Carmona-Bolen Home For Funerals

Adapted from the 1951 film starring Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney and Danny Kaye, it’s about a pair of Army buddies-turned-song-and-dance duo who find themselves in rural Vermont, where they discover that their former commanding officer, now retired, is the owner of a quaint old inn on its last legs due to a lack of snow. To help the poor guy out, they put on a holiday extravaganza, attended by the general's former troops. Krenek's wheels were spinning. What if, she wondered, we got some local veterans to come up to the stage for the final scene and join the cast in singing “White Christmas”? As it happened, Krenek helped organize a Veterans Day breakfast that November in the school cafeteria. During the event, she pitched the idea to the scores of vets who attended, hoping to snag a half-dozen or so willing recruits. Clearly, she underestimated her persuasive powers. “Every single person who had been there emailed her, telling her what nights they could appear,” recalled her son and longtime co-director, Michael Krenek. The nights of the performances, vets young and old waited for their cue, then dutifully made their way to the foot of the stage, some with canes and walkers, for a moving finale. You can watch it at the 2:48:30 mark in this YouTube video. ...