DENNISVILLE – Fifty years ago, Betty Gannon and her husband, John Gannon, crossed the Dennisville-Petersburg Road train tracks, as they drove to their bungalow in Villas. To their knowledge, those tracks sat forgotten and vacant, but this assumption would soon be proven wrong.
Their jovial drive was interrupted by a screeching freight train engine, and John Gannon’s skull was thrown against the windshield of their 1968 Chevy Chevelle.
This is the opening shot of James P. Gannon’s documentary, “Deerwoods Deathtrap,” about his parents: A cracked windshield, caked with blood. However, 50 years later, the pain of this memory has dulled. Both Betty and John Gannon survived the crash, with only minor injuries.
The documentary, nine minutes in length, is as much about the crash as it is about the way that time has shaped James Gannon’s parents’ memory of it.
In the short film, John and Betty Gannon bicker and banter about specific details of how the crash went down, and mostly laugh, as they recall an accident that has otherwise been lost to time.
The documentary is almost a meta-reflection on storytelling itself in its focus on details that matter little. Was the radio on, how fast was the car going, and do the answers really matter?
As they stand in front of the tracks that almost claimed their lives, Betty and John Gannon laugh about these details in a carefree tone that is only afforded through retrospect.
They stand right by the “deerwoods,” a forested section of upper Cape May County known by most as Dennis Township. The name deerwood, which flashes in sun-soaked retro colors, as the documentary begins, is a family one. Betty Gannon’s family has visited Cape May County for as long as she can remember.
“I’ve been going to Cape May since I was 3 years old,” she said, in an interview with the Herald, adding that her family came to call the forests of Dennis Township “deerwoods.” It is one of those family names that become canon through years of colloquial use.
“You won’t find ‘deerwoods’ on a map anywhere, but it’s part of the Pine Barrens,” John Gannon said.
It was this same kind of family knowledge that betrayed John and Betty Gannon.
“My family had passed through these deerwoods into Dennisville for at least 30 years before we started doing it. Everybody was familiar with that railroad track, but in that whole span of time, nobody saw a single train… Everybody thought, ‘hey, it’s not an active line,’” John Gannon said.
Cape May County was once home to roaring trains in nearly every corner of the peninsula; however, train tracks that once screeched and bore the weight of multi-ton engines have been rendered useless by a receding railroad industry and the rust of time.
With its chirping synth score and fuzzy Super 8mm presentation, “Deerwoods Deathtrap” is breezy, witty, and a touch forlorn. In James Gannon’s documentary, he tells a story that has been likewise rusted by time.
“Deerwoods Deathtrap” premieres virtually Jan. 20 and is featured in both Sundance and the New Jersey Film Festival. It can be viewed via Sundance with an explorer pass, or via the virtual NJ Film Festival. A trailer is viewable on James P. Gannon’s website.
To contact Collin Hall, email chall@cmcherald.com.
