But he’ll forever be identified as the guileless, plain-spoken, small-town idealist of “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” and, more specifically, “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
The latter was shown on television virtually round-the-clock during the holiday season for two decades, after it had inadvertently slipped into the public domain due to a clerical error and stations could air it without forking over a cent. The constant exposure cemented its status as a holiday mainstay on a par with tasty pheasants, Christmas presents and countrysides covered with snow.
“It’s a Wonderful Life” is as inescapable in Indiana as it once was on TV in the wee hours of Dec. 25. You won’t come across too many people in this community about 90 miles northeast of Washington drawing a blank at the mention of Zuzu’s petals or a bell ringing every time an angel gets his wings.
Indiana is Stewart’s hometown, where you’ll find the Jimmy Stewart Museum perched on the third floor of the public library – the kind of place Mary Bailey might have locked up quietly on Christmas Eve if George Bailey hadn’t entered her life – and a spotlight shines on “It’s a Wonderful Life” every holiday season.
A festival built around the Frank Capradirected movie is set for Nov. 18, with a parade, a visit from a jolly, white-bearded man from the North Pole and a screening of “It’s a Wonderful Life” at the downtown Indiana Theater. Then, a DVD of “It’s a Wonderful Life” is shown at 1 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday at the Jimmy Stewart Museum through Dec. 18.
For a little while in 2010, the museum’s solvency was as precarious as the Bailey Building & Loan’s after absent-minded Uncle Billy accidentally handed off the deposits to Mr. Potter. The museum, which opened in 1995, had long been sustained by busloads of seniors who would drive in for the day and take a look at the movie posters, memorabilia and personal mementos that fill it. But, with little warning, those buses quit coming. Harley theorizes that audiences that would have grown up with Stewart in the 1940s and 1950s are now dying off or past the age where they can travel easily or comfortably.
“That made a significant impact on our bottom line,” Harley said.
Once word got out that the museum was in trouble, friends and fans came forward with donations to keep the museum in the black – just like all of George Bailey’s friends in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” One envelope came with only $1 in it, and a return address that said merely “Clarence.”
Attendance fluctuations notwithstanding, the museum’s guest book contains greetings from Stewart fans and admirers from around the country and places like Wales, Scotland, Canada and the Netherlands. Some of the more well-known visitors have included TV host (and George Clooney’s dad) Nick Clooney, the singer Fabian, and the actor Ben Gazzara, who showed up with his dog, Maxi.
“It requires a specific determination to come here,” said Harley, noting that it’s not near an interstate highway. “You can’t come here in passing.”
¦ Directions: The Jimmy Stewart Museum is at 835 Philadelphia St. in Indiana and is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. From Washington, take Interstate 70 East to New Stanton. Once in New Stanton, merge onto New Stanton/Youngwood Road, which becomes U.S. 119 North. Then, pick up Pennsylvania 66 Turnpike for 13 miles and merge onto U.S. 22 East toward Blairsville. Merge onto U.S. 119 North to Indiana. Once in Indiana, merge onto Wayne Avenue, stay on it for 3 miles, and then make a slight left onto South Seventh Street. Then turn left on Philadelphia Street. The library and front entrance to the museum is on the right.
