It's a Wonderful Life

Guess where we went today?

For a couple of hours we decided 
to be tourists and to check out the 
3-day Christmas celebration 
in nearby Seneca Falls.

We'll never watch 

"It's a Wonderful Life" 
in the same way again.

As we arrived in town, we drove down the city's mainstreet which was decorated  for the holidays, 
particularly the old-fashioned street lamps . . . 

. . . and we spent some time in the Visitor's Center where the gingerbread houses for the annual "Bedford Falls Gingerbread House Contest" are on display.  
We also checked out the "Many Magical Days of Christmas" Basket Raffle display 
and "It's a Wonderful Cookie Contest" display.

Further down Fall Street we went inside 
the "It's a Wonderful Life Museum."  
That's where you could view the 
"It's a Wonderful Quilt".  
I considered buying some raffle tickets 
but decided to save my money. 
 It's a beautifully made quilt that you can see if you go to http://therealbedfordfalls.com/
They also had all kinds of movie memorabilia 
and posters and autographed items on display there.

Some of the other things we did were to drive over 
Bailey's Bridge . . .

. . . drive by some of the late Victorian era homes suggestive of the Old Granville House that became the home of 
George and Mary in the movie, . . .

. . . and we even found "Martini's" 

just on the other side of the bridge 
to honor Nori's suggestion.  
Look closely; the lights spelling
out "Martini's" are hard to see because of
the red background behind them.

This weekend they will also present several 
special screenings of the movie.  

Two of the characters who played daughters 
in the film (Zuzu and Janie) are in town 
signing autographs and 
sharing insights and experiences.  

Although there is nothing that 
definitely links Seneca Falls 
to Bedford Falls, 
there are ten very interesting coincidences 
that convince the townspeople that 
their city is "the real" deal.

The Similarities between Bedford Falls and Seneca Falls

1. Seneca Falls and Bedford Falls are both mill towns.
2. Seneca Falls had a grassy median same as the one George runs down in Bedford Falls with a movie theater located off to the side.
3. Both communities boast Victorian Architecture and a large Italian population.
4. The location is perfect: George’s sister-in-law’s father owns a glass factory in Buffalo, NY.
5. Bailey’s friend Sam wants to build a soybean processing plant outside of Rochester.
6. The bank examiner wants to get back to Elmira on Christmas Eve.
7. The train ran through Seneca Falls just as it did in Bedford Falls.
8. The Bedford Falls High School was dedicated in 1927 the same year as the old Mynderse Academy was dedicated.
9. In the film, the Bailey’s Savings and Loan Association builds low cost housing called Bailey Park. In Seneca Falls, 19th Century factory owner John Rumsey helped immigrant workers by lending them money and building low cost housing. It is still known as Rumseyville today.
10. A local businessman named Norman J. Gould owned Gould Pumps, and was one of the richest men in town. He drove his car with license number NJG1. Norman Gould also had great control over politics and economics of the area. Much as Mr. Potter did in the movie. Norman could send someone to fight in the military or retain them for his factory.  

The learn more, check out their website listed above.

It was something different to do during this Christmas 
season since we are here in NY.