This past summer, two Goshen College film students, Isabel Massud and Silas Immanuel, dedicated their time to producing a documentary as a Maple Scholars project. Their time has been spent discovering and telling the story of Cora Dale, a talented artist from Goshen who died in a state mental hospital. Their summer term has since ended, but Massud and Immanuel continue developing the documentary.

Dale’s roots in Goshen can be traced to 1889, when her parents built a house downtown when she was 21. As a young adult, Dale traveled to Chicago and found opportunities as a teacher and  musician, studying with leading artists in the city. 

Following the death of her mother in 1918, Dale suffered a mental breakdown at her funeral, resulting in institutionalization at Logansport State Hospital later that day. She died at the hospital in 1941 at the age of 74.  

In 2011, Rich Meyer, the former director of the Cora Dale House, was interested in learning about the clubhouse model for rehabilitation, recovery and reintegration into the community for people struggling with mental illness. 

Meyer spoke of visiting the Carriage House in Fort Wayne, which utilized that same model. “I was astonished at the energy and life of the place … I would like to be part of something like this,” he said.

The Elkhart County Clubhouse, with Meyer providing leadership, bought the Dale house in 2012. “One of my first assignments was to look for a facility,” Meyer said. “I went with the realtor and we decided pretty soon that it was a perfect place for the Clubhouse.” 

At the time, the clubhouse staff was unfamiliar with the family history. The organization was opening a facility in Elkhart, and to avoid having an Elkhart County Clubhouse in Elkhart and Goshen, the Goshen clubhouse changed its name to the Cora Dale House in her honor in 2022.

When Immanuel learned about the history of the Cora Dale House, he immediately recognized the potential for a film. “I found out about Cora Dale when Rich Meyer told the story at my church during a special service,” Immanuel said. “I was moved by how Cora was treated during her time and found that the story resonated with how I feel about the treatment of those around me that I cherish.”

Earlier this year, with the help of faculty adviser Kyle Hufford, Massud and Immanuel began researching Dale’s story and life trajectory. When asked about the challenges in making the documentary, Immanuel spoke on the research process: “It is always a challenge to get the ball rolling for documentaries that are representing a sensitive topic … to get it right. A lot of times that means going back to the drawing board time and time again.”

However, the staff at the Cora Dale House had reconstructed the history in part from personal letters and museum records, which the team had access to. 

To seek more information, the documentary team went to Logansport State Hospital, which holds additional records. Accessing records remains a work in progress for the team. “Unfortunately, because of the way the laws are structured, you have to have a family member to release them,” said Hufford.

Through the challenges, Immanuel was still able to look on the bright side. “There have been many hurdles along the way including the navigation of HIPAA laws that has made this a learning process for both Isabel and I,” he said.

Even without documentation, there was enough information to begin shooting for the documentary -— including embarking on a road trip to Tennessee. In July, Massud and Hufford met Patricia Kirkpatrick, the person responsible for finding all the letters and documents at Dale’s old house. “We drove seven hours down there, talked with her, spent the night and drove seven hours up here again … it was crazy,” Massud said.

Hufford said they are using creative ways to tell the story. “Finding those visual pieces is the real challenge and it’s causing us to do reenactment with some actors, trying to find something that symbolizes what happened in a visual way,” he said.

Even without some pieces to contribute to the work, most of their storyline is done. “What is incomplete is the rest of the scenes to be shot with the actors, the graphics, one or two interviews and the filling-the-gaps process,” Massud said.

In September, the Community Foundation of Elkhart County awarded a $7,500 grant to the  project. “We are still working on a lot of big details but, crossing our fingers,” Hufford said. “The expectation is that we will release it in the spring semester.”  

The creators believe that the subject matter the film covers is important, and hope it can inform and expand people’s thoughts about both Dale and mental health. 

“I think it’s really that awareness piece, people knowing that if they need help, the Cora Dale House is here and also to help break the stigma of mental illness,” Hufford said. “I want people to realize that it’s not something to be ashamed of.”