When Hillsdale College almost went broke in the 1950s, a college alumnus and local businessman donated $20,000 a month to keep the college afloat, which is the equivalent of about $200,000 per month in today’s dollars. 

On Nov. 19, students in the documentary filmmaking class premiered “The Pharmacist Who Saved Hillsdale College: How Spike Hennessy Wrote Liberty’s Life-Saving Prescription.”

The 25-minute film begins with Hennessy’s time at Hillsdale College, during which he joined the  cheer squad, The Collegian, and the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. After graduating in 1928, he took over his father’s local pharmacy, Hennessy’s Drug Store.

Adjunct Instructor of Documentary Journalism Buddy Moorehouse said he first heard Hennessy’s story during research for the film “The Price of Independence,” which the class produced in 2023. 

“The documentary was about the battle for financial independence and included in the middle was a throwaway line by Scott Phillips, whose dad was the president here in the 1950s, about a local businessman who kept the lights on for Hillsdale in 1953 when the college was outright broke,” Moorehouse said. “That was Spike Hennessy, and if it weren’t for him, who knows what this place would be. I knew we had to tell the story.”

The film will be posted on YouTube in the near future, Moorehouse said.

Junior Hana Connelly and senior Makenna Banbury wrote the script for the film. Connelly said finding intriguing stories is half the job of a documentary filmmaker.

“There is always a deeper story to be told,” Connelly said. “We all learned through this class that when you dive down those rabbit holes, you find some amazing things.”

Each student in the class also screened a short film of his or her choice from the semester.

Senior Gavin Listro, who co-directed the feature film, screened a short film about Orson Welles’ radio production of “War of the Worlds” from 1938. The film landed Listro a full-time job after graduation, according to Moorehouse. 

Other students produced short films on Hillsdale College alumni and current students. 

Senior and co-director of the feature Isaac Green told the story of senior Greg Whalen, a veteran and musician who released his first EP in August. 

Senior Jillian Parks featured junior Alex and senior Kayla Cho, a sibling duo who run Choba Boba, a boba business on campus. 

Junior Ella Rose Klein researched the Dickerson Gymnasium, which appeared on Hillsdale’s campus in the early 20th century and was Michigan’s first college gymnasium. 

Junior Alexandra Comus told the story of Bion J. Arnold, an alumnus who developed the third rail for the subway system in New York City. 

Banbury and Connelly collaborated on a film that remembered the 1985 NAIA Division I national champion Hillsdale College football team.

Banbury and Connelly interviewed Mark Baker, the kicker of the 1985 football team who now volunteers as the kicking coach for Charger football.

“There’s so much to learn about storytelling from documentary filmmaking,” Banbury said. “It’s a challenge to figure out how the pieces fit together but rewarding when the project comes to life.”

The feature-length film followed Hennessy’s journey with Hillsdale as a member of the board of trustees, an adviser to the president, and an ambassador for the college.

“We found out that Muddy Waters brought Spike with him to negotiate the 1955 Tangerine Bowl appearance,” Moorehouse said. “The NAIA said the Dales couldn’t play unless they left their four black players back home, so Hennessy and Waters declined the invitation after a unanimous vote by the team. That’s consistent with the man we know from the rest of the story.”

The premiere attracted Hillsdale College students, alumni, faculty, and local residents.

Pat Marcher said she moved to Hillsdale when her husband worked for Hennessy in the 1970s. She said the documentary captured Hennessy’s generous spirit.

“Spike was an exceptional man,” Marcher said. “The students honored him with an exceptional film.”