‘WHEN RUBBER HIT THE ROAD’: Local Doc Details Closure of Uniroyal Tire Plant
film will premiere May 3 at Pablo Center
In January 1991, employees of Eau Claire’s Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Co. plant – and the community as a whole – felt the devastating impact as the city’s largest employer announced its imminent closure. The stories of those impacted by that event are now being brought to the big screen in When Rubber Hit the Road, a new film by local documentarians B.J. Hollars and Steve Dayton.
The hour-long documentary will premiere at The Pablo Center at the Confluence on Friday, May 3, followed by a Q&A with several factory workers featured in the film, former Local 19 Union President Darrel Wekkin, and the filmmakers themselves.
The idea to make a documentary about the plant closure took root in a setting that signifies community just as much as the story itself: sitting around a campfire. Dayton and Hollars, a pair of longtime friends, decided they wanted to work together to tell this story in a way that’s never been done before – and tell it before it can’t be told again. This prompted the creation of Fireside Productions LLC, Dayton and Hollars’ production company.
The two spent the next 18 months researching, interviewing, and filming When Rubber Hit the Road, using their partnership to play to their strengths, Hollars as the researcher and Dayton with his knowledge of filmmaking and editing. The film itself speaks to the perseverance of the community, one that is still present today.
“We are acutely aware of what a sacred story this is for this region. We’re fully committed to doing our best in showcasing all perspectives and trying to tell a version of (the story) that people have never heard before.”
B.J. Hollars
local author and documentarian
“This is sort of like one of the most important regional stories in our city’s history in terms of economic transition and these sorts of things, that’s got new relevancy with recent developments here in town,” Hollars said, alluding to the recent closure of Sacred Heart and St. Joseph’s hospitals. “So I think we are acutely aware of what a sacred story this is for this region. We’re fully committed to doing our best in showcasing all perspectives and trying to tell a version of (the story) that people have never heard before.”
Due to coverage of the closure available from the Chippewa Valley Museum and WEAU 13 News, the film will blend old and new interviews to paint a picture of how the event impacted the community then and how it continues to affect those involved even now. Local music will be showcased in the film as well, namely by Humbird, Them Coulee Boys, and Jerrika Mighelle, whose father was working at Uniroyal at the time of its closure and was interviewed for the film.
Knowing that they couldn’t fit every part of people’s stories into the documentary, Dayton and Hollars also released a limited podcast series leading up to the premiere, to allow for the totality of their stories to be told. The podcast can be found on the Fireside Productions website.
After the film’s premiere, the filmmakers hope to have it screened locally in additional places. “We're open to showing it to anybody who wants to see it,” Dayton said. “So if anybody does have a place that wants to screen it, we will definitely do that.”
Dayton and Hollars are excited to show the film to the community, wanting to continue to uplift the voices of those who may not have had their stories told in the past, knowing that the communal resilience helped pave the way to the Eau Claire community’s present and future.
“This is our story and we need everyone to come out and support us,” Hollars said. “Even if you think you know the story, you don't know the story in full, and it’s more timely than ever.”
“I think people learn lessons about living life,” Dayton added. “I think that's like my biggest takeaway from it is. The lessons that are in the movie are something that I think about and try to apply to how I move throughout the world.”
Purchase tickets to the premiere on The Pablo Center website and learn more about Fireside Productions LLC at firesideproductionsllc.com.
