‘West Wing’ premiere viewed with interest in Greene
When the new season of NBC’s award-winning “The West Wing’ premiered Wednesday, Lavern Thistlethwaite watched the show with interest. Her restaurant, Lavern’s, located in Morgan Township, Greene County, earned a bit of fame as being used to portray an Indiana diner where three of the main characters stop.
The show also featured backgrounds of the countryside and town of Jefferson as the characters were shown riding in a jeep along Route 188.
“It was kind of exciting,’ said Thistlethwaite. “It was fun.’
Thistlethwaite, however, seemed disappointed that her restaurant wasn’t featured more.
“It wasn’t what I expected,’ she said. “They were here 13 hours and I thought there would be more.’
The segment featured Richard Schiff, who portrays communications director Toby Ziegler, Bradley Whitford as deputy chief of staff Josh Lyman, and Janel Moloney, who is Lyman’s assistant Donna Moss. The three characters work in the White House under fictional President Josiah Bartlett, played by Martin Sheen.
During the premiere, the president visits farm country in Indiana for the start of his re-election campaign. He gives a speech while Ziegler, Lyman and Moss are locked in conversation with a farmer’s daughter and are left behind. The show, called “20 Hours in America,’ substituted western Pennsylvania for Indiana with filming in Lawrence County as well as Greene County.
In the scene that was shot at Lavern’s, Ziegler, Lyman and Moss are seen entering the diner with Moss buying a paper on the way indoors. Inside, Lyman and Moss sat at a table talking with a man who is giving them a ride while Ziegler sits at the counter and orders their food and then joins the others. They use a cell phone to call press secretary C.J. Cregg (played by Allison Janney) at the White House only to discover they haven’t been missed.
The television crew reported to Lavern’s on Aug. 27 for a long day of filming. They selected Lavern’s, a white-and-gray, one-story frame structure for filming because they liked the look and it was easily accessible but isolated from heavy traffic.
Neil Ahern, one of the “West Wing’ producers, noted, “At the 11th hour, we found this place. It has space, a nice counter and it’s in farm country.’
He also noted the segment showed off the contrast of “city guys in the country.’
Thistlethwaite did not attend the filming, noting her brother died the day before. But her daughter, Marlene Young, and son, Bill Thistlewaite, and friend Judy Shaffer were in attendance.
“(Judy) was all excited. She watches every episode – even the reruns. She got an autographed picture from Toby. She works at the prison and took the day off,’ said Thistlethwaite. “It was a big thrill.’
News about the restaurant’s appearance in “The West Wing’ spread with people stopping by the restaurant in the weeks before the premiere.
“Everybody wanted to know when it would be on,’ said Thistlethwaite.
Ill this week, Thistlethwaite hasn’t been at her restaurant since the show ran. However, she’s been hearing good reports.
“Everybody’s talking about it – it’s a big thing for Jefferson,’ she said. “(During the car ride,) you could see the firehall and Behm’s (funeral home). Everybody was thrilled about that.’
Thistlewaite said the film crew changed her restaurant to make it look plainer, but they put everything back the way it was.
When asked how she’s respond if Hollywood came knocking on her door one more time, Thistlewaite said, “Yeah, I’d do it again.’