionaries and tacticians who made the highway a revelation,” said Brandon Wade. “We learn about the people who take this inaugural tour and expand tourism exponentially to the parks over the next decade. I think American culture has been shaped with the idea of taking a ‘road trip’. It defines us and the American Experience.”
Three years in the making, PAVING THE WAY combines poignant imagery with a classic American story. "The viewer is treated to a cake with many layers and allowed to savor each piece,” says Associate Producer Jane Whiteley. The film recreates the 1920 tour “through the old movie clips, Lucier dedication tour photos, modern views, and the small stories nestled within each section--giving us, the viewers, a definite sense of being there."
Depth of Field Productions is proud to present director Brandon Wade’s PAVING THE WAY: The National Park-to-Park Highway, set to air on public television once released May 1st, 2009. Brandon, along with co-proucer Jennifer Wade, Jessica Potter, Eric Bean and writer Kendra Willey, deliver a visually rich journey through eleven states, twelve National Parks, and five thousand miles as it follows the 1920 inaugural tour of the National Park-to-Park Highway.
PAVING THE WAY is presented by KUSM-TV/MontanaPBS and distributed by American Public Television. Sponsorship was provided in part by American Road Magazine and RV America.
About KUSM-TV/MontanaPBS
Quality television has the power to elevate our understanding of the world, encourage respect for one another, and influence our lives in a positive way. MontanaPBS shares diverse stories; connects our citizens; discovers common ground; and celebrates the independent spirit and beauty of Montana. Press should contact Aaron Pruitt at (406) 994-5021 or email
Press materials may be downloaded from: http://www.montanapbs.org/PavingTheWayTheNationalParkToParkHighway/pressroom/
For more information, visit www.PavingTheWay.tv
About American Public Television
With more than 10,000 hours of programming in its library, American Public Television (APT) has been a prime source of programming for the nation’s public television stations for 48 years, distributing more than 300 new titles per year. In 2006, APT launched Create – the TV channel featuring the best of public television's lifestyle programming. Known for its leadership in identifying innovative, worthwhile and viewer-friendly programming, APT has established a tradition of providing public television stations with program choices that strengthen and customize their schedules, such as Rick Steves' Europe, Worldfocus, Globe Trekker, Simply Ming, Sara's Weeknight Meals, America's Test Kitchen From Cook’s Illustrated, Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie, Doc Martin, Lidia's Italy, Rosemary and Thyme, P. Allen Smith's Garden Home, Biz Kid$, Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, Pavarotti: Salute Petra, The Best of the Jack Benny Show, Agatha Christie's Poirot, Spain...on the road Again, and other prominent documentaries, dramatic series, how-to programs, children’s series and classic movies. For more information about APT’s programs and services, visit APTonline.org.