November 2024
Photo ID: Waterfall at the Mumford River and opening image of the video Whitin.
About time… literally and figuratively. ValleyCAST and Open Sky partnered with the Whitin family to create an historic video, over ten years in the making, which tells the story of the Whitin family, their companies, and the village of Whitinsville. It follows this history from the late 1700s to the present while drawing in the perspectives of local historians, members of the Whitin family, and individuals from the Northbridge community.
The video Whitin premiered, appropriately so, in the same location where the story began at the Whitin Mill on Douglas Road in Whitinsville, MA on Friday, November 8, 2024, in the G.B. & Lexi Singh Performance Center.
The small audience enjoyed a quiet reception of drinks and snacks while mingling with Whitin family descendants, the director and producer of the film, Heather Riley, executive producers, Christine Bachrach, Harry Whitin, and Dennis Rice, and others before heading into the premiere. After the video, which is a respectable 27 minutes long, they enjoyed a lively discussion. Some audience members shared stories and experiences from their own histories, and those of their family members, during the “Whitin” years. ValleyCAST launched Whitin on their ValleyCAST YouTube channel immediately following the premiere and only 5 days later the video has received over 700 views.
Whitin was produced with support from the Greater Worcester Community Foundation, Open Sky Community Services, Mass Humanities, ValleyCAST, and Members of the Whitin family, including Christine Bachrach, Sarah (Sally) Brownell, Leigh Currens, George Draper, Anne Gruss, Priscilla Mason, Charles McKee, Nina McKee, Anne Sawyer, John and Pat Sawyer, David Whitin, Harry Whitin, James Whitin and Paul Whitin.
Now in public domain, ValleyCAST would love to share this video with local schools, the park service, local libraries, historical societies, other interested groups, and community cable stations. For more information, to arrange for a screening for interested groups at the Singh Performance Center, and/or arrange for someone involved in the film or its history to speak before or after a screening, please reach out to the Director of Community Outreach, Cristi Collari, at cristi.collari@openskycs.org.
ValleyCAST curates events that bring people of all ages, abilities, and walks of life together. ValleyCAST is the arts and culture arm of Open Sky Community Services.
To watch Whitin, visit the ValleyCAST YouTube Channel: youtube.com/@valleyCAST
To learn more about ValleyCAST and/or Open Sky Community Services, visit openskycs.org