Eric on The Road

Journeys into the offbeat, off the beaten path, overlooked and forgotten - by Eric Model

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Seneca Falls as Bedford Falls from It's a Wonderful Life

From CBS News:

By Bill Geist

What better way to spend Christmas morning than a trip with Bill Geist to Seneca Falls, N.Y.? The upstate town proudly proclaims itself the inspiration for the fictional town of Bedford Falls in the 1946 classic "It's A Wonderful Life."

Their hotel has been renamed "The Hotel Clarence," after the film's "angel 2nd class" who tries to earn his wings by saving George Bailey. The cafe is named "The Zuzu" after one of George Bailey's daughters. There's a museum dedicated to the Frank Capra classic, a walking tour of the places residents say are connected to the film, and a festival each December that draws fans from near and far - and which this year featured two actresses who played George's daughters Zuzu and Janie.

As one fan put it, "It's like a Mecca for 'Wonderful Life' fans."

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/10/26/sunday/main6993125.shtml?tag=hdr;cnav

Bourbon's All-American Roar (NY Times)

From The New York Times:


By MICKEY MEECE

Published: December 24, 2011

Five bartenders entered a “shake off” this month at the Kentucky Derby Museum, to see who could work the most magic with bourbon, a singularly American spirit that has turned out to be a singularly American success story.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/25/business/bourbons-all-american-roar.html?_r=1&hp