Bernard Daly's Promise « The enduring legacy of a place-based scholarship

A very successful first week of filming in the UO Archives (Pearl Hall Collection); at OSU where we filmed Daly scholarship students and others; and in Lakeview where we filmed high school seniors who have applied for the scholarship and community members, including Ellie Barry and Kit Collins — they’re great, an absolute highlight. One of my favorite moments was when Ellie turned to Kit and said, “We used to walk every day and solve all the world’s problems. Then we stopped walking; maybe that’s why there’s so many problems now.” You’ll have to wait for the film to hear what else they had to say…

We’re off to a great start. We’ll be back in Lakeview in late June to film the Daly trustee’s meeting and follow up with the high school students who will learn if they receive the scholarship. Then the hard and slow work of postproduction where much of the magic happens. We still need help to assure that we have sufficient funds for high quality postproduction that will result in a high quality film. Be a part of the growing group of supporters that are bringing the story of Bernard Daly and his scholarship to a national audience.

Hope you’ll join the growing community of supporters of The Daly Promise film by making a donation or investment in the project.

Make a donation (quick and convenient, but not tax-deductible) through our GoFundMe web site or a tax-deductible donation by mailing a check to the Lakeview Community Partnership, 16S S F St., Lakeview, OR 97630 with the note indicating it’s for the “Daly Fund Movie.”
Consider being an investor in the film (minimum $10K). If the film is profitable, investors will receive their initial investment plus a 20% premium and share of profits in proportion to their investment. Please contact me (sam.stern@oregonstate.edu) if you are interested in becoming an investor in the project.

Note: If the film is profitable, 10% of the profits will be given to the Daly Scholarship Fund. The names of all the donors will appear in the end credits and investors will be identified as executive producers.

We begin filming in just a couple of weeks on May 18 at the University of Oregon Archives where we’ll film some of the materials in the Pearl Hall collection, including letters Bernard Daly wrote to Pearl Hall during their long and loving relationship. Through these letters and Daly’s papers, we can hear his voice and gain a glimpse into who he was. He was a good writer. It’s clear that he wrote with thought and care.

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It was just four months ago when we made the first public announcement about our film project at the Lakeview Library back in November. Since then, much has happened. We’re now well into planning for on-location filming during the week of May 18^th. We’re committing to filming without having reached the April 1^st budget target we hoped for. We’re doing so because of our strong belief in the importance of this story and faith that others will join us to make it happen.

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Happy to report that we’re making good progress on the movie, The Daly Promise. Through donations, investments, and grants, we’ve now raised a bit more than half of our target budget of $100,000. Though we still have way to go to assure postproduction for a feature film length documentary, we’re committed to beginning production in May with on location filming in Eugene (UO Archives Pearl Hall Collection), Corvallis (interviews with Daly Scholarship students at OSU) and Lakeview (interviews with Lakeview HS students applying for the scholarship and with others connected to the scholarship).

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Much of Bernard Daly’s life seems to have happened despite great odds. He was only five when he and his family left Ireland, landing in Selma, Alabama during the Civil War. When his parents died, he lived with siblings in different parts of the country and somehow found his way into college and medical school before he finally found his home in Lakeview, Oregon where he would spend the rest of his life.

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On this day, January 5^th, Bernard Daly died on a train bound for San Francisco where he hoped to be treated by medical specialists. Daly never made it to San Francisco; he died enroute, near Livermore, California at 5:30 A.M. on Monday, January 5^th (yes, it was a Monday then too). On the following Sunday, a crowd of about 700, almost everyone who lived in or near Lakeview attended his memorial service.

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This is the earliest photo I’ve found of Bernard Daly — a good looking young man, not yet 30, with an earnest look about him. The photo was taken in 1885 when he graduated from Ohio Normal University in Ada, Ohio. Daly was attracted to Ohio Normal because of its intent to establish a medical program. Though the medical program never developed, Daly did complete the scientific program with courses in anatomy and physiology. Daly was a good student, he earned high grades and in his last year he taught the anatomy class. Disappointed that Ohio Normal did not offer a medical program, Daly went to Kentucky where he enrolled in the well-regarded University of Louisville Medical School.

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Spent day in Lakeview and night at the Lake County Library a few weeks ago. I was there for the public announcement of the feature length documentary about Bernard Daly and the impact of his remarkable scholarship. Having ridden Oregon Outback Highway 31 by bike twice, I always enjoy the drive to Lakeview from Corvallis. A mixture of memories, beautiful landscape and, as happened on my 2016 cross country bike trip, I came across a herd of cattle on the road near Fort Rock (they seemed more interested in me when I was on my bike).

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Several months ago, I got an email from Kim Waltrip, an established and successful film producer, who wanted to talk with me about making a film length documentary based on Bernard Daly’s Promise. It was a complete out-of-the-blue surprise. I’d always known that it’s a compelling story and many people had told me it would make a great movie but, I never imagined it would happen – it’s happening.

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This month is the 100^th anniversary of the Daly scholarship. It was a hundred years ago in June of 1922, when the Daly Fund trustees met in Lakeview to select the first scholarship recipients. It was a big deal then and it still is.

It’s hard to overstate the uniqueness of the Daly scholarship. Daly’s vision that not less than fifteen students would have all their expenses provided for four years of college was unusual. There was no scholarship like that in Oregon or perhaps the entire country.

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Bernard Daly's Promise

The enduring legacy of a place-based scholarship

Our first week of filming…

Filming begins in a couple of weeks…

Belief and faith…

A progress report, more than a hundred years in the making…

Against all odds…

On this day…

Tis the season to be generous… and remember the generosity of Bernard Daly

A day in Lakeview and night at the library

An unexpected very good development…

Bernard Daly’s Promise is 100 years old this month…

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