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It’s a Wonderful Life KIOWA COUNTY 4 Watch the Table of Contents Movie Online 2 Reflections on a Small Town 4 Becoming George Bailey Three Journeys to One 10 Destination Three Poems by Two 14 Campbells 16 The Signature of a Life 22 Rural Free Delivery Holiday Tournament Defines 24 Christmas in Southeast CO 28 Eva’s Christmas Story “You see, George, you really 30 do have a wonderful life” Kiowa County Independent Publisher Betsy Barnett Advertising Cindy McLoud 1316 Maine Street Editor Priscilla Waggoner Web Page Kayla Murdock PO Box 272 Layout and Design William Brandt Distribution Denise Nelson Eads, CO 81036 Advertising John Contreras Special thanks to Sherri Mabe for use of [email protected] her photos: sherrimabeimages.com. Kiowa Countykiowacountyindependent.com Independent © December 2018 It’s a Wonderful Life | 1 ne morning not long ago, a prominent, local are, nonetheless, the things he does. What he is… man came into the newspaper office. He’s is a thinker. And he’d clearly been thinking about Odone that a few times before. He might be something that morning because he clearly had on his way to Denver, or he might have come to something to say. town on business. Whatever the circumstance or, “I’ve been all around the world,” he began. he’s stopped by the office just to say hello, just to “Russia. Asia. All sorts of different places in Eu- make sure we’re continuing to do what we do and, rope—I’ve been there. I’ve been very lucky to sometimes, just to let us know he’s glad we’re do- have opportunities present themselves that just ing it. don’t come along very often, and there’ve been This man is a thinker. Yes, I know. He’s also a times when I probably could have packed up and farmer and a businessman and a leader in his com- moved any place I wanted. There have also been munity. And he’s just about as much of an expert as other times—tough times, you could say—when an expert can be on everything a person would ever I thought, well, maybe it’s time to just quit farm- want to know about millet. ing and try something new someplace else. ” He Distinguished as those things are, those things stopped for a brief moment, catching up to the 2 | It’s a Wonderful Life kiowacountyindependent.com words that he’d just said and letting them sink in town was his aunt or uncle. When the kindergar- back in to his thoughts. “But I never left,” he said. ten puts on a play, there will be people in the audi- “I never moved away. I always stayed right here. ence who haven’t had a child—or a grandchild—in There are probably people in the world who would school for longer than anyone cares to remember. wonder why. If I was going to be honest, I’d have And when someone passes away, the entire town to say I’ve wondered why myself a time or two. grieves, showing up at the funeral, offering love But I think I know the answer. I think I know why and support and shedding tears right along with the I stayed.” And then he smiled, just a bit. “It’s the family. people.” It’s the people. It’s the people. Our visitor knew this. In the classic Christmas Small towns might be a little long on older film, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” the character George (maybe even empty and older) buildings and a little Bailey learns this lesson, too. All the while he was short on Starbucks, sushi bars and spas. An excit- so desperate to get away and see the world, what he ing Friday night might consist of going to the high really wanted was what he already had in the love school football game, and there’s a good chance and friendship of people. And we, the staff at the that, during the week, most people are in bed by Independent, know it, too. 9pm. And, yes, a lot of stores are still closed on And, so, in the spirit of the classic holiday film Sundays. and our own appreciation of small towns and the There may be occasional disagreements among people who live there, this holiday edition is a cel- the men who get together for coffee at the local gas ebration of…well…what a wonderful life it can be. station every morning and there may have been a time or two when a few cross words were said be- Happy Holidays, and God bless us, every one. tween women after a luncheon or church. But all of that is forgotten if it comes to helping out a neigh- Priscilla Waggoner bor in trouble. Editor And when a baby is born, you’d think everyone kiowacountyindependent.com It’s a Wonderful Life | 3 Becoming By PRISCILLA WAGGONER In 1939, a man named Philip Van Doren Stern had a dream which so moved him that he decided to write it down. Four years and 4,000 words later, he finished the work, titling it “The Greatest Gift”. Unable to find a publisher, he published it himself, making 200 copies that he sent out as “Christmas cards”. One of those Christmas cards ended up in the hands of David Hempstead, a Hollywood film producer, who showed it to Cary Grant who saw himself playing the lead role. So, Hempstead bought the rights. Screenwriters were hired. Cary Grant was still on board. It seemed Mr. Van Doren Stern was about to become an overnight success... except for one problem. No one—not even some of Hollywood’s best screenwriters—could come up with the right take on the script. Well, Hollywood ain’t nothin’ if it ain’t fickle, and, before long, the producer lost interest. Grant took another role, and the story was destined to end up covered with dust on the bottom shelf of the book case in the back room. And then Frank Capra entered the picture, so to speak. A year and a half later, on December 20, 1946, lights dimmed in movie theaters across America, and au- diences saw the first frames of “It’s a Wonderful Life” come up on the silver screen. At that time, no one realized that the film they were about to see would one day be considered among the best films ever made and forever associated with Christmas. Neither did audiences know that, even with Capra on board, the road leading up to the making of “It’s a Wonderful Life” had been very, very long in ways no one could imagine. 4 | It’s a Wonderful Life kiowacountyindependent.com uring the Great Depression of the 1930s, placed the boy on his shoulders and pointed toward movies became the great escape for 60 to the lady in the harbor. “That’s the greatest light D80 million people a week, all seeking a dis- since the star of Bethlehem! That’s the light of free- traction from the hardship of the times. Back then, dom! Remember that, Ciccio. Freedom.” a ticket cost a nickel—the same as a gallon of gas And so began Frank Capra’s love affair with or a pack of cigarettes—and audiences got their America. money’s worth as that nickel bought them a car- As Capra grew into adulthood, he set his sights toon, a news reel, a B feature and the main movie. on making films, convinced that his love for his ad- For quite a while, audiences found the diversion they were looking for in the whirling dance steps of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, the “you dirty rat” gangster films of James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson or the slapstick, crazy antics of the Marx Brothers. But hard times just got harder. Desperation per- vaded both cities and towns, and audiences sought something stronger than diversion. They needed reassurance. They yearned for a glimmer of hope. They longed for stories that strengthened and grounded them in the belief that they would survive what seemed like increasingly terrifying times. And then, in the mid-1930s when Frank Capra’s movies began to hit the screen, audiences found what they needed. Born the youngest of 7 children in a very poor town in Italy, Frank “Ciccio” Capra immigrated with his family to America when he was 5 years old. Seventy five years after the day when their ship sailed into the New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty slowly came into view, Capra still recalled what his father told him. “Ciccio, look! Look at that!” His father had kiowacountyindependent.com It’s a Wonderful Life | 5 Capra’s films were stories of hope and optimism in a time when those things were in very short supply, And people flocked to his movies by the millions. During the 30s, he was the most loved, most famous, most respected and the recipient of the most Academy Awards in Hollywood. Capra had an enormous gift. But he had another talent, as well. The producer, director, screenwrit- er was capable of getting the best possible perfor- mances out of the actors he worked with, including, among others, Jimmy Stewart. Growing up in the small town of Indiana, Penn- sylvania, James Maitland Stewart embodied what it meant to be the all American boy. He came from a very close family who went to the Presbyterian Church every Sunday and held hands while they said grace at dinner every night.

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