Potentials - July/August 2017 - 42

The structure was basically completely redone inside and out to
restore the magic from the film.
Jones then discovered that the
house across the street was also for
sale, and he decided to purchase it
and use it for the museum and gift
shop instead. His original idea would
morph as new thoughts and opportunities arose.
"We initially saw about 35,000-
40,000 people that first year and we
got about 80,000 people in 2016,"
Jones says. "When we first opened,
you got to see the house and there
was a little bit of this and a little bit
of that, and that was about it. Now
we have the costumes and a fire
truck from the movie and a new gift
shop. For anyone looking to start a

business, don't expect to completely
know it out of the park right when
you open. There's growth and new
ideas and expansion that is going to
occur. When we opened the place, I
was out of money."
But Jones has never been out
of ideas. In the past few years, he's
secured one of the handful of Red
Ryder BB guns used in the film for
display at the museum and invited
numerous cast members to participate in autograph sessions and
fundraising efforts. Cast members
who have visited the house include
Scott Schwartz (Flick), Ian Patrella
(Randy), Zack Ward (Scut Farkus),
Yano Anaya (Grover Dill), and Tedde
Moore (Miss Shields), among others.
But what of our quintessential Christ-

mas hero, the Black-Bart-blasting
Raphie Parker?
"I met Peter Billingsley twice, and
he's an interesting character," Jones
recalls. "He's very quiet and reserved.
He's been in Hollywood for a long
time and probably gets a lot of people
coming at him all the time for stuff.
He's done a lot of big-time stuff, producing Iron Man and working with
Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughan. So,
he doesn't need to come to my little
convention or house. I think he likes
to keep a little distance from the
character of Ralphie because people
are going to associate him with that
role. He's working on a lot of other
stuff rather than being focused on
just being associated with his role in
A Christmas Story."

He looks like a deranged
Easter bunny

CRAIG CAUSER

The museum contains various props and wardrobe pieces from the film including
Randy's "I can't put my arms down!" snowsuit.

42

■

J u l y / A ugust 2017

IEEE POTENTIALS

Following the house's renovation
and the throngs of fans that flocked
to experience the Parker family's
abode, Jones turned his sights to
the dow ntrodden neighborhood.
The plan was to help out local neighbors with providing their properties
much-needed facelifts, since the
street was littered with homes in
need of repair. The seed for setting
up a nonprofit organization to help
lo c a l home ow ner s b e ga n w it h
a call Jones received about five
years ago.
"We got a call from a woman who
wanted to do a themed run and a
fundraiser for the museum," Jones
explains. "I said that the museum
was actually doing pretty well and
that it was a for-profit business and
not a nonprofit. But the neighborhood could use some help, so I
thought, 'What if we set up a nonprofit to help fix-up houses in the
neighborhood?' I thought we would
maybe get a couple hundred people
who would want to run from Higbees (the now-defunct department
store that appeared in the film) to
the house and that we would make
a few hundred dollars to put some
paint on some houses."
Approx imately 6,0 0 0 people
signed up that first year, and it was
a sight to behold-a sea of people

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