Our American Family

Our American Family: The Youngs profiles Darwyn Young, his wife Pauline and their eight children who labored as tenant farmers while nurturing a dream of one day owning their own land. The documentary chronicles their family journey, where reliance upon one another and their faith were the glue that held the family together through the extreme hardships of the Depression and the Great War.

Life in the remote company-owned town of Madrid in the 1920s and '30s was a mixture of hard, dangerous work offset by the joy of baseball and celebrations. Our American Family: The Barreras tell the extraordinary story of a Latino American family with an unwavering commitment to staying together.

Our American Family: The Furutas captures the story of a Japanese-American family. Following years in an Arizona relocation camp, their indomitable spirit prevails as they return home to California and band together to pursue the American dream a second time.

Our American Family: The Clarks traces the lives of this African-American family with seven children as they employ humor, resourcefulness and respect for all to move through the Great Depression, WWII, and racial tension.

Our American Family: The Smiths profiles Willie and Rena Smith of Goldthwaite, Texas and their seven children. The film tells the story of a family whose patriach dies at an early age leaving the mother to raise seven children ages 18 months to 14 years old.

Courage brought 17-year-old Jacob May to the US from Germany in 1879 in search of a better life. That same courage enabled his family to rescue 200 Jews from Nazi Germany. Deeply committed to one another, bolstered by good humor, theirs is a story of fearless hope and courage.

To sustain their farm and dairy delivery in Gilford, NH, Charles and Aurora Bolduc taught their 13 growing children the values of hard work and helping others. Also owners of the world's longest continuously operating maple syrup operation, they carry on a centuries-old tradition of perseverance required to distill 30 gallons of sap into a single gallon of syrup.

This episode explores the "mixed marriage" of a Native American (Oneida) woman and the son of Polish immigrants. His mother is resentful but Grace Kurowski maintains composure as she supports her husband Pete. Following a tragic accident, the family moves to a farm in the center of the reservation where their home becomes a gathering place for many of their neighbors.