Television Broadcasting of news--New York (State)--Buffalo--History.
Television Journalists--New York (State)--Buffalo--History.
Social Justice--United States.
Black lives matter movement.
Love Canal Chemical Waste Landfill (Niagara Falls, N.Y.)--History
Radioactive waste disposal--New York (State)--West Valley.
Buffalo Bills (Football team)--History.
McVeigh, Timothy.
Oklahoma City Federal Building Bombing, Oklahoma City, Okla., 1995.
John Paul II, Pope, 1920-2005.
Waterfronts--New York (State)--Buffalo.
“The Buffalo Story: History Happens Here” aired on June 7, 2021 as a local primetime special on WIVB-TV. The documentary features major events covered by the station’s news department and illustrates the contributions of Buffalo’s broadcast journalists and the value of local television news archives and their potential to inform, educate and uplift the communities they represent. The two major segments in the first half of the program deal with the pursuit of racial and environmental justice in the Buffalo-Niagara region. Buffalo’s legendary role in the civil rights movement and the notorious Love Canal disaster are revisited through key archival news and documentary footage. The second half features Buffalo’s prominence as a television market for news and its ties to many historic developments and events of national and international significance. Examples include the terminus of the Erie Canal, the Buffalo woman shot along with Pope John Paul II during an assassination attempt, and the four consecutive Super Bowl appearances by the Buffalo Bills in the 1990s. The one hour program highlights efforts by the Buffalo Broadcasters Association (BBA) to preserve the images on early news film and videotape before they deteriorate and are lost forever. It is written and hosted by WIVB-TV’s retired senior correspondent Rich Newberg. He was instrumental in laying the groundwork for the BBA’s Archive Project sixteen years earlier. Newberg’s fellow producer and editor Tom Vetter also worked at WIVB-TV as a news photographer. Newberg and Vetter created the station’s documentary unit in 1999. Some segments of their New York Emmy Award winning pieces appear in this documentary. Veteran WIVB anchor Jacquie Walker co-produced the program along with WIVB graphic arts director Kurt Murphy. “The Buffalo Story: History Happens Here” is more than just a history lesson or a tribute to the local broadcast journalists who provided an extraordinary chronicle of life-changing events. It is a call to action to preserve the news footage that helped define a region and in some cases, a nation.
Newberg, Rich (Producer, Writer, Host)
Vetter, Tom (Producer, Photographer, Editor)
Moments In Time Video, Inc. & TVRE Productions, Inc.
Buffalo & Erie County Public Library (publisher of digital)
Walker, Jacquie (Co-producer)
Murphy, Kurt (Co-producer, Graphic Arts Director)
Holland, Dan (Contributing Photographer)
Mombrea, Mike Jr. (Interviewee, Documentarian)
Ziemer, Heidi (Consulting Archivist)
Mombrea, John (Digital Archivist)
Terranova, Michael (Digital Archivist)
Newberg, David (Logo Designer)
Dworsky, Molly (Logo Designer)
Copyright held by Moments In Time Video, Inc. & TVRE Productions, Inc. Access to this digital version provided by the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library. Videos or images in this collection are not to be used for any commercial purposes without the expressed written permission of Rich Newberg, Tom Vetter, WIVB-TV and the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library. Users of this website are free to utilize material from this collection for non-commercial and educational purposes.
eng
Aircraft accidents--New York (State)--Clarence
Four days after a plane crashed in the Buffalo suburb of Clarence, New York, claiming the lives of all forty-nine people on board and a man on the ground, WIVB-TV- Channel 4 presented a one hour special honoring the memory of those who perished. “4 The Families” included eulogies from relatives and friends and the latest details on the crash investigation. Colgan Air Flight 3407 was on its way from Newark, New Jersey to the Buffalo Niagara International Airport. Colgan Air was a regional company servicing Continental Airlines. Shortly before the crash, the crew had reported a buildup of ice on the aircraft's wings and windshield. The Bombardier Q400 two-engine turbo-prop failed to recover from a stall and crashed into a house on Long Street in Clarence Center. Three people were in the house. A mother and her daughter were able to escape. The father did not survive. The accident occurred at 10:17 pm, about five miles from the Buffalo airport. An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board would later attribute the crash to pilot error. Instead of pointing the nose of the plane downward and applying full power, the proper reaction to an aerodynamic stall, Captain Marvin Renslow pulled back on the control column pointing the nose upward causing the plane to pitch and roll. It quickly lost altitude and crashed. Among those killed in the crash were Allison Des Forges, a human rights investigator and an expert on the Rwandan genocide, Beverly Eckert, named co-chair of the 9/11 Family Steering Committee after her husband was killed in the September 11 attacks, Susan Wehle, the first American female Jewish Renewal cantor, and jazz musicians Gerry Niewood and Coleman Mellett, who were en route to a concert with Chuck Mangione and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.
WIVB-TV
WIVB (Television Station : Buffalo, N.Y.)
Murphy, Kurt (Graphic Artist)
Jacquie Walker, Jacquie (Anchor)
Postles, Don (Anchor)
Holmes, Melissa (Reporter)
Richert, George (Reporter)
Newberg, Rich (Reporter)
Vaughters, Al (Reporter)
Schultz, Lorey (Reporter)
Arena, Joe (Reporter)
McClintick, Michele
Hairston, Mylous (Reporter)
Cruze, Tricia (Reporter)
Moretti, Luke (Reporter)
Copyright held by WIVB-TV. Access to this digital version provided by the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library. Videos or images in this collection are not to be used for any commercial purposes. Users of this website are free to utilize material from this collection for non-commercial and educational purposes.
The Buffalo Firefighters Story: A Testament to Courage, Commitment and Compassion
Fire fighters--New York (State)--Buffalo--History
Buffalo--Official and employees--History
Herbert, Donny--Health
September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001.
SEGMENT 1: The Rescue and Awakening of Don Herbert A month after Buffalo firefighter Don Herbert was rescued from an attic of a burning house, WIVB-TV senior correspondent Rich Newberg and photographer Tom Vetter reported on the dedication and sacrifices of those who fight fires for a living. On December 28, 1995, Herbert became trapped after the roof collapsed. He ran out of oxygen before fellow firefighters could locate him. They saved his life but he suffered from brain damage and blindness. Rich Newberg visited the veteran firefighter whose speech was impaired but who was determined to do anything necessary to regain his strength and communication skills. Despite his strength of character and will to survive, Herbert later lapsed into a decade-long coma. On April 30, 2005, Don Herbert suddenly awakened and made international news when he began talking to family members and friends as if it were yesterday. He had been given drugs normally used to treat Parkinson’s disease, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and depression. Anderson Cooper, reporting for CBS’s 60 Minutes, produced a major story on what many were calling a “miraculous awakening.” Herbert broke into tears when a fellow firefighter told him he had been unresponsive for about ten years. Subsequently, Don Herbert took a fall out of bed, which again weakened his condition. He developed pneumonia and passed away on February 21, 2006. Herbert left behind a wife and four sons. Two became firefighters. The amazing story of his awakening gave hope to families with brain damaged loved ones in a coma. Herbert will always be remembered for his bravery and courage as part of a rescue team, and for his desire to do the very best he could under debilitating circumstances. SEGMENT 2 The Ultimate Sacrifice on North Division Street On December 27, 1983, a propane tank explosion at a four story radiator warehouse in Buffalo claimed the lives of five Buffalo firefighters. It remains the largest single day loss of life in the history of the Buffalo Fire Department. In addition, two civilians living near the warehouse were killed in their home. The explosion occurred shortly after the firefighters arrived on the scene, responding to the call of a propane gas leak. All five crew members from Ladder 5 were killed instantly. Eleven others were injured when the blast occurred. There were more injuries during rescue efforts. More than 150 civilians were taken to hospitals.The warehouse was destroyed as were buildings within a four-block radius. It was later determined that the 500 gallon propane tank had been illegally housed in the warehouse. A memorial service honoring the memory of the fallen firefighters takes place every year on December 27th at 8:23 p.m., the time of the explosion. It is held at fire call box number 191 at the intersection where the explosion took place. SEGMENT 3 Buffalo Firefighters Respond to 9/11 Attacks at Ground Zero When the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center were attacked and destroyed by terrorists on 9/11/2001, Lt. Tony Liberatore, now a captain in the Buffalo Fire Department, said at the time, “A group of us felt we had to go there and we had to go there now. So we got there as quick as we possibly could.” WIVB’s Lisa Flynn and photographer Steve Beauchamp produced a segment for the hour special, “Day of Sorrow: Year of Change,” featuring the role Buffalo firefighters played in recovery efforts at Ground Zero. They called the story, “Forever Changed.” In the year following the attack, Liberatore returned to New York City, helping to train firefighter recruits. Flynn reported that the recruits were “desperately needed to fill the loss of 343 firefighters and a host of others who retired…”
Newberg, Rich (Reporter, Archivist)
Murphy, Kurt (Graphic artist)
Vetter, Tom (Photographer, Editor)
Cooper, Anderson (60 Minutes Reporter)
Mongiovi, Rachele (Reporter)
Flynn, Lisa (Reporter)
Beauchamp, Steve (Photographer, Editor)
On Thursday, February 12, 2009 at 10:17 pm, Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashed into a house in Clarence Center, a suburb of Buffalo, New York. All forty-nine passengers and crew members were killed. One man in the house also lost his life. The twin-engine turboprop belonged to Colgan Air, a regional airline company serving Continental Airlines. The flight had originated in Newark, New Jersey. It crashed only a few miles from the Buffalo-Niagara International Airport. This composite of stories begins the night of the crash. WIVB-TV’s Lisa Flynn was the first to report that it was a commercial airliner that crashed, not a small plane, as had been first thought. The crash sent a shock wave across Western New York. Many of the victims were from the Buffalo area. Families and friends of those who perished in the crash remembered their loved ones during grief stricken moments, and Western New York went through a period of mourning. Many questions were raised about the cause of the crash and whether the crew had been properly trained to operate this particular aircraft. Family members began attending hearings in Washington DC and closely followed the investigation. A year after the crash, the National Transportation Safety Board determined that pilot error was the probable cause of the accident. Captain Marvin Renslow had failed to correctly respond to a stall, which is the sudden reduction in lift of an aircraft. The pilot had pulled back on the control column, tilting the nose of the plane up instead of lowering it and applying full power. Families had begun questioning whether Federal Aviation Administration regulations for regional airlines were adequate. Critical safety issues raised included pilot training and fatigue. On the one year anniversary of the crash, family members and supporters walked from the accident site on Long Street in Clarence to the Buffalo Niagara International Airport to draw attention to their cause. In a series of WIVB investigative reports, Rich Newberg revealed that internal emails from Colgan Airlines were obtained by lawyers representing the relatives of deceased passengers. They indicated that pilot Marvin Renslow had training problems and appeared not ready to handle the Bombardier Q400 aircraft. However, a month later he was flying the plane. When Newberg questioned an attorney representing Colgan Air, he maintained that Capt. Renslow was qualified to fly the plane. Attorneys representing the crash victims determined that Colgan Air had been expanding air routes and moving to fifteen of the bigger models of the Q 400 planes. Attorney Hugh Russ said Colgan was “desperately looking for pilots to fly these planes.” Russ said, “These emails in our judgement prove that Colgan sacrificed safety for profits.” Families charged that Colgan Air had withheld the emails during the investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. The NTSB then ordered Colgan Air’s parent company, Pinnacle Airlines, to produce the internal emails in question. The company said it would comply. A former Colgan Air crew scheduler came forward and told Newberg that the airline would fly pilots who lacked sleep to cover each leg of a flight itinerary. Colgan had no comment. Eventually, the families, after many trips to Washington, got the FAA to implement tougher regulations including more hours of flight training and a requirement that airlines keep more extensive records detailing how pilots performed during training. Measures were also implemented to cut down on pilot fatigue. Deborah Hersman, who was chair of the NTSB, told Rich Newberg, “…the families in this accident have been simply amazing. We have seen some incredible grace come out of the people who have gone through the worst experience of their life to really come together and try to determine if there’s anything good that can come from this, to make sure that no one has to go through what they went through. They have been a strong voice. They have been aggressive. They’ve been educated on the issues, and they’ve been a great help to the safety board as we try to focus attention on the issues related to this accident.”
Newberg, Rich
Walker, Jacquie (Anchor)
Macko, Rob (Reporter)
Shultz, Lorey (Reporter)
A Toxic Nightmare: The Awakening [The Story of Love Canal Pt. 1]
Love Canal Chemical Waste Landfill (Niagara Falls, N.Y.)
Chemical plants -- Waste disposal -- Environmental aspects -- New York (State) -- Niagara Falls
More than forty years after covering the Love Canal disaster in Niagara Falls, former WIVB-TV senior correspondent Rich Newberg returns to the site where 20,000 thousand tons of buried industrial chemicals took a terrible toll on families living on top of the toxic dumpsite. Hooker Chemical had once sold the property to the Niagara Falls School District for a dollar. The cries of families ravaged by chemical exposure in their own homes had initially been ignored by lawmakers who were in a position to offer meaningful support. The grassroots struggle of these homeowners and their ultimate victory in winning federal support offers powerful lessons to a nation still troubled by environmental injustice. Mr. Newberg tracked down the former Niagara Gazette rookie reporter who broke the story in 1978. In a rare interview, Michael Brown recalls his "journalistic obsession" after going door-to-door in the Love Canal neighborhood and establishing a pattern of still births and cancer. Lois Gibbs, the stay-at-home mom who rose to national prominence in her fight to be heard, tells Mr. Newberg that local broadcast journalists played a major role in getting the word out. “When people are right and people peacefully demonstrate and speak truth to power,” she said, “that’s how democracy works, and then we got what we needed.” The story ends with President Joe Biden bemoaning the fact that the right of every American to breathe clean air and drink clean water has yet to be fulfilled. “A Toxic Nightmare: The Awakening” received a New York Emmy Award in the category of Science/Environment. It also won a national Telly Award. In addition, Rich Newberg and co-producer Tom Vetter took first place “Enterprise Reporting” honors from the Journalists Association of New York. The piece appeared as a featured segment of the Buffalo primetime special, “The Buffalo Story: History Happens Here,” which won a New York Emmy Award for “Public Service.” Originally aired on WIVB-TV and WNLO-TV / Buffalo, New York.
Vetter, Tom (Producer, Editor)
Murphy, Kurt (Co-producer)
Love Canal: Neighborhood of Fear [The Story of Love Canal Pt. 2]
Turning Anger Into Action [The Story of Love Canal Pt.3]
What Have We Learned? [The Story of Love Canal Pt. 4]
An Interview with Michael Brown
An Interview with Lois Gibbs [Her battle and victory on behalf of Love Canal homeowners]
Two years into the battle for environmental justice in the Love Canal neighborhood of Niagara Falls, WIVB-TV presented a news special. The disaster had reached a crisis stage with homeowners demanding action by all levels of government. They had unknowingly moved into a neighborhood developed on top of a toxic dumpsite and were now suffering the consequences of harmful chemicals making their way into their homes and schools. The half hour presentation, was written, produced and reported by Marie Rice, who co-anchored the special with WIVB anchor John Beard. It featured some of the most emotional testimony from Love Canal family members whose loved ones were sick and dying due to chemical exposure. More than seven hundred families were demanding that they be relocated and that their grievances be properly addressed. Tests determined that residents had suffered “ominous” rare chromosomal damage. Lois Gibbs, who ultimately led the Love Canal Homeowners Association to victory, later attributed Buffalo news coverage to the successful outcome. The grassroots crusade has been credited with launching the environmental justice movement in the United States. President Jimmy Carter came to Niagara Falls to sign legislation that met homeowners demands and led to the creation of the Superfund. Formerly known as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, the program is designed to provide emergency responses to sites contaminated by hazardous substances. By one count there are 40,000 federal Superfund sites across the United States.
Rice, Marie (Producer, Writer, Host)
News 4 Buffalo (WIVB-TV Newsroom)
Beard, John (Co-host)
Swan, Ray (Editor)
A Toxic Nightmare: The Awakening [The Story of Love Canal Pt. 1] Turning Anger Into Action [The Story of Love Canal Pt.3] What Have We Learned? [The Story of Love Canal Pt. 4] An Interview with Michael Brown An Interview with Lois Gibbs [Her Battle and Victory on Behalf of Love Canal Homeowners]
These selected reports beginning in 1978 provide insight into how Love Canal homeowners were able to channel their fears and anger into action in terms of personal injury lawsuits against the Hooker Chemical Corporation and pressure applied to their local, state and federal government representatives. Beginning in the summer of 1978, when blood tests were first administered and only a selected number of households were ordered to evacuate their contaminated homes, Lois Gibbs and her Love Canal Homeowners Association demanded that arrangements be made to move out more families for permanent relocation. After strong lobbying efforts, president Jimmy Carter took initial action in approving enough funds for New York State to buy 236 Love Canal homes. Families were relocated at a cost of $10 million dollars. Three months later it was revealed that 200 tons of dioxin, one of the most lethal chemicals produced by humans, were buried in the canal. Residents said they witnessed the military also using the canal as a dumpsite. In May 1980 the Environmental Protection Agency determined that some residents suffered from chromosome damage. Four days later President Carter declared Love Canal a national emergency. Eventually another 710 Love Canal families were relocated. Love Canal families had originally sought $15 billion dollars in damages from Hooker Chemical’s parent company Occidental Chemical Corporation. In 1983, about 1,330 families got a settlement of $20 million dollars. In addition, a one million dollar medical trust fund was created. In 1995, Occidental Chemical Corporation and Occidental Petroleum agreed to pay the federal government $129 million dollars as reimbursement for clean-up costs of the Love Canal landfill.
Rice, Marie (Reporter)
Gunter, Gary (Reporter)
A Toxic Nightmare: The Awakening [The Story of Love Canal Pt. 1] Love Canal: Neighborhood of Fear [The Story of Love Canal Pt. 2] Turning Anger Into Action [The Story of Love Canal Pt.3] What Have We Learned? [The Story of Love Canal Pt. 4] An Interview with Michael Brown An Interview with Lois Gibbs [Her Battle and Victory on Behalf of Love Canal Homeowners]
During the decades that followed the Love Canal disaster, WIVB-TV reporters have sought to gain a big picture perspective of the disaster that laid the groundwork for the environmental justice movement in the United States. In this series of reports presented ten to forty years after the evacuation of an entire Niagara Falls community due to toxic chemical exposure, a sad truth emerges. History appears to be repeating itself. Viewers learn that the losses of life and property that received international attention beginning in the late 1970s failed to prevent others from establishing homes in close proximity to where 20,000 thousand tons of toxic chemicals remain buried in the ground. The industrial and military waste was capped and continues to be monitored by the federal government, which has insisted the area is safe. However, new lawsuits have been filed claiming that chemicals have migrated from the site, again taking a toll on human health. Lois Gibbs, the environmental rights crusader who organized fellow homeowners when the Love Canal story first broke, revisited the neighborhood in 2013. She couldn’t understand how anyone could move anywhere near the Love Canal site. “We said it so many times, don’t bring people back here,” exclaimed Mrs. Gibbs during a walking tour of the site. She added, “they bamboozled them into believing it was safe…and they innocently went in and bought what I bought thirty-five years ago, ‘the American dream.’”
McClintick, Michelle (Reporter)
Williams, Jordan (Reporter)
Schanz, Jenn (Reporter)
A Toxic Nightmare: The Awakening [The Story of Love Canal Pt. 1] Love Canal: Neighborhood of Fear [The Story of Love Canal Pt. 2] Turning Anger Into Action [The Story of Love Canal Pt.3] An Interview with Michael Brown An Interview with Lois Gibbs [Her Battle and Victory on Behalf of Love Canal Homeowners]
As a young journalist at the Niagara Gazette in 1977, Michael Brown took a special interest in stories by two fellow reporters at the paper involving sump pump issues in the Love Canal neighborhood. Reported problems included odors and chemicals surfacing in homes. Those articles, published in 1976, did not get much traction at the time. Mr. Brown had begun covering toxic waste dumpsites in Niagara County. That became his journalistic focus. He managed to stir up a lot of controversy in the process. While covering a public hearing, a woman in her early 20s from the Love Canal neighborhood broke down in tears when describing her concerns about potential health issues associated with chemicals believed to be leaking into her and her neighbors’ homes. The city of Niagara Falls had initiated an assessment of the issue and considered covering the old dumpsite with clay. In 1977, Mr. Brown talked with a city engineer who felt the situation was very serious and could effect future generations if not properly addressed. A period of silence by the city followed. Brown decided to follow up but said he got no answers from the County Health Department. He had become the Niagara Falls City Hall reporter for the Gazette. His journalistic intuition prompted him to go door-to-door, talking with Love Canal families. His goal was to determine whether the presence of toxic chemicals may have been having an effect on their health. Rich Newberg’s interview with Michael Brown takes us back to that initial period of discovery and what followed next. At the time of the interview, more than four decades had passed since the Love Canal disaster became a “journalistic obsession” for Mr. Brown. Viewers will learn of the obstacles he faced and how his reporting for the Niagara Gazette led to the rise of Lois Gibbs, leader of the Love Canal Homeowners Association, whose tireless efforts not only ended in victory for her neighbors, but served as the beginning of the environmental justice movement for people exposed to toxic chemicals in their communities. Portions of the Brown and Gibbs interviews appear in the 2021 documentary, “The Buffalo Story: History Happens Here.” The segment entitled “A Toxic Nightmare: The Awakening,” won a New York Emmy award in 2022 in the category of Science/Environment.
Newberg, Rich (Interviewer)
Brown, Michael (Interviewee)
Vetter, Tom (Producer)
Terranova, Michael (Editor)
Copyright held by Moments In Time Video, Inc. & TVRE Productions, Inc. Access to this digital version provided by the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library. Videos or images in this collection are not to be used for any commercial purposes. Users of this website are free to utilize material from this collection for non-commercial and educational purposes.
A Toxic Nightmare: The Awakening [The Story of Love Canal Pt. 1] Love Canal: Neighborhood of Fear [The Story of Love Canal Pt. 2] Turning Anger Into Action [The Story of Love Canal Pt.3] What Have We Learned? [The Story of Love Canal Pt. 4] An Interview with Lois Gibbs [Her Battle and Victory on Behalf of Love Canal Homeowners]
Mr. VVilliam Shakespeares comedies, histories & tragedies : published according to the true originall copies.
Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616--Bibliography--Folios. 1623.
Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories & Tragedies, published seven years after the bard's death, compiles 36 plays written by William Shakespeare. Named the "First Folio" by scholars, it is the first collection of Shakespeare's work printed, and contained 18 previously unpublished works--The Tempest, Macbeth, and Twelfth Night among them. Assembled by John Heminges and Henry Condell, and published by Edward Blount and William and Isaac Jaggard, the First Folio was presented by the publishers as the first authentic reproduction of Shakespeare's plays (some of which had been previously printed under dubious circumstances). Additionally, the Martin Droeshout-produced portrait in the Folio would be considered one of the few reliable images of Shakespeare, as it was approved by those who worked with him during his life. In 1919, NYC book dealer Gabriel Wells purchased a copy of the First Folio on behalf of Colonel Charles Clifton, president of the Pierce Arrow Company. The copy, though imperfect, was described in the seller’s catalog as “probably” belonging to Samuel Gilburne, one of the actor’s in Shakespeare’s company. The basis for this claim is rather flimsy, Gilburne’s name is written next to where his name is printed in the list of “Principall Actors”. The original catalog price was $3,000.00. Henry Clay Folger (Folger Library in DC) ordered the copy only to discover it had already been sold. Folger offered to pay the buyer $6,000.00; Clifton refused indicating that he wanted to own a First Folio. Eventually Folger and Clifton arranged a swap, whereby Folger got the purported Gilburne copy and Clifton received a more-perfect copy. Folger paid Clifton $6500 for the Gilburne copy and Clifton purchased a more complete, finer copy, which sold at auction for $8,800.00. In 1926, Colonel Clifton donated this copy of the First Folio, along with the Second, Third, Fourth Folios, and the Poems to the Grosvenor Library. In 1953, the Grosvenor Library was incorporated into the newly-formed Buffalo & Erie County Public Library, and in 1964 the collection would be relocated to the newly-constructed Rare Book Room at the Central Library.
Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616
Jaggard, Isaac -1627 (Publisher of original)
Blount, Edward, active 1588-1632 (Publisher of original)
Buffalo & Erie County Public Library (Publisher of digital)
Rare Book Room of the B&ECPL (repository)
Digital image copyright 2023 by the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library. Images in this collection are not to be used for any commercial purposes without the expressed written permission of the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library. Users of this website are free to utilize material from this collection for non-commercial and educational purposes.
17th century (1600-1699)
Lois Gibbs, a stay-at-home mom who whose family moved into the Love Canal neighborhood when her son was one year old, was never told she would be living on top of a dumpsite where 20 thousand tons of toxic chemicals had been buried. She says that her son, who had been “perfectly healthy,” suddenly got “sicker and sicker and sicker.” He developed epilepsy. Lois began reading articles by Michael Brown in the Niagara Gazette, questioning whether a disproportionate number of health issues in the community could be attributed to toxic chemical exposure. Mrs. Gibbs, who said it was “terrifying,” began her search for answers by going to the Niagara Falls school board, City Hall, and the offices of state senators and other representatives. She says no one offered to help. She says Mayor Michael O’Laughlin told her Michael Brown was a “troublemaker,” and that she should “go home and take care of my child.” In her interview with Rich Newberg, Lois Gibbs reflects on the strategies employed to finally get the president of the United States to come to Niagara Falls and sign legislation benefitting Love Canal families wishing to move out of the neighborhood. It also created a Superfund to assist other communities across the country dealing with the hazards of toxic chemical exposure. Portions of the Lois Gibbs interview appear in the 2021 documentary, “The Buffalo Story: History Happens Here.” It is part of the Rich Newberg Reports Collection. The Love Canal segment entitled “A Toxic Nightmare: The Awakening,” won a New York Emmy award in 2022 in the category of Science/Environment.
Gibbs, Lois (Interviewee)
A Toxic Nightmare: The Awakening [The Story of Love Canal Pt. 1] Love Canal: Neighborhood of Fear [The Story of Love Canal Pt. 2] Turning Anger Into Action [The Story of Love Canal Pt.3] What Have We Learned? [The Story of Love Canal Pt. 4] An Interview with Michael Brown
The Morning After: The Demise of the Courier Express
Buffalo (N.Y.)--History--Newspapers.
Buffalo, New York became a one newspaper town on September 19, 1982. It lost The Courier Express, the popular morning and Sunday newspaper that had begun publishing in 1926. This News 4 television special hosted by the late Bob Koop looks back on the reasons why the newspaper could no longer compete with The Buffalo News and the impact of the Courier’s folding on its former staff members and its readers. Staff members of the Courier Express voted down the opportunity to work under Rupert Murdoch’s News America. It would have meant transitioning to a tabloid newspaper as well as staff cuts of between 30 and 40 percent. When the paper shut down, eleven hundred people were out of work. Buffalo’s depressed economy at the time made it difficult for many of those workers to find jobs. Some had to go on welfare. The demise of the Courier Express followed the closings of other major newspapers throughout the country, including the Cleveland Press, which shut down three months earlier. It had been operating for 103 years. The roots of The Courier Express date back to 1828 according to SUNY Buffalo State, which has possession of the Courier Express archives. As the E.H. Butler Library at Buffalo State points out, “From 1828 to 1926, twelve separate newspapers merged during those years, ending with the formation of the Buffalo Courier-Express…” Mark Twain once was a columnist for one of those papers, the Buffalo Morning Express.
Koop, Bob (Program Host)
Smith, Doug (Former Courier Express Entertainment Editor/News 4 “Fun Ranger")
Baker, Jim (Former Courier Express Radio-TV Critic)
Lapping, Ed (Veteran Newspaper Editor)
Jasen, Carol (WIVB-TV Reporter)
Newberg, Rich (WIVB-TV Reporter)
Sacks, Karen (Producer)
Vandivort, Dave (Director)
Wigginton, Chris (Photographer, Editor)
Cantwell, Bill (Photographer)
Santana, Dave (Photographer)
Ayers, Don (Technical Staff)
Clemons, Mickey (Technical Staff)
Johnson, Len (Technical Staff)
Johnson, Rex (Technical Staff)
Kerner, Kathy (Technical Staff)
Novelli, John (Technical Staff)
Pels, Godon (Technical Staff)
Rozek, Dan (Technical Staff)
Homelessness--New York (State)--Buffalo
Homeless persons--New York (State)--Buffalo
1 In 1979 the Buffalo Food Pantry was created to assist residents who couldn’t afford to feed their families. As the project developed, there were still independent efforts to feed the hungry. In 1980, the Bread Giveaway was one such effort. An organizer expressed the hope that the community would become aware of the fact that, “There are hungry people and there’s an agency now to deal with it.” Only half a block away from the place where bread was being distributed, a poverty-stricken, laid-off shipping clerk tried to offer his services to load and unload trucks in a desperate attempt to provide milk and other essentials for his two children. 2 For some of Buffalo’s homeless, living quarters are concrete spaces under the New York State Thruway. Some use cardboard to shield themselves from the elements. 67 year old Harvey Bryant was one of them. He was a “hobo” who was barely surviving on food from trash cans. His health was failing when a Buffalo family came to his aid. The City of Buffalo’s Human Resources Department and Catholic Charities were made aware of the case and immediately provided Mr. Bryant with shelter, while also addressing some of his other basic needs. 3 Buffalo soup kitchens faced increased demand in the 1980s during a period when the city experienced economic decline. Families suddenly found themselves in dire need. The federal government set aside money for cities hoping to do more for the homeless and the hungry. Buffalo’s Department of Human Services vowed to cut through red tape in order to help the neediest. 4 Sunny Miano, a modern day Robin Hood, stole money to provide for the needy of Buffalo. He served time for writing bad checks. He then established a soup kitchen called Helping Hands. He became a beloved life-saver for the poor. His operating philosophy: “If we can’t help somebody along the way, what good are we? We’re nothing!” 5 As we entered the new millennium, there were still more than hundred homeless people in Buffalo living in tunnels, under bridges, in abandoned homes, and on the streets. One of the most compelling and heartbreaking stories was about a man named “Jeff.” He lost both legs to frostbite. Various agencies came to his aid. He was provided a furnished apartment, but sadly, according to reports, he reverted back to heavy drinking and passed away.
Terranova, Michael (Digital Editor)
A Life in the Balance: Struggles of the Mentally Ill
Terry Anderson, who grew up in Batavia, New York, was abducted by Hezbollah militants in Beirut, Lebanon on March 16, 1985. He was serving as the Associated Press’ chief Middle East correspondent at the time he was taken hostage. Anderson was held for six years and nine months, the longest of a group of Americans taken hostage at the time. The abductions were an attempt to drive U.S. military forces from Lebanon during the Lebanese civil war. Anderson was released on December 4, 1991. From the time of his abduction, his sister Peggy Say worked tirelessly for his release. Her efforts were covered extensively by the Buffalo news media and often made national and world headlines. She was perhaps the most covered of all the hostages’ relatives. On December 4, 1991, Terry Anderson was finally released by his captors. His 2,455 days as a prisoner included about a year and a half in solitary confinement. WIVB-TV anchor, the late Bob Koop, traveled to Wiesbaden, Germany for Anderson’s first meeting with the press. His report includes Peggy Say’s joyful embrace of her brother, one of the most moving moments of his newly found freedom. This series of reports begins with a CNN recap of Anderson’s ordeal and later life activities. A sequence of reports follows, beginning with the time leading up to his release, his reunion with his sister, first statements as a free man, reaction in Batavia, and finally, Anderson’s return to Batavia in 2011 while on a “mission of peace.”
Rich Newberg Reports Collection
Michael Terranova (Digital Editor)
Koop, Bob (Reporter)
McClintick, Michele (Reporter)
CNN (from YouTube)
Manual of Westminster Presbyterian Church, Buffalo, N.Y. : April, 1888
Westminster Presbyterian Church (Buffalo, N.Y.)--Directories
Contains directory of members, church history, and annual reports.
Westminster Presbyterian Church (Buffalo, N.Y.)
Buffalo & Erie County Public Library (Publisher of digital).
Print. House of J.D. Warren's Sons (Publisher of original)
Grosvenor Room of B&ECPL (repository)
Housing--New York (State)--Buffalo
Report describing housing operated by the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority, including demographics of residents.
Buffalo (N.Y.) Municipal Housing Authority
[Municipal Housing Authority] (publisher of original)
Ten-year review of the activities of the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority, 1934, ten years of progress.
An accounting of the activities of the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority since its inception in 1934.
Annual report of the Board of Police of the City of Buffalo
Police--New York (State)--Buffalo--Periodicals
Annual report produced by the Board of Police for 1898. Includes narrative reports of the Police Superintendent, Police Surgeon, Patrol Boat, Bureau of Identification, Electrical Department, and Police Matrons. Includes precinct and staffing statistics, as well as crime statistics.
Buffalo (N.Y.). Board of Police
The Wenborne-Sumner Co., Printers (publisher of original)
Map of the villages of Bellevue, Niagara Falls and Elgin
Niagara Falls (N.Y. and Ont.)--Maps.
Cadastral map showing lot lines and selected landowners' names. Insets show cross sections of strata along Niagara River from L. Ontario to L. Erie and of the Falls abreast; also 2 views from Vista cottage, Bellevue, the property of T. D. Judah. Entered according to act of Congress, 1854, by Theodore D. Judah in the clerk's office of the District court of the northern district of New York. Depths shown by contours. Mounted on cloth.
Judah, Theodore D. (Theodore Dehone), 1826-1863
Compton & Gibson (publisher of original)
Rare Book Room of B&ECPL (repository)
Grosvenor Society (donor)
Bruce Carter and Joel Carter, former Buffalo flour mill workers
Flour mills--New York (State)--Buffalo--Employees
Flour mills--New York (State)--Buffalo
Flour industry--New York (State)--Buffalo
"My father said, ‘Here’s a bottle of whiskey. Go tell that guy I need about a three-second spill.'" With a dad nicknamed Fearless Freddie who worked in and around the grain elevators throughout his life, Joel and Bruce Carter were indoctrinated into Buffalo's grain culture as kids. They both went on to work in the flour mill themselves, but an industrial accident in the mill sidelined their father and put an end to the family's flour milling days. Bruce Carter and his brother Joel were interviewed in early 2020 by Kate Kaye. NOTE: This story involves graphic injury descriptions and features detailed descriptions of flour mill jobs and equipment including the “man-lift.”
Kaye, Kate
https://redtailmedia.org/spilling-grain/
Carter, Bruce
Carter, Joel