It Really Was a Wonderful Life

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Yesterday it was Lucille Ball; today it was Jimmy Stewart. The town of Indiana, Pennsylvania is most notable for giving us the legendary actor, and the Jimmy Stewart Museum is proudly located in the town where Stewart was born and raised. The museum is located across the street from where the Stewart family hardware store stood for many years. It’s in the top floor of the public library and next to the veterans memorial and Stewart statue. Inside there are two parts to the museum, as there was James Stewart the performer and James Stewart the great human being. Promotional posters from all 75 of the films he was in adorn the walls. (In the photo collage above, you see the lobby posters for my two favorite films of his, the screwball comedy You Can’t Take It With You and the dramatic Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.) Scripts for a number of the movies are on display (and the script for It’s a Wonderful Life, probably Stewart’s best-known film, are available for purchase in the gift shop). Missing are his two Academy Awards (best actor for The Philadelphia Story in 1940 and a lifetime achievement Oscar), which are still in the possession of his children. Many other awards are on display, however, including his Hollywood Walk of Fame plaque. As you stroll through the corridors of movie posters you see just how many incredible classics Jimmy Stewart was in. But that wasn’t all there was to him. He retired in 1968 from the United States Air Force as a brigadier general. When his number was called in World War II he did not opt for the “easy” route, instead going as a combat pilot in nineteen bombing missions in the European theater. (Stewart is also in the Aviation Hall of Fame, located at the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio, for his work as an Air Force officer.) The upper left photo is a photo of General Stewart at his desk in his uniform. Salute, sir. Then there’s Harvey! Harvey is my third favorite Jimmy Stewart movie. The painting of Elwood P. Dodd that was in the film is on display in the Harvey area. Of course the town has the historical marker outside to show their pride in their native son as well. I love Jimmy Stewart’s career as an actor. I also love his wonderful life as a military man, husband, father, and friend. It was a wonderful life, indeed. PHOTO COLLAGE: *Photo of Jimmy Stewart in his Air Force uniform *Historical marker *Lobby posters for You Can’t Take It With You and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington *A stuffed Harvey rabbit in the display area for that film