Charles E. Krosse Collection
Inclusive Dates
1916 – 1970
Bulk Dates
1935 – 1953
Preservation Sponsor
Abstract
The Charles E. Krosse Collection contains films produced and/or distributed by a Peoria film production company, C.L. Venard Productions, a company that became known for its educational films dealing with agricultural subject matter. It was donated to CFA by Charles E. Krosse, who previously worked in the Marketing division at Caterpillar.
The collection contains both 16mm and 35mm films, a number of which may also be titles that Venard employees collected. Included in the collection are promotional and in-house training films made for Caterpillar, a fundraising film made for the city of Peoria, some soft-core erotic shorts, animated shorts, silent films about rural life, and home movies.
The collection contains both 16mm and 35mm films, a number of which may also be titles that Venard employees collected. Included in the collection are promotional and in-house training films made for Caterpillar, a fundraising film made for the city of Peoria, some soft-core erotic shorts, animated shorts, silent films about rural life, and home movies.
Description
The Charles E. Krosse Collection contains films produced and/or distributed by a Peoria film production company, C.L. Venard Productions. Krosse, who previously worked in the Marketing division at Caterpillar, donated the collection to CFA.
From the teens until the early 1980s, the company offered the full range of film services to the Peoria region including selling and renting film equipment, producing sponsored films for local business, and distributing national and international films to local audiences. Over time Venard Productions became known for its educational films dealing with agricultural subject matters and they developed a very close relationship with the Future Farmers of America. Venard made films for corporate clients including Caterpillar, Republic Steel Corp., Keystone Steel and Wire, and Crow’s Hybrid Corn Company. Their distribution wings offered educational films produced by the United States Department of Agriculture, as well as comedies, newsreels, and feature length narratives.
From the teens until the early 1980s, the company offered the full range of film services to the Peoria region including selling and renting film equipment, producing sponsored films for local business, and distributing national and international films to local audiences. Over time Venard Productions became known for its educational films dealing with agricultural subject matters and they developed a very close relationship with the Future Farmers of America. Venard made films for corporate clients including Caterpillar, Republic Steel Corp., Keystone Steel and Wire, and Crow’s Hybrid Corn Company. Their distribution wings offered educational films produced by the United States Department of Agriculture, as well as comedies, newsreels, and feature length narratives.
Collection Items
![[Snow King - 1938]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/5/5/51868_ca_object_representations_media_5579_large.jpg)
![[Auto Racing]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/2/0/3863_ca_object_representations_media_2076_large.jpg)
![First Degree, The [Reel 2]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/6/0/16428_ca_object_representations_media_6056_large.jpg)
![First Degree, The [Reel 1]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/6/0/32104_ca_object_representations_media_6055_large.jpg)
![First Degree, The [Reel 4]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/6/0/74914_ca_object_representations_media_6058_large.jpg)
![Some Pun’kins [Reel 4]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/6/0/39047_ca_object_representations_media_6067_large.jpg)
![Some Pun’kins [Reel 6]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/6/1/21034_ca_object_representations_media_6144_large.jpg)
![Charge It [Reel 1]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/6/0/95199_ca_object_representations_media_6050_large.jpg)
![First Degree, The [Reel 5]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/6/0/97752_ca_object_representations_media_6059_large.jpg)
![First Degree, The [Reel 3]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/6/0/81231_ca_object_representations_media_6057_large.jpg)
![[Keystone "Galvannealed" Square Deal Fence]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/4/6/21482_ca_object_representations_media_4661_large.jpg)
![[Peoria Community Fund Campaign Film]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/4/2/17139_ca_object_representations_media_4253_large.jpg)
![The Kingdom Within [Reel 4]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/6/0/70382_ca_object_representations_media_6066_large.jpg)
![The Kingdom Within [Reel 1]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/6/0/31969_ca_object_representations_media_6065_large.jpg)
![Charge It [Reel 3]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/6/0/12142_ca_object_representations_media_6052_large.jpg)
![A Citrate Special [Fragment]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/4/2/71981_ca_object_representations_media_4250_large.jpg)
![Charge It [Reel 7]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/6/0/10926_ca_object_representations_media_6053_large.jpg)
![[Unidentified Comedy Short]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/6/1/28834_ca_object_representations_media_6145_large.jpg)
![[Snipe: Jitterbug Contest]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/4/0/23802_ca_object_representations_media_4034_large.jpg)
![[Snipe: Sneak Preview of 'The Awful Truth']](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/4/0/39883_ca_object_representations_media_4035_large.jpg)
![["Official Spanish Civil War Pictures" Trailer]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/4/0/74624_ca_object_representations_media_4036_large.jpg)
![[Snipe: Halloween Midnight Party]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/4/0/26097_ca_object_representations_media_4037_large.jpg)
![[Snipe: Air Conditioning]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/4/0/83515_ca_object_representations_media_4040_large.jpg)
![[Allis-Chalmers Advertisement]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/4/0/77358_ca_object_representations_media_4039_large.jpg)
![[Snipe: Theatre Gift Coupon Books]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/4/0/18626_ca_object_representations_media_4041_large.jpg)
![[Snipe: Performance of 'Pirate Gold']](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/4/0/38862_ca_object_representations_media_4045_large.jpg)
![[Sears Paint, Varnish, & Wallpaper]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/6/1/69306_ca_object_representations_media_6147_large.jpg)
![Charge It [Reel 2]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/6/0/12994_ca_object_representations_media_6051_large.jpg)
![[Screen Test]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/4/0/57604_ca_object_representations_media_4086_large.jpg)
To request more information about the items in this collection, please contact the archive at
info@chicagofilmarchives.org.
Items with Viewable Media
- 1920s Film at Caterpillar Tractors
- Aesop’s Fable: Snow Time
- Airport Maintenance & Construction
- All the Way with Oil
- [Allis-Chalmers Advertisement]
- Artificial Respiration
- [Auto Racing]
- Bathing Beauties and Big Boobs
- Behind the Breakfast Plate (Reel 1/2)
- Behind the Breakfast Plate (Reel 2/2)
- [Betty Johnson Screen Test for The Green Hand]
- Bosko’s Holiday
- Built to Take It
- Buried Treasure
- Camera Original Color, Caterpillar Tractor
- Caterpillar and You
- Caterpillar Cam. Orig.
- Caterpillar Cam. Orig.
- Caterpillar Film
- Caterpillar, The
- Caterpillar Tractors in Orchards
- Charge It [Reel 1]
- Charge It [Reel 2]
- Charge It [Reel 3]
- Charge It [Reel 7]
- A Citrate Special [Fragment]
- Crops or Canyons
- Diesel Film
- Diesel Simplicity
- Diesel Simplicity
- Diesel Trail to the Orient, The
- Diesels in Western Woods
- The Dog and the Flea (Aesop's Fables)
- Earthmoving
- Earthmoving
- [End Credits for 'College Humor' (1933)]
- Eureka Pumpkin Fest
- Extra Values
- Film Fragment Caterpillar
- First Degree, The [Reel 1]
- First Degree, The [Reel 2]
- First Degree, The [Reel 3]
- First Degree, The [Reel 4]
- First Degree, The [Reel 5]
- Forward March!
- Forward with Diesel Engines
- From Bank to Bank
- Frozen Frolics
- Gangway
- Goer
- Goer
- Grazing on the National Forests
- [Green Hand Last Speech Cuts]
- Hands Across the City
- Hands Across the City: Answer Print
- Hands Across the City: Negative
- Hands Across the City: Release Print
- Here Comes Malicious
- Home Cooking (Reel 2/2)
- Home Keeping of Jim (Reel 2/2)
- Home Keeping of Jim, The
- [Home Movie]
- How the Caterpillar Combine Saves the Grain
- Industrial Uses of Caterpillar Tractor
- Keystone Barn Dance Party
- [Keystone "Galvannealed" Square Deal Fence]
- The Kingdom Within [Reel 1]
- The Kingdom Within [Reel 4]
- Krazy Kat: Held for Ransom
- Land Filling with the LaPlant Choate Hydraulic Treedozer
- Let’s Go Diesel
- Let’s Go Diesel Film Fragments (Caterpillar)
- Los Tractores Caterpillar en Costa Rica
- Meat for Health
- Milk, Butter and Cheese
- Mobility
- ["Official Spanish Civil War Pictures" Trailer]
- Out of the Shadows (Reel 1/2)
- Out of the Shadows (Reel 2/2)
- Palace Theatre Presents "Making Talkies"
- Pathe Topics of the Day / Leap Year
- Paying the Piper
- Paying the Piper: Answer Print
- Paying the Piper: Negative
- Paying the Piper: Negative Optical Track
- Paying the Piper: Release Print
- Plymouth News, The
- Red Bikini Girl 4 Rolls
- Rheims
- [Sears Paint, Varnish, & Wallpaper]
- Skating Hounds
- [Snipe: Air Conditioning]
- [Snipe: Halloween Midnight Party]
- [Snipe: Jitterbug Contest]
- [Snipe: Performance of 'Pirate Gold']
- [Snipe: Sneak Preview of 'The Awful Truth']
- [Snipe: Theatre Gift Coupon Books]
- [Snow King - 1938]
- Snow Removal with Caterpillar Tractors
- Snow Removal with Caterpillar Tractors
- Some Pun’kins [Reel 4]
- Some Pun’kins [Reel 6]
- Sound Test #2 - Misc. Credit Sequences & Trailers
- Story of Gasoline (Reel 1/3)
- Story of Gasoline (Reel 2/3)
- Story of Gasoline (Reel 3/3)
- Ten Ways to Win
- Terry-Toons: Holland Days
- Today’s Frontiers
- Trails to Highways (Part 1)
- Trails to Highways (Part 1)
- Trees
- [Unidentified Comedy Short]
- [Unknown] - Rhumba - Bird Dance - Cabaret Temptation - La Modiste - Star and Garter - Hollywood Beauties - Underwater Ballet
- Ups and Downs
- [Variety Show at Peoria's Palace Theater]: Answer Print
- [Variety Show at Peoria's Palace Theater]: Negative Optical Track
- [Variety Show at Peoria's Palace Theater]: Negative [Picture Track]
- [Variety Show at Peoria's Palace Theater]: Release Print
- Volunteer Worker
- Why Your Dollar Buys Less
Collection Identifier
C.2006-10
Extent of Collection
61 reels of 16mm film totaling 21,740 feet; 59 reels of 35mm film totaling approximately 36,190 feet.
Language Of Materials
English
Subject
Custodial History
The collection previously resided with Charles E. Krosse of Peoria, IL, who no longer had interest in storing the films. Krosse obtained the collection from producer/distributor C.L. Venard some time in the 1980s. Some nitrate in the collection was burned before arriving at CFA. Carolyn Faber transported the films from Peoria to Chicago.
Related Materials
The Gary Smith-C.L. Venard Collection contains more films produced and distributed by the Venard Organization.
Related Collections
Access Restrictions
This collection is open to on-site access. Appointments must be made with Chicago Film Archives. Due to the fragile nature of the films, only video copies will be provided for on-site viewing.
Use Restrictions
The Caterpillar Corp. owns rights to some of these films. Copyright is unknown on C.L. Venard films. CFA owns rights to the few home movies in the collection and to any films made before 1928.
Creators
Venard, C.L.
(was created by)
Venard Organization
(was created by)
Charles Lester Venard (1884-1981) worked as a photographer and filmmaker in southern Illinois from 1908 to 1970. His film company, C.L. Venard Productions, created and distributed a wide range of industrial and educational films, mostly on agricultural and farming subjects.
Born in Burlington, Kansas in 1884 to George W. and Mary Ann (Tuley) Venard, Charles started working at a photography studio at the age of 14. From 1901 to 1903, he was a photographer's assistant in Emporia, Kansas. In 1904, he moved to St. Louis and photographed the opening of the World's Fair.
In 1907 he married Alma Primm, and in 1908 the couple moved to Peoria, Illinois, where Charles set up his own photography studio, Venard Studio. After a stint in Lincoln, IL from 1912 to 1917, where Charles' studio became known for its portraits of the wives and girlfriends of state legislators, the Venards returned to Peoria. Alma and Charles had two sons there, William Primm (b. 1921) and James George (b. 1924).
Upon his return to Peoria, Venard transformed his business to include producing and distributing agricultural films. The Venard Photographic Company became the Venard Film Corporation in 1921, operating out of the Orpheum Theater Building in Peoria. Venard was one of the first residents of the area to own an airplane, shooting industrial plants and farms aerially for his motion picture productions.
Venard married Frances Brubaker, a script writer for Venard Film Studios, in 1941, and adopted her son, James J. During World War II, the Venards were known for the open houses they had for soldiers on leave from Camp Ellis: they often provided free room and board for as many as 14 soldiers in their five-room house. From 1944 to 1967, Charles and Frances ran The Venard Organization as a team.
Charles Venard retired in 1970, and passed away in Florida in 1982 at age 97.
The Venard Organization (formerly C.L. Venard Productions) was a full-service film provider for southern Illinois from 1917 until the early 1980s. The company offered a full range of film services to the Peoria region including selling and renting film equipment, producing sponsored films for local business, and distributing national and international films to local audiences.
Over time Venard Productions became known for its educational films dealing with agricultural subject matters. The company developed a close relationship with the Future Farmers of America, for whom they made an annual series on the winner of the FFA Four Star Farmers Award. The series won numerous national awards, including honors from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and National Vocational Agricultural Teachers Association. The Venard Organization also made films for corporate clients including Caterpillar, John Deere, International Harvester, Republic Steel Corp., Keystone Steel & Wire, and Crow’s Hybrid Corn Company. Their distribution wing offered educational films produced by the United States Department of Agriculture, as well as comedies, newsreels, and feature length narratives.
Over time Venard Productions became known for its educational films dealing with agricultural subject matters. The company developed a close relationship with the Future Farmers of America, for whom they made an annual series on the winner of the FFA Four Star Farmers Award. The series won numerous national awards, including honors from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and National Vocational Agricultural Teachers Association. The Venard Organization also made films for corporate clients including Caterpillar, John Deere, International Harvester, Republic Steel Corp., Keystone Steel & Wire, and Crow’s Hybrid Corn Company. Their distribution wing offered educational films produced by the United States Department of Agriculture, as well as comedies, newsreels, and feature length narratives.