Back to Local Productions

Centenarians look back on the last century...

The Roaring Twenties. Prohibition. The Great Depression. World Wars. The explosive growth of technology. Testimony from Virginia’s centenarians is used to create WCVE PBS’ one-hour documentary, “Witness to a Century.” WCVE PBS and the Virginia Historical Society have collaborated on this look back at the enormous changes that took place in Virginia in the twentieth century through the eyes of those that lived through them. Americans are aging in greater numbers than ever before (there are more than 65,000 centenarians in the United States and about 2,000 in Virginia), and although enormous changes took place in Virginia in the twentieth century, there is a lack of public consciousness about the period. Award-winning producer and director Mason Mills (“Questioning the Constitution”) set out to document the experiences of our oldest – and historically richest – neighbors. Additionally, the testimony will be used to produce a series of short television segments, a one-hour television documentary, a curriculum guide for use in community senior centers, a public lecture, as well as other materials.