Harold Chenoweth Film Collection
Scope and Contents
The Harold Chenoweth Film Collection holds the digitized copies of the original films shot by Chenoweth during the first half of the twentieth century in Nebraska. The subject matter of the films include: rodeos; commercials; state fairs; highlights from Aksarben including the racetack, parade, stock animals, and factory; Delco Farm Lighting; highlights from the 1941 Rose Bowl football game between the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Stanford University; a 1933 California trip of Herbert Hoover; Bison to Barley; and other topics.
Included with the original donation was a binder containing two groups of material: reproductions of documents and photographs from the 1940s and 1950s about the filmmaking of Harold Chenoweth; and copies of IRS documents and emails from 2006 about the establishment of Chenoweth Film Restoration as a non-profit to fund the conversion of Harold Chenoweth's films to digital formats. Also included is a DVD copy of Bob Chenoweth's episode of "I Remember," a series of the Douglas County Historical Society.
Dates
- Creation: 1915-2013
Creator
- Chenoweth, Harold (Person)
- Chenoweth Film Company. (Organization)
Language of Materials
English
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research use. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the Nebraska Public Records Statutes (Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 84-712 through 84-712.09), and other relevant regulations. Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of Nebraska Omaha assumes no responsibility.
Conditions Governing Use
The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of copyright. Whenever possible, Archives & Special Collections will provide information about copyright owners and related information. Securing permission to publish or use material is the responsibility of the researcher. Note that unless specifically transferred to the University of Nebraska at Omaha, any applicable copyrights may be held by another individual or entity. Further information about copyright policy is available at http://libguides.unomaha.edu/library_policies.
Extent
1 Gigabytes (Digitized films)
0.1 Cubic Feet (2 DVDs)
.15 Cubic Feet
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Received as .dv files. The repository is in the process of reformatting the files and editing to bring previously separated clips of the same films together for public access online.
Custodial History
According to a 2005 WOWT story, the films were in the possession of Harold Chenoweth's daughter after his death. Son Robert Chenoweth took possession of what was described as 20 boxes containing dozens of reels of film from his sister and began the process of converting the films to current media, first videotapes and later DVDs. Digital copies of the films were transferred to the Criss Library in 2013 by Don Chapman, a friend of Robert Chenoweth who had digital copies of the films on his harddrive, and the gift was finalized with the Chenoweth family with a signed donor agreement in May 2014.
In April 2015, two DVDs were received for the collection, including a digitized copy of the 1949 Ak-Sar-Ben Coronation and Scholarship Ball in Omaha and clips from various home movies of the Robert and Gloria Chenoweth family from the mid-twentieth century to the early twenty-first century. Both films are available via Bob Chenoweth's YouTube account at https://www.youtube.com/user/ChenowethRG/videos. The 1949 Ak-Sar-Ben Ball digital file was corrupted and could not be played. A copy of the film was downloaded from YouTube and is available from the repository here.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donor agreement signed by Deborah Hiatt, Cynthia Chenoweth, Kyra Chenoweth, and Robert Chenoweth in 2013 and 2014.
Existence and Location of Originals
Many of the 16mm films are in the possession of the Nebraska State Historical Society Moving Image Collections as of September 2014.
Processing Information
Collection has not yet been further arranged and described.
Source
- Chenoweth, Robert (Donor, Person)
- Chenoweth, Cynthia (Donor, Person)
- Chenoweth, Kyra (Donor, Person)
- Hiatt, Deborah (Donor, Person)
- Title
- Harold F. Chenoweth Film Collection
- Status
- In Progress
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
- Sponsor
- Amy Schindler; Angela Kroeger
- Edition statement
- 3rd edition
Repository Details
Part of the University of Nebraska at Omaha Archives & Special Collections Repository
Archives & Special Collections
Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library
6001 Dodge St.
Omaha Nebraska 68182-0237 United States
402-554-6046
unoasc@unomaha.edu