If you have ever wanted to learn the history of Fayetteville without scrolling through your phone or digging into books, “Up Among the Hills: The Story of Fayetteville” is the best way to do it! The 60-minute documentary film written and produced by Emmy Award winner Larry Foley takes viewers on a journey from Fayetteville’s humble beginnings to present-day life on “The Hill.”
Learn about the role Fayetteville’s citizens played through the Civil War, becoming a college town, the music that shaped Dickson Street and more as “Up Among the Hills” chronicles the history of the city as told through interesting characters that lived in Fayetteville and pushed it to prominence at the national level. The film was narrated by former President Bill Clinton.
“Up Among the Hills” will air Thursday, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m. as part of our “From the Archives” series.
Researching the Film
The Fayetteville Public Library commissioned Foley to produce the film in honor of the late John Lewis, a local banker who loved the story of Fayetteville. Lewis was nicknamed Mr. Fayetteville. Growing up in Fayetteville, Foley said working on the film was a great honor.
“I had grown up here and had spent many youthful hours at the library, checking out books and old records of ‘great moments in history,’” he said. “I took pride in working with director of photography Hayot Tuychiev to capture the beauty of this place on camera. I was a little sad when we wrapped since it was so much fun to make … and the whole story took place right here in my hometown.”
After being commissioned, Foley dug into his usual research of reading everything he could about the topic: books, magazine articles, newspapers and documents.
“I decided to focus on characters who, from Fayetteville, did amazing things that touched the world in literature, music, public service and education.
A Unique Find and a President
One of the more unique things Foley found during his research was an early 20th-century newspaper article about an “eccentric citizen who dressed like Buffalo Bill, claimed to have ridden with Custer, and ultimately settled here where he became a Boy Scout leader.” That citizen was Charles Ludwig "Old Scout" Von Berg.
“He serenaded the community from atop Mt. Sequoyah by playing “Taps” at dusk. Characters like that always make good stories. I teach my students to find the most interesting jellybean in the jar and tell their story.”
Viewers will recognize the narrator’s voice as former President Clinton. Foley said his crew turned to “friends of Bill” to connect with the former president.
“Once he learned of the film, and our invitation to narrate, he invited us to his Harlem, New York, office where we did the recording. When we finished, he smiled at me and said, ‘Thank you. I really wanted to do this.’ One of my favorite stories is Clinton telling how he bought a cottage near the University of Arkansas campus, admired by his then-girlfriend Hillary, so she would marry him.”
Setting the Stage and Mining a Title
As a filmmaker, Foley knows the opening act is vital, saying “The idea is to ‘take your audience there, and make them care.’” “Up Among the Hills” opens with a reenactment set in 1858, following a 23-year-old New York Herald correspondent named Waterman Orsmby who chronicled the Butterfield Overland Stage maiden voyage.
“We decided to reenact the inaugural Butterfield Overland Stage trip from St. Louis to San Francisco, as it went through Fayetteville. A young New York newspaper correspondent named Waterman Ormsby chronicled the trip. His reporting gave us our title and set the ‘stage’ perfectly when he wrote, “Fayetteville is located up among the hills, in a most inaccessible spot … It is a flourishing little town.”
How to Watch
“Up Among the Hills” airs Thursday, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m. as part of the “From the Archives” series.”
How to Watch on Demand
“Up Among the Hills” is available on demand here.