Miller and Brundage Moving Company

(click image for larger photo)

What a great vintage picture! The Miller and Brundage Coach Co. can move your entire house in just one load! This was taken on the corner of Walnut and 6th Street in 1910

Suspension Bridge School

(Click image for larger photo)

This is one most people never heard of – It is the Suspension Bridge School (before the village of Suspension Bridge was combined with NF) and it was located at 11th & Lockport Sts. It later became an office of the Erie RR.


..

Main Street, Niagara Falls circa 1965

Click on any of the images to view a larger photo:



West Side of Main and Niagara Ave looking South


West Side of Main at Ontario looking South



West Side of Main from Niagara Ave looking South




West Side of Main at Division looking North





East Side of Main looking South to Michigan Avenue

East Side of Main looing South from Niagara Avenue

East Side of Main St at Niagara Avenue

::

Main Street Snapshots circa 1960s

east side main st looking south from ontario (click image for larger photo)



east side main st look south from niagara ave (click image for larger photo)

Rockin on Main Street - 1967

Back in 1967 when Main Street was still a vibrant business district, the Main St. Businessmen's Association sponsored a yearly "Battle of the Bands," as part of the North End Festival Days. The event attracted 13 of the local "garage bands" existing in the area. The first year the "stage" was the back of a flat bed trailer parked in front of Ruben's Discount Music Shop. The second year two stages were set up in what was then a vacant lot on the NE corner of Cleveland and Main, next to Rubens. Gerry Jaffe, of Jaffe Jewelers was the chairman of the event, assisted by Bob Goodman and Ed Riley. This writer (reader J.B) was asked to assist as the Contestant Coordinator because of my experience in the local music scene. Judges were John Pilato, music director of Lew-Port Central School, John McEwan, manager of Denton, Cottier & Daniels music store, and John Love of Rubens. The bands consisted primarily of young men between 14 and 20 years old. A large crowd of about 500 turned out for the Saturday June event and The Apaches from Niagara Falls came in first, with The Invaders, second, and The Loved Ones, third, both from Lewiston.

Here are photos from the event of 10 of the participating bands. It is interesting to note that 40 years later, a number of the musicians are back playing in retro-groups, and several have never left the music business. You may recognize many of the names in some of the groups as they are prominent citizens of our area.

Click any image for larger photo:


The London Fog - members unknown



The Missing Links - with Rick Elia on bass - rest unknown

The Knots - with Gerry Ketch on guitar and John Pasquantino (of the Youngstown Diner) on guitar - rest unknown

The Hocks - members unknown

The Cinders - members unknown

The Avengers - members unknown

December's Children - Frank & Tony Grizanti were key members

Benedict and the Traitors - members unknown

The Loved Ones, with Dick Lucinski on bass, Larry Elia on guitar, Wayne Dunn on guitar, Mike Franzek on drums and Yogi on vocals.

The Apaches, with Thom Rotella on guitar, Rich DelZoppo on guitar, Willie Favaro on bass and Pat Peri on drums

Perhaps some of the readers may be able to fill in some of the blanks! Recognize a name? Pass on the site's address to anyone you may recognize!

DIFFINE'S DAIRY

Diffine’s Dairy was located at 1314 Hyde Park Blvd. and was a division of the Niagara County Milk Producer’s Co-Op. These photos are circa 1957 at a time when there were several independent dairies bottling milk and making ice cream in the city. Carrigan’s on Portage Rd., Wendt’s on Buffalo Ave, Milleville Dairy on Cayuga Drive, and Diffine’s, were the four largest. Diffine’s and Wendt’s were prime competitors and both made their own brand of ice cream and bottled milk under their own name as well as for other, smaller dairies. Diffine’s also made “real” frozen custard, the only other place you could get it besides Hibbards in Lewiston. And Diffine’s ice cream was what today would be called “premium” because of the very high butterfat content. Mmmmm, good!

Being located directly across from Hyde Park, Diffine’s was a “must stop” after a ball game or a walk in the park. At times, several baseball teams would inundate the soda fountain all at once and there would be 30-40 kids in line. Note the prices on the signs in the background: 10cent cones, 30cent sundaes and milkshakes, 89cent ½ gal of ice cream.

One of the interesting things was dealing with tourists from other parts of the country where terminology was different. Someone might ask for a “soda” when they meant “soda pop,” and in the dairy a soda was ice cream, flavoring, and carbonated water. Or they might ask for a “frappe,” when they meant what we called a milk shake. For anyone who loved ice cream this was the dream job, as you could eat as much as you wanted……FREE!! If you were really lucky you got to actually make ice cream under the tutelage of a seasoned dairy employee and there is not much in life better than to taste fresh, soft ice cream, right from the freezing machine.

The first photo is of Bob Woodring serving a cone. After he became an adult he became the owner of his own dairy in Boston, NY.

The second photo shows Naomi waiting on a couple young girls. The dairy store was run by women and employed teenage boys. Naomi was very well liked by everyone as she had the sweetest personality.

The color photo shows Jim Barto handing 3 cones to awaiting hands.

The last photo is a view from behind the counter and shows Bob Woodring, John (who was also a mail carrier and worked the dairy part time) and Joe Smith on a busy evening.

(Click each photo for a larger image)

..

VINTAGE PHOTOS - FALLSVIEW BRIDGE COLLAPSE

(Click images for larger photos)


Photo 1: The collapse of the Falls View Bridge into the river Jan. 27, 1938

Photo 2: The final stages of the Falls View Bridge sinking into the river and being washed away.



--