The marquees that were the recognizable illuminated hallmarks of many of our theatrical oases were built by Flexlume, a local company that will be celebrating its 100th anniversary next year. Flexlume's history begins across the border in Canada where in 1904 the Wiley brothers, Roy and Wallace, discovered a market for the production of white opal glass molded letters that were pushed through a signface and illuminated from behind to create flexible illumination, hence the name "Flexlume." In 1911 Flexlume moved to Buffalo and opened its first plant at 1453 Niagara Street. The company continued to thrive, and in 1920 it briefly operated out of 74 Kail while a new 125,000 foot plant was built at 1100 Military road. According to The American Sign Museum, this was the world's largest plant dedicated solely to the manufacture of electric signs. Flexlume's strong customer base was composed mainly of movie theaters, automotive dealers and banks. The company managed to survive the Depression and had as many as five hundred employees. However, by the late 1930's the Wiley brothers had left and the company was struggling. In 1942 Flexlume closed its doors.

To see the rest of Megan J. O'Neil's collection, see page 36 of the Winter 2003 Heritage Magazine. Subscribe now!

The oldest surviving building in Erie County is a log cabin in the Town of Lancaster known as the Gipple Cabin. It is thought to have been built in 1803, two hundred years ago this year, by Amos Woodard, a New Englander. Woodard took an "article" on the site from the Holland Land Office in the fall of that year. With the exception of the Fort Niagara buildings, this cabin may be the oldest surviving structure in the entire eight-county area of Western New York known as the Holland Land Purchase. The building is now severely deteriorated and may not last much longer.

To read the rest of John H. Conlin's story, see page 40 in the Winter 2003 issue. Subscribe now!

Sometimes, before I point my skis down the steep, black diamond trail called Old Sitz at the Buffalo Ski Club in Colden, I pause just for a moment. While it's true that as a thoroughly mediocre skier I pause to wonder if I can make it down the hill in one piece, I pause, as well, for another reason. I like to take minute to think of the day when a group of enthusiastic college students from the University of Buffalo, members of a club then called The Sitzmarker Ski Club (named for the marks they made on the snow after a fall), discovered this hill, fully treed with oak, black cherry, hemlock and beech and said, "Let's put a ski slope here." So it was that in the fall of 1948 these hardy souls, led by World War II fighter pilot John Doyle, raised the $365 Mr. Genzel was aking for his land and began to spend their weekends clearing this hill that my family and I enjoyed in 2002.

To read more of W. Richard Ohler's story, see page 53 of the Winter 2003 Heritage Magazine. Subscribe now!