HPL

The Hays Public Library will host a screening of the award-winning docudrama “Home on the Range” on Aug. 25 at 1 p.m. in the Schmidt Gallery. Members of the community are invited to attend the free program. Contact the Hays Public Library at (785) 625-9014 for more information.

“Home on the Range,” a Western ballad that epitomized the American West and the dream of a new home in the wide-open frontier, was the most popular song in the United States in 1934. Its popularity led to frequent airplay on the radio by countless performers, but who wrote it? A lawsuit filed in 1934 set in motion a search attempt to establish the origins of the song and, more importantly, who would receive the lucrative loyalties. The film Home on the Range unites the unique story of the State Song of Kansas with its history and legacy.

The director of the film, Ken Spurgeon, will be at the screening to provide an introduction to the film. Spurgeon is the founder and executive director of Lone Chimney Films, the company that produced Home on the Range. Ken is originally from Wichita where he got a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Wichita State and became a teacher. El Dean Holthus will also be joining the presentation to talk about the site of the Home on the Range Cabin in Smith County, Kansas.

With stars like Rance Howard, Buck Taylor, and the voice of the Kansas City Chiefs, Mitch Holthus, Home on the Range tells the unforgettable story of the origin and legacy of Kansas’ beloved state song while also bringing awareness to the cabin where the song was written in Smith County.

For more information about the “Home on the Range” screening in Hays contact the Hays Public Library at (785) 625-9014 or visit www.hayslibrary.org.