By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo
Tonawanda Evening News, June 1912:
Pierce Arrow motorcycles for sale– CHEAP– at Twin City Auto in North Tonawanda.
The store manager listed at the bottom, Erwin Arenz, was my Grandma Coyle’s great uncle.
Learning a little about the sort of history you are interested in is amazing.
With a little knowledge, you begin to connect and build and answer questions you never even knew you had.
By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo
For nearly 130 years, Adam, Meldrum and Anderson was a Buffalo-based department store. That streak came to an end in 1994. The following year, the flagship Main Street store was closed.
May 16, 1994: AM&A’s chain is purchased by Bon-Ton, Sale ends era
“AM&A’s been sold to a York, Pa.-based regional retailer, executives announced today.
“Bon-Ton will spend $38.5 million to acquire AM&A’s. The figure includes $2.1 million in cash and the assumption of approximately $21.4 million of debt and $15 million in other liabilities.
“… While the sale signals the end of a 127-year-long retailing love affair between Western New Yorkers and the department store, the entry of Bon-Ton Stores is good for the store and its customers, Alford said.”
By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo
BUFFALO, NY – “I love to be a part of busting open any preconceived notion.”
Devon Karn thinks when she and her husband Kevin open their home for the 16th Annual Parkside Tour of Homes (Sunday, May 18, 2014) that a handful of assumptions about the neighborhood and its homes could fly out the stained glass art window.
“Parkside is known for the big, beautiful, sprawling majestic homes,” says Karn, “but interspersed among them are smaller, slightly more accessible homes that are like ours– a comfortable bungalow.”
The young couple hasn’t even lived at their Parkside address two years yet– there’s a long to-do list, but she says there’s no shame in showing off a home that’s a work in progress. In fact, from her perspective, that’s a bit of the charm. “It doesn’t have some of the grandeur of some of the Victorian homes, but we do have some of the interesting details– the leaded glass, the woodwork, the central fireplace– they all make for very comfortable homes.”
Comfortable and lived in homes of all shapes, sizes and styles, just like the people of Parkside.
“I wanted to put our little, comfortable, humble bungalow on the tour, to offer that no-holds-barred, open door approach that exemplifies the Parkside attitude,” says Karn. “The people in this neighborhood are the most open, most inviting– It’s one of the most participatory neighborhoods in the City of Buffalo. It’s not an exclusive neighborhood. It’s so open, so welcoming. Come as you are. The fact that we will have our not quite-perfect, yet still intriguing space on the tour is a testament to the community.”
And while her little sliver of the Frederick Law Olmsted designed neighborhood offers one perspective, Karn loves the tapestry woven by all the parts blended together. “Part of the beauty of this Home Tour,” says Karn, “is the variety people get to see.”
The variety will be underlined for tour goers who walk the half-a-block from Devon’s humble bungalow to the imposing Arts & Crafts American Four Square home of Ken Wells and his wife, Phyllis.
Once the home of a Congressman and later to a family of 11, the beautiful brick, original woodwork, wrap-around porch and historical past occupants offer a bit more grandeur, but it’s still simply a family home.
“In the spring, summer and fall we live on our front porch,” says Wells. “The backyard is our oasis. It is the main gathering place for parties and just hanging out.”
Showing off is part of the fun, and it’s why Pat Lalonde is back on the tour again this year.
Five years ago her home was featured, but one new project she knows will be the envy of many people who live in older homes. “For the first time in the 30 years I’ve lived here, I now have a first floor half-bath,” says Lalonde, who also has a new screened-in back porch and new room configurations to show.
The cleverly configured bathroom might inspire folks to finally build the powder room of their dreams, but Lalonde admits: Putting her home on the tour again is as much for her as the hundreds of people who’ll be coming through.
“I had a blast the first time,” says Lalonde. “People were so nice; they said so many wonderful things about my house. I was thinking my house isn’t all that special– there’s no Arts & Crafts style or the natural woodwork… But all the great comments made me realize that my house really does have some really interesting features.”
The event is the biggest annual fundraiser for the non-profit Parkside Community Association. They hope you’ll stop by May 18, and find out why so many people are passionate about the homes that are like none other, as well as the community of people that is like none other.
For more information, including buying tickets, visit the 2014 Home Tour page on the Parkside Community Association website.
By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo
The rules of the road haven’t changed since 1949. Thomas Dickerman, 13, of Auburn Ave, Buffalo, demonstrates the right way and the wrong way to operate a bicycle in the City of Buffalo 65 years ago, as appeared in The News on May 5, 1949.
The safety tips were offered as Police Commissioner McMahon urged Buffalo parents to stress Bicycle Safety Week to their children.
Some safety do’s and don’ts for Buffalo bicyclists
By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo
Buffalo News Reporter Mike Beebe visited with the 150 families as they “started over down South”; that is, moved from Western New York to Shreveport, La. The men were all looking for work after being laid off from the General Motors foundry in Tonawanda.
Beebe wrote a five-part series, several installments of which are spotlighted here:
News series to follow workers from GM foundry to Sun Belt (April 27, 1984)
“What would it be like in a new job in a new part of the country? How easy would it be to pull up your roots and transplant them to the Sun Belt? Would Buffalonians … be welcome in Louisiana? These are the questions that News Reporter Mike Beebe will attempt to answer in a human and often touching series calling ‘Starting Over Down South.’ “
Transplanted GM employees pick up pieces of a new life (April 29, 1984)
“‘We’ll give the place a try,’ says Mary Zulewski, who traveled to Shreveport last week from Hamburg to visit her husband, Tom, and look for a new house. ‘We’ve known all our lives — our home, our friends, and our family back home — but we’re going to give it a try.’ “
Culture shock, loneliness are facts of Shreveport life (April 30, 1984)
” ‘This is a lot cleaner, you’re not always breathing foundry dust. … But there are a lot of guys down here, willing to breathe that dust and grime to be home with their families.’
By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo
Buffalo saw plenty of Hollywood in the early 1980s. “Hide in Plain Sight,” starring James Caan, was shot here in 1979 and released in 1980. In 1982, Goldie Hahn and Burt Reynolds spent some time in Buffalo’s Parkside neighborhood shooting “Best Friends,” and also watching history at the Aud — both were in attendance the night Wayne Gretzky scored a hat trick shattering the NHL record for goals in a season.
The most celebrated film ever shot in Buffalo, ‘The Natural,” was shot with much fanfare during the summer of 1983 and released the following year. Buffalonians celebrated the 30th anniversary of the film’s release this year.
But while Redford, Close, Brimley and the crew were here shooting a baseball flick, an actor just as well known in 1983 — “Dallas” star Patrick Duffy — was in town shooting a music flick.
News Critic Jeff Simon takes a look at “Vamping,” starring Duffy, supported by a large contingent of Buffalo talent on the screen and on the crew.
April 30, 1984: ‘Vamping’
“While Robert Redford and one of the finest assemblages of acting talent in current film were all over the city and environs filming the $25 million film “The Natural,” (local film director Frederick King) Keller and star Patrick Duffy … were scrambling around filming on a budget that wouldn’t pay for the gasoline in Redford & Co.’s Winnebagos.”
By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo
Streets Department employees were accused of conspiracy in the alleged hiring of “no-show” employees and then in the alleged covering up of the fact that, for three years, an Ash & Garbage Division employee never showed up for work.
April 29, 1974: ‘No show,’ paid 3 years, never knew job, jury told
“A ‘no show’ employee was on the city payroll for three years before he learned what he was supposed to do and what door he was supposed to enter to get to his non-existent job, according to testimony given today in the State Supreme Court trail of Cyril O’Connell.”
By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo
It has been 10 years since Amherst teen John Stevens was voted off Fox’s “American Idol.” A decade later, you may remember the red-headed crooner who went on to become a member of the Beantown Swing Orchestra, but do you remember the controversy on what was then among the most popular TV shows in America?
Judge Simon Cowell said Stevens took “every bullet … like a man.” Both Dale Anderson and Alan Pergament wrote about Stevens’ final appearance on “Idol” in Gusto in 2004. Since then, Stevens has continued singing in the same style that gained him the unique combination of praise and dissension on Fox.
“The 16-year-old crooner from East Amherst, who reached the final six in Fox’s live televised talent competition despite weeks of unflattering vocal assignments, sour comments from the judges and howls of protest from music critics across the nation, finally was voted off the show.”
“Simon Cowell is labeled the cruel judge because of his brutal honesty, but Cowell actually earned my admiration for the way he handled things Tuesday.
“First he credited Stevens for taking ‘every bullet’ like a man. Even Cowell’s crack that Stevens and Latin music go together “like chocolate ice cream and an onion” could be viewed as an acknowledgment that performing Gloria Estefan’s music put him at a disadvantage.”
More recently, Buffalo native Carlton Smith made the show’s final 25 during the 2014 season of “Idol.” The 26-year-old spent most of his childhood on Highgate Avenue on the East Side, where his grandmother and sister still live.
By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo
Douglas Turner reported from Washington that after some delay, the Coast Guard approved the building of a twin span to the current Peace Bridge.
Coast Guard approves building twin span
“The U.S. Coast Guard on Wednesday approved the Peace Bridge Authority’s plan to “twin” the existing 1927 bridge and will issue a construction permit to the authority in the next few days.”
Sens. Charles Schumer and Daniel Patrick Moynihan voiced disappointment, as they joined many other elected officials in seeking a signature span. The next day, Patrick Lakamp reported that Common Council President James Pitts was ready to sue to stop the building of a twin span. Years later, the planning continues:
City officials begin moving to block twin span
“Pitts also said he plans to invite authority officials to his next Super Span Signature Bridge Task Force meeting to talk about the easements the authority needs from the city.
“The easements are needed because the Peace Bridge twin would cross a parcel of city land.
” ‘If they want to talk about the easements, they have to come to the meeting,’ said Pitts, who views the session as a chance to discuss an alternative design with the authority.”
By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo
Since the current system of an elected school board has been in place, every Buffalo mayor has asked for the power to appoint members to the board in an effort to save struggling city schools. Mayor Byron W. Brown took it a step further, speaking this February (2014) of possible mayoral control of Buffalo Schools.
In 1999, Mayor Anthony M. Masiello wanted to name two members of the board.
Masiello asks Legislature for power to appoint two school board members
“The mayor announced his plan Tuesday from the city’s new telecommunications center at City Hall during a joint news conference with the co-sponsors of an education reform bill that would grant the mayor that and more when it comes to managing city schools.”
In 1974, the Buffalo School Board transitioned from an appointed body to an elected one. Even as the change was occurring, experts weren’t sure it would solve all the problems. Gary Stranges’ article in The News makes clear that many involved in seeking the switch from an appointed Board of Education to an elected body knew the issues facing school leaders were decades old.
