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We were in the Buffalo area to visit one of Lance’s many homelands; he lived here with his family in the mid–1980s while his father was attending SUNY. Amazingly, many of the things Lance remembered have stayed the same: his old house, his school, the pond where he used to play. Of course a great many things have changed: a new highway, new stores, and the local frozen custard shop (amusingly called Custard’s Last Stand) is long gone. Our visit wasn’t all about old memories, we explored new places too. Well, all of it was new to me and some of it was new to Lance.

Our first stop was Niagara Falls. It’s only 17 miles from Buffalo and something that magnificent is worth the short detour. Niagara comes from an Iroquois word meaning roughly “the strait,” which is basically what the short but mighty Niagara River is. The falls are the result of the 35 mile long Niagara River—which flows from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario—dropping steeply over the Niagara Escarpment.

The top layer of the Escarpment is a hard rock called dolostone which overlies a softer shale. As water erodes the shale from under the caprock, the dolostone shelf collapses creating a tall cliff face. Over the past 12,000 years the falls of the Niagara River have retreated over seven miles and they continue to slowly move today. One of the biggest concerns along the Niagara is not so much the loss of a major tourist attraction (although that is important) but the loss of power.

Both the U.S. and Canada have major hydroelectric plants that generate massive amounts of electricity (4.4 gigawatts combined) from the Niagara River’s powerful flow. The river averages 202,000 cubic feet per second and close to 75% of that flow is diverted for use in the power plants. The great thing about hydro power is that the water isn’t consumed, just diverted. Most of the diversion occurs at night when there are few tourists at the falls. Harnessing the Niagara’s flow isn’t a new idea either; the first power use dates back to the late 1700s.

Reading about it, looking at pictures of it, and even seeing videos of it does little to prepare you for actually seeing, hearing, and feeling Niagara Falls. We heard the roar and felt the mist long before we came in view of the falls. The river is split into three sections by several islands (Goat, Green, Luna and Three Sisters) before dropping over the escarpment. On the U.S. side of the river are American Falls and the much smaller Bridal Veil Falls while the Canadians claim the largest and tallest, Horseshoe Falls. All attempts to “shoot” the falls occur over Horseshoe Falls. Although it has a longer drop, 173’ compared to the American Falls drop of only 70’, it has a higher—water flow and no rock pile at the bottom. While going over Horseshoe Falls can be deadly, dropping over the American Falls would be suicidal (and by the way, even attempting to go over is illegal in both countries).

Our day was a particularly warm one which made our journey under the falls on the Maid of the Mist boat quite enjoyable. The ever popular 30 minute boat tours leave from both countries which is a good thing for the modern tourist since crossing the border can be difficult. While the Canadians have a naturally better view of the falls because of the angle, the American side has been better protected and preserved. Much of the riverside and area around the falls is part of the Niagara Falls State Park which was established in 1885 with the help of Frederick Law Olmsted. In contrast the Canadian skyline is dominated by towering casinos and hotels that speak to the area’s popularity.

Our visit was on a Saturday and we saw no less than three weddings in progress and who knows how many of the couples we saw wandering the paths were honeymooners. The trend of honeymooning in Niagara Falls is said to have been started in 1803 by Jerome Bonaparte and his American wife. And yes, as you might have guessed Jerome was Napoleon’s brother.

We had enough time that afternoon to head back down to Buffalo and explore for a bit. Buffalo is located on the shores of Lake Erie and first rose to prominence as the western end of the Erie Canal. After the canal was completed in 1825, the town’s population exploded. Later in the 1800s Buffalo’s proximity to Canada helped it become a major stop on the Underground Railroad. As Buffalo continued to grow in size and importance it earned the nickname “Second City” because it ranked just behind New York City in many categories. The city even followed in NYC’s footsteps by hiring Frederick Law Olmsted (of Central Park fame) to design its park system in the 1860s. By the beginning of the twentieth century Buffalo was as fashionable as Paris, France.

Since Buffalo was the eighth largest city in America and a major transportation hub it was chosen as the site of the Pan-American Exposition in 1901. The Expo opened in May with a speech by Vice President Theodore Roosevelt (everyone called him TR, not “Teddy” as is popular now). On September 5th, President William McKinley addressed the crowd. The following day, as McKinley was greeting the public, he was shot twice at close range by Leon Czolgosz. Leon was immediately arrested and the President was attended to by doctors who were able to extract one bullet. Ironically, on display at the Expo were such technological advances as an X-ray machine and electric lights but neither of them were used by the President’s doctors. The President was expected to recuperate fully but on September 14th, McKinley passed away.

TR was away at the time of the President’s death but he immediately rushed back to Buffalo where he was sworn in at the home of a friend, Ansley Wilcox. In borrowed clothes and without a Bible, he became the 26th President of the U.S. At a mere 42 years of age he was (and still is) the youngest President to hold the office (but not the youngest one elected, that was JFK). The Wilcox House, which is now operated by the National Park Service as the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site, is one of only five inaugural sites outside of Washington D.C.

TR’s story is a fascinating one, the man was said to be larger than life and just looking at his accomplishments it is hard to believe he was only one man.

• In 1880 he graduated magna cum laude from Harvard
• In 1881 he began his political career as a New York Assemblyman
• In 1898 he formed the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment (also known as the Rough Riders), fought in Cuba and was later awarded the Medal of Honor
• He was the first president to ride in a car, a plane, a submarine and to travel outside the country
• In 1903 he was the last trained observer to see a passenger pigeon
• In 1904 he authorized the Panama Canal
• In 1905 he established the United States Forest Service
• In 1906 he created the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act
• Also in 1906 he became the first American to win a Nobel Peace Prize
• He was a historian, deputy sheriff in the Dakota Territory, Police Commissioner in New York City, governor of New York, and Assistant Secretary of the Navy
• He was an avid hunter, outdoorsman, and cattle rancher
• He had six children
• He set aside over 194 million acres for national parks and nature preserves
• He authored over 18 books

...all in just 60 short years!

There is far more to TR than I can go into but I want to mention these last few things. The Teddy Bear was named for him after he refused to shoot a small bear on a hunting trip in 1902. “Speak softly and carry a big stick” was one of his oft repeated catch-phrases. Eleanor Roosevelt was his niece while Franklin D. Roosevelt was his fifth cousin (and that was before they married). He was the first to call the Executive Mansion the White House. My favorite tidbit is that his second wife, Edith, used to claim that she had not four but five boys because of TR’s antics.

And now, on with the story. Buffalo has little remaining from the expo of 1901 but its history did not stop there as the city continued to grow in size and importance. Frank Lloyd Wright designed and built six residences for wealthy executives in the Buffalo area by 1926. I just have to toss this in: one of Wright’s sons invented the ever popular Lincoln Logs toy in 1918. In the 1950s Buffalo was the 15th largest city in the U.S. It wasn’t until the 1960s that Buffalo declined, as the bottom dropped out of the “Rust Belt.” The past ten years have seen Buffalo reemerge as an arts center, especially in the downtown area. Our location of choice for dinner was not in the newly refurbished downtown but still in the heart of the struggling city: the Anchor Bar.

Though first opened in 1935 it wasn’t until 1964 that Teressa Bellissimo created the dish that has made the Anchor Bar so famous: Buffalo wings. They say necessity is the mother of invention and this case is no different, Teressa’s son needed something to feed his hungry friends so she scrounged around her kitchen and saw the chicken wings she was saving for soup. After deep frying them she smothered them in a spicy sauce and served the men. They were a hit. Personally, I have never been a big fan of Buffalo wings, too messy and too much work for too little food, but when in Rome…

Although located in a slightly seedy neighborhood once inside Lance and I fell in love with the place. We arrived just before the restaurant opened at five and there was already a line out the door so we grabbed a table in the bar. That worked out just as well for us since we could relax and still order food. It might have been because we were hungry but they were the best wings we’ve ever had. The sauce was delicious, not too spicy yet not boring!

And that was just our appetizer; Lance ordered Chicken Lips (really just chicken strips but if buffalo can have wings why can’t chickens have lips?) while I opted for a Beef on Weck (roast beef piled on a kummelweck roll with horseradish) and we washed it all down with Genesee Cream Ale. Talk about a perfect way to end our day in the Buffalo area. Later that night we said goodbye to the Empire State and drove into Pennsylvania.

Photos: View our photographs from Buffalo and Niagara Falls.

Notes: We visited the Buffalo and Niagara Falls area 09/14/07 to 09/15/07.