When asked about the inspiration for his stories and the process behind them he states, “The idea for the Obscure Jasper County videos comes from a few places, following the Jasper Together meetings and this idea of promotion of Jasper County I was thinking of ways to contribute. The credit really lies with Hale Johnson for starting the videos into motion. Combing through some articles online I came across this Vice-Presidential candidate who had resided in Jasper County. Having been born and raised in Jasper County and living here a good portion of my adult life, this was news to me. The more I dove into his story and his death the more I thought of ways to share his story with the broader Jasper County community.
The videos all start with a story. As the title suggest I seek to find and retell stories that are lesser-known to residents and former residents of Jasper County. I spend quite a bit of time researching and finding the narrative I want to tell. So far every narrative starts out rather lengthy and I condense it down to a few pages that become the script. From there it’s a matter of collecting the visuals either through photos, public domain images, or videos that I go out and shoot. Depending on the story it might be a few locations, or quite a few. The background music is from an online source, other than that the narration, videos, editing is done in my free time. I feel each generation tells stories and passes on history differently and I see these videos as a way to tell history in the present day, our attention spans have shortened over time and I try to keep my videos around 5 minutes maximum, although a few have gone a little beyond that.
There are a lot of stories to tell, Jasper County has 189 years of history and even some that predates that. I tend to take the stories as they come. I pour a week or so of free time into making each one and then start thinking of ideas for the next.
I am always open to suggestions and any insight, guidance, or background that anyone can provide. Each video starts with a story and everyone has a story worth telling. I welcome anyone that wants help telling their story, please reach out.”
Warfel’s video subjects have included: Hale Johnson, the Origin of Lis (List), the Derixson (Derrickson) Family, Louis Jourdan, and Fox Township.
Jason concludes with “Why tell these stories and do these videos? As it is said at the Lincoln Presidential Museum, “Our past illuminates our future, it tells us who we are and how we got here. As long as these stories are told their experience becomes our experience and our past lives on in us.”
The videos are meant purely for educational purposes and to help facilitate discussion of Jasper County, our past and future. While these videos are a retelling of our history it is done with an eye towards our County’s future. We don’t know where to go if we don’t know where we have been.”
