Some of the dresses worn by Julianne Moore in the film belonged to the real-life Evelyn Ryan. Her children had saved them and offered the use of them for the film.
Contrary to the movie, the real-life Evelyn Ryan and her son did get to take a trip to New York City, where they stayed at Waldorf-Astoria, saw the Broadway musical "The Music Man," dined at Sardi's, and appeared on a television show hosted by Merv Griffin as part of the "Name The Sandwich" contest prize.
The contest ads seen under the opening credits were taken from Evelyn Ryan's drawer. They were given to the filmmakers by her daughter Betty.
At the end of the film, several children are seen fading in and out of the picture, which shows the passing of several years. One of the young boys is Evelyn Ryan's grandson, who happened to be there that day.
In several scenes, the family is shown using bottled milk from Arps Jersey Farm Dairy. This business was founded in 1936 by George Arps, and still distributes many dairy products within a 60-mile radius of Defiance, Ohio.