Directed / Photographed / Edited by John Richard

Production Assistance by James Davies

Music by The Danish String Quartet

Executive Producer, John Mark Nielsen + Museum of Danish America

The Simple Gift of Walnut Grove is a short film about the Danish American experience in the early 20th century through the eyes of Walter Hansen, the son of Hans Hansen a Danish immigrant who came to Iowa from Denmark in 1899 and built a farmstead in eastern Iowa out of native timber and without power tools. It is a stunning place to be, far from the hurry of modern life and in many ways, untouched from what it was 100 years ago. Filming on this project took place over the course of two years.  We also had access to a wonderful collection of medium-format photographic negatives from the family that were digitized and restored for the project. It will be part of an exhibit at the Museum of Danish America, in Elk Horn, Iowa.