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Fairfield leads in local history education with award-winning Fairfield History Series

Courtesy of Dick DeAngelis, Producer and Director of Fair Field Productions

Feb. 27, 2025 11:30 am

Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.

Eight years ago, people from all parts of Fairfield and Jefferson County got together and came up with a plan to teach our community about its history. One thing was for sure - kids get bored easily, so it had to be interesting!

It was then in the Fall of 2016 that Dick DeAngelis started a non-profit organization called Fair Field Productions (a nod to Susan Fulton Welty’s book “A Fair Field”). DeAngelis committed to develop and direct a series of deeply-researched documentary movies about everything from dinosaurs and the earliest native tribes known to live here.

“The people who live in this area have always been receptive right from the start to the series,” says DeAngelis. “As a community, we enjoy learning more about the place we live and the people who lived on this land before us.”

Fair Field Productions is a nonprofit organization consisting of over 100 volunteers from throughout Southeast Iowa who have combined their knowledge, resources, and talents to produce the award-winning Fairfield History Series.

Last October, DeAngelis’ latest film, “Parsons,” attracted big crowds to its premiere weekend. It received rave reviews from throughout the community as well as from visiting Parsons College alumni. This past fall, DeAngelis won an Emmy Award for “Parsons” as the Best Historical Documentary in the Midwest Region.

The sixth film in the highly popular Fairfield History Series will tell the historical account of “When Maharishi Came to Town.”

“This chapter in Fairfield’s history is important and needs to be told,” said DeAngelis.

The Fairfield History Series hopes to leave a lasting legacy for generations of Fairfielders to enjoy. Clips from the films are already being used in both public and private classrooms. The first five films have received recognition by over 50 film festivals throughout Iowa and the U.S.

For details on how to view the Fairfield History Series documentaries online or on DVD, visit www.fairfieldhistoryseries. com.

For the upcoming documentary, “When Maharishi Came to Town,” Producer and Director Dick DeAngelis interviewed Gordon Aistrope (left), former bank president and chairman of the Fairfield Chamber of Commerce, and Roger Leahy of Overland Outfitters and who was one of the first of the MIU students to arrive. (Photo courtesy of Dick DeAngelis)
For the upcoming documentary, “When Maharishi Came to Town,” Producer and Director Dick DeAngelis interviewed Gordon Aistrope (left), former bank president and chairman of the Fairfield Chamber of Commerce, and Roger Leahy of Overland Outfitters and who was one of the first of the MIU students to arrive. (Photo courtesy of Dick DeAngelis)
Dick DeAngelis of Fair Field Productions dug into the Fairfield Ledger’s archive and found this story about how the first MIU students had to clean up the campus after the abrupt closure of Parsons College in 1973, which was sold to Maharishi International University the following year. Pictured on the far right is Roger Leahy, who was interviewed for the documentary. (Photo courtesy of Dick DeAngelis)
Dick DeAngelis of Fair Field Productions dug into the Fairfield Ledger’s archive and found this story about how the first MIU students had to clean up the campus after the abrupt closure of Parsons College in 1973, which was sold to Maharishi International University the following year. Pictured on the far right is Roger Leahy, who was interviewed for the documentary. (Photo courtesy of Dick DeAngelis)
Fair Field Productions has won an Emmy Award for its film "Parsons" about Parsons College, which called Fairfield home from 1875-1973. (Image courtesy of Jason Strong/Fair Field Productions)
Fair Field Productions has won an Emmy Award for its film "Parsons" about Parsons College, which called Fairfield home from 1875-1973. (Image courtesy of Jason Strong/Fair Field Productions)
Dick DeAngelis
Dick DeAngelis
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