2nd showing added for new Forest Grove film

In celebration of the 150^th anniversary and the decade-long rehabilitation of historic Forest Grove School in Bettendorf, Moline-based Fourth Wall Films will premiere their new documentary “Resurrecting Forest Grove” on Saturday, Sept. 23, at 2 p.m. (sold out) and recently added 5 p.m. showing at the Putnam Giant Screen Theater, 1717 W. 12th St., Davenport.

A Q & A with the filmmakers and other film participants will follow each documentary screening. Advance tickets are $9 for adults, and $8 for youth (3-18), seniors, college students, and military, available HERE.

Filmmakers (and spouses) Kelly and Tammy Rundle first visited Forest Grove School (at 24040 Forest Grove Drive, Bettendorf) in 2009 while filming the decaying school in a blizzard for their Emmy-nominated historical documentary Country School: One Room – One Nation. The school appeared to be on the brink of collapse.

In 2012, a small group of preservationists stood before the hollowed-out shell of the unique and historic 1873 Forest Grove School No. 5 and decided it could, and should, be saved.

Forest Grove enrolled upwards of 30 students each year ranging in age from 5 to 14. The children came from within a 2-mile radius to attend school. Bringing along their books, which they had purchased in nearby Princeton, their subjects included math, reading and writing, spelling, geography, history and English, according to the school website.

The school remained in use until 1957, when it was closed and purchased by Delbert Blunk who attended the school when he was a young boy. 

“Resurrecting Forest Grove” cinematically tells the dramatic true story behind the seemingly-impossible task of restoring a vintage one-room school to its 1920s appearance, according to a Wednesday release from Fourth Wall Films.

Footage and interviews gathered over a decade depict the problems they faced and the solutions they employed as they attempted to bring this decaying rural icon back to life. The surprises and successes of this challenging restoration project are intercut with a vivid historical portrait of the “Roaring ’20s” in rural America, the release says.

“It has been an exciting experience to watch and document the ‘resurrection’ of Forest Grove No. 5 over the past decade,” said producer Tammy Rundle. “It took a dedicated and hard-working group of visionaries to bring the school back to life. It is an inspirational story that will make you think twice about saying, ‘It can’t be done.’”

Resurrection began in 2012

Forest Grove School Preservation was founded in 2012 and began restoring the weatherboards of the one-room school soon after. With assistance from Cedar Rapids architect Doug Steinmetz, volunteers worked from historic photos to reconstruct the structure’s bell tower, windows and doors, foundation, roof, floors, and signage. The restoration project was featured in the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s magazine, “Preservation,” in 2018.

Funds were raised for the restoration through community events like pie auctions and trivia nights. Community members provided labor and materials at a discount or no charge, including donations of floorboards and slate chalkboards from three nearby schools, two of which had been demolished.

Restoration of Forest Grove School No. 5 was completed in 2019. The schoolhouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This past May, the school also received official designation as a Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area Site.

The building is open Saturdays, 9:30 a.m.-12 p.m. during the summer, or by appointment. Appointments are available year-round. For more information, visit .

“Resurrecting Forest Grove” was partially funded by grants from Humanities Iowa, a state-based affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Moline Foundation. 

Fourth Wall Films is a four-time Emmy award-winning independent media production company formerly located in Los Angeles, and now based in Moline.

“Remembering Forest Grove,” a 2021 documentary short (10 minutes long) produced by the Rundles, won a Mid-America Emmy Award last year in the Educational (short form) category. The couple also won two Historical Documentary Emmys, along with co-producer Garry McGee, for their feature-length documentary “Jean Seberg: Actress Activist Icon.” Both of the films had their broadcast premiere on WQPT- PBS.

“Remembering Forest Grove” highlights the history of education in the nation, one-room schools in Iowa, on-camera interviews with former teachers and students of Forest Grove School No. 5 and concludes with a visual summary of the successful restoration spearheaded by a group of local dedicated volunteers. The short film can be seen exclusively at the school.

“The Emmy win for ‘Remembering Forest Grove’ is especially sweet to share with the determined, hard-working visionaries, like Sharon Andresen and Barb Andersen, and professionals, volunteers and donors, historians, teachers and students, who brought the educational icon back to life,” director Kelly Rundle said last fall.

For more information about the new documentary, visit the film website HERE.