Feb. 3, 2023  |  By Laura Hardie  |  Correspondent

*George Woodard's parents, George and Theresa. Woodard family photo*

For Waterbury farmer George Woodard, life on the farm isn't just a way of life. It's what inspires him to entertain people through music and theatre.

“When I was in high school, my senior year, I discovered theatre and acting. Community theatre is the best thing in the world, second only to milk,” Woodard said on a recent Monday evening as his fans chuckled. They came to learn about his films and see his photo exhibit on display at the Kellogg-Hubbard Library in Montpelier.

An accomplished actor, director, and a bona fide local celebrity, Woodard shared about his life on the farm and his family history and gave a peek into his film-making process.

While showing a montage of his film and theatre posters, 70-year-old Woodard inserted bits of humor on a black screen with white text that read, “but always home to milk the cows,” and “but always drink whole milk.”

He also played a sneak peek from his new movie, “The Farm Boy,” which will screen for the first time this spring alongside his first feature-length film, “The Summer of Walter Hacks.”

Woodard began making World War II-era “The Farm Boy” in 2016. Set in December 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge, he says it took over six years to make between doing farm chores and searching for snow.

“Those friggin' German winters. That was a problem because the snow would disappear in mid-March. Well, gotta wait until next winter!” Woodard said.

*George Woodard with a portrait of his parents, Theresa and George, the inspiration for his new feature-length film, “The Farm Boy.” Photo by Laura Hardie*

“The Farm Boy” is inspired by his parents, George and Teresa, both from farm families and the second generation to live and work at Woodard Farm in Waterbury Center.

He described how his grandfather bought the farm in 1912.

“The deed said 10 cows, some chickens, two horses, and one of 'em ain't that good,” Woodard said in the comedic speak-singy style he's known for.

The film follows his parents as they meet at a barn dance, fall in love, get separated during World War II, and come back together.

“We have a fantastic scene where the farm girl asks her father about going on a date, and they are milking cows. She's milking one cow, and he's milking the other, and they are just talking. It's not something that anyone will experience much anymore,” Woodard shared. “ wanted to present a time period that people my age will look at and relate to, and younger people can look at it and see a type of lifestyle that is gone,” Woodard said.

Woodard kicked off the library event with a slideshow of black-and-white family photos that were on display for January. The photos set the stage for understanding “The Farm Boy,” which brings to life letters Woodard's parents wrote, including how they called each other “darling,” stories they shared, and extensive research on World War II-era times.

“When you have all those young men that are over there, you can take one soldier and follow his story, and you can make up things if you have the right specifics to go along with it,” Woodard described of the moment that sparked his idea for the “The Farm Boy.”

“My father [George] was the oldest. He’s the one on the right. Everything was done with horses, including riding to town and everything. They did buy a tractor in the late 30s. At the same time, Walter bought a truck and a milk route so his oldest son would have some work to do.” - George Woodard/family photo

After he saw a World War II film that involved a truck wreck, he recounted how he was left wondering what the driver's story would be if he had survived. Thankfully, he said, his father lived to tell his story and start a family.

“When George got back after World War II, they had four children,” Woodard said. “Bernard was the oldest, Joanna was the girl, Steve was the youngest, and I was the good one,” he chuckled. “Growing up on the farm, there are all kinds of adventures, and you can be all over the place.”

Woodard's creative process

*George Woodard and one of the military vehicles he purchased for the filming of “The Farm Boy.” Photo by Laura Hardie*

All of Woodard's short and feature-length films are entirely shot in Vermont, with many scenes filmed on his 200 acres of farmland. They're shot in color and converted to black and white. Woodard says the format allows him to convey emotions that can't be achieved with color.

Woodard earned his filmmaking and acting chops in California in the 1980s. He was there for three years while his brother Steve watched over the farm. He returned to Vermont on a mission to make films and perform in his home state.

“I felt like they weren't doing anything out there that you couldn't do anywhere if you had a camera, lights, and actors,” Woodard said. “Me and Steve played music here, there, and everywhere, but not until we had the cows milked at night, and we were always back to milk in the morning. Then there was the theatre. Oh, the theatre.”

The theatre he speaks fondly of is his brainchild, The Ground Hog Opry. As The Times Argus described: it's where “Saturday Night Live meets the ‘hick set’” and it “has been part of the back-side-of-Vermont entertainment landscape since its first tour in 1995.”

The live performances were held in every corner of the state, with the last one in 2017. A Seven Days article said, “the Opry draws fans like flies to, well, cow plop.”

Income from the successful Opry funded “The Summer of Walter Hacks,” which was released in 2009. Woodard describes it as a Western adventure movie set in Vermont, with an 11-year-old boy as the “cowboy.”

“It's about a boy that has great adventures. There’s a runaway stagecoach, but the stagecoach is an old farm tractor,” Woodard described.

His biggest compliment yet? “I've had two 11-year-old boys tell me when we screened Walter Hacks that this was the best movie they'd ever seen,” Woodard recalled. “If you've got a kid, 11 years old, that's seen Star Wars and the Harry Potters, and they are saying this is the best movie they've ever seen, that's something.”

Woodard's son Henry, now 30 years old, is the central character in both “The Summer of Walter Hacks” and “The Farm Boy.” The cast for Woodard’s films have included other family members and many first-time actors from across Vermont, primarily from the Lamoille County Players.

“After the first movie, Henry said, 'Never again,' and then 15 years went by, and he said, ‘Well, it wasn't too bad.’ I asked him if he wanted to do it again, and he said yes, so time will ease all pain,” Woodard chuckled.

Funding for “The Farm Boy” also came from the Opry and a GoFundMe campaign that the film's producer Joan Brace O'Neal set up.

Woodard hopes the new film will resonate with his audience as much as the first.

“When we did Walter Hacks, I had a lot of older people come up to me after and say, that was me when I was a kid,’” Woodard said. “I hope it's the same with the Farm Boy. Unfortunately, a lot of the World War II veterans are gone now, but there are still a lot of veterans, and I hope we've made something that is honest that they would appreciate.”

Always An Entertainer and a Farmer

Though Woodard sold most of his dairy cows last year, he still has one that supplies milk to his family members and a neighbor. He also has a small herd of beef cattle and sells the meat locally.

Between chores, he says he's finishing up the final edits to "The Farm Boy," which will be about two hours long. He's considering selling both of his feature-length films for broader distribution, but for now, the only way to see them is when they're screened locally in Vermont. He says his mission is to entertain as many people as he can.

“There's got to be stuff in it that makes people have some emotions. You want people to cry. You want people to smile," Woodard said.

On that recent Monday night, Bob Nuner of Montpelier, a friend and fan of Woodard’s work, came to the Montpelier speaking event. “I’ve known him for a long time, and he impresses me, and he doesn’t seem to be able to stop impressing me,” Nuner said of Woodard and his work. “I have to talk to him about that and make him stop.”

That’s a compliment that might just make Woodard smile in return.

Scenes from ‘The Farm Boy’

Henry Woodard as Calvin Dillard in 'The Farm Boy.' Photo courtesy Hanging Mudflap Productions

Jan Bailey as Ruth and Ramona Godfrey as Ms. Edith in a scene from 'The Farm Boy.' Photo courtesy Hanging Mudflap Productions

Carrie Cook, Tristan Henderson, Mark Struhsacker and Pete Sutherland perform music for the barn dance in 'The Farm Boy.' Photo courtesy Hanging Mudflap Productions