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Weekend in Bedford Falls

SENECA FALLS, N.Y. — Tonight, in a snow-swept town south of Syracuse, I stepped foot in Bedford Falls for the first time.

Sort of.

Thoroughly convinced that “It’s a Wonderful Life” director Frank Capra used its little town as the prototype for  Bedford Falls in his Christmas classic, the people here launched a Wonderful Life Festival 12 years ago. And so, as the author of 52 Little Lessons From It’s a Wonderful Life, I was invited this year to join Zuzu (Karolyn Grimes), Janie (Carol Coombs-Mueller) and Donna Reed’s youngest daughter, Mary Owen, as special guests at the event.

Tonight, the festival committee put on a dinner for us at — well, of course — Martini’s, an Italian-Irish bar that, this weekend, gets turned into the place where George Bailey gets a punch in the mouth from — well, of course — a character known as “Mr. Welch.” Later, in the movie, George drops by with Clarence the Angel, who, to save the suicidal man, takes George back to see what life would have been like without him.

As does Clarence in the movie, I asked the bartender for “mulled wine, heavy on the cinnamon and light on the cloves.”

He didn’t laugh. He’s probably heard that a few thousand times over the years.


But besides him, the folks here throw themselves into this event with great gusto. She Who Wanders and I are staying in a 97-year-old hotel known as the Hotel Clarence. The film plays continuously in the lobby from Thanksgiving to Christmas.

“Used to be all year round,” says a hotel clerk.

And the three-day weekend offers no fewer the 59 events, including a parade, fun run, bonfire, Christmas tree lighting, Dance by the Light of the Moon Swing contest and An Evening at Bailey Park.

With nearly 10,000 people expected to nearly double the size of the town, the event — and the year-round Wonderful Life Museum — have infused economic life in a community reeling from the loss of big companies  that have left.

As an unabashed fan of the movie, I ate up the Wonderful LIfe conversation over our festive dinner, 40 of us packed into the bar’s back room. How often do you get to talk with Donna Reed’s daughter about attending Beverly Hills High in the 1970s and actually swimming in the pool that lay beneath the gym floor?

Talk to folks in the community who know people who remember seeing Capra in town in the mid-1940s, shortly before the movie came out?

Ask Janie — “Oh, daddy,” she says as a distraught George tells her to keep playing the piano — to please pass the bread?

With snow in the forecast, it’s all adding up to a wonderful weekend — if not life — in a community that calls itself “The Real” Bedford Falls.


Me with Janie (Carol Coombs-Mueller) .


Comments

Cathy Schaeffer's sixth-grade class at St. Mary Catholic School

Taylorville, Ill.

 Henley Bliler  

 I would like to fly over the beginning of World War II because I would like to see exactly what happened. 

 

Ruby Broux 

I would like to fly over the Acropolis of Athens. I would fly over there because it is very cool how it is still standing up since the 5th century B.C.E 

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Landyn Durbin 

I would like to fly over Egypt whenever the pyramids were being built. I would like to fly over this because it is a mystery of how they were built. 

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Bentley Friesland 

American Revolution, to learn why Great Britain wanted war with the U.S. 

 

Renee' Gunning 

I would like to fly over Apollo 11 because I think it would be cool to see the moon landing. 

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Drew Kietzman  

I would fly over D-day because it is such an important part of World War II and it is a really cool event. I think it is a cool event because there were so many planes, boats, soldiers and tanks. 

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Macie McDowell  

One historical event I would fly over is World War II because I think it would be interesting to see all of the people who fought in the hard time. 

 

Kate Shivers 

I would fly over WW1 because it would be interesting to see what kind of equipment they used and how the countries lined up. 

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Liam Stromberg 

Rome to see and picture it all in the past and what it looked like in the past.

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Roman Watson  

I would like to fly over when they built the statue of liberty because i want to see the people who built it. 

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Matthew Wayman 

I would like to fly over when the Vikings went into battle because the vikings were very strong and powerful humans. 

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