LIFE IN MOUNTAINS

Year Published: 1949

Description:

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This 1949 vintage educational film "Life in Mountains" is about life in the Alps, in Switzerland. The film follows the Villar family as they farm the fields and tend to livestock herds. The family’s daily chores are contrasted as they adjust to changing seasons. Coronet created 16 mm shorts from the 1940s to the 1980s for use in the classroom and in public libraries in order to provide students with in depth learning. This film was created in collaboration with Clyde F. Kohn; Associate Professor of Geography at Northwestern University (:18). Kohn was also a well-known geographer and author. The camera view opens up on snow traced mountain slopes (:35). A small village sits nestled in the mountains (:42). The Alps are highlighted on a map of Switzerland (1:05). The narrator mentions nearly half of Switzerland’s population had settled in the mountains (1:14). A woman wearing traditional clothing wanders down a narrow alleyway in the small village (1:26). The village church and clock tower follow (1:34). The Swiss boarding school; Maison D’ecole, appears in the heart of the Bernese Alps (1:43). Locals wander into small shops (1:55). Goods here have been manufactured in major cities of Switzerland and other countries. Two Swiss females and a male wander up a dirt road running alongside the village (2:01). The narrator guides viewers to a farmhouse owned by the Villars family on the outskirts of the mountain region (2:11). A close shot notes a steep roof constructed for heavy snow falls (2:20). Logs are stacked outside of the home for fuel (2:36). A mother and daughter named Annette, of the Villars family step from the home (2:45). The pair sift through their vegetable garden (3:05) as snow peaked mountains rise in the background. Lush forests ride up the mountain slope (3:22). Swiss famers cut hay on the green meadows using hand tools (3:29). Annette’s brother Paul sits with a small goat herd (3:52). A cattle herd grazes on the high slopes (4:30). The father of the family moves up the slope (4:35). He heads for the cheese house where he makes the family cheese (4:56). The narrator mentions the hut has been made with stone in order to keep the cheese house cool. The milk is heated in a big kettle (5:10). He utilizes a cheese cloth in order to separate the whey (5:31). The curds are pressed into a wooden mold (5:40). Stones are stacked atop the lid in order to squeeze out the remaining whey (5:45). The following morning (5:54) the round of Swiss cheese is pictured ready for the curing house (6:08). These cheeses will age for months. Annette and her mother dry beans in the autumn (6:32). The pair search for the father and brother Paul in the grounds below (6:47). The cattle herd is driven down from the mountain (6:54) at the close of summer. The mother of the home works to churn butter (7:19). Paul sifts through dirt for the remaining harvest of potatoes (7:32). Fire wood is chopped as they prepare for winter (7:43). Many of the residences here will be isolated by heavy snows in the coming months. The valleys and slopes appear at the close of autumn (8:04) as well as a few weeks later as the first snow falls (8:11). The small village appears under a blanket of snow (8:18). The home of the Villars family (8:24) is revisited to display winter’s daily activates. Paul and Annette head for school (8:33). Youth slide down a snowy slope (8:51). Paul rides his skis down the slope (9:03). Tourists arrive in Switzerland for its wondrous ski slopes (9:10). The sun sets on the home of the Villars (9:21). Within the home, the mother spins yarn (9:28), the children finish schoolwork and the father reads the paper (9:32).

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Complete Record: This 1949 vintage educational film "Life in Mountains" is about life in the Alps, in Switzerland. The film follows the Villar family as they farm the fields and tend to livestock herds. The family’s daily chores are contrasted as they adjust to changing seasons. Coronet created 16 mm shorts from the 1940s to the 1980s for use in the classroom and in public libraries in order to provide students with in depth learning. This film was created in collaboration with Clyde F. Kohn; Associate Professor of Geography at Northwestern University (:18). Kohn was also a well-known geographer and author. The camera view opens up on snow traced mountain slopes (:35). A small village sits nestled in the mountains (:42). The Alps are highlighted on a map of Switzerland (1:05). The narrator mentions nearly half of Switzerland’s population had settled in the mountains (1:14). A woman wearing traditional clothing wanders down a narrow alleyway in the small village (1:26). The village church and clock tower follow (1:34). The Swiss boarding school; Maison D’ecole, appears in the heart of the Bernese Alps (1:43). Locals wander into small shops (1:55). Goods here have been manufactured in major cities of Switzerland and other countries. Two Swiss females and a male wander up a dirt road running alongside the village (2:01). The narrator guides viewers to a farmhouse owned by the Villars family on the outskirts of the mountain region (2:11). A close shot notes a steep roof constructed for heavy snow falls (2:20). Logs are stacked outside of the home for fuel (2:36). A mother and daughter named Annette, of the Villars family step from the home (2:45). The pair sift through their vegetable garden (3:05) as snow peaked mountains rise in the background. Lush forests ride up the mountain slope (3:22). Swiss famers cut hay on the green meadows using hand tools (3:29). Annette’s brother Paul sits with a small goat herd (3:52). A cattle herd grazes on the high slopes (4:30). The father of the family moves up the slope (4:35). He heads for the cheese house where he makes the family cheese (4:56). The narrator mentions the hut has been made with stone in order to keep the cheese house cool. The milk is heated in a big kettle (5:10). He utilizes a cheese cloth in order to separate the whey (5:31). The curds are pressed into a wooden mold (5:40). Stones are stacked atop the lid in order to squeeze out the remaining whey (5:45). The following morning (5:54) the round of Swiss cheese is pictured ready for the curing house (6:08). These cheeses will age for months. Annette and her mother dry beans in the autumn (6:32). The pair search for the father and brother Paul in the grounds below (6:47). The cattle herd is driven down from the mountain (6:54) at the close of summer. The mother of the home works to churn butter (7:19). Paul sifts through dirt for the remaining harvest of potatoes (7:32). Fire wood is chopped as they prepare for winter (7:43). Many of the residences here will be isolated by heavy snows in the coming months. The valleys and slopes appear at the close of autumn (8:04) as well as a few weeks later as the first snow falls (8:11). The small village appears under a blanket of snow (8:18). The home of the Villars family (8:24) is revisited to display winter’s daily activates. Paul and Annette head for school (8:33). Youth slide down a snowy slope (8:51). Paul rides his skis down the slope (9:03). Tourists arrive in Switzerland for its wondrous ski slopes (9:10). The sun sets on the home of the Villars (9:21). Within the home, the mother spins yarn (9:28), the children finish schoolwork and the father reads the paper (9:32).

Transcription

[Music] [Applause] [Music] this is a story about a mountain country and about the people who live in a part of it there are many mountainous regions like this one where people have worked out a pattern of living on small farms and in small mountain villages we can find people living in mountainous regions in north and south america in europe and africa and in asia and australia the particular mountain setting of our story is in western europe in switzerland here in switzerland the famous alps mountains cover much of the area of the country almost half of the swiss people live in the mountains let's look more closely at this mountain village which is about 5000 feet above sea level in this small village most of the women and girls wear traditional clothes which we would not find in the larger swiss cities but we do find things which we would see in any small town here is the village church with its clock tower and the village school the schoolhouse sign is in french the language of this part of switzerland in the stores and shops the villagers buy goods made in the manufacturing cities of switzerland and other countries and so the village is the center of activity for the people who live nearby to visit one of the families of this mountain region let's go out to the edge of the village to a swiss farmhouse this is the home of the villars family it's an old house nestled close to the mountainside and it has a steep roof to shed the heavy winter snow the northern end of the house toward the mountain is built of stone to make it snug and warm during the cold winter the southern end of the house facing the sun is built of wood wood for building houses and wood for fuel can be cut in the forests of the nearby mountains many generations of the villars family have lived in this house and have tilled a small patch of ground nearby on this fine summer day annette and her mother weed the vegetable garden they work hard to get the most out of their garden in the summer because the growing season is short in this cool mountain region even in summer the snow does not melt on the high peaks annette and mother raise many vegetables including beans and potatoes beyond the garden is the mountain slope that rises behind their house here are forests and grassy mountain pastures on the green meadows if we look closely we can see some men at work they are farmers cutting hay machinery cannot be used easily in the small sloping fields so the work is done by hand much hay and other feed crops must be grown in the summer to feed the cattle during the long winter rocky slopes higher up in the mountain are used for pasturing goats this is annette's brother paul who tends this flock during the summer goats are well suited to mountain regions because they can graze in places that are too steep and rocky for growing crops the goats belong to paul's family and to their neighbors the swiss raise many goats and use the milk to drink and to make cheese perhaps you are beginning to see that the mountains affect almost everything the swiss people do how they live and how they work on some of the highest slopes we'll find the cattle belonging to paul's father and his neighbors every summer mr villar spends his time here high above the village taking care of the cows and making cheese from their milk the high mountain meadows where the cattle graze are called alps these mountain meadows may be as high as nine thousand feet mr villars spends much of his time in this little hut where he makes cheese notice that the hut is made almost entirely of stones thick stone walls keep the cheese house cool inside the little house father heats the milk in a big kettle the first step in making cheese when the milk reaches the right temperature he will add a fine white powder to make it curdle or form lumps a little later he gathers the lumps or curds in a bag the bag is made of a coarse cloth that lets the liquid or whey drip out perhaps you can see now why this kind of cloth is called cheese cloth after the curds are pressed into the wooden mold the lid is weighted down when all the whey has been pressed out the cheese will be firm the next morning father opens and there it is a swiss cheese the cheese of switzerland is known all over the world for its flavor but the new cheese is not ready to eat yet it must be put for several months in the curing house here it will age or cure and then be carried with the rest of the cheeses down to the village and so mr villars will be busy making and storing cheese through the summer until autumn in the autumn mother and annette are drying beans part of the food they are storing for winter during the summer they have dried vegetables picked apples and dug potatoes from the garden on this fine september day they are watching for father and paul this is the day the cattle are to be driven down the mountain when the cattle are brought down from the high pastures it means that summer is over there are father and paul now the cows are fat and sleek after spending all summer in the rich green mountain meadows during the coming winter they will be fed on the hay we saw being cut on the mountain slopes now with the cows back at the farmhouse mother and the net use some of the fresh milk to make butter using the churn is a household job that annette wants to learn paul too has chores to do he's digging out the last of the potatoes before the freezing weather comes potatoes are part of the winter food supply and of course father has plenty to do cutting a good supply of firewood for the winter people who live in mountain regions usually gather a good supply of food and fuel because they are often isolated by heavy snows father reminds paul that is now late autumn it will not be long before the cold winds come down from the mountain peaks bringing the snow that will fill the mountain passes and roads a few weeks later the first snowfall whitens the slopes and valleys winter has come the village too lies under a beautiful covering of freshly fallen snow in the village and in the house of the villars family the daily activities are somewhat different now than they were in the summertime each morning paul and annette walk to school in the village like paul and annette the children of the village spend most of their day doing their lessons in this schoolhouse but not all their time is spent here after school they have fun sledding and skiing swiss boys often become excellent skiers let's watch paul coming down the slope there that was well done skiing is a favorite sport in switzerland and visitors from many countries come to enjoy it after a day of school and sports we'll find annette and paul spending the evening in their warm snug house their home as our most swiss homes is lighted by electricity while mother spins the children finish their school work and father reads the latest paper like most fathers he sometimes gives a little advice too the winter evenings are long but mother keeps busy at her spinning wheel her skillful fingers making yarn later she will knit the yarn into an article of clothing perhaps she is planning to make a cap for a net or a pair of warm stockings or mittens and so the family spends their evening together just as we do in our own homes but the kind of life that these swiss people live has its own kind of daily and yearly pattern it is a pattern that is closely related to the great rugged mountains where they live [Music] you

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