Author: Tara Mancini
Looking down Bidwell Parkway towards Colonial Circle, you will see the handsome Civil War statue of General Bidwell. However, there is a smaller, more reserved WWI monument where you will find people sitting on its steps reading or picnicking. In its original state, it was flanked by two cherry trees and benches where the local friends and family of people who either volunteered or were drafted could sit and remember those they had lost.
In the 1930s, Lafayette High School had the monument erected at the closest green space available. The space was central to where many of the students live. Those in the community included; Allen E. Wax who lived on Lafayette St., Payton R. Campbell was from Ashland Ave. and Joseph M. Lanigan from 1045 Elmwood Ave. These were a few of those that did not return. However, John A. Boechat of the 108th Inf. N.Y.N.G. was to represent the students of Lafayette High School and by location – those in the community.
The monument has become a place to remember not only those from Lafayette High school but for all that served and Buffalo as a whole. To me, the monument is held special for one particular person by the name of Margaret “Maggie” Cline.
Maggie volunteered for the Army Core of Nurses. She was born in North Carolina and after finishing high school she followed her brother to Buffalo, NY. She was fond of Buffalo, and decided to serve with others from the city. Letters from Margaret to her siblings chronicle her enthusiasm to help the injured as she journey from Buffalo to NYC for training. Then after training they took a ship to England, and then to the battlefields of France. During the war, Maggie worked out of an American train outfitted as a moving nursing’s ward. One might think that moving from a small town in North Carolina to a big city like Buffalo would be enough excitement in a lifetime. But Maggie came from a line of people who served going back to the civil war and the American Revolution. She was lucky. After returning to Western NY where she married her sweetheart, a Buffalo native, and continued nursing.
Every time I walk by Bidwell Parkway I am grateful to the students of Lafayette high School for their contribution. I am also grateful that Frederick Law Olmsted had the opportunity to travel to Paris, to see the grand, tree line Boulevards dedicated to military service, and gave us Parkways to remember those who served. Lincoln, Chapin and Bidwell Parkway were each named for people who served in some manner. In keeping with the Parisian model of Boulevards and roundabouts connected to military service, Olmsted had a grand vision for Soldier’s Circle with a towering monument and gardens. As Olmsted design Soldiers Circle as a tribute to Civil War veterans, one might wonder if he was thinking of his own relatives who served. He was an avid voice against slavery, and may of been thinking of his cousin Lafayette Olmsted of Lewiston, who at only 15 years old joined Co. 2d Mounted Rifles, NY at Buffalo, NY. Lafayette Olmstead was later wounded in battle at Gettysburg, PA. Frederick Law Olmsted may have been thinking of the service paid by his cousin Lafayette, when he designed the grand circle at Soldier’s Circle with its “ribbons of flowers”.
This Memorial Day, as I pass by Bidwell Parkway, I will remember my Great Aunt Maggie and other members of my family in Buffalo that served in one form or another. I am reminded that 2014 marked the hundredth anniversary of the beginning of WWI and 2018 will mark the end. And maybe – for a moment – while I listen to the St. John’s Grace Church’s capella chorus sing Amazing Grace, I will feel both the excitement of the challenge that lay before them and the solemn memory with those that did not make it back.