Dianne just sent me an update. After I spoke with her she called a long time Buffalo speed skater by the name of Jerry. Her message follows:

He said when he joined in the 50's (that's right, the 50's!) there were approximately 250 members (!) in the Niagara Frontier Speedskating Club (I think we're still registered with US Speedskating under that name, or we were until very recently). Back then, he said, there were 5 rinks in Buffalo, and a lot of people would be there with speedskates on on any given day. Hockey wasn't the "in" thing yet, and Buffalo didn't have its professional team (Sabres). He said the rinks would offer the club ice time for free, and besides figure skating, speed skating was one of the most popular sports on ice. Eventually hockey became popular, a lot of the kids grew up and stopped competing, their parents stopped going, rinks closed, and the number of members dwindled. Now it seems (and this is my opinion) that maybe we're at a point where interest is picking up again, at least locally.