We are hitting the road!
We will use this trip as a way to do additional research on “It’s A Wonderful Life.” The road trip will connect people from all walks of life through their common love for this film. We will travel across the country through small towns, big cities, National Parks and also visit places and people connected with the film and the preservation of its history. We will conduct research in different archives and museums and interview people along the way about what this iconic film means to them. We will issue press releases, sharing interesting facts we learn as well as excerpts from our interviews. The trip will help us bring new materials back for the Museum, build our archives and also generate awareness and financial support for the Museum as part of our Indiegogo fundraising campaign.
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- Craig Mueller, Carol Coombs Mueller’s son who played Janie in the film.
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- We are on the road! Check out our itinerary
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- Karolyn Grimes Launches the It’s A Wonderful Road Trip
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- Karolyn Grimes with the portfolio she used as a child.
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- Loading up the truck with more memorabilia to come back to our museum.
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- Road Trip launch in Port Orchard
It’s A Wonderful Road Trip – Itinerary
August 1 Karolyn Grimes launches the It’s A Wonderful Road Trip in Port Orchard, WA
August 2-4 Drive from Port Orchard to Provo, UT via Boise, ID
August 5 & 6 Provo: Jimmy Stewart Collection, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University
Note: Although he was a Presbyterian, Jimmy Stewart donated his personal collection to BYU after he worked with the LDS Church on “Mr. Krueger’s Christmas” in which he directs the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The collection includes his Oscar. Research the collection and attend public rehearsal of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
August 7-11 Drive from Provo to Denison, IA – Donna Reed’s Hometown via Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park and Mt. Rushmore National Memorial. South Dakota is the only state from which we have not had a visitor to The Seneca Falls It’s A Wonderful Life Museum, so we will deliver a personal invitation at the most recognizable spot in South Dakota.
August 12-13 Denison, IA – Donna Reed Museum & Archives; Donna Reed Foundation for the Performing Arts; W.A. McHenry Museum House (where Donna Reed’s 1953 Oscar is displayed); Donna Reed Birthplace.
August 14 Drive from Denison to Grayslake, IL via Omaha, NB. In Omaha, visit and photograph Henry Fonda’s boyhood home. Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart were lifelong friends, having lived together when they first started out as actors.
August 17 Grayslake, IL – Meet with Richard Goodson, the foremost collector of “It’s A Wonderful Life” photographs, artifacts and memorabilia in the world.
August 19 Indiana, Pa – Visit the birthplace and hometown of Jimmy Stewart, which is the location of the Jimmy Stewart Museum.
August 20 Return to Seneca Falls, NY . . . The Real Bedford Falls.
