“Well, this is a terrible front page.” I was driving along and my wife was reading “ The Ada Evening News.”

She was referring to the news stories—stories of crime—drug stories even a murder. Right here in our Ada. It was depressing to read about child abuse, drug abuse, robberies and stuff that read like it was written about Oklahoma City.

It was depressing and we both recalled the first time we could recall a gas station getting robbed by a pistol wielding man and how shocked we were that this could happen in Ada. My wife, a good and faithful former employee of the “News” many years ago, carried ads and did proof reading and work for Mr. Little. We both love Ada.

How did these changes come about anyway? Ada reminds me of a Christmas Classic, “It’s A Wonderful Life,” that came out in 1946. This great movie only won one academy award and it was a sort of flop at the box office. But the flick made a sort of comeback two years later in the movie houses in Ada as well as the old “Main” (a popular movie house in Stonewall). The movie got big when it hit TV and has become a must see for most families at every Christmas.

Those of us who do watch it every Christmas remember that George Bailey (James Stewart) is a good old boy, civic booster, whose family ran the small and local savings and loan. Then, there was the bad guy, Lional Barrymore, who was the town grouch, owned the “big bank” and was the town tightwad, bad guy and he hated our good guy and the Savings and Loan.

The bad banker wanted to take over the town, wanted to own everything (including the small Savings and Loan) and hated George Bailey. George, being a good guy, hired his incompetent but lovable Uncle Billy. One of the dear Uncle’s jobs was to carry the Savings and Loans bank deposit over the bad guy’s bank. Being somewhat absent minded, he gets to talking and the deposit falls into the hands of old man Potter (the bad guy) and he (knowing the loss of the money) would bankrupt the little savings and loan, gets on with his plans to take over the town.

This drove Bailey’s Savings and Loan into immediate bankruptcy ruining everything (at least in George’s mind) that George has ever worked for. Forsaking everything, our hero George decided to throw himself off the old Mill Pond dam and drown in its frigid waters. Of course, up in heaven, God and his angels see all this and God orders out an angel to help George. The angel’s name is Clarance (played by Henry Travers).

This is Clarence’s first case as a guardian angel, and he is unsure of himself. By now, his man George has taken his suicide leap uttering on his way down that he wishes he had never been born. Clarence has to rescue has to rescue George and he grants his wish. Now, George has never been born and then the angel takes him on a tour of his hometown, named “Pottersville” and our good guy George is shocked at the condition of his town. All the things he knew were drastically changed. The town is full of honky-tonks, bars and houses of ill repute. His old friends don’t know him. He sees his wife but she doesn’t know him and runs away. The old Savings and Loan never existed.

Drunks are everywhere. His Uncle Billy is still in prison over losing the bank deposit. Finally George turns back to God. He fixes everything and, in the end, Geroge is back with his wife and kids and all his big problems are slimmed down and everyone lives happily ever after.

Thinking of and contrasting Bedford Falls and Pottersville is like thinking about our Ada and other towns across the Oklahoma plains. In 1946, Ada was a thrifty and pretty hard-working town. A “churchy” town with a large middle class. I had relatives who would drive to Ada from even larger towns to buy their men’s suits, ladies fine wares and patronize many of Ada’s other fine stores. Their three-storied Wards and their big Sugg Clinic attracted customers from all around the state too. And do you remember? Ada had “blue laws” which meant you couldn’t open a store on Sundays. And let me say again, Ada had the best-looking Main Street of any town of its size in the State of Oklahoma.

Some years later Corporate America found rural Oklahoma— and Ada. Merchants were forced out of business. Money was pumped out of town. Ada, like other county seat towns still gets by. Barely. The crime rate keeps climbing and homelessness and drugs are a big thing now. Churches struggle. You can see the same thing all across Oklahoma now. Our “real” small towns are doing a disappearing act—their Main streets looking ghostly. Those old “trade at home programs” were a complete failure. I guess we got what we deserve out of our own choices.

Hope you have a good weekend. Be sure to attend your church Sunday.

Wayne Bullard, DPh

cwaynebullard@gmail.com