Niagara Rises

 

By Frank Thomas Croisdale

 

There will be no need to ask your friends what they got for Christmas this year — not if they live in New York state, anyway.  

 

What the good denizens of the Empire State will find tucked into their stockings this Dec. 25 is a host of new taxes proposed by Gov. David Paterson as a means to close a $15.4 billion deficit. 

 

Among the proposed new taxes are a number of novelties. Sugary sodas would be taxed at 18 percent. Haircuts would now be fair game for the taxman, as would clothing and footwear priced under $110. The gasoline tax cap of 8 percent would be eliminated. 

 

Many people were blindsided by the governor’s proposal and are in shock at the thought of being charged more by a state that already taxes at a rate among the highest in the union. 

 

Heard at barber shops and watering holes around the Empire State this past week were comments like “What else can they possibly tax us for?” 

 

It’s not uncommon for delicate and confidential documents to make their way under the door of the Reporter’s office inside the trendy Niagara Business Center. Such was the case this past week when an envelope arrived containing Paterson’s first draft of proposed tax increases. If you think having to pony up a few extra pennies for your RC Cola is ridiculous, just wait until you get a load of what’s on the cutting room floor. 

Click Here to read full article: http://www.niagarafallsreporter.com/croisdale304.html

By Frank Thomas Croisdale 

It’s Christmas time once again.

Time to pick out a Christmas tree and deck it out with lights and ornaments. Time to reacquaint ourselves with the unique taste of eggnog. Time to write out Christmas cards wishing friends and neighbors good health and good cheer. Time to wrap presents in green and red ribbons and bows. And it is also time to decide which of the many holiday specials and movies are worth an hour or more of your time in front of the television. To help you sift through the reindeer and snowmen to find the cream on top of the Christmas toddy, here is one man’s listing of the Top 10 holiday movies/specials of all time.

JUMP TO STORY: Editorial Housing Ex-Councilman Hudson Gallagher Mt. Views Citycide Croisdale Billstuff Letters

10. Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (1951, B and W) This British production of the Dickens’ classic hits all the right notes. Alastair Sim set the standard for capturing the true essence of Ebenezer Scrooge. Sim’s Scrooge is a man full of depth and deep shadow, not the cardboard villain he is so often reduced to. The story of Christmas redemption through the atonement for past sins is one that is timeless and relevant to every generation.

Best line: “God bless us, everyone.” From the mouth of Tiny Tim.

9. The Year Without A Santa Claus (1974, Color) This stop-motion classic from the team of Bass and Rankin is more commonly referred to as “the one with Heat and Snow Miser.” Although Hollywood legends Mickey Rooney and Shirley Booth supply the voices of Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus, it is the vaudeville song-and-dance routines of the Miser brothers that bring down the house.

Best line: “They call me Heat Miser, whatever I touch begins to melt in my clutch. I’m too much!”

8. Holiday Inn (1942, B and W) Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire run an inn that is only open for business during the holidays. Marjorie Reynolds plays both men’s love interest. Irving Berlin wrote the musical numbers, each tied in to a different holiday. Cost of a new DVD of “Holiday Inn” along with “Going My Way”: $10.49. Watching Bing croon “White Christmas”: Priceless.

Best line: “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones I used to know, where the treetops glisten and children listen to hear sleigh bells in the snow.”

7. Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas (1977, Color) Originally produced as a special for HBO, this reworking of “The Gift of the Magi” by Muppet creator Jim Hensen is a holiday classic. Emmet and Ma Otter live a simple life, struggling to stay ahead of the bills left behind by Pa Otter when he went to that great running stream in the sky. Each decides to enter a talent contest in hopes of winning prize money to buy the other a nice Christmas present. On the day of the contest, it appears that it is a two-horse race between Emmet’s jug band and Ma Otter. Then a heavy metal band of ne’er-do-wells from River Bottom called The Nightmare show up. Their performance not only wins the talent contest, but also steals the whole show.

Best line: “We know we’re a mess, our kind does not like to be clean. We don’t brush our teeth ’cause our toothache can help us stay mean.”

6. Frosty the Snowman (1969, Color) This one is also from Rankin and Bass, but uses standard animation. A gust of wind blows a magical hat owned by Professor Hinkle onto Frosty’s head and the spirit of Christmas magic is alive and well. Narrated by Jimmy Durante, it tells the tale of little Karen’s plan to save the snowman from melting by hopping a freight train to the North Pole. Even now, it puts a lump in my throat when Karen returns to find nothing more than a pool of water, a corncob pipe and three pieces of coal.

Best line: Professor Hinkle, “I’ve got to get busy, busy, busy!”

5. A Christmas Story (1983, Color) Some movies are classics the second they are released. This one is one of them. Told in retrospect from the perspective of an adult, the tale recounts the 1940s-era Christmas pursuit of what a prepubescent Ralphie believes to be the ultimate Yuletide gift Ñ a Red Ryder Carbine Action, 200 Shot, Range Model Air Rifle. There are many scenes that will have you doubling over in laughter. From Dad’s sexy leg-lamp (”It’s a major award!”), to a kid’s tongue stuck on a frozen flagpole, to Ralphie using the forbidden swear word in front of his father, to the family having Christmas dinner in a Chinese restaurant after the neighbor’s dogs help themselves to the turkey, this movie has a little bit of everything. Its message is that a loving family is the true gift of the holidays.

Best line: “You’ll shoot your eye out.”

4. Will Vinton’s Claymation Christmas (1987, Color) Vinton took Rankin and Bass’ stop-motion technique to another level. Two dinosaur narrators, Herb and Rex, introduce a series of musical vignettes, each woven around a classic holiday song. Vinton’s mastery of the form is a thing to behold. Who would have thought clay could be used so expressively? Many enjoy the California Raisin’s rendition of “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer,” but the show-stealer is the Quasimodo-led “Carol of the Bells.”

Best line: Dumbbell, “I lost mine.”

3.How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966, Color) Chuck Jones of Warner Brothers cartoon fame illustrated this wonderful adaptation of the Dr. Seuss classic. The Grinch hates the Whos of Whoville and is determined to break their spirit by stealing Christmas from under their noses. Boris Karloff is perfect voicing the nefarious green one. Cindy Lou Who embodies all that is good and innocent in a little girl’s heart. Max the dog is the perfect sidekick and draws many laughs when the Grinch fits him with a pair of antlers. The Grinch discovers that it is he who is in for a surprise as his heart grows three sizes on Christmas Day.

Best line: “The three words that best describe you are, and I quote, stink, stank, stunk.”

2. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965, Color) As far as animated specials go, this will never be outdone. Director Bill Melendez perfectly captures the angst of misfit Charlie Brown as he tries to reach the mainstream clique and clue them in to the real spirit of Christmas. While the rest of the gang, including Chuck’s own dog, Snoopy, are caught up in the commercialism of the holiday, Charlie Brown is determined to cut to the heart of the matter as he attempts to direct the school Christmas play. The jazz score offers perfect companionship to Chuck’s search. Who among us can hold back a tear when the gang finally recognizes the beauty in Charlie Brown’s frail, little Christmas tree?

Best line: Linus’ recital of the nativity story, “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”

1. It’s a Wonderful Life (1947, B and W) Like a fine wine, this American movie classic has improved with age. When it was released, it won no Oscars. Due to a copyright oversight, the film entered the public domain and was shown repeatedly on television throughout the holiday season. Today, it epitomizes for many the true spirit of Christmas. Jimmy Stewart is perfect as George Bailey, the would-be world-traveler whose sense of responsibility leaves him stuck in Bedford Falls running his father’s savings and loan. Donna Reed is the picture of starlet beauty as George’s wife, Mary. While some say this is not director Frank Capra’s finest work, none can deny that it is his most enduring. When Clarence the angel shows George what Bedford Falls would be like without him, we are given the knowledge that our lives matter and that the people we know and love would not be the same minus our presence. The final scene will bring tears to the eyes of the most hardened of souls. All that, and Zuzu’s petals, too.

Best line: George Bailey says, “Just remember this, Mr. Potter, that this rabble you’re talking about, they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community. Well, is it too much to have them work and pay and live and die in a couple of decent rooms and a bath?”

 

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Frank Thomas Croisdale is a Contributing Editor at the Niagara Falls Reporter. You can write him at NFReporter@aol.com.

Make a Smilebox greeting

THE CROISDALE CHALLENGE: RATE YOUR NIAGARA FALLS KNOWLEDGE

By Frank Thomas Croisdale

 

You asked for it and the Reporter delivers. Due to overwhelming e-mail response to the first round of Niagara Falls trivia questions, we’re back with another sampling of Cataract City brainteasers.

Many businesses and people have come and gone over the years in Niagara Falls. Since the last great heyday of the 1960s and ’70s, numerous stores that helped make up the cultural landscape of Niagara Falls have closed their doors for good. How well do you recall these businesses and people?

Take the following quiz of 30 questions (10 each in the categories of easy, medium and difficult) to see how well you remember the way we used to be. Score one point for each correct answer.

EASY
1. This department store on Military Road has closed its doors for good — twice! Name it for your first point.
2. These members of the British royal family took a ride on the Maid of the Mist in 1986. Can you name them?
3. What was the name of the two-screen theater that opened up on Military Road in the 1970s with the intent of screening only G-rated movies? Hint: Any Parisian will know the answer to this one.
4. This Main Street lock and key store was Niagara Falls’ main outlet for Schwinn bicycles for decades. Name it.
5. What was the name of the nightclub, located inside Falls Street Station, that was home to three separate bars — a sports bar, a dance club and a champagne bar?
6. The Niagara Falls Reporter is located inside an office building on Third and Niagara streets. When the building was dedicated in the early 1970s, it was home to a ceramics museum. What was the name of the building at that time?
7. A building on the corner of Cleveland Avenue and Main Street once housed both an Arby’s and an Arthur Treacher’s Fish and Chips. Do you know the last food business to open up shop at this location?
8. The Three Sisters Islands are named for what early Niagara Falls businessman?
9. This eating and drinking establishment was a fixture for years at the corner of Cleveland Avenue and Whirlpool Street. Its name is a reference to the code name for taverns during Prohibition. Do you know it for your next point?
10. Back in the days before faux furs and paint-splashing protests, what Niagara Falls furrier called the Main Street business district home?

MEDIUM
11. Name the grocery store that was open for business from the 1950s through the early 1970s at the current site of the Prime Outlets Mall.
12. What beauty pageant held its nationally televised competition, hosted by Bob Barker, in the Niagara Falls International Convention Center in the mid-1970s?
13. Name the pub on the corner of Willow Avenue and Main Street that was famous for its foliage during the 1970s and 80s.
14. What twirling ride at Fantasy Island theme park was as well known for making people vomit as it was for giving riders a thrill?
15. Can you name the Niagara Falls businessman who starred in a number of commercials in the 1970s for his business, Reed’s Jewelers? In the spots, he was always shown with a jeweler’s glass, looking intently at a sparkling diamond.
16. What national seafood chain used to do business out of the Main Street building that now houses Kentucky Fried Chicken?
17. Name the last minor league baseball team to play its games at Sal Maglie stadium on Hyde Park Boulevard.
18. Name the movie starring the late John Candy that filmmaker Michael Moore shot in Niagara Falls in 1993.
19. What was the name of the bar on North Avenue just off Main Street that was a favorite hangout for Niagara University students in the 1970s and 80s?
20. This submarine shop, famous for its steak-and-cheese bombers, had two different incarnations in Niagara Falls, the last being on Pine Avenue near 15th Street. Can you name it?

DIFFICULT
21. Can you name the two quasi-celebrities that proposed a theme park for Niagara Falls, Ontario that would feature a floating building?
22. What was the name of the luncheonette on 18th Street and Linwood Avenue that closed its doors in the mid-1990s after decades of service to the North End community?
23. For what former Adelphia Cable television host are the tennis courts at Hyde Park named?
24. Staying with tennis, the Industrial Tennis League — which has operated for decades at the Hyde Park courts — is named for what deceased Niagara Falls resident?
25. The Buffalo Bisons played most of their home games during the 1967-69 seasons at Hyde Park rather than at their War Memorial home park. Why was this switch made?
26. What do the following Niagara Falls streets have in common: Cleveland Avenue, 17th Street, Portage Road, 22nd Street, 39th Street and Center Avenue?
27. This North End tavern housed many local and national music acts during its heyday. Folk legend Dave Van Ronk played there in the mid-1980s. Can you name it?
28. Complete this phrase that was the motto of a Buffalo Avenue pizzeria: “You want your pizza plain, you want your pizza fancy. Then get your pizza from …”
29. Of what school was former Niagara Falls Mayor Michael C. O’Laughlin principal before becoming mayor?
30. If you’ve been paying close attention to the Reporter, this last question won’t be difficult for you at all. Senior Editor Rebecca Day mentioned in a column in the one-year anniversary issue of the paper what the original name of the Niagara Falls Reporter was going to be. Can you name it for your final point?

ANSWERS
1. Ames
2. Princess Diana and sons Prince William and Prince Harry
3. Jerry Lewis Cinema
4. Beeton’s
5. Pleasuredome
6. Carborundum Building
7. Chubb’s
8. Parkhurst Whitney
9. The Speakeasy
10. Feldman Furs
11. Acme
12. Miss USA
13. The Treehouse
14. Devil’s Hole
15. Arnold Zimmer
16. H. Salt Fish and Chips
17. Mallards
18. “Canadian Bacon”
19. McQ’s
20. Peg’s
21. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and Magician Doug Henning
22. J and J’s
23. Bob Laurie
24. Les Nassoiy
25. Due to civil unrest on Buffalo’s east side, War Memorial stadium was deemed unsafe for fans to come out and support the Bisons
26. They all were home to schools, now closed, in the Niagara Falls district
27. The Ontario House or OH
28. Joe Ganci
29. North Junior High School
30. The Niagara Falls Insider

Scoring Table
27-30 pts. You are a dyed-in-the-wool Niagaran. Congratulations.
20-26 pts. You know your stuff. Way to go.
15-19 pts. You win the 10th cigarette prize — middle of the pack.
9-14 pts. You must have lost your long-term memory after drinking some bad Love Canal water.
0-8 pts. You’re not from ’round these here parts, now are you?

 

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READ OTHER STORIES ON THIS TOPIC

• Test Your Niagara Falls Knowledge

 

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Frank Thomas Croisdale is a Contributing Editor of the Niagara Falls Reporter and the author of Buffalo Soul Lifters. He can be reached at NFReporter@aol.com.

Back in Feb. 2007 I wrote a column in the Niagara Falls Reporter suggesting the formation of a think tank to help the city of Niagara Falls.

 

Now, two years and 100+ members later Niagara Rises is a force to be reckoned with.

 

Here’s a look back at that original column.

 

Think Tank Needed In Niagara Falls

 

By Frank Thomas CroisdaleIt wasn’t exactly an epiphany; that’s too generous of a term. It was more like a moment of clarity and it came to me recently after digesting two local news stories.

 

The first was that the city of Niagara Falls would be boosting the salary of the mayor to $78,000. That’s $48,000 more than the job paid in 2006. The second was that Leadership Niagara named Henry “Mickey” Sloma its “Leader of the Year.”

Before we break down both of these issues, here’s the thought that came to me: We’re nowhere and only we can get ourselves out of the bed we’ve failed to make. Digest that for a moment, if you will. Therapists call it “accepting ownership for your problems,” and it’s something we have done a poor job of around here for decades.

By “we,” I mean all of us. You, me, the taxpayers, the system-riders, the vocal fringe, the silent majority, the mom-and-pops, the big corporations, the public and the press. We’re guilty because we grumble and carp, and we point and blame, but in the end we sit by and watch the same movie with the same sad ending loop over and over again.

Shame on us!

Take the mayor’s salary issue, for starters. At first I was amused as I watched the television coverage out of Buffalo. The news anchor was doing a voice-over as the screen filled with Mayor Vince Anello’s image.

“The City Council feels the increased salary will draw more qualified candidates to the position,” said the news anchor.

Ha, ha, good joke — the implication being that the current mayor is a wonderful example of the type of incompetence $30,000 will buy you these days. Then it dawned on me: Who is the joke on, anyway? Anello? No, it’s on you and me, that’s who.

The Sloma story is just another slice from the same pie. This guy floats around the political scene like an apparition caught between heaven and hell. What he does, no one is quite sure, but he sits on more boards than a room full of glazed ceramics.

This past December, he initiated a tax break for AES that has led to Donald Trump-levels of litigation and has the folks in Somerset, Appleton and Barker ready to secede from Niagara County. Some leader of the year.

The head of Leadership Niagara, Frank Maietta, said the decision was made to honor Sloma early in the year before he became headline fodder. That’s like a boxing judge saying, “We awarded the fight to Frazier after the first five rounds. Ali’s knockout in the 12th was a day late and a dollar short.”

Maietta then added, “What kind of leadership organization would we be if we made a decision and backed down from it?” One that had some integrity, for starters. Giving Sloma the Leader of the Year award is akin to slapping a sash across Britney Spears and anointing her Mother of the Year. You know, the panty-less bar-hopping and rides with junior sans car seat all came later in the year, once the balloting had closed.

So we roll our eyes and curse our luck, and then we elect the next Vince Anello and we appoint Henry Sloma to another board of directors. Again, shame on us.

Here’s a novel idea: Why not up the mayor’s salary to $1 million a year? Seriously. We have a world-renowned city that draws millions of tourists each year. We also have a casino that pays the city millions in revenue annually. Why not take $1 million of that cash cow and go after a mayor from the big leagues? Draft a resolution to give it a four-year trial. I’ll bet that someone with the credentials that would draw would find all sorts of revenue streams to repay the city for its generosity.

Here’s a prediction. Many of you will write me to say you think floating a million-dollar lure to have a big-city mayor is a brilliant idea. I know, because I’ve traveled that road with you many times before.

When I wrote that the old Hippodrome Theater should be renovated as the centerpiece to “Little Italy,” you responded en masse. One party even wrote to say they possessed the theater’s original box office and would donate it to the restoration team.

Then there was the time I wrote that the city needed to reclaim its “Honeymoon Capital of the World” heritage. I even offered the slogan “You fell for each other, Niagara Falls for you” as the focal point of an advertising campaign to go after regional honeymooners. That led to an avalanche of e-mails from all across the country, one from a Madison Avenue firm attempting to woo me into becoming part of their creative team.

There have been a handful of other times when I’ve floated ideas that, just like the aforementioned examples, seemed to pique the interest of the public.

Guess whose interest wasn’t stimulated? You got it — the movers and shakers of Niagara Falls. The response from your elected officials to ideas that got your juices flowing couldn’t mask the sound of a pin dropping onto a carpeted floor. I’m not sure if their silence speaks volumes about their ignorance or their callous indifference.

Getting back to my moment of clarity, it occurs to me this newspaper has spent a lot of printer’s ink criticizing the politicians and string-pullers of Niagara Falls for their ineptitude. That’s our job, and we take great pride in our track record. But it seems to me there is a greater good that this column, at least, can serve.

With that thought in mind, I’m looking to put together a think tank of individuals who are tired of the status quo and want to recharter the course of our fair city. I’m looking for folks who feel their voices have not been heard.

I hope to have a town meeting some time over the next couple months to brainstorm ideas. I’m not talking about experience centers and cultural museums. I’m talking about grassroots ideas that can be implemented quickly with an eye toward bigger goals in the future.

If you’re tired of being the butt of jokes and weary of explaining to tourists and expatriates what’s gone wrong in Niagara Falls, drop me an e-mail or send a note to the Reporter’s office. Put the phrase “I’m in” in the subject line and include a contact telephone number.

Together, maybe we can take the first step in helping Niagara up from its fall.

 

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Frank Thomas Croisdale is a Contributing Editor at the Niagara Falls Reporter and author of “Buffalo Soul Lifters.” You can write him atNFReporter@adelphia.net.

In today’s Buffalo News Niagara Section there is an interesting article about One Niagara and Frank Parlato.  Parlato is not the only person trying to make a difference in Niagara Falls. Niagara Rises that has over 100 members making a difference in Niagara Falls.     Join the group at their monthly meeting on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 to find out how you can be part of the positive changes in Niagara Falls.

Niagara Falls Days Inn

443 Main Street | Niagara Falls NY
6pm

Turn it into a World-class tourist destination!

I originally published this in April, and it might just be time to think about this yet again. With all the excitement of Niagara Homecoming showing how just how a few people can make a difference. Driving around Niagara Falls yesterday I saw signs of improvement, construction happening and some excitement in the community with all the possibilities.   I see it more because of the planning of Niagara Homecoming.

I think this is I am just old enough to remember Niagara Falls NY being a source of pride for Western New York and the world. As I moved away and came back, each time I was just a little more shocked than the last time what has happened here. I lived in the Metro New York City area, several Florida communities including Marco Island and Celebration. I understand about tourist destinations. I have also traveled the world, so I understand what attracts tourists to an area.

If you need any indication what needs to happen here, just look across to Ontario. As it stands, all the cool things to do with the family are on the Canadian side. All the great entertainment is on the the Canadian side. Niagara Falls is the number 2 tourist destination in all of Canada.

Anyone else in the United States see a problem?

Where to Start rebuilding Niagara Falls?

Instead of whining and complaining that I hear regularly from local citizens, I am focused on real time solutions for Niagara Falls. Drawing businesses back, creating a world-class tourist destination and economic growth. Isn’t that what we all want?

I am tired of everyone trying to claim credit — who cares who gets the credit, let it just start already. As I see it, Niagara Falls residents get in their own way, wanting to have all the glory. They saved Niagara Falls. Meanwhile, we move further from the ultimate goal.

The largest problem Niagara Falls NY has compared to Niagara Falls Ontario is the willingness of their Nation to invest in their 2nd most visited destination in Canada. Niagara Falls NY doesn’t register on the top lists for the United States. This is not local government, or even Albany’s fault, this is a national treasure that people are ignoring.

Read the rest of the article:  What to do with Niagara Falls NY?

Join our next planning meeting:

December 16th - 6pm
Days Inn
443 Main Street | Niagara Falls NY

Tags: Niagara Falls, Niagara Homecoming, Niagara Rises

I’ll be doing a book signing for the local bestseller Buffalo Soul Lifters. Event info is below.

The book, which has been called “Chicken Soup for the Soul - WNY Edition” continues to reside at the top of local bestseller listings.

Please stop out and have me autograph a copy for the favorite reader on your Christmas list.

Author Event
Frank Croisdale: Buffalo Soul Lifters

Location Info
Saturday, December 20th, 12:00 PM
Barnes & Noble Booksellers - Clarence
4401 Transit Road Suite 800
Clarence, NY 14221
716-634-1011

Tags: Barnes and Noble, Buffalo Soul Lifters, Frank Thomas Croisdale

Great piece on the rocketing growth of Twitter and our own Colleen Kulikowski. Here’s a tweet for you - be at the next Niagara Rises meeting on Tuesday, December 16th - 6 PM, Day’s Inn, 443 Main Street.

Niagara Falls is rising from the ashes - be a part of it!

Click here to read all about it:

http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/517751.html

Tags: Colleen Kulikowski, Niagara Falls, Niagara Rises, Twitter