Buffalo in the ’70s: Love that Joey, Love that Super Duper

Joey Bean Heinz was already a veteran Western New York stage actress when she was tapped by Super Duper to appear in TV commercials with the supermarket’s weekly specials starting in 1975. Buffalo News archives Western New York quickly embraced the woman who spent at least a half hour a week on local TV—albeit in … Continue reading Buffalo in the ’70s: Love that Joey, Love that Super Duper

What It Looked Like Wednesday: Three nights of drinking in South Buffalo, 1977

In the year of the big blizzard, the iconic Buffalo News tavern and music critic Dale Anderson counted 17 bars on Seneca Street between Elk Street and the city line. Buffalo Stories archives/Steve Cichon collection He visited or at least talked about 10 different gin mills along Seneca Street and Abbott Road, including four within a block … Continue reading What It Looked Like Wednesday: Three nights of drinking in South Buffalo, 1977

Remembering Gramps on a Warm Christmas past

By Steve Cichon | steve@buffalostories.com | @stevebuffalo What a beautiful day outside. Seeing small kids playing with someone who looked like their grandfather in Delaware Park just now takes me back 35 years to a similar scene in Cazenovia Park, on a similar beautiful just-before-Christmas day. The only difference— unlike these carefree kids, all was … Continue reading Remembering Gramps on a Warm Christmas past

Buffalo in the ’70s: New NFT buses arrive at the Aud

This former NFT bus, a 1967 GMC Model TDH-5304, was the wave of the future when it and 33 others started rolling around Western New York. This undated photo, likely from the late ’30s or early ’40s, shows those “Old Look” buses lined up for service along the Porter-Best route. By the time the Blizzard … Continue reading Buffalo in the ’70s: New NFT buses arrive at the Aud

Buffalo in the ’70s: Up in the Oranges, hanging on for dear life

As hockey season gets underway in Buffalo, inevitably someone will wax poetic about the great old days of watching the Sabres at Memorial Auditorium. While the memories might be sweet, the modern hockey fan might not last even one period without complaint. This 1973 photo shows the extreme pitch of seats in the Orange section … Continue reading Buffalo in the ’70s: Up in the Oranges, hanging on for dear life

WBEN’s calm, steady voice of intelligence and reason: Lou Douglas 1930-2015

Pioneer announcer and journalist Lou Douglas has died. He was 85. The Korean War vet came to WBEN-AM/FM/TV in 1957 and his unflappable, smart, level-headed approach to news anchoring and interviewing was part of the fabric of  the station for 30 years. Douglas was considered by most as the dean of broadcast journalists. In his early years … Continue reading WBEN’s calm, steady voice of intelligence and reason: Lou Douglas 1930-2015

Buffalo in 1980: The biggest WNY events of the ’70s, in pictures

Over a two-page spread six days into the 1980s, The News looked back at the most important stories of Western New York over the previous 10 years in photos. Fourteen photos represented events that defined Buffalo during the decade. The images are grainy, but the memories of the happenings are still with us. They include … Continue reading Buffalo in 1980: The biggest WNY events of the ’70s, in pictures

Moving pictures that will move Buffalo: Pathe posts entire newsreel collection on-line

By Steve Cichon | steve@buffalostories.com | @stevebuffalo BUFFALO, NY – It’s an amazing treasure trove. Pathe (pronounced {path-AY’}) News, one of the leading producers of the newsreels shown in movie theatres around the world from the 1920s through the 1960s, has posted it’s entire 85,000 video clip collection on YouTube. Think of the ways the world … Continue reading Moving pictures that will move Buffalo: Pathe posts entire newsreel collection on-line

Photos from Buffalo’s Jimmy Griffin years

He remains one of the most popular figures in Buffalo’s history. He was also one of the most vilified. Jimmy Griffin was Mayor of Buffalo from 1978-1993. No one has ever held the post longer, and it’s a pretty good bet that no one ever had more fun doing the job. He got things done. … Continue reading Photos from Buffalo’s Jimmy Griffin years

Longer ago than it might feel… From the 1999-2000 phone book

It wasn’t that long ago, right? 1999-2000? So the phone book shouldn’t be that different, should it? As I put two recently delivered telephone directories out for recycling today, I thought I’d go grab a classic phone book off the shelf and give it a look through. (Thanks for skipping over the why the hell … Continue reading Longer ago than it might feel… From the 1999-2000 phone book