Squint a little, add some set dressing and you might see the Gloversville from under the Glove Theatre marquee that inspired film-site location specialist William Sturtevant to suggest siting a qualified film production facility in Fulton County.

The stars of the film brought my mother to tears, every time she watched it.

The film was “On Golden Pond.” The stars weren’t Henry Fonda, who my mother liked, or Katharine Hepburn, who my mother really liked. It wasn’t Jane Fonda, who my mother didn’t like much at all.

The stars were Squam Lake and Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire, where the film was shot, some of them in my hometown. The entire area was abuzz for a large chunk of 1980 as the production set up shop. A friend of my parents had some role in providing boats or something to the production — he was royalty in the friend circle for a while.

All over town, people would discuss “the loons,” “the loons,” a feature of both the neighborhood and the film. Eventually I began to wonder who the real loons were.

But the film certainly gave a good deal of juice to the community. People were excited to see outsiders interested in the place. It’s a tourist economy, but can still be a bit insular.

Oh, and certainly the production filled motels, restaurants and coffee shops. In fact, my mother later worked at a store featured in the movie, which she considered a career highlight.

So people were intrigued when William Sturtevant suggested Fulton County could house a qualified production facility, which would be eligible for state incentives for film productions, opening a solid........

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