This is the continuation of the “Off Broadway” article that was posted this past December. These are the memories of Alex Ramsey, who grew up on the city’s East Side. It is interesting to note that he has been living in Texas since 1977, but that his fondest memories are from his youth. Alex was born in 1956.
“The cohesiveness of the neighborhood itself made it a truly special time and place to grow up in.”
Growing up on the East Side, my parents were homebodies. Neither ever owned nor drove a car. So our outings were limited to long walks and NFT buses. They had numerous acquaintances, but we were emotionally close to a couple of families, especially The Olczaks who, at one time, resided at William and Coit Street, and later on Rohr Street, off Genesee.
Aunty Anne was not a blood aunt, but she and my ma were like sisters. The offspring of our families referred to each other as cousins (we still do to this day). Aunty Anne was Ukrainian, as was my dad. My Uncle Vladek was Polish. Another family – the Cyhanuiks – lived on Lyman Street, off of William and Metcalf Street. Uncle Misha was Ukrainian, Aunt Yanka was Polish… and on and on.
All the adults were prolific card players, rummy and 500 rummy. They played for 25 and 50 cents, but mainly bragging rights. They all lived on the East Side, but some not in my immediate neighborhood. There were pretty long hikes, especially when I was a real little kid.
In the winter my ma or dad would pull me on a sled. There were lots of memorable ethnic cookouts – Russian, Polish, and Ukrainian food… the vodka and whiskey flowed! Except for my dad, who might consume a six-pack of beer… in a year!
There was no driving involved. We walked everywhere, which would be a strange concept today.
Russian balalaika music and polkas resounded on the stereos.
Two memorable outings from my young childhood?
One was the bus trip to the Buffalo Zoo. We took the #4 Broadway bus downtown, then caught the #9 Parkside bus to the Zoo.
A bit hard to comprehend these days, but from the time I was 7 or 8, on planned evenings with my dad (after school), I’d catch initially the #24 Genesee Street bus, then the #6 Sycamore Street bus, and later the #4 Broadway bus downtown. I’d ride by myself – it was a different time to be a kid back then. I would meet my dad at The Statler Hilton hotel, by the time clock office on Mohawk Street. He worked there as a locksmith and carpenter from 1958-1980, which is when he retired.
Our usual dinner stop was Dino’s pizzeria on Chippewa Street. Then we would stroll down majestic Main Street. All those fantastic opera houses and movie theaters… their marquees and flashing lights were mesmerizing. Shea’s Buffalo, Loew’s Buffalo, the Paramount, The Century, The Center theater. These were special father-son outings.
All of the early James Bond(Sean Connery) movies were released back then – Dr.No, From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball… and the epics – Spartacus, Genghis Khan (Omar Sharif), The trilogy Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns. At home we only had a black and white TV set – the Motorola Quasar. The huge screens in those old theaters were in color! There was usually a double feature. They were preceded by Tom & Jerry cartoons, the 3 Stooges, and a Lowell Thomas travelogue. We wouldn’t get home till 10:00pm. Those special nights with my dad trumped my usual 9:00pm bedtime on school nights.
After the show, my dad and I would walk to Main and Court Streets in the dark, waiting for the #4 Broadway bus home. I still recall the lighted displays at the bus stop of the Florsheim (expensive shoes – mine were bought at Liberty shoes on Broadway or Tom McCann), and the Baldwin organ and piano store.
In the 9 year old age bracket, the only opportunity I had to go to Niagara Falls and Crystal Beach was when my godfather (also a Ukrainian that my parents made friends with, as fellow refugees in post-war Germany) visited and stayed with us, as he lived in Cleveland, Ohio. He drove a car and visited often… 4-5 times a year. Summers were spent at Crystal Beach. And when it was too cold to swim, it would be off to Niagara Falls.
I was also very lucky to have friends such as Bobby Kazmierczak from Rommel Street, and Zeno Lee on Person Street. Both their parents were very generous in allowing them to bring a friend (me) on road trips in their respective cars, knowing my parents didn’t drive. With them, I got to go to the Holland Speedway, Chestnut ridge Park for picnics, and tobogganing (I haven’t used that word much since moving to Texas in 1977), Darian Lake, Iroquois lake, Willow Beach, etc.
Between the ages of 10 and 12, I was invited to become a Boy Scout by a classmate at P.S.44 – Troop 36, sponsored by The Polish National Church at Sobieski and Genesee Streets. The church owned a huge cabin that sat on about 10 acres in Alden. The scoutmasters that chaperoned us would carpool all of us – year round camping on numerous weekends, and summer camps and jamborees at Camp Scouthaven (way down around Cattaraugus County). The camp was originally owned by Buffalo Council – it’s a pretty interesting story. That was like being away in another world, far, far from the overly-familiar setting of the East Side of Buffalo.
Thanks for letting me share these thoughts. I opened up my own Pandora’s box of memories. I was a lucky guy growing up in that neighborhood. I’m still in regular contact with three of the guys from the old neighborhood. One of them – Theo – rounds up three or four more of us whenever I come to Buffalo for a visit. I will be back in June). We traditionally meet for a Friday evening fish fry at Wiechec’s Lounge on Clinton Street. Friends for 56 years now!
Lead image: Postcard courtesy World Scouting Museum