234: I FOUND MY PRESIDENTIAL PRIDE IN BUFFALO

It’s been nearly six months since my last trip, and I’ve anxiously waited for the opportunity to hit the road again with my photographer. During that long layoff, I had undergone a couple of minor cosmetic surgeries – procedures where my legs were retaped, my broken coat collar was repaired, and some of my “battle scars” were covered with touch-up paint. Most of that “plastic surgery” was intended to keep me looking good on camera for our show ‘Hail to the Chief’, which Tom and I recorded once a month at GBS Studio in Port Huron, Michigan. In late March, I also participated in a quick photo-shoot in Port Huron where Tom and I paid a visit to the historic Harrington Hotel. Harry and Bess Truman stayed in the Harrington for a few days during their honeymoon while the future President visited his cousin. My trip to Port Huron was a short walk in the park compared to most of our adventures; plus, the historic Harrington was located only 16 miles north of our home in St. Clair.

At precisely 2:50am on Sunday June 4, 2023, Tom’s alarm clock rang, signaling the beginning of another ambitious trip. For the next eleven days, my photographer and I, along with our good friend Bob (Mongo) Moldenhauer, were slated to visit over one hundred Presidential and historic sites throughout the New England area of our country. From my precarious perch near Tom’s desk, I had watched him do the research and assemble the agenda for the past several months. Finally, it was “Go Time”, and my head was bobbling with excitement. By 3:40am, Tom had our rented Ford Explorer packed, I was comfortably stowed-away on the back seat in my padded camera case, and the two of us were headed for Marysville, Michigan for our 4am rendezvous with Bob.

For three hours, the three of us endured the boredom of the Ontario, Canada highways as we headed for Niagara Falls. The only highlight during the entire route was when we saw the full moon set behind us while the orange ball of the sun rose in front of my painted eyes. For me, it was great to be back in Canada – the last time I had visited our neighbors to the north was in January 2020, just two months before the COVID pandemic shut down the borders.

Our first stop of the trip came as the hands of the clock were at seven o’clock. I knew the exact time because my photographer set me down alongside the largest floral clock in the world, which my companions found some six miles north of Niagara Falls in Queenston, Ontario. Constructed in 1950, this 40-foot diameter clock is covered with over 16,000 plants and is visited by millions of tourists each year. At first, I questioned the reason why we were three of those millions of tourists. After all, I had been led to believe we were on a Presidential and historical tour. Well butter my butt and call me Biscuit! It turned out Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter visited the famous Floral Clock on July 10, 1996 as part of their 50th wedding anniversary celebration.

Jimmy Carter is one of my favorite Presidents and it was an honor for me to stand near the spot where he and Rosalynn posed for pictures in 1996. As I stood at the base of the massive clock, my thoughts centered on the health of our amazing 39th President as his life’s clock was slowly ticking down in Plains, Georgia. And sadly, it was revealed last week that former First Lady Rosalynn Carter was diagnosed with dementia. A small tear trickled down my resin cheek as I envisioned the Carter’s standing in front of me while they celebrated 50 years of love and life together.

When our 20-minute visit at the Floral Clock was finished, we began the short trek to Niagara Falls where Tom and Bob intended to find the exact spot where the Carter’s posed near the Horseshoe Falls in 1996. Once our Explorer was parked, my photographer and his friend had a half-mile hike before the three of us reached the site. Wet mist hit me in the face when Tom removed me from the camera case and set me on one of the concrete abutments situated next to the Falls. He used a photograph of the Carter’s as a guide to position me on the precise spot where Jimmy and Rosalynn posed on July 10, 1996.

Even though I had visited Niagara Falls on July 7, 2017 and stood close to the rush of water alongside Goat Island, I was scared to death as I posed for pictures on that Sunday morning. After all, the top of the abutment was uneven, and I had difficulty standing upright. The roar of the passing water was deafening as 681,750 gallons of the Niagara River flows over the Horseshoe Falls every second. I also knew it was a 512-foot drop to the river below – had a sudden wind gust blew me into the Falls, my career of visiting Presidential sites would come to a screeching halt. Since 1850, more than 5,000 people have been swept over the American and Canadian Falls, either intentionally or by accident. To date, however, only 16 humans and zero bobble heads have survived the plunge over the Horseshoe Falls.

When the three of us made it back to the Explorer, I was still shaking from the harrowing experience. I’ve been exposed to some extremely dangerous situations before, but none frightened me to the core more than standing on the edge of the abutment above the Horseshoe Falls. My only hope was the dangerous daredevil acts were finished for this trip. But unfortunately, that likely wasn’t the case.

After we left the parking lot, Tom carefully drove our vehicle over the scenic Rainbow Bridge and into the Customs Station at Niagara Falls, New York. When the U.S. Border Patrol agent asked my companions the usual questions about their citizenship and weapons, he discovered the three of us were on a Presidential adventure throughout New England and he seemed genuinely interested. So much so, in fact, my photographer gave him one of our informational cards for our blog, which thrilled the agent beyond belief. I was just happy my friends and I weren’t subjected to a body cavity search for potential illegal contraband.

Roughly 10 minutes after we crossed the border into New York, I overheard Tom mention to his companion that we were headed for a site known as the Old Stone Chimney, which was located along the Niagara Scenic Parkway and just a mile or two east of the Falls. When we arrived at the site, I wobbled my head in confusion while I gazed at the monstrosity in front of me. But I couldn’t have been more wrong about the historical significance of that 31-foot-tall masonry relic. The Old Stone Chimney was built in 1750 as part of the two-story barracks at Fort Little Niagara. When that fort was burned down nine years later, the 60-ton chimney was incorporated into Fort Schlosser, which was also burned to the ground by the British during the War of 1812. On August 8, 1817, President James Monroe arrived in the area following the war to tour the Falls and view the remnants of Fort Schlosser. During that visit, Monroe saw the Old Stone Chimney with his own eyes. Due to developmental needs and land acquisitions over the years, the historic chimney had been relocated four times. Hopefully it has found a permanent home and thankfully it survived the past 273 years.

Once Tom, Mongo, and I had bid farewell to the Old Stone Chimney and the Niagara Falls area, we began the short 19-mile southern jaunt to America’s ‘City of Light’ – Buffalo, New York. My photographer’s agenda included no fewer than nine Presidential sites in Buffalo, and each were within a mile or two of each other. We were forced to watch the clock a bit because Tom had scheduled an 11:30 tour of the Ansley Wilcox home and then a 3:30 tour of the Millard Fillmore home in East Aurora, New York – which was a little over 20 miles from downtown Buffalo.

At roughly 9:30am, Tom parked the Explorer near Buffalo’s historic Niagara Square, which was actually a circular-shaped park with the McKinley Monument rising up from the center. There were three Presidential sites that were within easy walking distance – easy, that is, if you have better knees than my rotund cameraman.

Our first stop was at Buffalo’s 398-foot-tall City Hall building, which was built in 1930. While the building was impressively majestic, it became a Presidential site on October 14, 1962 when President John F. Kennedy stood on its steps and delivered a speech during the Pulaski Day Parade. During his address, JFK made a point to say how important Poland was to Western nations and the Soviet Union’s domination of that country was only temporary. My photographer used historic photos to place me on or near the precise spot where President Kennedy delivered his Pulaski Day speech.

Across the street from City Hall and located directly in the center of Niagara Square was the 96-foot-tall obelisk known as the McKinley Monument. New York Governor Charles Evans Hughes spoke at the monument’s dedication ceremony, which took place on September 6, 1907 – exactly six years after President William McKinley was fatally shot while attending the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo. I was honored when my photographer placed me on the monument where I posed for several photographs, even though I felt dwarfed by the tall marble obelisk. McKinley is one of my favorite Presidents, plus Tom is possibly a shirt-tail relative of our 25th President as well.

Finished at the McKinley Monument, Tom carried me to the northeastern section of Niagara Square where he photographed me in front of a huge building known as the Statler Hotel. At first, I wondered which President had stayed at the Statler, but then it dawned on me – the hotel was built on the site of President Millard Fillmore’s home. I knew that because I had visited the same site on June 20, 2014.

Fillmore’s mansion was built in 1852 for John Hollister, but he was forced to sell the place because of a downturn in his business. The purchaser was Millard Fillmore and his second wife, Caroline, who bought the place in 1858. The former President resided in that Buffalo mansion for the rest of his life, which ended inside the home at the age of 74 on March 8, 1874. Following his death, the mansion was transformed into the Hotel Fillmore. In 1901, in preparation for the Pan-American Exposition, the hotel was renovated and renamed the Castle Inn. Twenty years later, in 1921, the Castle Inn was demolished and replaced by the Statler Hotel – which was the largest hotel in the country when it was built.

When I looked at photographs of Millard and Caroline’s mansion, I found it tragic that such a historic home was demolished. What in the heck-fire were the Buffalo city officials thinking when they allowed the mansion to cross paths with a wrecking ball? When Tom carried me across the street for a closer glimpse at the Statler Hotel, I looked for the historic plaque that I had posed alongside in 2014, but it was nowhere to be found. It appeared the Statler was either in the midst of a renovation, or perhaps the hotel was in the process of being razed and then replaced by a replica of Fillmore’s mansion. One could only hope!

The next stop on our walking tour of downtown Buffalo was called Old Erie County Hall, which was a block and a half from Niagara Square. However, since my photographer is a tad out of shape, he decided to drive us to the building instead of making the trip on foot. For me, it didn’t matter either way because I ride along comfortably in my camera case.

When we arrived in front of the large, gray building with a seven-story clock tower, we discovered the Old Erie County Hall was the original City Hall building, which was constructed between 1871 and 1875. Just seven years after the building had opened, Grover Cleveland was elected as Buffalo’s 35th mayor; he took office on January 2, 1882. Although Cleveland’s term as mayor of Buffalo lasted only 11 months, the stocky young Democrat made a name for himself by ending political corruption and wasteful spending at the city level. Grover’s integrity helped catapult him to the next level when he won election as New York’s 28th governor in November 1882.

Since it was Sunday morning, the Old County Hall building was closed to the public, and we couldn’t see the office where Cleveland presided as mayor. Tom carried me to the front of the impressive building and set me on a statue of George Washington, which was created by Joseph Turkalj in 1976. The monument to our first President featured a few Masonic symbols, which depicted Washington as a proud freemason. In my mind, a large statue of the honorable Grover Cleveland should’ve been erected where Washington’s statue stood.

Although we weren’t able to see where Grover Cleveland’s office was located inside the Old City Hall building, it was still a great experience for me to be in close proximity to the structure where the future President began his political ascent to the White House. Back in the car, it was time for the three of us to head north for a little over a half-mile.

It was roughly 10:30am when we arrived at 51 Johnson Park in the West Village section of Buffalo. When Tom carefully removed me from the camera case, I found myself standing in front of a 2 1/2-story brick home that was built around 1851 or 52. Urban legend states that Grover Cleveland rented a room in the house when he attended law school in Buffalo, but there’s been no proof whatsoever as to whether the future President ever lived there. We know for a fact young Grover Cleveland arrived in Buffalo on May 12, 1855 with his uncle, Lewis F. Allen. After living with his uncle for six months, Cleveland boarded at several other homes in the Buffalo area; but none of those places were in West Village. As I posed for several images in front of the Johnson Park home, I wondered why there hadn’t been a historical marker or plaque signifying the home’s place in history. Of course, had it been a historic home where Cleveland actually lived, city officials would have torn it down long ago!

We left the alleged Cleveland home with more questions than answers, but that was okay. It was still an awesome looking and possible historic home in a nice area of Buffalo. When we returned to our Explorer, my photographer made the decision to temporarily postpone several other Presidential sites in Buffalo so we could make our pilgrimage to the Ansley Wilcox House instead. Even though we had roughly 45 minutes before our 11:30am tour was scheduled to begin, Tom figured it might take a while to navigate the one-mile route to the historic site due to the ongoing Pride Day festivities and parade in town. And for once, my photographer was right!

As we slowly made our way to the Inauguration Site of President Theodore Roosevelt, I looked through an opening in my camera case and what did my painted eyes see? Rainbows! Rainbows everywhere, and on everything. “Somewhere over the rainbow, we made the one-mile ride. To where TR became President, after Bill McKinley died.” Let’s face it – I’m not a Judy Garland bobble head!