Holiday Classic, “A Christmas Story” (Posted 1-17-09)
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Each holiday season, it may be your family ritual to view the nostalgic movie, “A Christmas Story,” This beloved holiday film has Northwest Indiana roots and enjoyed its 25th anniversary in 2008. Written by Jean Shepherd, a former Hammond resident, it was particularly fitting that our local Lake County Convention and Visitors Bureau purchased six automated window displays from Macy’s Department Store in New York City for a special exhibit that was held at the Indiana Welcome Center in Hammond during a six-week holiday celebration. We hope if you didn’t get an opportunity to visit this year, it will be on your to-do list of fun things for next year.
Particularly meaningful to The Region, in the movie Jean Shepherd refers to Hohman, IN, a fictitional town named after one of our prominent streets in Hammond. Much of the movie is set in the Parker’s home on Cleveland Street, which corresponds to Shepherd’s boyhood home (2907 Cleveland Street in the Hessville neighborhood of Hammond). The scenes from the movie were actually filmed in Cleveland, OH. Warren G. Harding grammar school where Shepherd attended as a boy is named as the location of the famous “tongue on the flagpole” scene, although filming actually took place at a school in Ontario, Canada. References to the Chinese restaurant where the Parkers end up having Christmas dinner, and, the department store where Ralphie tells Santa he wants a Red Ryder BB Gun, were based on his Hammond memories of Cam Lan Chinese Restaurant and Goldblatts Department Store. Even the family, friends and the teacher’s name in the story were based on Shepherd’s local personal acquaintances.
Special activities were planned during this local six-week exhibit, including the “ugliest lamp contest.” Hope, no matter where you live, you will have a chance to watch this entertaining movie for a nostalgic glimpse into the past. In the meantime, in Hammond, we have the reminder of this local man and his accomplishments - - in 2002, Hammond named the recreational center in Hessville’s Dowling Park in his memory.
To view a few photos of the window displays from the exhibit, just click on PHOTO ALBUM from our class website HOME PAGE! And, we hope a Happy Holiday Season was enjoyed by all.
