We’re about a week into my vacation now and there’s still so much to do. Today, I decided to take a drive to Indiana to visit the Jimmy Stewart museum. The museum highlights the life and works of Indiana’s favorite son, actor Jimmy Stewart. I wanted to do this on my vacation last year but decided not to as I was already booked with other activities. This was my second trip here, so things have changed since then. My first trip was in 2014.
I wanted to take my dad to the museum for his 60th birthday which was back in 2018. Unfortunately, the plans for that fell through as well. It was December and that means there would be a lot of events tied to It’s A Wonderful Life being highlighted. That’s one of my favorite movies to watch at Christmas time and it’s one of his greatest. I might have to add some more of his movies to my list in the future.
I got to the museum around 11:15 this morning and learned a lot about his life growing up in little Indiana. There were a lot of neat props including the “Victory” sign from World War II, and a display from the hardware store that his father owned. Also really nice to look at was all the military uniforms and medals Jimmy got from fighting in the war. The guide was very friendly and I learned a lot from her on what the museum entailed.
I really liked the Hollywood side of the museum and gave myself to learn of all the movies he acted in. While I’ve only seen It’s A Wonderful Life and The Glenn Miller Story in their entirety, I’m inspired to check out some of his other works that made him famous. There was three rooms that were aptly named for the genre and directors that he worked with or was associated with. The Capra Room had posters from “It’s A Wonderful Life” in it as well as a star from the Walk of Fame with the movie title on it. I really liked the Hitchcock Room the best, as I was more familiar with some of those titles, including Harvey and The Philadelphia Story.
To cap off my visit to the museum, I quickly checked out the Western room, and learned of Stewart’s work with legendary Western film star John Wayne. Mr. Stewart worked with a lot of great actresses including local legend Shirley Jones. They were in a few Westerns together in the 1960’s.
The theatre has a matinee every afternoon at 1. This week’s movie was Call Northside 777. From just before Thanksgiving to the end of December, the matinee film is “It’s a Wonderful Life”. When I take my second vacation during the first week of December, I’ll be sure to come back. I’ll make more of a day out of it so I can enjoy the matinee and take in what a beautiful Hallmark Christmas town Indiana is.
One of the rotating exhibits coming to the museum over the holidays will be It’s a Wonderful Life and I can’t wait to see how nicely decorated the place will be.
There is a small gift shop in the museum that carries some books, t-shirts, movie posters, and more! I may have to buy Dad’s Christmas present here when I come back in December!
Stylish 🍒 