Get ’em while their hot! Forgotten Buffalo’s tours sell fast, and though we’re far away from March 5th, those who want to join the combined James D. Griffin and Tim Russert tour had better get on it now.
Led by host “Airborne” Eddy Dobosiewicz, the tour will begin in the historic First Ward, where thousands of Irish congregated after the completion of the Erie Canal. It is in the “Ward” where the late Mayor Jimmy Griffin grew up, worked as a scooper at the nearly grain elevators, became an engineer with the Buffalo Creek Railroad and owned a tavern before entering public service.
It’s then on to the “Valley” and South Buffalo, to visit the childhood stomping grounds of late NBC Washington Bureau Chief Tim Russert, who was also the host of NBC’s Meet the Press.
“We will walk in the footsteps of these bigger than life Irishman who passed away in 2008,” says Dobosiewicz. “We will learn about their lives and the history of the Irish in Buffalo. Landmarks associated with Russert & Griffin will be visited during the tour. We will toast our departed friends along the way at some of the most colorful Irish pubs in Buffalo.”
Griffin died on May 25, 2008, and Russert on June 13, 2008. Both men are fondly remembered for their love of Buffalo, New York, their honest, blue-collar ethics and colorful Irish-American personalities.
Tickets for the tour cost $45 per person and include meal, bus transportation and guided tour. E-mail ForgottenBuffalo@aol.com or call 716.833.5211 for details and availability. Must be 21 years of age to participate because, as Dobosiewicz says, there’ll be some pub visits along the way.
Images: Last year’s Jim and Tim Tour from the Forgotten Buffalo site.