Tat’s Bizarre Travels

Indiana, PA - I’m actually not a fan of Jimmy Stewart. Pretty much if he’s not in a Hitchcock film he isn’t worth watching in my opinion. And even then I could pass, unless it’s Rear Window. I love Rear Window. It’s one of my favorite Hitchcock films, and I can overlook the casting of Stewart because it is such a great film. And who wouldn’t want to be Grace Kelly?

So , I just wanted to visit someplace (relatively) close and I figured on an hour drive to Indiana to visit the Jimmy Stewart Museum (JSM) wouldn’t be all that bad. Not that I expected much, but I have to say I was sorely disappointed. Especially since this year marks the 100^th anniversary of his birth. I thought there may have been some sort of interesting something or other. I was wrong, yet again.

First I stopped by the city hall, or whatever the Indiana equivalent is, to see the Jimmy Stewart statue and give it a rub for luck. I swear that the spirit of Jimmy Stewart knows I’m less than a fan because from that moment on my luck for the day had changed…and it all changed to bad. DAMN YOU JIMMY STEWART!!!

The museum is mostly full of pictures and movie posters, which is kinda a yawn. I didn’t hate the section of fan items or the story of how Jimmy grew up in Indiana, but the rest was tripe. Oh, and pictures are not allowed. Most of my fun in going to these places is taking pictures of the odd and interesting knick-knacks I come across. It was at that moment that I truly hated the JSM and decided that I would go back to school and study copyright law. I keep you posted on how that goes.

Aside from the hundreds of movie posters and stills the museum has Jimmy’s bedroom, his office and a recreation of his father’s hardware store. They also show a movie in their quaint little theater at 2PM on Saturdays and Sundays. Since it wasn’t Rear Window I didn’t stay. I tried to glean information from the man that yelled at me for taking pictures and forced me to take poor quality photos on the down low, but he was less than helpful. All I know about the establishment of the museum is that it’s run by a foundation that is in no way affiliated with the family, there’s a board of directors and movie posters are expensive. Whatever dude.

If you’re a fan of Jimmy Stewart and are in the area I’d say drop by and check it out. It would defiantly be worth your while, but don’t make a special trip unless you’re a superfan. If you’re not a fan at all but wanted to see something interesting in the area, I would suggest visiting the Cadet Man. He’s much more awesome and you can even have a nice hearty dinner.