July 2005 News

Mike and Mark Marshall have created a new discussion group for all persons interested in the subject of the Sultana, the side wheel steamboat that exploded and sank on April 27, 1865 while carrying Union troops home at the end of the Civil War. The disaster is the worst U.S. maritime disaster on record.

Hosted by the popular Google Groups, the purpose of the new discussion platform is to afford everyone with an interest in the tragedy an avenue for securing information, telling about their ancestor(s) who may have been aboard the Sultana, asking questions related to the event or contributing research concerning this unfortunate chapter in our nation’s history. Group members are asked to refrain from any kind of commercialism, personal criticism or objectionable language.  Membership in the group is free and offered on an opt-in basis. Instructions for joining the group are as follows:

To Join the Sultana Memorial Group:
Although this is going to sound like a lot of effort; joining the group is pretty painless. And the good news is that you only have to do it once.
1. Go to http://www.google.com
2. Above the empty box, click on “Groups”.
3. On the left side of the page, click “Join” beside “New users”.
4. Fill in the following information:
a. Your current e-mail address
b. Choose a password
c. Re-enter password
d. Nick name (optional)
e. Type the word you see into the blank box.
5. At the bottom of the page, before you click on “I have read and agree to the terms of use. Create my account”, you might want to click on the “terms of use” link to see what you are agreeing to.
6. You will get a message saying that an activation link has been sent to your e-mail address. Click the “Click here to continue” button.
7. Go to your e-mail program, find the message that has just been sent to you, open it and click on the activation link. This tells Google that you know you are joining a discussion group.
8. Open a new browser window and go to http://www.google.com.
9. Click on “Groups” above the empty box.
10. Type “Sultana Memorial” (without the quote marks) into the box. Click on “Search groups”.
11. Under the “Searched all groups” heading at the top of the page, click on “Related groups: Sultana Memorial”. Click on “Join this group”.
12. Choose one of the options under “How do you want to read this group?”
13. Type in your name or nick name in the box labeled “What nick name do you want people in this group to see?”
14. Click “Join this group”.
15. Once you have joined this group, bookmark the main page of the group for easy access.

To Access the Sultana Memorial Group After Joining It:
If you did not bookmark the group main page, you will need to follow each of these steps to sign into Google Groups to check on what the group has been discussing. If you have the group main page bookmarked, you can simply click the bookmark and start at item 5. to sign into Google Groups so you can reply to new posts.
1. Go to http://www.google.com
2. Click on “Groups” above the box.
3. Type “Sultana Memorial” (without the quote marks) into the box. Click on “Search groups”.
4. Under the “Searched all groups” heading at the top of the page, click on “Sultana Memorial” next to “Related Groups”.
5. On the left side of the page, click “Members sign-in”.
6. On the right side of the page under “Sign in to your Google account”, fill in your e-mail address and password and then click the “Sign In” button.
7. When you are finished with the group, make sure and click on “Sign out” in the upper right corner of the page.
 

June 2005 News

River Rock Entertainment, LLC, an Enid, Oklahoma-based film and video production company, has optioned two screenplays by local writer and college professor, Brian Young.  River Rock partners and brothers, Mike Marshall and Mark Marshall, announced the acquisition today.

The screenplays are opposites in scope and tone according to the partners.  The first, The Girl With The Rainbow Eyes, is an epic fantasy in the vein of  The Lord Of The Rings.  Mr. Young has already completed two additional stories in the saga.  The second script, The Four Horsemen, follows a band of outlaws who must join together when the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse from the biblical book of Revelation are unleashed in the Old West.  "It's an exciting, action-packed story of redemption", explains Mike Marshall.

"We are thrilled to be in business with someone as talented as Brian,"  says Mark Marshall.  "He has a wealth of ideas and thinks very cinematically.  We look forward to continuing our relationship with Brian, and discovering other great writers in the area."

River Rock Entertainment is currently producing Soldiers of Misfortune: The Sultana Disaster, a feature-length documentary exploring the events surrounding the explosion and sinking of the steamboat Sultana, in April, 1865, which killed over 1,800 Union soldiers traveling home at the close of the Civil War.  It remains the worst maritime disaster in U.S. history.  The documentary will be available on VHS and DVD nationwide in 2005.

For more information, please call (580) 541-9363 or email us at riverrock@suddenlink.com .