High Feather is a 10-episode educational television show which ran on PBS

Public Broadcasting Service

The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....

 in the 1980s; each episode was 30 minutes long. The program's name came from the Old English expression "High Fettle", meaning enjoying life and cheerfully doing the tasks of living. The heartfelt spirit of the show was captured in the lyrics to its theme song: "I'm in High Feather. Feel like the sun is shining on me. High Feather. I'm as free as I can be..."

The series, produced by the New York State Education Department

New York State Education Department

The New York State Education Department is the state education department in New York. It is part of the University of the State of New York , one of the most complete, interconnected systems of educational services in the United States...

 in 1980, followed eight teenagers (four boys and four girls) at the High Feather Summer Camp, where they learn values of honesty, sportsmanship, nutrition, physical fitness, and getting along with others. The series was filmed at Camp Madison-Felicia and Camp Minisink.

Some of the most memorable episodes included "Ballerina", where Leslie, an anorexic

Anorexia nervosa

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by refusal to maintain a healthy body weight and an obsessive fear of gaining weight. Although commonly called "anorexia", that term on its own denotes any symptomatic loss of appetite and is not strictly accurate...

, starves herself to the point of exhaustion to achieve a dancer's body, and "Swim Test", where Tom was afraid to go shirtless in the lake because of his obesity

Obesity

Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...

.

Cast

The cast was an ethnically and racially diverse group of teens:

• Jacqueline Allen (Leslie Reynolds)
• Brian Goldberg (Stan Lipton)
• Virgil Hayes (Leo Bartlett)
• Richard Levey (Tom Page)
• Cindy O'Neal (Suzanne Freestone)
• Emily Wagner (Cathy Ehlers)
• Tasha Washington (Ann Campbell)
• Tino Zaldivar (Domingo Ramos)
• Robert Y R Chung (Kim -the Counselor)
• Brendan Cavanagh (Baby Joey)

Most of the show's young cast were not professional actors. Emily Wagner, who played Cathy, went on to appear as the character Doris Pickman on the long-running series "ER

ER (TV series)

ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...

"

Episode Titles

1. "Deep Water Test"
2. "Stan's Secret"
3. "Swifty"
4. "A Nose for News"
5. "Ballerina"
6. "Lost in the Woods"
7. "Going Home"
8. "The County Fair"
9. "Saved from the Pound"
10. "Food Follies"

External links

• High Feather Episode list
• High Feather at Rick's TVOntario