Cultural Alliance of Niagara, Downtown Merchants Association of North Tonawanda, Chamber of Commerce of the Tonawandas, Project Pride, Oliver Street Pride, Western New York Association of Historical Agencies, Upstate History Alliance, American Association for State & Local History, Seaway Trail, Inc., Landmark Society of the Niagara Frontier, Niagara County Federation of Historical Societies, Erie County Historical Federation, Doors Open Niagara and the Bi-National Tourism Alliance!!

Thomas Frauenheim, of Thomas Frauenheim, Inc., will be the featured presenter at the North Tonawanda History Museum’s Industrial Heritage Night on Thursday, September 21, at the North Tonawanda Senior Center, 110 Goundry Street, beginning at 6:30 p.m. His presentation will include some of the hundreds of photos of North Tonawanda’s Richardson Boat Co. that he has gathered and has been documenting.

The winners of the Museum’s 2nd Annual Historic Gardens Contest will be announced at the event as well and prizes will be awarded.

Refreshments by Barb Wickman of Barb’s Sweet Treats will be served. Admission is free and open to the public.

Tom Frauenheim is a member of the family which owned Jafco Marina on the Niagara River in Buffalo for decades. He grew up working with boats and on boats. He has sold, repaired, delivered, cleaned, launched, rescued, built, brokered, researched, restored, and enjoyed boats from his early childhood. During the 1970s, he began taking an interest in antique boats. In the 1980s, he formed a company with Mike Moyer to reproduce and sell Garwood Speedsters. He takes particular pleasure in learning about the past, searching for information, and sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm with others. Frauenheim was a founder of the Niagara Frontier Chapter of the Antique & Classic Boat Society, and he hosted the first years of its meetings and Dry Rot parties at Jafco Marina. When Jafco was sold in the late 1980s, he established his own company.

Richardson Boat Company was located at 370 Sweeney at Bryant Street. Founded in 1909 by G. Reid Richardson as a one-man operation, it operated in the complex of buildings along the Erie Canal for the next 53 years until 1962, establishing its position as a major boat builder and employing over 200 workers. Richardson Boat built patrol craft during World War II in place of its wide range of pleasure boats, earning commendations from the Federal government for its war work. The range of Richardson boats covered custom, built-to-order cruisers, sailboats, runabouts, hydroplanes, government work boats, military craft, and in later years molded plywood and aluminum hull experiments.

The company was widely known for one of its methods of boat delivery, inaugurated in the 1930s, the Richardson “Sailaways.” The sheer magnitude of these events, with dozens of brand new boats, many with first time boat owners, taking off on a 500-mile trek from the Richardson Boat factory in North Tonawanda,along the Erie Canal, down the Hudson River to New York City, generated tremendous publicity.

Available for purchase at the event will be copies of “The Richardson Story” by William C. Lindquist on CD-ROM and “The Bison Shipyard Story” by Allen C. Gademsky on CD-ROM. Bison was another North Tonawanda industry.

NORTH TONAWANDA HISTORY MUSEUM

Telling the Story of Our City’s Rich Ethnic & Industrial Heritage

As a City Located on the Historic Erie Canal & Mighty Niagara River

314 Oliver Street

North Tonawanda, New York 14120

(716) 213-0554

e-mail: nthistorymuseum@aol.com - website: www.nthistorymuseum.org 

A new museum of the rich immigrant heritage of North Tonawanda and its role as an important shipping and manufacturing center on the Historic Erie Canal and the Mighty Niagara River in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Known as the “Lumber Capital of the World” in the late 19th century.  

2005 Office Hours: Mondays 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Tuesdays 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Thursdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Fridays 9 a.m. to noon

Also open by appointment; admission free; donations accepted

Additional participant groups or individuals can still be part of Haunted Gardens event but need to register on or before September 22.

The HAUNTED GARDENS ON THE EEEErie CANAL will take place this year on October 13, 20, and 27 from 7 to 10 p.m. This year’s event will bring back the popular Haunted Hayride presented by Hartland Carriages, the Haunted Greenhouse with refreshments and gift items for sale, and a new guided Spooky Stroll through the Haunted Gardens. This is the North Tonawanda History Museum’s second annual series of three Fridays in the North Tonawanda Botanical Gardens at 1825 Sweeney Street. Originally named the Adam Gondek Botanical Gardens, it was the site of last year’s “13 Historic Ghosts of the Niagara Frontier.” The event has been given a permanent name and format for this year’s events and for future years.

Coordinating the guided stroll for the North Tonawanda History Museum will be Danielle Oney, a North Tonawanda resident and SUNY at Buffalo student. Coordinating the Haunted Hayride and Haunted Greenhouse is Donna Zellner Neal. Advisors to this year’s event are Joann Mis and Carl Tamburlin, who created the scripts, sets, costuming and props for last year’s events and produced the guided stroll portion; and Robert and Joyce Braungart, a couple who have performed re-enactments in cemeteries in New Hampshire. A Haunted Greenhouse offering inexpensive seasonal refreshments and items for holiday gift giving is part of the event. Refreshments to be sold in the Haunted Greenhouse will be by Gullo’s Macaroni Grill.

Advance sale tickets are now available at the Museum and may be used on your choice of the three nights. Discounted tickets may be purchased through October 6 only from the Museum or through the Museum’s online gift shop. Advance purchase fees are $9 for adults for BOTH the stroll and hayride; $4.50 for children 5 -16 for BOTH the stroll and hayride. Admission at the event will be charged separately and will be $5 for adults for the guided Spooky Stroll and $ for the Haunted Hayride; $2.50 for children ages 5-16 for the Spooky Stroll and $2.50 for the Haunted Hayride.

Both events are FREE for ages 4 and under and free admission is included for all to the Haunted Greenhouse where light seasonal refreshments will be on sale as well as ethnic and historical gift items.

Discounted tickets are only available for the combination of stroll and hayride. However, participation is allowed on different nights if preferred by the purchaser. Advance purchase will save time the evening of the event by eliminating the need to stand in line to purchase tickets.

A number of additional youth groups and classes are still needed to create haunted hayride tableaus. Last year’s event included 150 area youngsters who, using their imaginations and creative talents, haunted the hayride route, including such things as a witches’ cauldron, haunted graveyard, and even a dancing ghost. The earliest groups to volunteer will have first choice of locations in which to create their part of the haunted hayride—and the first choice on subject matter or focus of their part of the project. Volunteers to work on decorating the Haunted Greenhouse can also be included.

A limited number of additional participants can be incorporated into the event. Teachers and youth group leaders as well as interested individuals of all ages are invited to contact the Museum at 213-0554 or by email at nthistorymuseum@aol.com before September 22 expressing interest in participation.

All efforts will be made to include everyone who is interested in participating in some form in the event. Community service credit is available to all who participate if needed.

NORTH TONAWANDA HISTORY MUSEUM

Telling the Story of Our City’s Rich Ethnic & Industrial Heritage

As a City Located on the Historic Erie Canal & Mighty Niagara River

314 Oliver Street

North Tonawanda, New York 14120

(716) 213-0554

e-mail: nthistorymuseum@aol.com - website: www.nthistorymuseum.org 

A new museum of the rich immigrant heritage of North Tonawanda and its role as an important shipping and manufacturing center on the Historic Erie Canal and the Mighty Niagara River in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Known as the “Lumber Capital of the World” in the late 19th century.  

2005 Office Hours: Mondays 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Tuesdays 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Thursdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Fridays 9 a.m. to noon

Also open by appointment; admission free; donations accepted

The North Tonawanda History Museum announced the winners of its 2nd annual Historic Gardens Contest at the September 21 Industrial Heritage Night program at the North Tonawanda Senior Center, 110 Goundry Street.

Museum Trustee Margaret Cheeley, Director Donna Zellner Neal, and Tonawanda News’ Towpath Tiller made the award presentations. The contest and tour were originally suggested by the Towpath Tiller in the fall of 2004 and his suggestion resulted in the Museum’s development of the first contest and tour in 2005 and this year’s contest and tour.

Three cast bronze plaques were awarded to the top three winners, reading “North Tonawanda History Museum Historic Gardens Contest Winner 2006.”

First prize was awarded to Daniel Brick, whose side and rear shade gardens at 226 Niagara Street incorporate plantings of a wonderfully historic flavor, including spectacular and unique peonies. All plantings in the gardens are over fifty years old! The Brick family is also an important part of North Tonawanda’s history, and their home was once owned by the Moses family, descendents of one of the City’s early prominent attorneys, James Theodore Moses. In addition to the plaque, Brick received a garden statue of St. Francis of Assisi.

Second prize was awarded to Richard and Diane Rog, whose sheltered private Victorian garden in the rear of their home at 110 Niagara Street, complete with deck, gazebo, fountain, sun dial, and private areas, is an unexpected pleasure.

Third prize was awarded to Mr. and Mrs. Robert Mileham, whose front and rear gardens at 211 Falconer Street were part of the tour. The superb front garden of unique plantings replaces a lawn. The rear garden is superb as well.

Certificates of recognition were also presented to Pane’s Restaurant and The NT Inner Circle Society at City Hall “for contributions through the combination of history and gardening to the quality of life of the residents of the City of North Tonawanda.” Pane’s floral displays are a delight to see and should encourage area businesses to participate next year. The NT Inner Circle Society was established this year to participate in the contest and to enhance and beautify the City’s hub of operations.

Seven additional gardeners will receive prizes for their participating gardens.

NORTH TONAWANDA HISTORY MUSEUM

Telling the Story of Our City’s Rich Ethnic & Industrial Heritage

As a City Located on the Historic Erie Canal & Mighty Niagara River

314 Oliver Street

North Tonawanda, New York 14120

(716) 213-0554

e-mail: nthistorymuseum@aol.com - website: www.nthistorymuseum.org 

A new museum of the rich immigrant heritage of North Tonawanda and its role as an important shipping and manufacturing center on the Historic Erie Canal and the Mighty Niagara River in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Known as the “Lumber Capital of the World” in the late 19th century.  

2005 Office Hours: Mondays 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Tuesdays 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Thursdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Fridays 9 a.m. to noon

Also open by appointment; admission free; donations accepted

Special Lectures to be feature of All-day Festival - Advance Sale Tickets Available for Festival  

“North Tonawanda: A Celebration of our Ethnic Diversity!” set for Saturday, October 7, 2006, will be the first bi-annual ethnic heritage festival of the North Tonawanda History Museum. It will be held in the Sportsplex Family Entertainment Complex at 90 Ridge Road from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Intended as an all day family event, the festival will include entertainment, educational programming, displays and exhibits, and ethnic foods.

Performing for this first event are the 55-member choir in its 125 th year, the Buffalo Schwaben Chor, the Polish Heritage Dancers, “Step in Time” Scottish Music Presentations, the Woodgate-Lachut School of Irish Dance (Western New York’s oldest school of Irish dance), St. Stephen’s (Serbian) Tamburitzans & Dancers, the Swedish Heritage Festival Committee of Augustana Lutheran Church, the Bergholz Blaskapelle (German Brass Band), and North Tonawanda’s own Matt Piorkowski.

Augustana’s Swedish choir will set the stage for the event with several traditional Swedish airs. Costumed dancers will demonstrate wonderful folk dances and a Swedish Waltz. The youngest dancers will show off what they have learned and children of all ages from the audience will have an opportunity to join them on stage for a dance lesson. The young men will perform a courting dance and mock Viking battle, cheered on by the audience who will decide the winner. There will be prizes and surprises! Augustana Lutheran Church was originally founded in 1883 in Buffalo by Swedish immigrants as part of the original Swedish Lutheran Church, and relocated to the Town of Tonawanda in 1965. Tara Scime has studied folk and ballroom dance in Europe and the United States and teaches Swedish and ballroom dance classes open to the public at Augustana.

Special lectures on ethnic heritage topics will be included, along with videos of relevant topics.

Lisa A. Alzo, a renowned instructor, lecturer, researcher, and writer will speak on “Identifying immigrant cluster communities and their role in preserving ethnic customs and traditions.” Alzo is the author of “Three Slovak Women.” She is the 2002 winner of the Mary Zirin Prize of the Association for Women in Slavic Studies. Alzo, grew up in Duquesne, Pennsylvania, and earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Nonfiction Writing from the University of Pittsburgh.  She is the author of four books: Three Slovak Women, Baba’s Kitchen: Slovak & Rusyn Family Recipes and Traditions (both by Gateway Press), Finding Your Slovak Ancestors (Heritage Productions), and the recently released Pittsburgh’s Immigrants (Arcadia Publishing), as well as numerous magazine articles.  She has taught classes for Myfamily.com and the National Institute for Genealogical Studies.  She is the Second Vice President for the Federation of Eastern European Family History Societies, and also serves as on the Board of Directors for the Czechoslovak Genealogical Society International.  She is a frequently invited speaker for national conferences, and genealogical/historical societies. 

Presented courtesy of funding by the New York Council for the Humanities Speakers in the Humanities program are three presentations: “Traditional & Historical Songs of New York State” by Buffalo’s Dave Ruch; Ciudad & Suburbia: The Changing Nature of Latino Immigration” by Dr. Sherrie Baver; and “Linguine and Lust: Food and Sex in Italian-American Culture” by Dr. Fred Gardaphe. Books and CDs by the presenters will be available for purchase at the event.

Dave Ruch is equal parts historian, entertainer, educator, comedian and folklorist, and he finds his song material in dusty archives, obscure songbooks, diaries, old recordings, scholarly journals and sometimes from his own children, and brings these gems to life in a most entertaining style. Whether singing in the old unaccompanied style, or backing himself with great skill on 5-string banjo, guitar, mandolin, lap dulcimer, washtub bass or jaw harp, joyful songs combine with stories and humor to captivate audiences young and old.   He is a member of the New York State Historical Association, New York State Council for the Social Studies, Canal Society of New York State, New York Folklore Society, Western New York Association of Historical Agencies, the Association of Teaching Artists and the New York State Reading Association.

Dr. Baver is Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program, City College and Graduate Center, City University of New York.

Dr. Gardaphe is Professor of Italian-American Studies, SUNY Stony Brook, and Director of Stony Brook University’s American and Italiam American Studies Program.

There will be occupational and ethnic demonstrations (including Polish sauerkraut making, Victorian Crazy Quilts, Brickmaking, Carousel woodcarving, miniature band organs and miniature carousels, and various ethnic items and exhibits), book signings by North Tonawanda authors Diane M. Meholick and John H. Kolecki, and Niagara Falls author H. William Feder, Ph.D., exhibits, ethnic and historical items for sale, and the Festival Food Court will include German food prepared by the Buffalo Schwaben Chor, Polish pierogi by North Tonawanda’s Our Lady of Czestochowa Church, and Greek food by Niko’s “Big Fat Greek” Restaurant, Italian foods by Gullo’s Macaroni Grill, Swedish foods by the Swedish Heritage Festival Committee of Augustana Lutheran Church, and American pioneer foods by the Scout Camp Chef. The Buffalo Schwaben Chor is coordinating the food court for the event. Sportsplex will supply the Festival Beverage Court.

A festival souvenir book, “ North Tonawanda: A Celebration of Our Diversity!”, is being prepared for release at the festival and will contain a variety of ethnic cultural and historical information, much of it created for the museum by college student volunteers, with typing assistance by museum volunteers and high school students. The souvenir book, as with all publications created by the North Tonawanda History Museum, will become part of its regular gift shop product line. Printing is by North Tonawanda’s Pioneer Printers.

Advance sale tickets may be ordered at the Museum or through its online gift shop. Discounted adult tickets for the all-day event are $8, children 5-16 are $2. Children 4 or under are FREE but tickets are required. Admission at the door will be $10 for adults, $3 for children ages 5-16. The deadline for discounted ticket purchases is October 6. Advance sale tickets may be ordered with Master Card or Visa Card.

There will be plenty to see and do all day long, with non-stop entertainment on the Festival Stage, the educational lectures and videos all day long in the Festival Lecture Room, and display and exhibits in the Festival Marketplace. Parking is free.

Museum representatives plan the celebration to be a bi-annual event. As with all Museum programming, their educational responsibility to the community is a central focus of this project. The North Tonawanda History Museum hopes to develop the bi-annual festivals in celebration of the rich ethnic heritage of North Tonawanda.

The earliest settlers in what is now the City of North Tonawanda were primarily of German heritage. Present day North Tonawanda has a population of over 33,000, 37% of which claim German heritage, 19% Polish heritage, 11% Italian, 11% Irish, and then smaller groups of other nationalities.

While the City’s early historical heritage was primarily built around the lives of the North German or Prussian, Polish, Italian, Irish, Hungarian, Ukrianian, Lebanese, and Slovakian immigrants of the 1800’s through the 1920’s, over the years additional ethnic groups have come to call North Tonawanda home, including those of Russian heritage, Native Americans, Latin Americans, and others. North Tonawanda was and continues to be a melting pot of nationalities, each with a rich individual cultural heritage and identity.

The Polish migration to North Tonawanda was part of the influx of what historians call “the new immigration to” the United States. The period from the 1880’s through the 1920’s was a period in which new ethnic groups entered the United States in increasing numbers. They were described as “new” because they came from Italy, Russia, Greece, Slovakia, China, Poland, and other countries, rather than from the traditional areas of U.S. migration to that point from England, Germany, and Ireland.

The original groups continued to arrive but the newer groups became the most numerous. The Polish migration, for example, generally began in the 1890’s and continued until the period following World War I. The Polish immigration to North Tonawanda began in earnest when the Buffalo Bolt Co. set up shop and paid the passage for many Polish and Slovakian immigrants.