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By Ken Cleveland Landmark Correspondent HOLDEN — When Royce Singleton retired, he finally had time to look through copies of letters from World War II. The correspondence between his parents, Becky and Royce Singleton, captured a 13-month span while his father was a Navy fighter pilot in the Pacific theater. “I knew that he fought in World War II, but I did not know anything about his combat experience. Like so many veterans, he never talked to me or my siblings about the war years,” Singleton said. But the letters formed the basis for a book, At Home and at Sea, that showed the life the couple lived separated by distance and war, focused on the servicemen who fought the battles at sea and the families who fought to hold things together at home. “Both were born in 1921,” Singleton said. His father died in 2002 and his mother in 2005. “I’m not sure when I was first aware of the letters. My parents gave them to my sister when they were in their 70s. She gave them to my youngest brother, who made pdf copies and downloaded them to a CD to share. “I did not start reading them in earnest until I retired in 2009. I was inspired to tell their story after reading over 200 letters that they wrote to one another during the war.” A professor emeritus of sociology at the College of the Holy Cross, Singleton has academic publications to his credit, but this is his first book for the mass market. “We have copies of about 500 letters that my parents wrote to one another in the first 20 years of their married life. At first, I planned to use the letters to write a family history. I began by reading letters written in […]

By Ken Cleveland Landmark Correspondent HOLDEN — One Door Closes: Korey’s Courage impressed at the recent Massachusetts Independent Film Festival, winning the award for Best Local Feature. That win may lead to more opportunities for the local filmmaker behind the production, Tom Ingrassia of Holden. The film was one of 90 selected for the festival from the 360 submissions, with showings held in Worcester and Southbridge in April. “For the first time this year, the festival offered a virtual screening option, in addition to in-person screenings,” Ingrassia said. “I decided to take advantage of the virtual option, since that made it possible for people anywhere in the country to watch One Door Closes. I know that we had viewers in New York, California, and other places.” Attending the awards ceremony with director Anna Walsh and associate producer Jared Chrudimsky of Holden, “I was absolutely blown away when ‘One Door Closes: Korey’s Courage’ was announced as the winner of the Best Local Feature trophy,” Ingrassia said. “And I guess my shock showed. After we received our award, Anna said, ‘You were really surprised, weren’t you?’ Yes, I was! You always think that your own work is good. You always hope that it is award-worthy. But you never know for sure how others will react to the work you have produced.” The award is the culmination of the years-long process of making the film. “To be recognized by our peers is priceless. This award is validation that the vision Jared and I had 11 years ago, when we started writing One Door Closes: Overcoming Adversity By Following Your Dreams (the book on which the documentary is based) was on target. And, it makes the 7-year-long process of turning the written word into a documentary film so worthwhile! There were many times that […]