The Buffalo History Gazette

02/08/2025

This is really special.❤️

In honor of Josh Allen's 2024 NFL MVP award, local patients at Oishei Children's Hospital share how the star Quarterback has impacted their lives through his...

12/31/2024

12/31/2024

HAPPY NEW YEAR 1911!
Father Time of 1910 Passed His Last Moments Amid Tooting of Sirens, Screaming of Whistles and Multitude of Sounds. Great Parties Bade Old Year Farewell. Everybody Was Happy And Annual Jollification Was Most Orderly In Years, Streets Filled With Noisy, Joyous Throng......
Contunued in the Buffalo History Gazette

Local history stories about Buffalo and Western NY.

12/17/2024

Here is something unusual I found among my family records, a V-Mail Christmas Card! Have seen many letters but never a card before. V-mail or "Victory Mail", was a postal system to send letters to and from soldiers overseas. Letters were written as usual then microfilmed. The film was then sent overseas and printed out for recipient. Actual size of the printed copy was about 4x5 inches.

V-mail ensured that thousands of tons of shipping space could be reserved for war materials. The 37 mail bags required to carry 150,000 one-page letters could be replaced by a single mail sack. The weight of that same amount of mail was reduced dramatically from 2,575 pounds to a mere 45.

12/01/2024

Local history stories about Buffalo and Western NY.

07/07/2024

Radio was a new technology in the 1920s. We all take radio for granted nowadays but less than a hundred years ago there were questions as to what are we going to use it for? And according to some sources, it may be bad for your health! Ladies, beware of "radio face."

07/04/2024

Toronto as a “Fata Morgana”

The Toronto "Stonehenge" June 20, 2015. View from Olcott N.Y. Photos by Jerry M. Malloy.

A Fata Morgana is a complex form of superior mirage visible in a narrow band right above the horizon. Fata Morgana mirages significantly distort the object or objects on which they are based, often such that the object is completely unrecognizable. A Fata Morgana may be seen on land or at sea, in polar regions, or in deserts. It may involve almost any kind of distant object, including boats, islands, and the coastline. Often, a Fata Morgana changes rapidly. The mirage comprises several inverted (upside down) and upright images stacked on top of one another. Fata Morgana mirages also show alternating compressed and stretched zones.
The optical phenomenon occurs because rays of light bend when they pass through air layers of different temperatures in a steep thermal inversion where an atmospheric duct has formed. In calm weather, a layer of significantly warmer air may rest over colder dense air, forming an atmospheric duct that acts like a refracting lens, producing a series of both inverted and erect images. A Fata Morgana requires a duct to be present; thermal inversion alone is not enough to produce this kind of mirage. While a thermal inversion often takes place without there being an atmospheric duct, an atmospheric duct cannot exist without there first being a thermal inversion.

07/03/2024

"I AM AN AMERICAN"
Standing for the American flag is a powerful act of patriotism and love. On this Independence Day, let us remember that our nation's colors represent more than just a piece of fabric; they symbolize freedom, unity, and hope. As we celebrate America's birthday, may we always cherish these values as deeply as we do the Flag itself. See, "I Am An American" in the Buffalo History Gazette. Have a wonderful Independence Day weekend.🇺🇸

Local history stories about Buffalo and Western NY.

05/27/2024

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY! With all the due respect we need to show our veterans, Memorial Day is set aside for those who did not have the warm feeling of a walk down Main St. to cheering crowds, clapping hands and music. Their welcome home was more somber and private, if they were able to return home at all. There were no shaking of hands, pats on the back or embracing hugs for these men and women......
What is the story of the Poppy symbolizing this day? Read about it in The Buffalo History Gazette at the link below.

Local history stories about Buffalo and Western NY.

04/09/2024

Well, I hope everyone had a great experience with the Eclipse Monday. Although many, myself included, didn't see the actual Totality image, I thought the experience of the sudden engulfing darkness was equally as stunning and well worth the "price of admission" so to speak. Sunset to Sunrise in about 5 minutes! Something I will never forget. And for those of you who were fortunate enough to see the Totality Image through a break in the clouds, congratulations on being in the right place at the right time. Please feel free to share your reactions to the Eclipse below and any photo if you like. And thank you for all the comments, Likes, and sharing of my Eclipse posts the last few days. Much appreciated as always.

04/07/2024

For those of you wondering how people protected their eyes back in 1925 for eclipse viewing, Here is a short clip explaining. This is not an endorsement of the method. (click on article for complete text.)

04/07/2024

Buffalo Total Eclipse 1925 - 2024
Get your film ready! ☀️🌗🌘🌚🌒🌓🌔☀️