Bell Aircraft Corporation circa WWII

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Vintage Postcards of Niagara Falls

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Niagara Falls Trivia

Niagara Falls Trivia - How much do YOU know?

Thanks again to Jim Brunn (the top-dog of StenzTV viewers!) for sending in this nostalgic quiz written by Frank Thomas Croisdale. This quiz has been floating around the Interweb for a few years, but if ya haven't seen it, I'm sure you will enjoy it - be sure to pass it on! Have fun!
Many businesses have come and gone over the years in Niagara Falls. Since
the last great heyday of the 1960s and '70s, numerous stores that helped
make up the cultural landscape of Niagara Falls have closed their doors for
good. How well do you recall these businesses?
Take the following quiz of 30 questions (10 each in the categories of easy,
medium and difficult) to see how well you remember the way we used to be.
Score 1 point for each correct answer.

EASY
1. This fixture of the old downtown of Niagara Falls became the original
anchor store of the Rainbow Centre. Name it for your first point.
2. What was the name of the drive-in theater on Military Road that
brought the big screen experience to Niagara Falls?
3. What bakery famous for its Italian bread and cold slices of pizza was
located at 19th Street and Elmwood Avenue?
4. What department store occupied the building on Packard Road before
Gold Circle?
5. A car wash on Third Street in the Town of Niagara garnered a lot of
press in the late '70s because of what it was built to look like. Can you
name it?
6. What was the name of the Western New York chain that was bought out
by the Bon Ton at the Summit Park Mall?
7. What was the name of the meat market that stood at 18th Street and
Linwood Avenue until it was tragically lost to fire?
8. Name the department store that stood at the site where the Prime
Outlet Mall is now located.
9. Name the family grocery store on Linwood Avenue and Main Street that
used the motto, "Where Food Shopping is King."
10. What was the name of the K-Mart subsidiary that was operated from
the building on Main Street that now houses D&K?

MEDIUM
11. What restaurant specializing in steaks was located in the Summit
Park Mall across from the movie theaters?
12. What Niagara Falls bakery had a location on 20th Street in the city?
13. What Third Street nightclub featured nationally known blues
musicians like B.B. King and John Lee Hooker?
14. Name the Niagara Falls Boulevard chicken wing outlet that had a sign
on the front that also served as its menu. The sign read, "50 Wings --
$5.99."
15. Iney Wallens has done her Friday lunch radio broadcast from the
restaurant of a Buffalo Avenue hotel -- that most recently was called the
Best Western Inn on the River -- for years. What was it called for most of
the '70s and '80s?
16. The China Garden Chinese Restaurant is located at the intersection
of Pine Avenue and Portage Road. What coffee shop occupied the building for
decades before closing up shop in the '90s?
17. What national food chain used to do business out of the building now
housing Mighty Taco on Military Road?
18. What Pine Avenue bar was reopened, in the mid-'90s, by new ownership
under the name, "Studrats?" Hint: The new owner must not have had enough
money for a proper sign because the old name was an anagram of the new one.
19. What sinfully good ice cream chain had a franchise in the food court
of the Rainbow Centre?
20. What local hamburger joint had shops on both Pine Avenue and
Military Road in the 1970s?

DIFFICULT
21. What was the name of the first head shop to "turn on" Niagara Falls?
It was located on lower Main Street.
22. This drugstore on 18th Street and Cleveland Avenue had a sign out
front that stated that they carried Russell Stover Candies. Can you name it?
23. Name the two locations of "David's Steak Hoagy" before they moved to
their current spot.
24. In the summer of 1979 a strange airplane was frequently spotted
flying over the skies of Niagara Falls. Why was this plane different from
all others?
25. Name the Italian restaurant that stood on Whirlpool Street across
from the bridge in the 1970s.
26. This hamburger chain was located on Main Street where the Burger
King stands now. Do you know its name? Hint: If you know the name of the
corporation that owns most of the Burger Kings in Western New York, then you
know the answer to this question.
27. Name the Niagara Falls daredevil who briefly set up shop in the
Rainbow Centre in 1985, selling autographed keepsakes of his plunge.
28. Name the Summit Park Mall women's clothing boutique that was managed
in the 1980s by Niagara Falls television host Lori Caso.
29. The site of the current Fichte Eye Associates on 24th Street and
Pine Avenue once had a brief and disastrous incarnation as a drive-through
spaghetti house. Double garlic bread to you if you can name it.
30. The parking lot at Trusello's Bakery featured a billboard that had a
cartoon rendition of one man choking another. What did the caption that
accompanied the drawing read?


Answers
1. Beir's Brothers
2. Starlight Drive-In
3. Trusello's Bakery
4. Twin Fair
5. The Blue Whale Car Wash
6. AM&A's
7. Meranto's
8. King's Department Store
9. Slipko's
10. Kresge's
11. York Steak House
12. DiCamillo's
13. The Imperial Garage
14. The Chicken Coop
15. The Red Jacket Inn
16. The Wedge Coffee Shop
17. Wendy's
18. Stardust
19. Haagen-Dazs
20. Henry Hamburgers
21. The Fevertree
22. Stine's Drugs
23. Pine Avenue and Portage Road across from the old high school and in
Pine Plaza on Niagara Falls Boulevard
24. It had a scrolling dot-matrix advertising board mounted under its
wings and ran ads for businesses
25. The Checkerboard
26. Carroll's Hamburgers
27. Steven Trotter
28. Ormond
29. The Spaghettory
30. "What did you say about Trusello's bread?"
Scoring Table
27-30 points: You are a dyed-in-the-wool Niagarian. Congratulations.
20-26 points: You know your stuff.
15-19 points: You win the 10th cigarette prize -- middle of the pack.
9-14 points: You must have lost your long-term memory after drinking some
bad Love Canal water.
0-8 points: You're not from 'round these here parts, now are you?

Park Police circa 1961

Did you know that the city parks had their own police department, complete with their own chief? Here’s a photo of Motorcycle Officer Vince Fusco of the City Park Police. In the early 1960’s the park police officers were able to join the regular police department and the park police dept. was phased out. Officer Fusco became a city police dispatcher until his retirement.




(submitted by JB)

Building The Schoellkopf Power Plant circa 1921

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Building The Schoellkopf Power Plant circa 1921... The actual plant construction in the gorge (about where Howard Johnson’s Hotel is now). Click the following link to learn more: http://www.niagarafrontier.com/schoellkopf.html


Submitted by JB

Brief History of First Presbyterian Church of Niagara Falls

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On April 3, 1824, five citizens met under the leadership of the teacher-educator Rev. David Smith to form the First Presbyterian Church of Niagara Falls. The persons who were the actors in this scene were Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Smith, Mrs. Isaac Smith Jr., Mrs. Stephen Childs and Abraham Mesler.

The original Board of Trustees of the First Presbyterian Society of Niagara included some of the area's most prominent citizens and founders of Niagara Falls. In addition to the original five organizers were Augustus Porter, Samuel DeVeaux, Ira Cook and Ziba Gay.



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Judge Porter was the first permanent European settler of the area, and along with his brother General Peter Porter, owned Goat Island and all the lands in the area. The famous Native American Orator, Chief Red Jacket and General Lafayette were frequent visitors to the Porter household.

After building a wooden church where "Old Falls St." now runs, the present church was erected at its current location out of native stone in 1849 at a cost of $8,000, including the cost of the lot. Judge Porter donated the land and much of the furnishings for the new church, that sports 2 foot thick walls. The original bell still rings in the bell tower today.

The original church building had a steeple and in 1850 a clock was installed in said steeple. It was known as the "town clock" and had it been allowed to run down, the whole village would have been thrown off schedule. Therefore, Max Elbe, the son of the village jeweler, was hired for a dollar a month to climb up every week and wind and oil the clock. Once the church wanted a lamp post installed in front of the building to light up the doorway, so they advised the village officers that they had the use of the clock free, therefore, the least they could do in return was to install the lamp post. Later, the village appropriated $52 per year for the clock, but this was eventually cut from the budget and the clock allowed to stop. It never ticked again after 1896 and was taken down with the steeple in 1914.

In 1879 a large addition was constructed at the rear of the church to house the ever-growing Sunday School. Said Sunday School was begun by Judge DeVeaux in 1827. DeVeaux, an Episcopalian, transferred to that church when one was formed in Niagara Falls. A growing congregation necessitated the enlargement of the Sanctuary in 1889 when a large addition was constructed on the south side of the church.


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Members of First Church have been instrumental in founding several of the other churches in Niagara Falls. Among those was the Presbyterian Church at 10th St. and Niagara Ave. in 1853; and other members also founded the Congregational Church at 822Cleveland Ave. In 1893, Pierce Ave. Presbyterian Church was founded, and in the late 1920's the spirit again moved First Church to mission work at home and led to acquisition of property in the DeVeaux and Evershed sections of the city for branches of First Church. Third Presbyterian was merged into First Church and the new facility on 59th St. was named Bacon Memorial Church, in honor of Rev. Albert S. Bacon, who was pastor of First Church from 1890-1925, the longest serving pastor in in the church's history.

In 1970 the church was scheduled to be demolished as part of the city's Urban Renewal program. Fortunately, the congregation's fight to save the building was successful and this magnificant facility still proudly stands as the symbol of Niagara's oldest church.



(Submitted by JB)

Gaskill Jr. High School Band, circa 1955

Submitted by Jim Brunn:


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I began my “music career” on the violin in 6th Grade at Niagara Street School. My grandfather, Ernie Woodring, had played violin and it was decided that I should also play that particular instrument. Other than “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” I didn’t progress with any kind of proficiency. When I entered junior high school the music teacher decided he needed a cello player rather than another squeaky violin, so cello lessons were begun. I actually became reasonably good at reading music and playing along in the orchestra. That career on the stringed instruments ended when I was graduated from high school because I was using a school loaned instrument and cellos are very expensive.

I had always wanted to play a trumpet and when I asked to take trumpet lessons at Gaskill the music teacher said, “Trumpet players are a dime a dozen. You should play something that will always be needed……..like a baritone horn”. I had no idea what a baritone horn was, but being the easily influenced child, I said OK. Once again, the teacher was correct, and I became a baritone player. Then as the years went along, the school band was in need of a tuba player and I was told it was just a larger baritone horn and didn’t I really want to play such a commanding instrument? Of course I said yes, and I became the new tuba/sousaphone instrumentalist. I loved those years in the school bands, especially when I went to (the old) Niagara Falls High School where a new music teacher/bandmaster was hired, Mr. John Hadden. He had experience with and instituted a marching band where we actually performed at half time at football games. Mr. Hadden was a great guy and he and his wife and I became long-time friends.

Here is a photo of the Gaskill Jr. High School band, circa 1955, led by Mr. Howard Shotz. Names I can recall are, first row left, Jim Brunn, baritone horn; back row left, Ernie Dishaw, tuba; standing to the right of Mr. Shotz, Carl Brenner; second row, second from the right, Paul D. Beam, horn. While the names of many others are on the tip of my tongue, memory being a fleeting issue I don’t recall them. I’m sure some of your readers could further identify those in the photo.

Fortunately, the current music programs at our high school have produced some award-winning groups and the city should be proud. We must fight to keep those programs intact and even expanded.