Information Sheet

 

 

R         Washington County (Mo.).

392                  Motion picture, ca. 1936‑1940.

                                    One videocassette.

 

 

 

This is a film by Harry F. Blount of Potosi, concerning the barite industry in Washington County, Missouri.  Included are views of manual and mechanized mining methods, the refining proc­ess, and the standard of living of the miners and their families.  The film has been dupli­cated on ½" videotape (VHS).

 

The film illustrates the mining of barite or “tiff” in Washington County.  As described in its introduction, the film consists of segments concerning hand mining methods, the social and eco­nomic levels of the miners, the effects of mechanized mining on laboring groups, and at­tempts to­ward readjustment in the late 1930s.  There is also a segment on the manufacturing process of “Baroid” brand drilling compound which follows its production from the initial milling process to packaging of the finished product.

 

A sound track originally accompanied the film but it is no longer extant.  However, the scenes are generally self‑explanatory despite the lack of sound.  Only the segments on social lev­els of the miners and attempts at socio‑economic readjustment suffer from the lack of nar­ration.  Ac­knowledgment is made in the introduction to Harry F. Blount, owner of the Plaza Theater in Po­tosi, for the photography and the equipment used to produce and edit the film.  Running time is ap­proximately thirty minutes.

 

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