1. "Two more Herald News articles"
Posted by harry on Aug-5th-03 at 8:23 AM

Here are two more articles that we missed.  The first is dated July 19, the date of Lizzie's birth, where the author Dan Medeiros, with tongue-in-cheek(?), proposes F.R. have a Lizzie Borden Day.

http://www.heraldnews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=9870239&BRD=1710&PAG=461&dept_id=99784&rfi=8

The second dated August 1, no author, covers the B&B and gives an accurate summary of the case.

http://www.heraldnews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=9935857&BRD=1710&PAG=461&dept_id=99784&rfi=8


(Message last edited Aug-5th-03  8:24 AM.)

Actually, this is economically brilliant stuff.  Fall River and its creative merchants could earn a fortune with a Lizzie Borden day.  I live near Syracuse and in a neighboring, suburban community, they hold an Oz Fest.  This is dedicated to L. Frank Baum who was born in Chittenango, NY.  He did not write a single one of his novels in that community and, if fact, only spent a few years there as a young child before his parents moved westward.  Nevertheless, each year for the past decade or so, the community holds an ever-expanding festival dedicated to his most famous work, The Wizard of Oz.  Tens of thousands of people, many dressed in costumes based on the 1939 film, parade through the streets, eat in the restaurants, fill the motels all over the Syracuse area.  The celebration lasts for three days.

In addition, they actually hold a "talk-back" with surviving cast members from the film.  They are few in numbers, now, but this past spring seven or eight of the original Munchkins sat in a packed auditorium and spoke to a fascinated crowd about their memories of that classic movie.  Also, relatives of the more famous cast members have been invited guests in recent years and even these distant connections to the great film bring in the interested tourists. There are souvenirs, sweatshirts, CD's, special foods--you name it--for sale.

My point:  If a tiny community of about 5,000 people can pull off a nationally recognized clebration for a guy who spent a handful of years there, then Fall River could capitalize on Lizzie in ways beyond imagination.   Lizzie's presence is still very real in Fall River.  Her homes remain.  Many places she haunted still remain.  She is buried there.  It blows my mind when I think of what that community could do to "celebrate" Lizzie.  Of course, it would all be very tacky and tasteless and virtually everybody would find it all to be rather offensive.  But that is what would make it attractive to so many and that is what would bring in the big bucks to a community which has seen far better days.  Besides, what happened in that house in that otherwise unknown community in 1892 was the ultimate in bad taste.  Why not face the reality; embrace Lizzie and her grim entourage and put on one awesome annual party?

Har, I couldn't link to a story on the B&B.  I got a page with a title and that was it.  Leave it to me, right?

Jim, your remarks are interesting and informative and you might consider submitting your post to the "Be The First To Give Your Opinion On This Story" section at the bottom of the article to which you refer.

Jim, I agree with you. I don't see why Fall River would shy away from a Lizzie celebration. Salem, just down the road, has made it big business to deal in the witchcraft trials and hangings of 1692. They even have a witch on a broomstick as the HS logo. If witches and the tragedy of hanging 19 innocent people on the trumped up charges of witchcraft can attract tourists, then so can this case. Especially since it is officially unsolved.

They do public tours of Whitechapel, right? Same thing, really.

Stef, you are psychic too...the 1st thing I thought of after reading Jim's post was Whitechapel!  Then again, the Brits are considerably less squeamish about this sort of thing.  I guess it comes from having such a bloody history.

After my trip to Fall River, that was also 1 of the things I couldn't understand; the community seems to be struggling financially, & yet here they have this potential tourist industry goldmine.  It would be so great if the town could say, purchase Maplecroft & co-ordinate with the B&B...do Lizzie tours which could include the cemetary, etc.  Right now, anyone interested has to go about finding all the various sites on their own (& often not getting very much help while there).

It's unfortunate Fall River still maintains that stigma of treating the murders as something shameful that should be long forgotten.  It's a charming place with a lot of its Victorian spendor surviving (altho in disrepair).  If only they'd get their act together, take their "lemon" & make lemonade!

Aside from "good taste", it is quite possible that the Ruling Class does NOT want any attention to this case. Are the same families still powerful from 110 years ago? (Probably not, but I don't know.)

Another thing is: space. Parking to accomodate say, 200 autos? The Syracuse area (as I remember it from early 1980s) had PLENTY of space available on the outskirts of town. Last but not least, how many people would this attract? And who would put up the money to finance it?

I'm not sure how they work this stuff.
When we were in London we had to promise not to *Do* Jack the R. tour for the sake of my girlfriend.  We also had to promise her we would not knowingly take her anyplace known to be haunted.

In Orlando, they have a *Haunted Downtown* tour by night and I suppose there is a parking/meeting place and then the tour organizer walks you everywhere. 

There is a tour in Charleston by candlelight and it goes to the beautiful old homes.  (They may even serve chapmpagne, knowing Charleston!)

I think a tour by night of Fall River would be cool.  If some enterprising person got a license and just started doing that, and the *City Fathers* saw it make money and not be too lurid, they might jump on board?
Parking could be at the bus station and they could use those smaller tour busses right from that terminal/facility.

(Message last edited Aug-8th-03  8:45 AM.)

The city of San Diego offers many tours around town for many different tastes.  My favorite is the ghost and graveyard tour, on Halloween they do it at night! 

I think that for "the faithful" parking would not be an issue at a Lizzie event.  In fact, the Wizard of Oz Fest is held in a suburban community east of Syracuse.  I know that people sometimes park in large lots provided for them and then are transported by bus to the village where the festival is held. I also know that for the annual New York State Fair (in Syracuse) over a million visitors attend the 12 day event.  There are large parking lots adjacent to the fairgrounds, but many people opt to use lots all over the metro area and take a free bus shuttle service right to the main gate of the Fair.  If one wants to attend a special event, no matter what the theme, one will not let parking become a hindrance.  Nor would a focused community allow parking problems to cause an event to fail.

  I suspect that the parking issue in Fall River could be resolved if that community truly wanted to host a special event dedicated to Lizzie.  This is the decision of Fall River which, from my two visits to that community, needs something to spark some economic improvement.  However, it does not seem likely that Fall River will ever embrace Lizzie, her legend or her legacy.