Viewers can learn about Spike Hennessy ’28, one of the reasons Hillsdale College remains today, in the new student documentary premiere on Nov. 19
Courtesy | Nolan Ryan
The students in this semester’s documentary filmmaking class will premiere “The Pharmacist Who Saved Hillsdale College,” in Plaster Auditorium at 7 p.m. Nov. 19.
The screening will include individual short projects created by the class in addition to the half-hour documentary.
“The Pharmacist Who Saved Hillsdale College” tells the story of Spike Hennessy, a 1928 Hillsdale graduate who used the money he made from his pharmacy business to save the college from bankruptcy.
“It’s the whole story about this guy who no one has ever heard of who stepped forward and saved the college in its time of need,” said Adjunct Instructor of Documentary Journalism Buddy Moorehouse. “It’s a story that no students know, no faculty know. No one has ever heard the name Spike Hennessy before, but certainly if it hadn’t been for him, the college would have folded.”
The story chronicles Hillsdale’s financial struggles of the mid-twentieth century and how Hennessy paid $20,000 per month out of his own pocket until the school recovered. According to dollartimes.com, that is equivalent to almost $230,000 per month in today’s terms.
The purpose of the film is to highlight a man who helped preserve Hillsdale, Moorehouse said.
“Anybody who has any connection at all with Hillsdale College will love hearing this story,” Moorehouse said. “It will give them a new appreciation for what people like Spike Hennessy have done to preserve this school that we all love.”
The film features interviews with College President Larry Arnn, the son of former Hillsdale President Donald Phillips, and several people who knew Hennessy while he was alive.
As instructor of the documentary filmmaking class, Moorehouse said while he decided which story the film would cover, his students have done everything else that goes into production, including research, script-writing, editing, and interviews.
Senior Makenna Banbury, one of the scriptwriters for the documentary, said she has high hopes the story will be entertaining and informative.
“We hope to tell a meaningful story about a man who helped save the college from bankruptcy,” Banbury said. “Come learn how the generosity of a pharmacist saved Hillsdale College from closing its doors.”