OREGON — The Harlem Veteran Project will be hosting a free viewing of "Take Your Own Notes", a documentary featuring five female veterans from the region, at the Coliseum Museum of Art, Antiquities & Americana at 124 N. 4th St. in Oregon on Nov. 16 at 4 p.m.
The documentary features Mt. Morris native Erin Dietrich, who owns Patriot Barber Shop in Oregon, along with area veterans Melissa Beckford, Melody Brocato, Milana Herman and Stephanie Jordan. “Take Your Own Notes” was made by Harlem High School film students from 2019-2022 and has been selected by the St. Louis Film Festival, Beloit International Film Festival, and Mosaic World Film Festival.
After graduating from Oregon High School in 1999, Dietrich enlisted in the United States Army and went to basic training at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. She was then recruited to go to airborne school at Fort Benning, Georgia and was stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Dietrich was deployed to Kosovo and Kandahar, Afghanistan. She got out of the service in 2004 after serving just over five years.
While going to therapy through the VA a few years ago, Dietrich’s therapist told her about the Harlem Vet Project and said she should reach out. And she did. Dietrich did a phone interview and later an interview in person at her parents’ house.
“I finally met all of the other ladies in the documentary and we learned we were all very parallel,” Dietrich said. “I didn't get to see anything about the documentary until it came out. It just gives a different viewpoint. It talks about veterans from a female perspective and what we see and how we're entangled, intertwined and how we parallel each other.”
The Harlem Vet Project interviews and produces documentaries of American veterans. During the 10 years of the program, it has interviewed over 200 veterans (World War II through the War in Afghanistan) and produced over 150 documentaries.
“Take Your Own Notes” was a larger undertaking by the program, which landed it at film festivals. Participating in the project helped Dietrich to come to terms with parts of her service and the journey she’s been on since.
“I knew I needed help and I knew I needed to process my service even after I had been out for so many years,” Dietrich said. “I advocated for myself and told my story. I've found that since I've been on this path in life of trying to re-figure out who I am, it's actually gone really well to advocate for myself and talk with people. This documentary is not about me. It has some things that people may relate to. I don't find myself interesting, but other people might.”
Dietrich said the Harlem program wanted to show the documentary in local communities before submitting it to a larger online platform. Dietrich asked if they’d be interested in showing it at the Coliseum, and after viewing the space it was put on the books.
When Dietrich watched the documentary for the first time, she enjoyed how it paralleled the veterans’ stories and was interested in the similarities of what they went through.
“I felt less alone than I'd ever felt,” Dietrich said. “That brought up a lot of emotion for me. I got a little bit of peace in knowing I wasn't alone in what I went through. I didn't know that until I went through the whole process. It was therapeutic for me. I didn't know I had sisters like these women from all different walks of life. It's an eclectic group of females and we all went through the same experiences in a lot of ways.”
Dietrich doesn’t believe the documentary or her service were really about her. She believes women that join the armed forces do it for the same reason as everyone else: to serve their country. She chose to participate in the documentary in hopes someone like her would see it and feel less alone.
Dietrich opened Patriot Barbershop in Oregon in 2020. The business honors veterans with their photos adorning the walls. Dietrich welcomes fellow veterans to come inside and get their hair cut, or just to talk. Showing the documentary locally will be emotional for her.
“This shop here was kind of like a punch back for me,” Dietrich said. “I started doing therapy and I'd been a stay-at-home mom for all of the years since I'd gotten out of the service. I'd essentially just let my service go away. I was angry about it and didn't want anything to do with it. I was just going to forget about it and be done. As I was taking time to heal from one thing after another, I was able to be there for other people years later. That was the birth of this barber shop, not having anything or anyone I could talk about my experiences with. I have my people here, and I never expected to see them again. They come in the form of the folks on the wall, or folks who come in the door using a walker, or a father of someone who served. Maybe I can make a difference in a micro way. Even if it's just one person walking through the door. Service is something you can't really relate to unless you served yourself. I'm here for people. And it's therapeutic for me too.”
