Congress has declared 2003 the "Year of the Blues."
To celebrate WBGU-PBS collaborated on this hour long documentary that celebrates the "Blues" in our area.

During the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s, Hines Farm was the location of one of the premier blues clubs in the United States. Located in Swanton, Ohio, a rural community just outside Toledo, Hines Farm featured a who’s who of blues and jazz entertainers, and served as a cultural center for African-Americans.

"Frank and Sarah Hines, the original owners of the club, created a place that was so special and unique," says Marlene Harris-Taylor, co-producer of the documentary. "Some people called it a country club for black folks because they had everything from baseball to motorcycle racing, and of course some of the best musicians in the world performed there."

The festive environment attracted large crowds and musicians such as John Lee Hooker, Freddie King, Bobby "Blue" Bland and B.B. King.

"We used to play out there quite often, sometimes seemed to me about two or three times a year," says the legendary B.B. King about the old times spent at Hines Farm. "They had good food, good music and pretty girls."

The idea for the documentary came out of co-producer Dr. Matthew Donahue’s book, I'll Take You There: An Oral and Photographic History of the Hines Farm Blues Club.

"Through working on the book on Hines Farm, and now the documentary, I have been given a unique opportunity to meet and work with so many amazing performers and contributors to blues music," says Donahue. "I truly feel that my book and this documentary will make a valuable contribution to not only our regional history in reference to blues music, African American culture and popular culture as a whole, but also have lasting effects on a historical level nationally,"

Internationally Acclaimed Theme
The Hines Farm story has attained national and international acclaim via myriad blues magazine and journal articles. Dr. Matthew A. Donahue at Bowling Green State University has authored a descriptive volume providing major research for the documentary.

Award-winning Producer
The film will be co-produced by Donahue and WBGU TV's award-winning producer, Marlene Harris-Taylor. Marlene has produced documentaries distributed throughout the PBS system.

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