<– Day 34 – Thurs. June 6th: Carousels and Awards | Trip Overview | Day 36 – Sat. June 8th: Escape to the Movies –>

Forrest Gump was right: Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get. When I began this trip I never expected to be on the front page of a town’s newspaper. As I mentioned yesterday, I feel fortunate it was a slow news day! I did note there were a few quotes attributed to me worded in a way that I’d never do, but that’s the good/bad of being interviewed.

On Friday morning Ann and I were scheduled to visit the Wurlitzer Building in North Tonawanda and enjoy a brief tour by the president of the company that owns and operates it. The building is huge (I can’t remember the exact size), but at one point it employed over 3000 people. You can read a fuller history of the Wurlitzer Company in North Tonawanda from 1892 to 1942 here.

While many square feet have been turned into office space that’s leased to companies, thousands of square feet remain empty, awaiting a reason to transform back into something leasable.

Below are a few photos:

This is only part 1/5 (?) of the Wurlitzer building in North Tonawanda, NY. It’s the entrance.

Here is organ restoration specialist Jeff Weiler and I in front of the entrance. Ann and I plan to meet up with Jeff and see his restoration shop in Chicago during our trip back home.

This is President of The Wurlitzer Building Tom Austen, who showed us around a portion of the building.

This is one wing of the 3rd floor that is empty (except for some file storage).

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<– Day 32 & 33 – Tues. June 4th & Wed. June 5th: Rudeness at the Parkside Diner!  | Trip Overview | Day 35 – Fri. June 7th: An Old Building and New Cars –>

My presentation of the Wurlitzer Plaque to the North Tonawanda History Museum Trustees.

I’d like to share with you all the wonderful things I did on my birthday — of parties, food, and lavish gifts — but the present I truly longed for was sleep. So, that’s pretty much all we did. We slept. A lot.

By Thursday June 6th we were ready for a busy day. Our first stop was at my great uncle Farny Wurlitzer’s former house in North Tonawanda, New York. It was a beautiful place that was recently purchased by new owners. I won’t bore you with the pictures, but it was fun for us.

After the house visit, as official representatives of the Rudolph Wurlitzer family (I’m his great great grandson), Ann and I were invited on guided tour of the Herschel Carousel Museum in North Tonawanda.

The front of the Herschel Museum (on a very wet day).

Doug, Jeff and I are examining a Wurlitzer Carousel Organ that plays while the carousel rotates.

Who doesn’t feel like a kid riding a carousel??

Of course, we even found a jeep-like ride at the museum!

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<– Day 31 – Mon. June 3rd: Through Russia With Love | Trip Overview | Day 34 – Thurs. June 6th: Carousels and Awards –>

No, the sign isn’t referencing the Beatles; it’s explaining an earlier invasion by Brits playing musical muskets.

On Tuesday June 4th: we drove from Pulaski, New York, to Buffalo, New York.

On Tuesday June 4th we drove from Pulaski, New York, to Buffalo, New York.

Last night I got a “really good deal” on a motel room in Pulaski, New York. Strangely, no one else showed up at the motel. We had the entire place to ourselves. To make it odder, the supposed two-star place was only of one-star quality. The whole place had an odd vibe. We had no desire to stay any longer than need-be, so we departed early in the morning.

Our first stop today was the beach at Oswego, NY, near Fort Ontario. There, we looked out onto the fourth Great Lake of our trip: Lake Ontario. The warm temperatures of the past few days turned to a bone chilling 67 degrees …  Brrr. We almost had to put on jackets!

Henry taking a well deserved rest at Lake Ontario.

From there we drove to the State University of New York at Oswego. We met with a reference librarian in the hope she could find more information on Dorothy Rogers, the author of Jeopardy and a Jeep and Highways Across the Horizons. The librarian provided some reference material that led to additional biographical information, but it didn’t prove useful.

After our library trip, our next stop was in Seabreeze, NY, where we found a diner near a park called, not surprisingly, the Parkside Diner. Our food was very good.

Somehow we didn’t get a picture of this place. So, here’s one from Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kewing/7778492628/in/set-72157624608428385

The strange part about our experience was that as we waited for the check, Ann and I started to hear some strange sounds from the booth in back of us. It sounded like a little kids TV show that seemed, intellectually, one step above Teletubbies. The sounds were loud enough that the grating voice would have disturbed us if we were still eating.

Fortunately, moments later our bill arrived. We dropped the money on the table. I stood and turned to see what was making the racket. I discovered a couple behind us had placed a phone on a table so they could watch a television show. They seemed completely unaware (or uncaring) that the obnoxious show might disturb anyone else. Ann exited the restaurant asking, “Really? Who does that? Who plays a TV loud enough to disturb other people in a restaurant??”

Just before we left, I took a picture of the offending couple. If you see these two ‘kids’, beware that they have no awareness for others around them. The red colored phone is propped up against the white container of sugar.

We arrived in Northeast Buffalo soon after our lunch. We napped, then I worked. Wednesday June 5th is my birthday, so there won’t be any updates and we have no plans, other than to rest and find some good food. We’ll be here through Saturday.

Wednesday June 5th: Day off 🙂

On Thursday, we have a variety of plans in North Tonawanda, New York.

<– Day 31 – Mon. June 3rd: Through Russia With Love | Trip Overview | Day 34 – Thurs. June 6th: Carousels and Awards –>