A Lovely Tour
An Inside Look At A LucyTown Bus TrekBy Robert Rizzuto rrizzuto@post-journal.com
Article Photos
For a guy who was born and raised in Jamestown, the name Lucille Ball has always been commonplace.
Before there were numerous downtown establishments and museums in her honor, I remember watching ''I Love Lucy'' on Nick at Nite as a child.
It was quirky, light and funny - just what a boy like me was looking for.
As a child, I wondered what this woman's childhood was like, growing up in the same place as me. How did she spend her days? What was her family like? What was her favorite thing to eat?
After taking part in a LucyTown Tour on Saturday as part of Lucy's Birthday Celebration, I must admit that my questions were answered and my expectations surpassed.
LUCY'S HOMETOWN HISTORY
On the surface, a two-hour bus tour through the area might not sound appealing to locals. Some would probably figure that they've seen everything there is to see all of their lives, so why go on a guided tour of it?
But the tour, led by Lucy Studd of the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center, served as not only a window into the Queen of Comedy's life, but also as a history lesson of the area's most notable and unique buildings and people.
Beginning outside the current home of the Lucy-Desi Museum on Pine Street, the guest for the tour was announced.
Wanda Clark, an Oklahoma resident and long-time personal secretary of Lucille Ball, was the mystery guest.
I was lucky enough to sit with Ms. Clark, as she shared not only her personal experiences with Lucy, but also her reactions to the places discussed on the tour.
The air conditioned motor coach was filled to capacity with people from various states and regions. With only Ms. Studd and myself being Jamestown natives, I felt a degree of excitement as well as humility as we showed off our hometown.
The tour guide told us about Lucy's passion for bread and pastries from the now closed Jones Tasty Baking Co. She said that throughout her career, Lucy would have her favorite baked goods sent to her through the mail direct from the bakery.
Ms. Studd explained that it was just one example of how Lucy stayed connected to her home, no matter where life took her.
As the tour passed down East Second Street to Jamestown High School, a video came on showing Lucy and Desi arriving in the back field of JHS via helicopter in 1956.
The visit was centered around the premiere of their movie ''Forever Darling,'' and welcoming students at JHS stood in the field to spell ''Welcome Lucy Desi.''
Lucy made several other notable visits home during her career. In the 1940s, she visited the Marlin Rockwell facility to host a War Bonds Drive, where she helped raise more than $8,000 in only a few hours.
Did you know that Marlin Rockwell is also the first Jamestown-based business to hit the New York Stock Exchange?
I didn't until Ms. Studd weaved it into her presentation.
LIFE OF A LEGEND
In 1944, Lucy returned home for the funeral of her grandfather, Fred C. Hunt, who was like a father to her, Ms. Studd explained. Lucy came on the train and stayed at the Hotel Jamestown, which was obviously still a hotel at the time.
Lucy was born in 1911 in an upstairs bedroom on Stewart Street in the city. Only four short years later, her father passed away after contracting typhoid fever. After that, she was raised by her mother and grandparents.
Lucy and her grandfather had a special connection, as his passion for theater led her down her life's path.
When we visited her home in Celoron, it didn't take much imagination to visualize her playing with her siblings in the backyard where the lilac bushes are.
Lilacs were Lucy's favorite flower and when she lived in California, there weren't any hybrids which allowed the spring-flowering bushes to survive the different climate.
Still, she tried to grow them at her home.
Ms. Clark talked about how Lucy was a loving woman who made it a point to take care of everyone around her. Lucy didn't grow up wealthy and was once told by a drama coach at the John Murray Anderson School for the Dramatic Arts that she had no future as a performer.
Against all odds and despite the words of those who were probably threatened by her potential, she made it and she never forgot where she came from.
''She was such a generous woman,'' Ms. Clark said. ''She wanted so badly to be able to take care of her family.''
Ms. Studd explained that, later in her life, Lucy donated money to several area organizations, including the YMCA, JHS and Jamestown Community College.
THE END OF THE ROAD AND AN ERA
In Celoron, the tour group spent some time in Lucille Ball Memorial Park taking pictures of the lake and the memorials there to Lucy and Desi Arnaz. After getting back on the bus, Ms. Studd explained how the park used to be.
She showed pictures of the old Celoron Park and I was blown away. The four-story high Ferris wheel must have provided an amazing view of the lake, which 200 people could appreciate all at once. There was also a roller coaster which, at one point in the track, descended down to only 12 inches above the lake.
It had an amphitheater and the Pier Ballroom, where Tommy Dorsey and Duke Ellington played back in the day. The ballroom burned down in 1930, and she said that due to the strain of the depression and the repression of Prohibition, it was never rebuilt.
Ms. Studd said on the night of the fire, Lucy stood on the corner watching the destruction. She said Lucy cried as it burned because the ballroom was a place of joy for her whose burning signified the end of an era.
The pictures of hotels and night spots lining the lake in Celoron were unreal. I had heard stories from my Nana Frann about old Celoron Park, but the pictures really brought it to life.
Lucy loved this park and years after its present incarnation materialized, it was renamed in her honor.
The tour concluded at Lakeview Cemetery, where Lucy and her family were laid to rest.
This is at the ''new'' Lakeview Cemetery, as the original lies beneath the James Prendergast Library, according to Ms. Studd. She also explained that when the decision was made to move the cemetery not every body was exhumed and moved to the new location.
Lakeview Cemetery as it is known today is the resting place of more than 49,000 people, including Reuben Fenton and B.F. Goodrich.
It is also where Grace Galloway, or ''The Lady in Glass,'' as she is locally known, is buried. The story goes that she was killed on her wedding day and her husband to be erected the statue as a memorial to her. Despite that story being repeated from generation to generation, Ms. Studd explained that it is not the truth.
''Grace Galloway died of tuberculosis, and it wasn't on her wedding day,'' she said. ''Her father was a wealthy man and had the statue made in Italy and placed it in the cemetery.''
Ms. Studd did confirm, however, that at some point, the ring, which wasn't a wedding ring, was stolen from the likeness and the family decided not to replace it.
Lucy rests with her family on a plot which, despite the best efforts of the groundskeepers, won't grow much grass. Ms. Studd said that the high foot traffic is just too much for nature and the crews to compete with.
A new stone path leads from one of the main trails leads to the Ball-Hunt plot. There are wicker wreaths filled with lilacs present, and despite the fact that a cemetery usually isn't a festive place, things were different Saturday.
Dozens of travelers paid tribute to Lucy at her grave, not there for the novelty, but rather to pay respect for a person who gave them something they could enjoy that will never expire or get old. A true admiration for another's talents and spirit seemed to be the note the tour ended on.
Ms. Clark said Lucy often spoke of how she missed her hometown and all the things she enjoyed growing up here.
She pointed out that all of Lucy's TV characters were always from Jamestown, and that no matter how far she traveled, home was in Lucy's heart.
Lucy loved the snow, according to Ms. Clark, and within the family plot at Lakeview Cemetery, just like the seasons of a TV show come and go, so do the actual seasons.
During the warm months, the plot gets thousands of visitors. But in the winter, things are a little quieter, allowing Lucy to enjoy the snow she loved so much, in peace.
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NYNana
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08-03-08 12:27 PM
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What a wonderful article. I learned much from this article and it makes us want to take the tour. Thank you!
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mercyman88
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08-03-08 7:14 AM
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Extremely well written and heartfelt piece about Jamestown's favorite daughter. Kudos to Mr. Rizzuto!
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pmdmaz
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08-03-08 7:01 AM
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What a nice piece, it's sad that the people who live the closest sometimes never know the true beauty of where they live!
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