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HDC News 2016

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News Updates - 2016


January 2016
By Ron Dukarm

COMMUNITY OUTREACH - The Heritage Discovery Center continues to host local community events and has become the meeting place for all of our affiliate partners.
  • HDC PLANNING MEETING - 1/2/16 - The HDC Board held a planning meeting regarding the development of Areas A & B.
  • WNYRHS MAILING - 1/2/16 - Joe, Rick, Paul and Ron sent out 200 letters to former WNYRHS members seeking renewals.
  • HDC PLANNING MEETING - 1/7/16 - The HDC Board held a planning meeting regarding the development of Areas A & B.
  • BOOK MEETING - 1/7/16 - Ron, Ed and SPM members met with Morning Sun Books author Steve Timko concerning a proposed book on the South Buffalo Railway.
  • HDC PLANNING MEETING - 1/16/16 - The HDC Board and Mark L., Tom S. and Paul M. met to finalize an RFP for Area A development.
  • CONVENTION PLANNING MEETING - 1/16/16 - Ron met with Jim Torgeson of the Penn Central Railroad Society for planning their annual convention to be held at the HDC in September.
  • LUNCHEON/TOUR MEETING - 1/16/16 - Joe K. and Shelia O. met with UB/Canisius officials, planning a luncheon and tour of the HDC on Thursday for young entrepreneurs.
    1/19/16 - Shelia met with SPM for final plans for the luncheon and tour of HDC on Thursday.
    1/21/16 - A UB student group had a tour, lectures, panel discussion and luncheon. Don Owens, Don Williams and Ed addressed the group.
  • HDC AREA B MEETING - 1/19/16 - Joe and Ed met with a potential developer for Area B track work.
  • WNYRHS PUBLIC MEETING - 1/21/16 - The WNYRHS held their annual Membership Multimedia Public Meeting. Joe, Leslie, and Barb hosted the meeting.
  • HDC PLANNING MEETING - 1/23/16 - The HDC Board held a brief meeting on RFP developments.
  • HDC MEETINGS - 1/26/16 - Barb and Don Williams of the SPM met with a trash removal company concerning replacing City pick-ups. Ed, Don and Rick met with private and government development officials concerning HDC projects.
  • CONVENTION PLANNING MEETING - 1/28/16 - Leslie and Jim Torgeson had a planning session for the Penn-Central Annual Convention to be held at HDC in September.
  • HDC BOARD MEETING - 1/28/16 - The HDC Board held their monthly business meeting.

DONATIONS - We have received the following donations of artifacts and supplies. Our sincere thanks to all our loyal supporters:
  • Jim & Donna Shine - donated 2 boxes of paper clips, 6 mouse pads and a 12-pack of water and 500 file folders for our Erie personnel records. Thank you Jim & Donna!
  • Ron Dukarm - donated $420 for supplies and contractor fees. Thank you Ron!
  • Joe Kocsis - donated 4 lengths of pipe. Thank you Joe!
  • Chris Kroll - donated two large bags of popcorn for Thursday's meeting. Thank You Chris!
  • Jim Torgeson - donated a plunger for our plumbing needs. Thank you Jim!
  • Don & Barb Owens - donated a large wall poster of a passenger train. Thank You Don & Barb!
  • Don Hale - Ed Patton met with benefactor Don Hale and finalized the donated machine shop inventory showing a total donation of just over $35,000 of machinery, parts and supplies! Thank You Don Hale!
  • Paul McGrath - donated 3 boxes of RR magazines. Thank You Paul!
  • Dan Sikorski - donated a smoke detector and emergency lights. Thank you Dan!
  • Viatran Corporation - donated 6 boxes of padded envelopes. Thank You Viatran!
  • Mark Klepadlo - donated 4 boxes of envelopes and folders. Thank You Mark!
  • Mike Fitzsimmons - made a donation to SPM. Thank You Mike!

WORK ACCOMPLISHED
  • DISPLAYS -1/2/16 - Over the Christmas Holidays, Steve K. and Shelia O. worked on many of our display cases in the Museum area. A new N Guage layout with a winter theme that was recently donated to the museum by Robert Winter was set up along with a new display on Buffalo Color to celebrate the history of the former plant. The switch control panel from the Bailey Avenue switch tower now has a new location. The tower that was also known as "DM" Tower, controlled the crossing of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Deleware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad near Bailey and Clinton Streets.








    • 1/5/16 - Shelia worked on the new Buffalo Color Display case in the Meeting Room.
    1/9/16 - Shelia continued work on the Buffalo Color Display.
    1/16/16 - Shelia continued work on the Buffalo Color Display cases.
    1/19/16 - Shelia and Barb continued work on the Buffalo Color Display. Ed met with a military historian/businessman who will place a military display in HDC.
    1/21/16 - Shelia and Barb continued work on the Buffalo Color Display.

  • BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS - 1/21/16 - Barb opened for plumber to have the back-flow valve replaced on Friday and stop leaks.
    1/23/16 - Al, Ed, Joe and Jim traced a leak on the second floor and repaired it.
    1/30/16 - Remaining snow was shoveled from walks.

  • HOUSEKEEPING - 1/16/16 - Barb cleaned and removed trash and cans & bottles. Also did plans for Thursday's public meeting. Our contractor plowed the parking lot for the first time this winter.
    1/19/16 - Barb cleaned restrooms and removed trash. Barb will get 4 more keys made for the Church.
    1/30/16 - Adam arranged seating in the meeting room, Joe worked on restroom repair and Tony unstapled newsletters for handouts and replinished the Lobby table. Barb brought in the new keys made for the Church and the ELHS Archive Room. Joe changed the locks for the Room 160 complex.


  • ARCHIVE BUILDING - 1/2/16 - Dan and Mike organized the tool room and brought in more shelving. Steve erected new archive shelving.
    1/5/16 - Dan and Mike sanded metal file cabinets and painted the bottoms and the rest of the shelves. Cabinets are now ready for loading.
    1/5/16 - NKP ARCHIVES - John Slater worked on NPTHS archives.
    1/7/16 - ELHS ARCHIVES - Archivist Joe Schveder brought a truckload of ELHS archives and placed them in 2nd floor archive room.
    1/9/16 - Steve brought over more shelving for archive storage.
    1/16/16 - Steve set up more shelving and repaired display cases.
    1/23/16 - Shelia, Steve and Adam sorted archive material. Jim Slominski and Bob Snyder delivered records from Orchard Park.
    1/30/16 - Steve and Adam erected more shelving, placed shelves in cabinets, stored boxes and organized the shower room area.

  • GUARDHOUSE/MACHINE SHOP -1/9/16 - Ed met with donor Don Hale and secured machine & parts manuals. Ed also went over pricing of machine parts and began an inventory.

  • HOSPITAL BUILDING - 1/5/16 - Dan installed heat tape on our water pipes.
    1/5/16 - Peter Westphal worked the ELHS records.
    1/7/16 - Ed inspected the heat tape on our water pipes. Ron & Ed also showed the building to ELHS Archivist for expansion space for their archives. Furnace installation was reviewed.

  • MECHANICAL - 1/30/16 - Joe added diesel fuel to the Ford backhoe, charged the battery and moved it to the front gate for easier access for future plowing.

  • LIBRARY - 1/2/16 - Ed, Jim, Donna, Diane, Shelia & Tony worked on Erie RR personnel records.
    1/4/16 - Ed erected the stand for our new large screen monitor.
    1/5/16 - Ed, Jim, Donna, & Tony worked on Erie RR personnel records. Ed inspected microfiche readers for necessary repairs.
    1/7/16 - Ed, Jim, Donna, John & Tony worked on Erie RR personnel records.
    1/9/16 - Ed, Jim, Donna, John, Diane & Tony worked on Erie RR personnel records.
    1/16/16 - Ed, Jim, Donna, John, Diane & Tony worked on Erie RR personnel records.
    1/19/16 - Jim, Donna, Diane & Chris worked on Erie RR personnel records.
    1/21/16 - Jim, Donna, Bob and Barb worked on Erie RR personnel records.
    1/23/16 - Jim, Donna, Ed, Diane, Tony and Barb worked on Erie RR personnel records.
    1/26/16 - Jim, Donna, Ed, Adam, Tony, Chris and Barb worked on Erie RR personnel records.
    1/28/16 - Tony, Shelia and Barb worked on Erie RR personnel records.
    1/30/16 - Ed, Diane, Shelia, Tony and Barb worked on Erie RR personnel records.



February 2016
By Ron Dukarm

COMMUNITY OUTREACH - The Heritage Discovery Center continues to host local community events and has become the meeting place for all of our affiliate partners.
  • WNYRHS BOARD MEETING - 2/4/16 - The WNYRHS Board of Trustees held their monthly planning meeting and held their election of officers.
  • PLANNING MEETING - 2/9/16 - Don Owens met with Cimminelli Construction about the WNYRHS - RFP for Area A, and also met with Williamsville Village officials about the Lehigh Valley section house by the Depot.
  • CONSTRUCTION MEETING - 2/11/16 - Ed met with Utech Construction and secured estimates for tower repair and new sewer installation.
    2/18/16 - Don and Ron met with Tom Wagner about Friday's RFP meeting in Area A. Also toured site to ensure access.
    2/20/16 - Don and Rick met with developers concerning the Area A RFP.
    2/25/16 - Don met with Uniland developers concerning the Area A RFP.
  • BOOK MEETING - 2/11/16 - Ron and Ed had another meeting with Morning Sun Books author Steve Timko concerning a proposed book on the South Buffalo Railway.
  • WATER MEETING - 2/11/16 - Ed met with construction manager from City overseeing install of new water lines, discussing impact on HDC operations.
  • AMERICAN METALS SOCIETY MEETING - 2/18/16 - Joe, Leslie and Rick prepared meeting room and kitchen for the meeting of the American Metals Society. They hosted their bi-monthly meeting.


  • YACHT MEETING - 2/23/16 - The China Light Yacht Club held their quarterly Board meeting.
  • SPM MEETING - 2/23/16 - The Steel Plant Museum held their monthly Board meeting.
  • HDC BOARD MEETING - 2/23/16 - The HDC Board held their monthly business meeting.
  • VOLUNTEER DINNER - 2/27/16 - The HDC and WNYRHS held their annual volunteer appreciation dinner and awards ceremony Saturday evening. Joe and Leslie Koscis served as hosts for over 40 attendees. Following pizza and snacks, Leslie cooked a delicious roast beef dinner. Awards were presented to outstanding volunteers at HDC, OP, Williamsville and the Car Committee. We also honored many of our dedicated volunteers for all their efforts and hard work throughout last year. Many won door prizes and $80 was raised through the split club to help offset the dinner expense. A great time was had by all. Our thanks to Joe and Leslie for a wonderful evening.


DONATIONS - We have received the following donations of artifacts and supplies. Our sincere thanks to all our loyal supporters:
  • Ron Dukarm - donated 5 gallons of diesel fuel. Thank you Ron!
  • Mike Pietrocarlo - donated an 8-foot roll up security door to be installed in Building 75. Mike also discussed possible donation of 100 chairs, ceiling tiles and tables if we can provide labor to move items. Will bring samples for our review. Thank You Mike!
  • Robert Bahrs - donated over 400 B&W photos of Erie steam. Thank you Robert!
  • Paul McGrath - donated two large boxes of miscellaneous railroad magazines. Thank you Paul!
  • Ed Roliczek - donated a box of N&W rule books and other railroad paperwork. Thank you Ed!

WORK ACCOMPLISHED
  • DISPLAYS - 2/4/16 - Shelia worked on displays.
    2/6/16 - Shelia and Steve worked on displays
    2/9/16 - Shelia worked on displays.

  • BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS - 2/9/16 - Construction has started on our property near the South Park Avenue Bridge for putting in a new water line across our property and under NS and CSX tracks for Solar City.
    2/18/16 - Elevator Repair - Repairman came. Needs part. Will return Saturday.
    2/20/16 - Elevator Repair - Repairman worked on elevator. Ed and Ron were also in Monday to complete the repairs.
    2/25/16 - Roof Repair - Mike worked on Church roof leak.
    2/29/16 - Roof Repair - Ron and Mike met with a roofing contractor and went up on the roof to view leak. A plan of action is being developed.

  • BUILDING #75 - 2/11/15 - Mike P. has an electric motor ready to install in Building #75 to power door. Will coordinate installation with Joe K.

  • HOUSEKEEPING - 2/2/16 - Barb cleaned and removed cans & bottles.
    2/9/16 - Barb and Erica moved brush piles for placement of new dumpster, which will be delivered Thursday. Erica mopped floors. Carl changed computer passwords. Mike delivered and picked up paperwork on donations and checked for a leak in the front lobby.
    2/9/16 - Peter W. started making a video recording of all Heritage DiscoveRY Center assets.
    2/11/16 - Barb cleaned and removed trash. Dumpster was delivered and placed by main gate. Noel shoveled front walk.
    2/18/16 - Barb cleaned, removed trash and mopped floors. Steve, Noel and Don shoveled front walk and back door.
    2/25/16 - Shelia washed dishes. Erica and Barb mopped floors.
    2/29/16 - Joe and Leslie did dishes, removed the trash and set up the meeting room following Saturday's dinner party.

  • ARCHIVE BUILDING - 2/4/16 - John worked on NPTHS archives. Ed and Ken identified slides to be organized.
    2/6/16 - Shelia and Steve worked on archives.
    2/9/16 - Shelia worked on archives. Ron set up a work table for SPM's new interns.
    2/25/16 - Ron reassembled the books of Erie Steam photos. Ed met with a potential donor of NKP personnel files and gave him a Library tour.

  • LIBRARY - 2/2/16 - Ed, Shelia, and Chris worked on Erie RR personnel records.
    2/4/16 - Ed worked on Erie RR personnel records. Barb O. and Bob C. started painting Don's office.
    2/6/16 - Ed, Diane and Tony worked on Erie personnel records. Ed and Joe worked on preparing two grant requests.
    2/9/16 - Ed, Diane and Tony worked on Erie personnel records.
    2/18/16 - Shelia and Tony worked on library items.
    2/20/16 - Shelia, Diane and Tony worked on library items.
    2/25/16 - Shelia worked on library items. Don & Barb continued the paint work in Don's office.
    2/27/16 - Shelia, Diane, Tony and Ed worked on library items.


March 2016
By Ron Dukarm

COMMUNITY OUTREACH - The Heritage Discovery Center continues to host local community events and has become the meeting place for all of our affiliate partners.
  • STEEL PLANT MUSEUM - 1st WEDNESDAY EVENT - 3/2/16 - John Dumbroski spoke about the Spillman Motor Company. Mr. Dumbroski explained how the Allan Herschell Co. and the Spillman Brothers came together to form the Herschell-Spillman Company.
  • ELHS OHIO MEETING - 3/5/16 - Ed, Don, Rick and Tom traveled to Ohio to meet with ELHS President M Connor to discuss possible RR archive donations and future operations.
  • RFP - AREA A MEETING - 3/15/16 - Don and Mark met with development contractors inquiring about Area A.
    3/19/16 - Ed met with potential investors from New York City and Canada in relation to our RFP for Area A.
  • SCHOOL TOURS - 3/16/16 - On Wednesday between 10:30am and 2:00pm we had the Gow School and UB students touring HDC. SPM played host along with Ed Patton.
  • CONSTRUCTION MEETING - 3/17/16 - Ed met with the contractors installing new water lines under the tracks and through our Area B property. Drainage issues were discussed.
  • WNYRHS PUBLIC MEETING - 3/17/16 - The WNYRHS held their March Public Meeting. Doug Smith gave the well-received program. Joe and Leslie played host and served up a delicious Irish meal before the program.

    Thanks Doug for sharing your years of memories while "Riding the Rails" at tonight's meeting. Everyone attending thoroughly enjoyed the trip down memory lane at your farewell program. We presented Doug with an Honorary Life Membership in the Society in recognition of his many years supporting the mission and activities of the WNYRHS. We will miss both you and Polly as you move east to be nearer to your grandkids.

  • VOLUNTEER DINNER - 3/19/16 - Joe and Leslie cooked up a special meal for volunteer appreciation and also to celebrate St. Patrick's day. The delicious meal was topped off by Cheryl Patton's famous pies. Thank you Joe, Leslie and Cheryl.
  • GARAGE SALE - 3/22/16 - Barb went throughout the First Ward posting notices of our upcoming  Indoor Garage & Baked Good Sale  on April 2nd at stores, community centers and other venues.
  • HDC BOARD MEETING - 3/29/16 - The HDC Board held their monthly business meeting.
  • WATERFRONT MEETING - 3/29/16 - Ed attended a Waterfront Coalition meeting representing the HDC.
  • BUFFALO NEWS MEETING - 3/31/16 - Ron and Ed met with a reporter from the Buffalo News who toured the museum and gathered information on the HDC.

DONATIONS - We have received the following donations of artifacts and supplies. Our sincere thanks to all our loyal supporters:
  • Don & Barb Owens - donated paint, drinking water, trash bags, sponges, coffee filters and various other supplies. Thank You Don & Barb!
  • Mike Pietrocarlo - donated a large stainless steel double "pots & pans" sink for the Kitchen. He also donated a drip pan, plastic tubing to repair roof leak, cups, plates, paperware, trays and several boxes of kitchen related items. For the garage sale, Mike donated 3 artificial plants. Thank You Mike!
  • Ed Roliczek - donated two banker boxes of Railroad Union paperwork on the NKP and Norfolk Southern. Thank you Ed!
  • Bruce Heatley - donated $100 toward HDC projects. Thank You Bruce!
  • Paul McGrath - donated 9 boxes of RR magazines. Thank You Paul!
  • Doug Smith - donated a folder of EL photos and news items on the Phoebe Snow. Thank you Doug!
  • John Slater - donated a box of PRR freight car blueprints plus a scanned disk. Thank you John!

WORK ACCOMPLISHED
  • DISPLAYS -3/22/16 - Ed and Ron met with an individual who potentially may put up several cases of RR displays. Possible themes were discussed and numerous artifacts reviewed.

  • BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS - 3/8/16 - Erica policed the grounds and cleaned out gardens.
    3/12/16 - Ron delivered a "rail-grabber" from the Orchard Park Freighthouse and stored it in the Archive Building.
    3/19/16 - Don and Barb Owens policed up the grounds and removed debris.
    3/22/16 - Mike and Adam worked on roof repairs.
    3/24/16 - Mike stopped in and checked all areas for leaks and none were found.
    3/26/16 - Don O. removed a truckload of brush and branches for disposal.
    3/29/16 - Mike, Don and Barb checked for leaks. Joe dropped off new valve for a toilet repair.

  • HOUSEKEEPING - 3/15/16 - Erica cleaned out the back gardens and also removed trash and cleaned floors.
    3/26/16 - Joe K. set up the meeting room for next week's garage sale. Joe also secured plumbing parts for toilet repair. Barb O. removed cans for deposit. Joe posted a "For Sale" sign on our Elk Street parking lot.
    3/31/16 - Chris R. washed dishes. Barb O. and Don O. set up tables for the garage sale on Saturday.

  • ARCHIVE BUILDING - 3/5/16 - Steve K. and Adam P. set up more shelving.
    3/12/16 - Steve and Adam set up more shelving.
    3/15/16 - NKP ARCHIVES - John brought in several more donated boxes of NKP records.
    3/19/16 - Steve, Adam and Bruce H. erected more shelving in the building.
    3/22/16 - Adam erected more shelving and also moved furniture off the second floor to make room for more archive storage.
    3/24/16 - ELHS ARCHIVES - Joe Schveder was in and delivered ELHS' new computer system and worked on their archives.
    3/24/16 - Ron D., Adam P. and Jerry B. brought over more shelving from Building #75. Adam erected shelving in the Archive Building. Adam and Jerry also moved excess furniture from 100 Lee to Building #75.
    3/25/16 - ELHS ARCHIVES - Joe Schveder, Bill Burt and Rusty delivered furniture for the ELHS office and also 20 boxes of EL archives.
    3/26/16 - ELHS ARCHIVES - Joe Schveder and Ed P. set up ELHS' new computer. Joe brought in a new desk. Steve K. erected more shelving in the building.
    3/29/16 - NKP ARCHIVES - John Slater brought in several more boxes of NKP archives.

  • LIBRARY - 3/5/16 - Jim, Donna, Diane, Bob and Tony worked on various library projects. Barb continued painting in Don's office.
    3/8/16 - Ed, Jim, Donna, Barb, Tony and John worked on Erie RR personnel files.
    3/10/16 - Everyone worked on Erie RR personnel files and library projects.
    3/12/16 - Ed, Barb, Jim, Donna, Diane, Tony and Shelia worked on Erie RR personnel files and library projects.
    3/15/16 - Ed, Barb, Chris, Diane, Tony and Shelia worked on Erie RR personnel files and library projects.
    3/17/16 - Ed, Barb, Chris, Diane, & Tony worked on Erie RR personnel files and library projects.
    3/19/16 - Ed, Barb, Diane, & Tony worked on Erie RR personnel files and library projects.
    3/22/16 - Ed, Chris & Tony worked on Erie RR personnel files and library projects.
    3/24/16 - Jim, Donna & Tony worked on Erie RR personnel files and library projects.
    3/26/16 - Ed, Barb, Jim, Donna, Diane & Tony worked on Erie personnel records and other library projects. Adam P. brought up library shelving from Archive Building and placed it in the Map Room. A new desk was placed in the research area.
    3/29/16 - Ed, Barb, Jim, John, Donna, & Tony worked on Erie personnel records and other library projects.
    3/31/16 - Ed, Barb, Jim, Donna, & Tony worked on Erie personnel records and other library projects.


April 2016
By Ron Dukarm

COMMUNITY OUTREACH - The Heritage Discovery Center continues to host local community events and has become the meeting place for all of our affiliate partners.
  • GARAGE SALE - 4/2/16 - Joe, Leslie, Cheryl, Chris, Don and Barb set up tables, assisted vendors and sold refreshments. Later, they oversaw clean-up. We had a very successful event and it was well attended.
  • RFP - AREA "A" MEETING - 4/5/16 - Ed and Ron met with a potential developer for Area A. We toured Area A and Building #75.
    4/7/16 - Joe, Ed, Don, Ron and barb met with a team of development officials interested in our Area "A" RFP.
    4/13/16 - Don, Ron, Joe, Ed and Barb met with a major real estate developer to discuss designs for Area A.
    4/26/16 - Ed and Ron met with a potential developer interested in a restaurant.
  • STEEL PLANT MUSEUM - 1st WEDNESDAY EVENT - 4/6/16 - Chuck LaChuisa, a prominent local historian, gave a wonderful presentation on "Buffalo Architecture and History," focusing on "Buffalo Buildings: Then (1916) & Now (2016). A great time was had by all.
  • HDC BOARD MEETING - 4/12/16 - The HDC Board met to discuss design parameters for Area A.
  • GATHERING OF THE CLANS - 4/16/16 - The Buffalo Irish Genealogy Society held a public seminar on how to research one's genealogy. Our meeting room was full of interested individuals listening to BIGS President Ed Patton and he described research techniques. This session was followed up with an open house in our Library where folks got hands-on experience researching on our computers.
  • DOCUMENTARY MEETING - 4/23/16 - Ed met with a documentary reporter who is looking to use HDC resources in his planned film. 4/30/16 - Ron worked with a UB student making a Railroad documentary.
  • HDC BOARD MEETING - 4/26/16 - The HDC held their monthly business meeting.
  • SCHOOL TOUR - 4/28/16 - A group of students from Brompton High School toured the museum.
  • LIGHTHOUSE MEETING - 4/28/16 - The Buffalo Lighthouse Association held their quarterly Board meeting.
  • BIGS MEETING - 4/30/16 - The Buffalo Irish Genealogy Society held a training seminar for their members.

DONATIONS - We have received the following donations of artifacts and supplies. Our sincere thanks to all our loyal supporters:
  • Jim & Donna Shine - donated a service bell, sign holders, tape, an "OPEN" sign, 2 boxes of file folders and 2 fire extinguishers. Thank You Jim & Donna!
  • Ed Roliczek - donated a wooden cab seat used in a N&W locomotive and various NKP and NS paperwork, he also donated a N&W jacket & key fob. Thank You Ed!
  • Emil Walerko - donated approximately, 40 vintage railroad postcards, 100 "First Day" postal covers, 1000 large format B&W railroad negitives, 20 color railroad slides, and 14 railroad and technology related hard cover books. In a second donation Emil presented a group of Great Britain made cards of US Trolleys and British Steam locomotives, a group of cards of the UP & CP completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, 10 more slides of the EL in the 1970's and 23 more postal 1st Day Covers. Thank you Emil!
  • Paul McGrath - donated a set of rare 1853 early history books of NY State. Thank You Paul!
  • The National Canal Museum - donated 20 boxes of RR books, including a complete set of bound Railway Age magazines and other rare RR books. Thank You NCM!
  • Jerry Berwalt - donated 20 2015 Railroad calendars from different roads. Thank You Jerry!
  • Don Williams - donated a can of coffee. Thank You Don!
  • Ron Dukarm - donated creamers, coffee filters, a case of water and soda, and a fuse for a garden tractor. Thank You Ron!
  • Mike Pietrocarlo - donated paper towel dispensers and a barrel of electrical parts. Thank You Mike!

WORK ACCOMPLISHED
  • BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS - 4/5/16 - Ken the plumber fixed the the leak in our upstairs sink.
    4/9/16 - Our front vestibule side panel was shot out by vandals. Steve cleaned up the glass and oversaw boarding up the window. Ed and Ron met with the chemical plant security officers and then Ed notified the police and a glass company.
    4/14/16 - The broken glass panel was replaced. Mike P. delivered to Building #75, five metal modular desks which hang off partitions, plus the partitions. He will bring five more on Saturday.
    4/19/16 - Erica worked on weeding the front gardens and an inspector conducted a routine check of our elevator and everything was all OK!
    4/28/16 - Erica weeded the front gardens.

  • HOUSEKEEPING - 4/5/16 - Barb scrubbed the Meeting Room floors. Jerry, Ron and Tony removed extra tables and set up the room for the SPM First Wednesday event. Jerry shoveled our sidewalks.
    4/9/16 - Shelia updated postings on our bulletin boards.
    4/14/16 - Jim and Donna Shine set up the Meeting Room for Saturday's big Irish Genealogy Society meeting "Gathering of the Clans", an all-day event.
    4/21/16 - Barb cleaned and removed the trash. Ron did the dishes. Ed repaired the kitchen towel dispenser.
    4/26/16 - Barb scrubbed floors and removed garbage and bottles.

  • ARCHIVE BUILDING - 4/2/16 - Steve K. and Adam P. set up more shelving.
    4/9/16 - Steve and Adam erected more shelving.
    4/16/16 - Steve and Adam cleared out a room on the second floor and set up more shelving.
    4/19/16 - John Slater, Nestor and several NKP volunteers unloaded a truckload of archives for NKPTHS and our library.
    4/23/16 - Steve and Adam placed archives on newly erected shelving.
    4/28/16 - John brought in more NKP archives and sorted the Canal Collection. Rusty from the ELHS worked on their archives.
    4/30/16 - Steve and Adam erected more shelving in the Archive Building.

  • MECHANICAL - 4/19/16 - BACKHOE - Mike Pietrocarlo sent a mechanic to pick up our backhoe and take it to his shop for repairs and a tune up.
    4/26/16 - Marty Laurie purchased a battery and did repairs on one of our lawn tractors.
    4/30/16 - Marty and Nestor got one of our lawn tractors operating.

  • LIBRARY - 4/2/16 - Ed, Jim, Donna, Diane & Tony worked on Erie personnel records and other library projects.
    4/5/16 - Jim, Donna, John, Chris & Tony worked on Erie personnel records and other library projects.
    4/7/16 - Diane & Tony worked on Erie personnel records and other library projects.
    4/9/16 - Jim, Donna, Ed, Shelia, Barb, Diane & Tony worked on Erie personnel records and other library projects.
    4/12/16 - Jim, Donna, Ed, Shelia, Barb, John & Tony worked on Erie personnel records and other library projects.
    4/14/16 - Jim, Donna, Ed, Chris & Tony worked on Erie personnel records and other library projects.
    4/16/16 - Jim, Donna, Ed, Chris, John & Tony worked on Erie personnel records and other library projects.
    4/19/16 - Jim, Donna, Ed, Chris, Diane & Tony worked on Erie personnel records and other library projects. Ed made contact with a Buffalo State College represenitive concerning starting an intern program for this summer.
    4/21/16 - Jim, Donna, Ed, & Tony worked on Erie personnel records and other library projects. Jim sanded 3 file cabinets and made them ready for painting. BIGS started inventorying our new RR book donation.
    4/23/16 - Jim, Donna, Ed, John & Tony held an open house for the public interested in genealogy. The Library was busy all day with visitors.
    4/26/16 - Jim, Donna, Ed, John, Barb & Chris worked on Erie personnel records and the Canal Collection.
    4/28/16 - Jim, Donna, Ed, & Tony worked on Erie personnel records and the Canal Collection.
    4/30/16 - Jim, Donna, John, Diane, Shelia & Tony worked on Erie personnel records and the Canal Collection. BIGS also conducted genealogy training for members.


May 2016
By Ron Dukarm

COMMUNITY OUTREACH - The Heritage Discovery Center continues to host local community events and has become the meeting place for all of our affiliate partners.
  • DEVELOPMENT MEETING - 5/3/16 - Don met with OSC officials about the sale of our Elk Street parking lot.
  • STEEL PLANT MUSEUM - 1st WEDNESDAY EVENT - 5/4/16 - Tim Bowen, a prominent local author and historian, gave a wonderful presentation on "Buffalo's Old First Ward." A great time was had by all.
  • COLLECTORS MEETING - 5/5/16 - Ron met with the regional President of the "TCA" Train Collectors Association about holding a meeting at HDC on May 12th.
  • MOVIE MEETING - 5/5/16 - Ron discussed with a movie director the possibly using our cars and depots in a movie "Marshall" being developed and filmed in Buffalo.
    5/7/16 - Arrangements have been made with producers of movie "Marshall" to film station scenes at Orchard Park Depot.
  • BY-LAWS MEETING - 5/12/16 - Joe Kocsis held a meeting of the WNYRHS by-laws committee.
  • TCA MEETING - 5/12/16 - The Train Collectors Association held their monthly meeting at the HDC and took a tour of the museum. Ed Patton served as host, Barb served refreshments. Don Williams opened SPM.
  • SPM BOARD MEETING - 5/17/16 - The SPM held their monthly Board meeting.
  • EMPIRE STATE MEETING - 5/19/16 - Ed and Joe met with Empire State Development Corporation officials concerning regional tourism possibilities.
  • RIVERKEEPERS MEETING - 5/19/16 - Joe was in discussion with Riverkeepers regarding the possiblity of a grant for plantings and landscaping.
  • WNYRHS PUBLIC MEETING - 5/19/16 - The WNYRHS held their May Public Meeting. Geno Daily's presented another one of his exciting Amtrak adventures. Leslie played host and served up a delicious meal before the program.
  • STEELFEST 2016 - 5/21/16 - SPM had a very successful 2nd Annual SteelFest, with new vendors and good store sales. Many new people were attracted to HDC for the first time. Thanks to Joe, Leslie and Barb for selling refreshments. Our thanks to the SPM staff for holding this annual event.
  • HDC BOARD MEETING - 5/24/16 - The HDC Board held their monthly business meeting.
  • HDC LIBRARY MEETING - 5/24/16 - The Library Committee held a planning meeting.
  • TOURISM MEETING - 5/26/16 - Joe, Ed and Ron met with State Senate Candidate Lee Hyson concerning tourism and economic development in the Southern Tier. They also toured the museum.

DONATIONS - We have received the following donations of artifacts and supplies. Our sincere thanks to all our loyal supporters:
  • Barb & Don Owens - donated toilet and kitchen cleaning supplies. Thank You Barb & Don!
  • Ron Dukarm - donated a set of pens, a bag of bottles & cans, a 5-gallon gas container, 48 snack packs and a push mower. He also donated two jars of coffee creamer, a swivel executive chair and 15 railroad magazines. Thank You Ron!
  • Peter Westphal - donated a RR sign. Thank you Peter!
  • Dave Young - donated 8 Railroad tapes, a map, 3 Railroad books and a case of soda. Thank You Dave!
  • Ken Cooms - donated a NYC station roll-up sign from Cleveland. Thank You Ken!
  • Jim Long - donated 8 cases of water, 2 packs of dust masks, 10 rolls of electrical tape, a 5/8" variable speed drill, 6 cans of 50:1 fuel oil, hand cleaner, 6 tubes of grease, 2 grease guns, 4 eye goggles, 1 utility knife, a 4.8 volt cordless screwdriver, 2 tubs of hand towels and a box of disposable gloves. He also donated 5 gallons of gasoline and repair supplies for truck repair with fuel filters. Thank You Jim!
  • Noel - donated a can of coffee. Thank You Noel!
  • Steve Pavignano - donated 100 RR books. Thank You Steve!
  • Mike Pietrocarlo - donated 4 pallets, a 4'x8' sheet of plywood and 5 wooden tables. Thank You Mike!
  • Ed Roliczek - donated four railroad books, 175 railroad magazines, three engineer lists and an Norfolk Southern pin. Thank You Ed!
  • Ken Kraemer - donated 2 photos, 1 poster, 7 VHS tapes and 2 DVD's. Thank You Ken!

WORK ACCOMPLISHED
  • DISPLAYS -5/7/16 - Joe K. hung a new projector screen off the white display cases in the meeting room. Joe K., Steve K., Nestor A., Alex T., Bob S. and Jim Slominski moved a NYC signal bridge mast from the Orchard Park Depot to HDC and erected it in the Lobby. The signal lights up red, yellow & green.

  • BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS - 5/3/16 - Nestor cut the front and back lawns. Erica finished cleaning out the gardens.
    5/5/16 - Nestor Arauz cut the front lawn. Don Williams cut down 2 dead trees in front of building.
    5/7/16 - Nestor weed-wacked the front lawn. Nestor and Adam put out the picnic tables.
    5/10/16 - Nestor mowed the front lawn.
    5/12/16 - Jim Long worked on mower repair, changed fluids and charged battery. Scrappers broke 4 windows into the Hospital Building. Some scrap was taken. Police were notified and Ron, Ed, Dan, Mike, Joe, Al and Nestor spent Wednesday night securing the building.
    5/17/16 - INSPECTION - All State Security did a fire extinguisher inspection with Joe. All were in date. One new extinguisher needed to replace one reaching end date. Ed and Ron met with a contractor and secured an estimate of re-calking the 100 Lee building. Nestor cut all lawns, both front and back. Jim Long worked on another lawn tractor and started repairs on our pick-up truck.
    5/19/16 - Erica weeded gardens. Tony assisted with debris pick-up.
    5/24/16 - Nestor cut the front lawns. Tony watered plants.
    5/26/16 - Tony watered the plants. Mike and Ed checked the feasibility of running electrical power to the Guardhouse.
    5/28/16 - Tony watered the plants. Cool air was not emitting from the AC unit in the Church area. Steve checked controls. Ed checked electrical and the roof unit. A call was placed to Al O. to check unit.
    5/31/16 - Tony watered the plants. Nestor cut down growth in front of the fence and cut the grass behind our display track.

  • HOUSEKEEPING - 5/3/16 - Barb cleaned the restrooms, picked up mail and removed trash and cans.
    5/7/16 - Ron distributed donated supplies. Furniture from back hallway was moved to Building #75. Al Olmstead checked on the Church Air Conditioning System.
    5/10/16 - Joe delivered 100 new cardboard banker boxes bought for our archives. Ron stocked coolers and snack racks and removed old cardboard from kitchen. Tony cut up old cardboard and moved 100 new banker boxes to shower room. Steve moved banker boxes from Library to shower room. Barb removed trash from around building.
    5/19/16 - Ron set up room for meeting, stocked refrigerators and snacks, replenished restrooms and did general organizing.
    5/24/16 - Barb collected garbage and cans and bottles. Ron and Nestor moved the ladder, grass cutter and other items from the Tool Room to the Guardhouse.
    5/26/16 - Devan L. took down his Nickle Plate displays.
    5/28/16 - Ron, Steve and Adam organized the Tool Room and other Archive Building areas.

  • ARCHIVE BUILDING - 5/7/16 - Steve and Adam re-boxed dozens of miscellaneous boxes of archives into new standard bankers boxes and placed them on newly erected archive shelving.
    5/14/16 - ELHS ARCHIVES - The ELHS delivered a truckload of 200 file drawers of NYC, PRR and EL archives from the Conrail Museum in Ohio, who transferred these records to our ownership. These were placed in the Hospital Building by Ron, Joe, Steve, Ed, George, Nestor, Bob plus Joe and Rusty from the ELHS group.
    5/21/16 - Steve worked on organizing archives.
    5/24/16 - ELHS ARCHIVES - Rusty was in working on a computer set up for ELHS archives.
    5/26/16 - ELHS ARCHIVES - Ed and Ron prepared a construction list and budget for ELHS expansion into the Hospital Building.

  • BUILDING #75 - 5/28/16 - Mike, Ed, Marty, Ron, Adam, Steve and Tony moved our railroad cross-buck signal from outside the Hospital Building and four wooden tables donated by Mike P. to inside Building #75. Ed, Mike, Marty and Steve also worked on the large roll up door guide rail and got it corrected.

  • MECHANICAL - 5/3/16 - Marty Laurie worked on a lawn tractor. Jim Long worked on another mower installing the blades & mower deck.
    5/5/16 - Jim Long worked on another lawn tractor.
    5/10/16 - Jim Long worked on mower repair.

  • LIBRARY - 5/3/16 - Jim, Donna, John, Dave, Ed & Tony worked on Erie personnel records and the Canal Collection.
    5/5/16 - Jim, Donna, Ed & Tony worked on Erie personnel records and the Canal Collection.
    5/7/16 - Jim, Donna, Ed, Diane, Cindy & Tony worked on Erie personnel records and the Canal Collection.
    5/10/16 - Jim, Donna, Ed, & Tony worked on Erie personnel records and the Canal Collection.
    5/12/16 - Jim, Donna, Ed, & Tony worked on Erie personnel records and the Canal Collection. At night, they held an open house for the Train Collectors Association.
    5/14/16 - Jim, Donna, Ed, John, Barb & Tony worked on Erie personnel records and the Canal Collection. The new Conrail archives include thousands of personnel files.
    5/17/16 - Jim, Donna, Diane, Ed, Chris, John, Barb & Tony worked on Erie personnel records and the Canal Collection. The set up of a Pay Pal account was discussed for research fees.
    5/19/16 - Jim, Donna, Ed, Barb & Tony worked on Erie personnel records and the Canal Collection.
    5/21/16 - Jim, Donna, and Diane worked on Erie personnel records and the Canal Collection.
    5/24/16 - Ed, Jim, Donna, Shelia, Diane and Barb worked on personnel files.
    5/26/16 - Ed, Jim, Donna, and Tony worked on personnel files.
    5/28/16 - Ed, Donna, Shelia and Tony worked on personnel files.
    5/31/16 - Ed, Donna, Shelia, Jim, John and Tony worked on personnel files.



June 2016
By Ron Dukarm

COMMUNITY OUTREACH - The Heritage Discovery Center continues to host local community events and has become the meeting place for all of our affiliate partners.
  • STEEL PLANT MUSEUM - 1st WEDNESDAY EVENT - 6/1/16 - Tim Bowen, a prominent local author and historian, gave a wonderful presentation on "Buffalo's Old First Ward." A great time was had by all!
  • GRANT MEETING - 6/7/16 - Joe and Ed met with the Wendt Foundation concerning a grant.
  • WATERFRONT MEETING - 6/9/16 - Ed and Ron attended a meeting of the Waterfront .Advisory Committee addressing future development at Canal Side.
  • WGRZ CHANNEL 2 TOUR - 6/15/16 - Kevin O'Neill of Channel 2 interviewed President Joe Kocsis and featured HDC on his broadcast.
  • MUSEUM TOUR - 6/16/16 - The Catholic Health Services had a van of clients tour the museum.
  • WENDT FOUNDATION TOUR - 6/21/16 - The Board of Directors of the Wendt Foundation toured HDC.
  • SPM BOARD MEETING - 6/21/16 - The SPM held their monthly Board meeting.
  • HDC BOARD MEETING - 6/28/16 - The HDC Board held their monthly business meeting.

DONATIONS - We have received the following donations of artifacts and supplies. Our sincere thanks to all our loyal supporters:
  • Ron Dukarm - Ron donated two 8-packs of soda. In addition he donated a 5-gallon container for gas, 8 gallons of non-ethanol gas, a tire repair kit, 2 mill files and a gallon of paint. He also donated a can of coffee, 2 cases of soda, 48 snack packs, and 8 gallons of gasoline, 8' of heavy chain, 10 work gloves, a channel wrench, 5 gallons of hydraulic fluid and 25' of flex pipe, 500 bolts, nuts and lock washers for shelves. He also donated half the cost of a new Netgear 16 port switch. Thank You Ron!
  • NPRHTS - The Nickel Plate Society donated a box of Railroad records. Thank you NPRHTS!
  • Marty Bauer - donated 3 ledger books of Niagara Junction RR records covering 1899 to 1930. Thank You Marty!
  • Mike Pietrocarlo - donated 3 pallets, a 42-inch computer monitor screen, legs for new sink plus a weather monitor, also 2 steel work bench bases which were placed in Building #75. Thank You Mike!
  • Jim Torgeson - donated 2 water wands, 50' of garden hose, and a new flag. Thank You Jim!
  • Kris Torgeson - donated hanging flower baskets and herb & vegetable plants. Thank You Kris!
  • Bill Burt - donated a Kodak microfilm reader and a case of 30 bulbs. Thank You Bill!
  • Bill Quick Estate - donated 30 boxes of magazines. Thank You Bill's Estate!
  • Mark Harris - donated two boxes of Bison Yard archives, including: rule books, a hat, playing cards, photos, magazines, maps, forms, signs and a received stamp. Thank You Mark!
  • Carl Ambuske - donated half the cost of a new 16 port Netgear switch for Internet distribution, he also donated a shovel, rake and vacuum cleaner. Thank You Carl!
  • Noel - donated a box of crackers and a box of potato chips. Thank You Noel!

WORK ACCOMPLISHED
  • NEW OFFICE RENTER -6/7/16 - Don met with "CHA Companies Inc.," an engineering firm who is replacing the Bailey Avenue Bridges over the Buffalo River and Cazenovia Creek, and showed them our Room 160 complex. Al reviewed space and determined how to install AC. Joe provided guidance on where to move stored items.
    6/9/16 - Dan, Nestor and Ben spent the day clearing out the Room 160 complex. About 90% of the items were relocated to the second floor. Carl reviewed internet wiring.
    6/11/16 - Steve, Joe and Adam cleared out the remaining records from the Room 160 complex. Carl got the internet set up. Barb the cleaned floors. Joe changed the locks.
    6/14/16 - Don, Barb, Peter and Frank & Karen Johnson washed the floors, blinds and windows. Steve and Adam brought over chairs from Building #75. Ron toured the space and building with our new renter.
    6/16/16 - Steve washed the floors and Ron replaced the furniture. Barb had extra keys made.
    6/18/16 - Steve hung coat racks and photos. Adam finished painting the walls. Nestor moved in office furniture.
    6/21/16 - Adam repaired a wooden desk and put it into place. Adam and Nestor moved in a credenza from the Hospital Building. Adam repaired a swivel chair and placed in the office. Joe delivered a portable air conditioner for office. Ron met with tenant and set Thursday for orientation and internet hook up.
    6/23/16 - Ron met with new tenant and gave him the keys plus orientation as to security and building rules. Carl worked with tenants' IT man and got 2 computers up and running. We need a new router for more data ports.
    6/25/16 - A telephone was placed in Rm 160. Carl activated the speaker/paging system.
    6/30/16 - Tenant moved in file cabinets and tables into room 160. We moved the train layout by the lobby door to allow easier entry. We also turned on a second refrigerator in the Kitchen for our use and the tenant.

  • BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS - 6/2/16 - Tony watered the plants. Ron did a security check of all the buildings.
    6/4/16 - Tony watered the plants. Nestor cut lawns. Adam weed-wacked.
    6/7/16 - Tony watered the plants.
    6/9/16 - Tony watered the plants and emptied the trash into the dumpster.
    6/11/16 - Nestor cut all the lawns. Tony watered the plants.
    6/14/16 - Nestor cut the grass around Building #75. Tony watered the plants. Adam picked up trash in Area A. Nestor, Jerry, Steve and Adam cleared out space in the Archive building for a new AC unit and brought the AC unit in from the Hospital building. Jerry and Adam replaced missing ceiling tiles.
    6/16/16 - Tony watered the plants. John, Lucas and Shawn cut weeds around the Hospital Building and Pump House.
    6/18/16 - Tony watered the plants. Erica weeded the gardens. Nestor cut the lawns in front. Joe weed-wacked. Jim Torgeson installed the faucet handles on outside water spickets. Al started installation of repair parts for our AC system.
    6/21/16 - Tony watered plants. Nestor weed-wacked. Adam picked up the trash and debris and also started weed removal around the Hospital Building.
    6/23/16 - Tony watered the plants. Nestor weed-wacked around the Pump House and cut lawns behind building. Adam removed weeds around the Hospital Building.
    6/25/16 - Tony watered the plants. Adam weed-wacked around Building #75. Adam placed safety cones on well rods for easy identification when mowing. Joe K. mowed Area B and half of Area A with Jacobsen Gang Mower.
    6/28/16 - Tony & Adam watered the plants.
    6/30/16 - Tony watered the plants. Nestor cut grass and weed-wacked and repaired a weed-wacker. Adam placed cones to block off space for our dumpster pick-up.

  • HOUSEKEEPING - 6/4/16 - Ron did a security check of all our buildings and fences and disposed of old boxes.
    6/14/16 - Adam and Jerry moved the floor cleaner out of telephone room and cleared out the trash.
    6/16/16 - Barb cleaned and stocked the downstairs and upstairs restrooms and also washed the floors. Carl A. did an inventory of all the lines in our "Data Closet" and will commence labeling. He will also mount wall racks.
    6/18/16 - Nestor moved tables out of the electrical room into the back hallway. Ron cleared items from bar room. Steve hung the "Williamsville" sign and various other pictures on the first floor and also installed shelves in lobby for more displays.
    6/23/16 - Adam P. labeled circuits in our service panel box. Don Williams took old exit signs for scrap. Nestor took garbage home.
    6/25/16 - Adam removed empty boxes from the Library and Meeting Room. Carl A. mounted a steel equipment rack below data patch panels and swapped out the 8-port Netgear switch and returned it to the Steel Plant Museum and then installed a new 16-port Netgear switch on the shelf. He also traced the problem with drop #62 in the bridge engineer's office and started an inventory of the live connections. Carl met with SPM IT coordinator on system capabilities. Steve K. worked on archive and display projects and inventoried new donations.
    6/28/16 - Adam swept all the floors on the first level and emptied trash cans, he also prepared the work report. Carl A. labled and traced internet cables.
    6/30/16 - Steve traced internet lines working to activate #62, he also worked to find an active telephone connection for outer office in the Rm 160 complex. Barb mopped and vacuumed all the floors on the first level and removed cans & bottles.

  • ARCHIVE BUILDING - 6/4/16 - Steve worked on WNYRHS archive re-boxing and Rusty and Adam worked on ELHS archives.
    6/7/16 - ELHS ARCHIVES - Rusty worked on ELHS archives.
    6/9/16 - ELHS ARCHIVES - Rusty, Joe and Scott worked on ELHS archives and toured the Hospital Building reviewing new Conrail files.
    6/11/16 - ELHS ARCHIVES - Joe Schveder, Bob, Dale and Dr. Scott Randolph worked on ELHS archives.
    6/11/16 - NPRHTS ARCHIVES - John Slater hosted Bill Quick's family on a tour and conducted a ceremony naming the NPRHTS Archive Room in memory of Bill Quick.

    On Saturday morning, June 11, 2016, the re-naming of the archive room on the second floor of the HDC containing the main portion of the The Nickel Plate Road Historical & Technical Society, Inc.'s archives was completed and designated the "WILLIAM C. QUICK ARCHIVE ROOM."

    6/21/16 - ELHS ARCHIVES - Rusty and Bill Burt worked on ELHS files.
    6/23/16 - NPRHTS ARCHIVES - John Slater and Devan L. worked on NKRHTS archives.
    6/30/16 - Adam, Jerry and Ron moved 3'x3' shelving from the Hospital Building into Archive Building where the shelves were washed. We are now ready to start erecting more shelving.

  • MECHANICAL - 6/4/16 - Steve repaired lawn mower tire and weed-wacker.
    6/14/16 - Marty L. worked on our Grove Crane.
    6/18/16 - Marty finished repairs on our Grove deck crane and placed AC condenser on the roof of the Don Owens Center.
    6/25/16 - Thanks to George Specht for coming out to the HDC today to help get the Jacobsen Gang Mower up and running for the season. We had to free up a stuck reel, lubricate all fourteen reel blade bearings and deal with a dead battery, but once charged, it started right up. With nearly 6 acres a grass to keep under control, this mower that cuts 14 feet of grass with each pass, is an invaluable tool. It was donated to the museum two years ago by the Buffalo Maritime Center.


  • LIBRARY - 6/2/16 - Donna, Chris, and Jim worked on personnel files.
    6/4/16 - Diane worked on personnel files.
    6/7/16 - Jim, Donna, Barb and Chris worked on personnel files.
    6/9/16 - Jim, Donna, Ed, John and Chris worked on Erie personnel files. Ed also met with ELHS Archivist Dr. Scott Randolph about the Erie personnel files and showed him our data base.
    6/11/16 - Jim, Donna, Ed, Diane and Tony worked on Erie personnel files.
    6/14/16 - Jim, Donna, Ed, and Tony worked on Erie personnel files.
    6/16/16 - Jim, Donna, Chris and Tony worked on Erie personnel files.
    6/18/16 - Jim, Donna, Diane and Tony worked on Erie personnel files.
    6/21/16 - Jim, Donna, Diane, Ed, Adam and Tony worked on Erie personnel files. Jim and Bill placed new microfilm reader in research area.
    6/23/16 - Jim, Donna, Chris, John and Tony worked on various library projects. Jim installed the new portable AC unit in the Library to test it. Adam placed books on shelves. Donna completed an inventory of the Westhaeffer Collection in Excel.
    6/25/16 - Jim, Donna, Diane and Tony worked on library projects.
    6/28/16 - Chris and Tony worked on library projects.
    6/30/16 - Chris and Steve worked on library projects. Buffalo Library personnel returned RR displays they had on loan. They also asked if we can provide WWI material for a new display.



July 2016
By Ron Dukarm

COMMUNITY OUTREACH - The Heritage Discovery Center continues to host local community events and has become the meeting place for all of our affiliate partners.
  • STEEL PLANT MUSEUM - 1st WEDNESDAY EVENT - 7/6/16 - Walter Gordon, President of the Board of the Niagara Aerospace Museum presented the program. The Niagara Aerospace Museum is committed to preserving the history of aviation in Western New York. It was well attended.
  • HISTORICAL MEETING - 7/7/16 - Ed hosted a meeting of various historical agencies.
  • CHURCH - 7/7/16 - Held a memorial service attended by 50+ members.
  • BIGS MEETING - 7/19/16 - BIGS is held a public training session on how to read DNA results.
  • MUSEUM TOUR - 7/21/16 - A busload of residents from Elderwood Nursing Home toured the museum.
  • WNYRHS PUBLIC MEETING - 7/23/16 - The WNYRHS held their bi-monthly "Summer Picnic" meeting. Joe, Leslie and Sheryl served up the meal. Various historic railroad films were shown. A good time was had by all.
  • MUSEUM TOUR - 7/26/16 - A van-load of residents of the Suburban Adult Services toured the museum and had lunch.
  • HDC BOARD MEETING - 7/26/16 - The HDC Board held their monthly business meeting.
  • TTCA MEETING - 7/28/16 - Ron met with the President of the Toy Trains Collectors Association about hosting their members meeting on Thursday, October 13. TTCS also placed handouts in the Lobby and seek to set up a display in one of our empty cases.

DONATIONS - We have received the following donations of artifacts and supplies. Our sincere thanks to all our loyal supporters:
  • Jim Torgeson - donated a water faucet. Thank You Jim!
  • Mike Pietrocarlo - donated 8 sheets of 4x8 pegboard and one pallet of curtain rods. Thank You Mike!
  • Barb Owens - donated a box of trash bags, a bottle of dish soap and a case of paper hand towels. Thank You Barb!
  • Ron Dukarm - donated a 25-foot telephone cord, 2 bags of cans, 3 fuel funnels for the crane and a copy of Erie's East Buffalo Yard diagram. In addition he donated, 15 gallons of gas, 5 gallons of hydraulic fluid, 3 quarts of motor oil, vice-grip pliers, a pad of sandpaper, a starter switch, an ignition coil for the crane, hand cleaner, 48 packs of chips, 3 cases of soda, a case of water, and weed-wacker fuel. Thank You Ron!
  • Jim & Donna Shine - donated: 3 thermometers, an 8 pack of batteries, tape labels and 200 file folders. Thank You Jim & Donna!
  • Mark Harris - donated four 1899 photos of the Elk Street viaduct construction and an Erie Railroad Bicentennial booklet. Thank you Mark!
  • Mike Grabecki - donated a chipper vacuum, a weed-wacker, line and an edger attachment. Thank You Mike!
  • Rick Henn - donated a working leaf blower. Thank You Rick!
  • John Prybylski - donated a box of degreaser, transmission & brake fluids, a gallon of antifreeze, a box of railroad magazines, 3 VHS tapes, a railroad photograph, an "O" gauge truss bridge and model trees & bushes. Thank You John!

WORK ACCOMPLISHED
  • ROOM 160 -7/2/16 - Steve moved an unused credenza from Rm 160 to Shower Room.
    7/7/16 - Jim and Nestor installed a portable HVAC system in Rm 160.
    7/14/16 - We hung a sign for the tenant on the fence near the gate. A desk was removed from their conference room and placed in the HOSPITAL BUILDING. We disconnected the doorbell in Room 160 at the tenant's request.
    7/16/16 - Joe investigated an electrical and web outage in Rm 160 and repaired both.
    7/19/16 - AC ductwork was re-taped. Electrical outage explained to tenant. New Internet outage corrected by Jim. Barb met with the Verizon repairman.

  • BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS - 7/2/16 - Tony watered the plants. Nestor trimmed bushes. Erica weeded the gardens. Jim Torgeson installed a water faucet on back outlet. Erica used soaker hoses on all gardens.
    7/5/16 - Barb watered the plants.
    7/6/16 - Nestor double cut the front lawns with his own push mower.
    7/7/16 - Nestor cleared brush from under bushes and weed-wacked the front curb-line. Tony watered the plants. Joe met with HVAC contractor concerning the installation of a new AC System. Mike fabricated legs for new double sink in the Kitchen and attached them.
    7/9/16 - Nestor trimmed the bushes. Tony watered the plants. Steve had dumpster moved and also put a safety barrel over a new sink hole. Nestor moved a lawn mower and garden tools from the Tool Room to Guardhouse.
    7/12/16 - Nestor watered the plants. Joe worked for 4 hours with our alarm company, upgrading our Security System, replacing the video recorder and setting up remote viewing over the Internet.
    7/14/16 - Erica watered the plants and weeded gardens. Tony picked up clippings and helped water. Tom Wagner from OSC did repairs on a leak in the Pump House.
    7/16/16 - Tony watered the plants. HVAC Installer delivered parts for the new Archive AC unit. Church requested we replace missing ceiling tiles to improve their AC system. Ed is planning an Ohio trip to pick up passenger car AC units. Don Williams is arranging assistance from PVS Chemical to lift AC units onto the roof.
    7/19/16 - Tony watered the plants. AREA - A - New tenant moved in and we stored their plantings in BUILDING 83. Tom Wager from OSC asked to use our forklift on Thursday to move one heavy barrel.
    7/21/16 - Tony and Erica watered the plants. Tom Wager from OSC bought in parts and finished repairing the small leak in our Pump House. Erica weeded the gardens. Joe, Ed and Ron met with two different developers interested in AREA "A". Site was toured and meetings ensued. Ed made arrangements to have the two large AC units moved to the HDC next week. Don Williams has made arrangements with PVS Chemical to use their crane to lift the AC Units. Joe had HVAC Installer review site and work out engineering designs. Joe took food inventory and made plans for Saturday's Society picnic.
    7/23/16 - Tony watered the plants. Nestor trimmed the bushes. Adam, Steve and Nestor moved fence and boards from front of Guardhouse to the rear and moved traffic cones from BUILDING 75 to Guardhouse. Trash from grounds was placed in the dumpster.
    7/26/16 - Tony watered the plants. Nestor weed-wacked and cut back grass. Adam started to sharpen blades on our large Jacobsen lawn mower. Ed moved the tractor from BUILDING 75 to the back of the HDC.
    7/28/16 - Tony watered the plants. Nestor and Adam finished sharpening the blades on our Jacobsen lawn mower.
    7/29/16 - One of our large new HVAC units for the Don Owens Center at 100 Lee Street was delivered today. The 25-Ton Capacity unit was donated to the Society by Cambria Contracting. Mike Pietrocarlo engineered the unloading of this large, heavy unit. Mike pulled it off the tilt bed tow truck with his truck, and blocking was placed under one end. The other end went on jacks and then was lowered on to blocking. Nestor trimmed off the blocking with a power saw to eliminate tripping hazards. Soon it will be lifted to the roof of the building. Our thanks to Ed Patton who arranged the event and to Mike for his very able assistance.


  • HOUSEKEEPING - 7/2/16 - Steve replaced missing/stained ceiling tiles throughout building. Steve moved unused vertical display cases from the Shower Room to Hospital building.
    7/5/16 - Barb emptied all the trash cans. Adam, Steve and Jerry disposed of old cardboard boxes. Ron took the trash home. Barb picked up the mail.
    7/12/16 - Ron and Nestor organized the Guardhouse, removed garbage and organized the Tool Room. They trashed 25 old boxes and took them to the dumpster.
    7/14/16 - Adam and Nestor moved 4 display cases from Archive Building to Hospital Building , plus all the doors in the Shower Room. Another 25 old boxes were disposed of and the Tool Room was swept and organized.
    7/16/16 - New double sink was moved into the Kitchen by Nestor and Tony. Electrical light fixtures were moved from the Tool Room, along with a grease trap, to Hospital Building. Snowblower was moved to the Guardhouse. Steve erected another shelving unit. Machinery manuals were gathered in one location in the Tool Room.
    7/17/16 - Ron picked up all the trash from building and placed it in the dumpster and took excess home. Chairs were restacked in the Kitchen. Kitchen was organized and soda & water were put in the refrigerator. Restroom paper supplies were replenished. Excess cardboard was disposed of in the Tool Room. Handout supplies in the Lobby were replenished. Cans & bottles were placed in back hallway.
    7/19/16 - Barb picked up cans, bottles mail, donations and reordered restroom supplies. Soap was refilled in the restrooms and water placed in floor drains. 25 excess cardboard boxes were cut up by Jerry. Nestor replaced the missing ceiling tiles in the Church area and swept and vacuumed the floors.
    7/28/16 - Ron organized the Tool Room. Nestor set up a work table in the Shower Room.

  • ARCHIVE BUILDING - 7/2/16 - Ron and Tony brought over 25 shelves from the Hospital Building for cleaning. Steve erected a 3x3' shelving unit in the Shower Room.
    7/5/16 - Jerry and Adam washed 25 shelves and moved them into Archive building. Adam moved 50 shelves to near door in Hospital Building. John Slater worked on NPRHTS archives.
    7/9/16 - Steve organized archives. Old boxes were cut up. Space was cleared out for more shelving.
    7/16/16 - ELHS ARCHIVES - Rusty and Bill worked on archives. Expect delivery of ELHS store inventory tomorrow.
    7/17/16 - ELHS ARCHIVES - Rusty and Joe delivered a truckload of ELHS store inventory from Ohio. They cleared room in their second floor space and stored items there. We discussed expanding their space into the Hospital Building.
    7/19/16 - ELHS ARCHIVES - Joe Schveder brought in another carload from Ohio. Nestor, Steve and Tony moved shelving near the front door and cleared out rooms wanted by the ELHS. NPRHTS ARCHIVES - John Slater brought in more and exchanged items in NPRHTS display case. Nestor, Steve and Tony took 4 truckloads of doors, furniture, cases, and parts from the building and placed them in the Hospital Building, clearing up much space.
    7/23/16 - Nestor and Steve moved benches, parts, wood, ductwork, etc from the building to the Hospital Building, clearing up even more space.
    7/26/16 - Nestor moved furniture and more parts out of the building. Jerry cut up old cardboard.
    7/28/16 - Nestor, Adam and Tony moved 4 large stage boards, a hand dispenser, a 4'x8' train board and 3 pieces of wallboard out of the building to the Hospital Building.

  • MECHANICAL -7/7/16 - Marty and Adam worked on Grove crane. They added hydraulic fluid but crane is still inoperable - needs major work.
    7/9/16 - Marty L. worked on crane and removed a broken switch. Drained water from hydraulic fluid case and did other repairs. More work to be done.
    7/12/16 - Marty and Adam worked on the crane and installed a new starter switch. Drained the old gas and put in non-ethanol gas. They also added new oil, greased all moving parts and made gear adjustments. Crane was running. Needs more adjustments and some gaskets replaced.
    7/14/16 - Don Williams made contact with PVS Chemical about using their crane for our AC unit lift. A meeting will be scheduled.
    7/16/16 - Ed determined that the Troybilt lawn tractor needs a new carburator. He also identified the belt size needed for the mower deck on our MTD lawn tractor. Nestor will purchase the needed parts. Marty and Adam worked on crane gear box and other adjustments.
    7/19/16 - Marty and Adam worked on the crane, found one more problem and bought the replacement parts. It should be running Thursday.
    7/21/16 - Marty and Adam worked all day on the crane. A new fuel filter was installed, along with cleaning the carburetor. A new ignition coil was installed and other repairs made. The boom on the crane now works well.

  • HOSPITAL BUILDING - 7/28/16 - Nestor and Adam took down folding tables. Stacked items from Archive Building. Adam started vacuuming floors for eventual wet mop.

  • LIBRARY - 7/2/16 - Jim, Donna and Diane worked on library projects. Jim erected another line of library shelves in the Map Room.
    7/5/16 - Jim, Donna, Barb, Ed and Chris worked on library projects.
    7/9/16 - Ed, Jim, Donna and Diane worked on Library projects. Ed scanned in new donated photos.
    7/12/16 - Ed, Jim, Donna and Chris worked on Library projects.
    7/14/16 - Ed, Jim, Donna and Shirley worked on Library projects. Jim erected more library shelving.
    7/16/16 - Ed, Diane, & Donna worked on Library projects.
    7/19/16 - Ed, Jim, Donna, John and Chris worked on Library projects. Jim erected more shelving and also fixed downed internet connection.
    7/21/16 - Ed, Jim, Donna, Diane and Shirley worked on Library projects. Jim erected more shelving in the Map Room.
    7/23/16 - Jim and Donna worked on Library projects. Jim erected more shelving in the Map Room. Steve and Adam brought two swivel chairs in for the Library from Building #75.
    7/26/16 - Chris worked on Library projects.



August 2016
By Ron Dukarm

COMMUNITY OUTREACH - The Heritage Discovery Center continues to host local community events and has become the meeting place for all of our affiliate partners.
  • MUSEUM TOUR - 8/4/16 - A busload of youths from the Franciscan Ministries toured the museum.
  • STEEL PLANT MUSEUM - 1st WEDNESDAY EVENT - 8/4/16 - New York Power Authority (NYPA) presented a program on the construction of the Robert Moses Niagara Power Project and NYPA's operations across New York State. It was well attended.
  • STEEL PLANT MUSEUM - ROSIE THE RIVETER EVENT - 8/13/16 - Many people came to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the end of World War II, as the Steel Plant Museum hosted a Rosie the Riveter Rally! They were joined by The Buffalo Dolls, and some real life Rosies!
  • JAMESTOWN MEETING - 8/16/16 - Ed and Joe met with Mayor of Jamestown and economic development officials about possible train excursions in the Southern Tier.
  • SPM MEETING - 8/16/16 - The SPM held their monthly Board meeting.
  • AREA-C MEETING - 8/16/16 - Ron met with OSC personnel who will remove scrap from the building prior to new brick work and windows. OSC will store their equipment near the Guardhouse in our parking lot.
  • HDC BOARD MEETING - 8/23/16 - The HDC Board held their monthly business meeting.

DONATIONS - We have received the following donations of artifacts and supplies. Our sincere thanks to all our loyal supporters:
  • Barb Owens - donated deodorizers, four bottles of cleaner and 2 cases of water. Thank You Barb!
  • Ron Dukarm - donated 300 washers, 300 lock washers and 6 quarts of crane engine oil, 2 cases of water, 10 face masks, 2 cans of WD-40, 2 new screwdrivers, a box cutter, 3 diamond cutting blades, 24 contractor bags, 10 work gloves, and had a mower tire repair done at Arthur's Hardware.Thank You Ron!
  • Jim & Donna Shine - donated: 3 thermometers, an 8 pack of batteries, tape labels and 200 file folders. Thank You Jim & Donna!
  • Marty Laurie - donated a brake wrench. Thank You Marty!
  • St. Stephan's Church - donated 20 boxes of Model Railroad items - O, HO & N gauge cars, buildings, bridges, plants & trees, books, etc. Thank You St. Stephan's Church!
  • Rick Henn - donated a portable air conditioner. Thank You Rick!
  • Mike Pietrocarlo - donated a drainage hose. Thank You Mike!
  • Cheryl Gondek - donated a check for $100! Thank you Cheryl!
  • Steel Plant Museum - donated book sale proceeds. Thank you SPM!
  • Orchard Park Depot - donated 2 boxes of snacks and a case of soda. Thank you OP Depot!

WORK ACCOMPLISHED
  • ROOM 160 -8/6/16 - Joe, Ed, Mike and Nestor installed a portable air conditioner unit in their conference room.
    8/13/16 - Adam installed another portable AC unit in Rm 160.
    8/16/16 - Nestor re-attached flex pipe to AC unit for tenant. Al stopped by and showed Nestor where holes needed to be cut and where to run supply channels.
    8/20/16 - Nestor started to assemble AC ductwork.
    8/23/16 - Nestor used an air hammer to remove 3 concrete blocks from the conference room wall for duct.

  • BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS - 8/2/16 - Tony watered the plants. Nestor cut the front and back lawns. Marty moved a trailer and the air compressor with crane into better positions by Hospital Building. Nestor weighted down the tarp on HVAC unit.
    8/4/16 - Nestor watered the plants.
    8/6/16 - Tony and Erica watered the plants. Erica weeded the gardens.
    8/11/16 - Tony watered the plants.
    8/13/16 - Tony watered the plants.
    8/16/16 - Tony watered the plants. Don Williams and Noel re-tarped the HVAC unit. Nestor replaced the main gate chain with a lighter one. Ron met with Ken the plumber and reviewed 3 items to be done: install the new double sink, tighten up sink in the restroom and fix the toilet in men's restroom.
    8/18/16 - Tony watered the plants. Nestor, Adam and Marty picked up 5 piles of brush and leaves. Erica weeded the front gardens. Adam policed the parking lot for trash.
    8/20/16 - Tony watered the plants. Area C - OSC has a crew working to clean out the Power House and Ice House buildings for the next several weeks. Several pieces of their construction equipment will be parked overnight in our parking lot.
    8/23/16 - Tony watered the plants.
    8/25/16 - Tony watered the plants. Ken the Plumber, repaired toilet in the men's room.
    8/27/16 - Tony watered the plants. Adam started cutting the front lawns. Steve and Adam opened the parking lot grate to drain standing water and removed debris.
    8/30/16 - Tony watered the plants. Adam finished cutting the front lawns. Nestor cut the back lawns and weed-wacked along the curb line.

  • HOUSEKEEPING - 8/2/16 - Barb swept the floors, stocked supplies, gathered trash and removed cans & bottles.
    8/4/16 - Our tool room was organized and a shelf built. Joe worked with our alarm company to allow remote viewing of HDC thru Internet.
    8/16/16 - Barb removed the trash, cans and swept floors.
    8/23/16 - Barb removed trash, cans and cleaned the restrooms.
    8/30/16 - Jerry washed all table tops in Meeting Room and Barb vacuumed.

  • DISPLAYS - 8/4/16 - The Toy Train Collectors Association put up a display in one of our empty cases in our Store area.
    8/6/16 - Geno Dailey took archive photos of the FRANCIS McGRATH end plate mirror designs. Steve erected shelving.

  • ARCHIVE BUILDING - 8/2/16 - John and several NKPHTS members worked on NKPHTS archives.
    8/6/16 - Joe, Nestor, Devan, Adam, Ben, Will, Bob and Don moved archive items into the Hospital Building.
    8/20/16 - Steve K. worked on various archive sorting. All file cabinets in ELHS Archive Room have been labeled. The Erie Canal Archive collection has been entered into the main data base. Ed has submitted applications for college interns for the Fall Semester.
    8/27/16 - Steve K. inventoried the Bill Quick collection.

  • MECHANICAL -8/2/16 - Marty and Adam changed the engine oil and filter on our Grove Crane. They also made adjustments to improve performance.
    8/4/16 - Marty and Adam added more engine oil and changed the spark plugs. Also made more adjustments to improve performance.
    8/11/16 - Nestor worked on our MTD lawn tractor.
    8/25/16 - Nestor finished repairing our MTD riding lawn mower.
    8/27/16 - Nestor repaired a push mower. Adam and Steve repaired a caboose door.

  • GUARDHOUSE/MACHINE SHOP -8/13/16 - Ron and Adam organized items and disposed of trash.
    8/16/16 - Ron, Jerry, Nestor, Steve, Tony and Adam organized items and disposed of trash. Old boxes were cut up. 5 file cabinets were brought to main building.
    8/18/16 - More old boxes were cut up and placed in dumpster. Old light tubes were given to D Williams for disposal.
    8/20/16 - Six more file cabinets were pulled out for the Library by Adam and Nestor. Duct work and toilets were taken to the Hospital Building. power tools were taken to the Tool Room.
    8/23/16 - Six more file cabinets were moved to the main building by Steve G. and Nestor for power-washing.

  • LIBRARY - 8/2/16 - Chris, Jim and Donna worked on Library projects. Nestor and Tony brought over 9 file cabinets from the Hospital Building. They were cleaned out and will be powered washed for placement in the Conference Room for storage of Library materials.
    8/4/16 - John, Ed, Jim and Donna worked on Library projects. Nestor power-washed 9 file cabinets.
    8/6/16 - Diane, Ed, Jim and Donna worked on Library projects. Adam brought over more file cabinets for the Library. Nestor and Adam placed washed cabinets in Conference Room.
    8/11/16 - Ed, Shirley, Jim and Donna worked on Library projects. Adam placed 9 washed cabinets in Conference Room.
    8/13/16 - Ed and Diane worked on Library projects.
    8/16/16 - Jim, Donna, John, Chris and Diane worked on Library projects.
    8/18/16 - Jim, Donna, Ed and Shirley worked on Library projects.
    8/20/16 - Jim, Donna, Ed and Diane worked on Library projects. Jim and Ed moved all slides from main room to the Map Room. Bound Railway Age Magazines are now on the Library shelves.
    8/23/16 - Jim, Donna, Ed, John and Chris worked on Library projects.
    8/25/16 - Jim, Donna, Ed, John and Shirley worked on Library projects. John Slater worked on NPRHTS archives.
    8/27/16 - Diane and Ed worked on Library projects.
    8/30/16 - Jim, Donna, Pat, Chris and Ed worked on Library projects.


September 2016
By Ron Dukarm

COMMUNITY OUTREACH - The Heritage Discovery Center continues to host local community events and has become the meeting place for all of our affiliate partners.
  • BRHS MEETING - 9/1/16 - Ed met with a representative of the Black Rock Historical Society about possible future joint ventures.
  • NORFOLK SOUTHERN MEETING - 9/1/16 - Joe K. and Ed P. met with several NS officials about track layout possibilities in Area B. Their survey team made measurements and discussed switching service. We await their plan.
  • AREA-A MEETING - 9/1/16 - Joe K. and Ed P. had their third meeting with a major developer and their design team about future construction on Area A. Their initial designs were reviewed and refinements made.
    9/15/16 - Ed and Joe met again with developers for Area A.
    9/30/16 - Joe, Ed, Don and our attorney met with corporate officials of a development company interested in building out Area A. Potential plans were considered.
  • ALFRED STATE TOUR - 9/6/16 - A professor and 20 architectural students from Alfred State University toured museum and grounds.
  • STEEL PLANT MUSEUM - 1st WEDNESDAY EVENT - 9/7/16 - Lee Gearhart, a member of the Steel Plant Museum who has worked for over 33 years at Moog Inc., presented "Cool Things About Metals." A great turn out made for a very enjoyable evening for all who attended the presentation.
  • NYSCC TOUR - 9/8/16 - A representative of the New York State Conservatory Commission was given a tour by Don and Barb Owens.
  • CONTRACTOR MEETING - 9/8/16 - Ed met with a contractor interested in moving our rail from Orchard Park to the HDC. A report to the HDC Board will be made.
  • EXHIBITOR MEETINGS - 9/8/16 - Ron met with the President of Toy Train Collectors Society who added to their display in the Store area. Ed met with a potential exhibitor of industrial displays.
  • PENN CENTRAL CONVENTION MEETING - 9/10/16 - Joe & Leslie attended a meeting of the Penn Central Convention Committee to finalize details.
  • WNYRHS PUBLIC MEETING - 9/22/16 - The WNYRHS held their public meeting featuring the local history of the Penn Central Railroad presented by Joe Kocsis. Rick handled refreshments. We welcomed the early arrivals to the Penn Central Railroad Historical Society who joined us for our meeting. About 60 people attended the meeting which feature a presentation on the New York Central train operations in and around Buffalo. The second part of the evening's program was presented by John Spring with the Toronto Hamilton & Buffalo Railway Historical Society detailing the operation of the TH&B Ry across southern Ontario. Barb served as docent.
  • 2016 PENN CENTRAL ANNUAL CONVENTION - 9/23/16 - 9/24/16 - Today we welcomed many members of the  Penn Central Railroad Historical Society  to the Heritage DiscoveRY Center as they held their annual convention here in Buffalo. The museum was open for programs and tours by PC attendees. Programs were held during the morning. Joe, Leslie and Barb served a hot dog & hamburger lunch. Attendees were taken on tours by Ron and Ed. That evening, members enjoyed a taste of Buffalo with pizza and wings from Ricota's Pizza before a night of programs on the Penn Central Railroad, Joe & Leslie hosted. The HDC and PC stores were open for business. On Saturday, conventioneers took a tour of many WNY railfan hot spots followed by their banquet that evening at the HDC. The museum was open for programs and tours by PC attendees. Joe, Leslie. Ed and Cheryl served as hosts for the banquet. Attendees heard a well received after dinner speaker.
  • HDC BOARD MEETING - 9/27/16 - The HDC Board held their monthly business meeting.
  • HDC TOUR - 9/30/16 - A busload of 40 members from the History Center of Niagara County were hosted by the Steel Plant Museum and the WNYRHS. Don Williams and Ed Patton served as lecturers and tour guides.

    • DONATIONS - We have received the following donations of artifacts and supplies. Our sincere thanks to all our loyal supporters:
    • Mike Pietrocarlo - delivered a gas 6-burner professional stove to Building #75. He degreased and power-washed the stove and will now paint it. Thank You Mike!
    • Don Williams - donated a large container of coffee. Thank You Don!
    • Ron Dukarm - donated a case of water and a jar of coffee creamer. Thank You Ron!
    • Erie Lackawanna Historical Society - donated a box of railroad archives. Thank You ELHS!
    • Stan Dusza - donated a BR&P system map. Thank You Stan!

    WORK ACCOMPLISHED
    • ROOM 160 -9/6/16 - Nestor borrowed the portable AC unit from Rm 160 and installed it in the Meeting Room for tomorrow's SPM program.
      9/8/16 - Nestor removed the portable AC unit from the Meeting Room and replaced it in the Rm 160 complex.
      9/10/16 - Steve and Adam removed concrete blocks from the Archive Room wall for AC installation.

    • BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS - 9/1/16 - Tony watered the plants. Nestor weed-wacked and policed the grounds.
      9/3/16 - Tony watered the plants. Erica weeded the gardens. Ed, Steve and Ron visited Areas A, B and E, along with the Norfolk Southern yard. A site plan proposal will be prepared for the HDC Board. Mike, Ed and Steve reviewed the layout for the new Kitchen sink, stove and hood, plus rerouting a gas line and the exhaust pipe. Plans will be prepared.
      9/6/16 - Tony watered the plants. Nestor cut all the lawns, front and back, plus around the boxcars and took all the trash to the dumpster. Ken the plumber started to install the new double sink after removing all the old pipes under the existing sink.
      9/8/16 - Tony watered the plants. Nestor weed-wacked all lawn edges, front and back, plus around the boxcars. Nestor and Tony moved chairs and the old sink from the Kitchen to the Shower Room. They also installed a counter next to the new sink and moved two storage cabinets to make room for the new stove.
      9/10/16 - Kitchen - Joe and Leslie removed tables and old stove. Joe drilled holes through the wall for the new gas line and hooked up new water supply lines to the sink. Mike and Adam painted the stove and prepared the stainless steel cabinets for installation.
      9/13/16 - Barb watered the plants. Nestor weed-wacked around the buildings and around the caboose trucks and the Guardhouse. Mike and Ed enlarged the hole for stove gas line and installed the new pipe. Mike cut stainless steel cabinets to form counter and installed them in the kitchen. Mike also installed wheels on the stove and finished painting it.
      9/15/16 - Nestor mowed the front lawns and weed-wacked. Erica and Tony weeded the gardens. Nestor and Tony put the picnic tables away for the season and untarped our new HVAC unit. Mike and his crew placed the new stove in the kitchen and added more gas line connections.
      9/20/16 - Mike and his crew connected the new gas line to the new stove in the Kitchen. Jim and Ed cleaned out the upstairs janitorial closet and opened an access door to the utility chase behind the wall to facilitate intallation of the new HVAC system.
      9/21/16 - Mike and his crew cleaned the pilots on the new stove and tested the burners. Joe and Leslie cleaned the kitchen. Nestor cut the back lawn by the entrance, set up the grill and picnic table for the Penn Central Convention. He also disposed of all the trash.
      9/29/16 - Erica weeded the gardens and planted new flowers. Our second large roof-top HVAC unit was delivered by trailer. Ed and Tony rigged the unit for lifting. Marty fired up our crane and lifted the unit off the trailer. Ed operated the forklift and pulled the trailer clear from the unit. Tony, Ron and Peter removed the rigging and stored the rigging equipment. The forklift was placed back in the Guardhouse.
  • HOUSEKEEPING - 9/6/16 - Barb removed the trash and cans. She also replenished restroom supplies, cleaned the floors and vacuumed the hallways.
    9/20/16 - Barb gathered the trash, swept and did surface cleaning.
    9/21/16 - Joe and Leslie rearranged tables and chairs in the Meeting Room for Thursday night’s public meeting. Nestor installed a portable air conditioner. Nestor removed some furniture from the Conference Room and added 3 more tables for Penn Central Convention vendors.
    9/27/16 - Barb cleaned the restrooms, washed dishes and removed trash. Joe and Leslie cleaned the kitchen. Jerry rearranged the meeting Room.

  • ARCHIVE BUILDING - 9/10/16 - Rusty R. worked on ELHS archives and Steve K. on WNYRHS archives.

  • BUILDING #75 - 9/20/16 - We changed the lock on the man door to the same key as on the roll-up door.

  • MECHANICAL - 9/13/16 - The HDC sold its Chevy S10 pickup truck and it was towed away today.

  • LIBRARY - 9/1/16 - Jim, Donna, Ed, and Shirley worked on Library projects. Nestor power-washed 10 file cabinets.
    9/3/16 - Jim, Donna, and Ed worked on Library projects. Nestor moved the 10 clean file cabinets to the second floor. Steve worked on archives.
    9/6/16 - Jim, Donna, Pat P., Chris and Ed worked on Library projects. Jim moved the old light table down to the Shower Room.
    9/8/16 - Jim, Donna, and Ed worked on Library projects.
    9/13/16 - Jim, Donna, John, Peter W., Chris and Ed worked on Library projects.
    9/15/16 - Jim, Donna, Chris and Ed worked on Library projects. Rusty worked on ELHS archives.
    9/20/16 - Jim, Donna, Pat P. and Ed worked on Library projects.
    9/22/16 - Jim, Donna and Ed worked on projects.
    9/27/16 - Jim, Donna, Pat P., and Ed worked on library projects. Rusty worked on ELHS archives.
    9/29/16 - Jim, Donna, Shirley and Ed worked on library projects. Peter W. worked on archives.



    • October 2016
    By Ron Dukarm

    COMMUNITY OUTREACH - The Heritage Discovery Center continues to host local community events and has become the meeting place for all of our affiliate partners.
    • BIGS CONFERENCE - 10/1/16 - Ed conducted a training course on genealogy attended by 20+ interested parties.
    • STEEL PLANT MUSEUM - 1st WEDNESDAY EVENT - 10/6/16 - The SPM held their monthly program. Mark Lewandowski presented a slide program on Central Terminal to a Standing Room Only crowd of over 90 people. Everyone was very impressed with the accomplishments of the CTRC.
    • BLA MEETING - 10/11/16 - The Buffalo Lighthouse Association held their quarterly meeting.
    • TTCS PLANNING MEETING - 10/11/16 - The president of Toy Train Collectors Society met with Ron to plan Thursday night's meeting and to update their display in the store area.
    • By LAWS COMMITTEE MEETING - 10/13/16 - The WNYRHS held a meeting of their By Laws Committee.
    • TTCS MEETING - 10/13/16 - The Toy Train Collectors Society held a public meeting of all their members.
    • HISTORICAL SOCIETY MEETINGS - 10/20/16 - Ed met with the president of the Black Rock Historical Society and Ron met with the president of the Grand Island Historical Society. Mutual projects were discussed.
    • WATERFRONT MEETING - 10/22/16 - Ron represented HDC on the Waterfront Planning Group which met in our Conference Room.
    • GIHS MEETING - 10/25/16 - Ron met with the President of the Grand Island Historical Society.
    • HDC BOARD MEETING - 10/25/16 - The HDC Board held their monthly business meeting.
    • SPM BOARD MEETING - 10/25/16 - The Steel Plant Museum Board held their monthly business meeting.

    DONATIONS - We have received the following donations of artifacts and supplies. Our sincere thanks to all our loyal supporters:
    • OP Depot Committee - donated 10 gallons of paint and about 100 feet of metal and plastic tubing. Thank You OP!
    • Gary Landrio - donated 4 boxes of books, magazines and railroad paperwork to the ELHS and WNYRHS. Thank You Gary!
    • Ron Dukarm - donated a 2 cases of water, 2 cases of soda, a set of Allen wrenches and 5 gallons of gasoline. Thank You Ron!
    • Bill Burt - donated a signed book, the "Peg Leg Railroad" and a 1952, 500 page book of New York Central financial reports. Thank You Bill!
    • Brian Engler - donated two lanterns and two fusees. Thank You Brian!
    • Dave Young - donated one book, two maps and 7 timetables. Thank You Dave!
    • Greg Jandura - donated 16 boxes of various Railroad materials. Thank You Greg!
    • John Slater - donated a package of RR materials from the Bill Quick Estate. Thank You John!
    • Mark Patton - donated to the HDC a big Lima model 990-TC 90-ton self-propelled crane, capable of lifting everything we own except the I-1 and our 250-ton wrecker. The crane was used to build Solar City and it received a new engine 2 years ago. It comes with 240 feet of boom, as tall as a 20-story building. Ed P. is making arrangements for a permit to move crane and boom extensions to the HDC. This huge crane will allow us to put our cars on the display track. Thank You Mark!!!
    WORK ACCOMPLISHED
    • BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS - 10/1/16 - Nestor cut all front and back lawns and weed-wacked all the borders.
      10/4/16 - Nestor and Tony trimmed 3 trees on back of property and cut up branches.
      10/6/16 - Nestor cut up more tree branches. Ed and Nestor jumped the large lawn mower and moved it to Building #75. Nestor took the battery home for a trickle charge. Tony watered the plants.
      10/8/16 - Nestor cut the front lawns. Tony and Nestor put away the picnic table and grill for the season.
      10/11/16 - Nestor cut the back lawns. Ed, Tony and Nestor used the forklift to make adjustments to the main gate to align both gates.
      10/13/16 - Nestor and Tony picked up brush. Erica weeded the gardens.
      10/15/16 - Marty and Adam fired up the crane and made final adjustments to the main gate. Steve tarped the tow truck.
      10/18/16 - Nestor cut all the lawns, front and back. Tony placed trash in the dumpster and watered the plants.
      10/22/16 - Erica weeded gardens.
    • HOUSEKEEPING - 10/1/16 - Nestor placed extra tables near the Meeting Room for a Church conference on Monday and also brought in 20 extra chairs. Joe instructed Church on new Kitchen equipment. Steve removed wall board to dumpster and replenished restroom paper products. Joe changed key in Archive building janitorial closet so we now have access to the room. Joe adjusted back door push-bar.
      10/4/16 - Jerry B. organized the Meeting Room and swept the floors. Marty L. delivered mail.
      10/6/16 - Tony set up the Meeting Room chairs.
      10/13/16 - Erica cleaned the ladies restroom.
      10/18/16 - Barb cleaned 1st floor restrooms, vacuumed the floors, removed trash, cans & bottles and did a general cleanup.
      10/22/16 - Dishes were washed, refrigerators stocked, donations stored away and general clean up.
      10/25/16 - Joe turned on the heat system and set thermostats.
      10/27/16 - Barb cleaned the restrooms, vacuumed, and collected cans and bottles. Ron made temperature adjustments to the heating system and placed portable heaters in Rm 160 complex.
      10/29/16 - Steve cleared the drain in the men's room sink and repaired the towel dispenser. Joe reprogramed the heating thermostat. Joe and the SPM planned for next Saturday's William Quick estate sale.

    • HVAC INSTALL - 10/1/16 - Steve removed the back wall in the upstairs janitorial closet in order to reach HVAC chase. Joe and Mike went on the roof to scope out removal of old HVAC unit.
      10/8/16 - Mike and Ed reviewed electrical needs for new AC install. Also checked out how to cut up the old unit.
      10/15/16 - Nestor raked off all of the stones on the roof where the new HVAC units will be placed. Steve cut away more wall board out of the janitor closet.
      10/18/16 - Our contractor and Mike Pietrocarlo started curb installation on the roof.
      10/20/16 - Mike Pietrocarlo met with Ed and put together a list of materials needed to cover the old openings.
      10/22/16 - Steve continued to enlarge the wall opening in the upstairs janitor's closet. He also moved the light fixture.

    • ARCHIVE BUILDING - 10/29/16 - Steve and Nestor planned construction of shelving for next Tuesday in the Shower Room.

    • HOSPITAL BUILDING - 10/6/16 - Joe Schveder and other ELHS members measured the building and checked on HVAC, electrical service and structure, with an eye to improving the building for expanded ELHS archives.
      10/18/16 - Joe Schveder met with 3 contractors securing bids on HVAC, electrical work and glass blocking of windows for future ELHS archive location.

    • RAILROAD TIES - 10/29/16 - Joe K. inspected some of the 300 ties at the back siding gate and initiated contact with Norfolk Southern's contractor concerning securing some of them.

    • LIBRARY -10/1/16 - Ed, John, Jim, Pat and Donna worked on library projects and held an open house for BIGS members. Rusty worked on ELHS archives. Nestor added 10 file cabinets for library storage in the Conference Room.
      10/4/16 - Jim, Donna, Ed, John and Pat worked on library projects. Peter W. worked on archives.
      10/6/16 - Jim, Donna, Ed, and Shirley worked on library projects. Rusty worked on ELHS archives.
      10/8/16 - Jim, Donna, Ed, and Diane worked on library projects. Steve worked on HDC archives.
      10/11/16 - Donna, Ed, and Pat worked on library projects and started on Erie Lackawanna personnel records for data capture. Peter W. worked on archives.
      10/13/16 - Chris and Ed worked on library projects.
      10/18/16 - Ed, John, Chris, Pat and Diane worked on EL personnel file input. On a sad note, Donna Shine's brother James Witczak, passed away. As of now, we have no details. Our condolences go out to Jim and Donna.
      10/20/16 - Ed worked on EL personnel file input.
      10/22/16 - Diane B. and Dave Y. worked on Library files.
      10/25/16 - John B., Pat P. and Chris R. worked on Library files. Greg J. worked on archives.
      10/27/16 - Jim, Donna, Shirley and Ed worked on Library files. Greg J. worked on HDC archives and John S. worked on NKPHTS archives. Donna prepared a list of donated items from the Westhaven Collection for John Slater.
      10/29/16 - Jim, Donna, Diane and Ed worked on Library files.



    November 2016
    By Ron Dukarm

    COMMUNITY OUTREACH - The Heritage Discovery Center continues to host local community events and has become the meeting place for all of our affiliate partners.
    • STEEL PLANT MUSEUM - 1st WEDNESDAY EVENT - 11/2/16 - The SPM held their monthly program. Sandy Starks, the Director of Interpretive Programming at Forest Lawn Cemetery presented a well received program on the "Art and Architecture of Forest Lawn," to a packed house.
    • WNYRHS BOARD MEETING - 11/3/16 - The Western New York Railway Historical Society held their monthly Board meeting.
    • SPM EXHIBIT OPENING - 11/4/16 - The Steel Plant Museum held an open house for their new Steel Plant Exhibit, "A Fair Day's Work."
    • WILLIAM QUICK ESTATE SALE - 11/5/16 - We hosted an all-day sale of railroad items from the Estate of Bill Quick. The sale was well attended and raised many funds for the William Quick Trust and Nickel Plate Road Historical and Technical Society.
    • WNYRHS/HDC DINNER - 11/5/16 - Joe, Leslie and Cheryl hosted a party for volunteers. A hot meal, cooked on our new stove, was well received. Many thanks to our hosts.
    • WNYRHS PUBLIC MEETING - 11/15/16 - Joe Kocsis conducted the November Public Meeting of the WNYRHS. Featured was movie night. Barb served refreshments.
    • WNYRHS TRAIN SHOW - 11/17/16 - We all helped setting up tables at the Hamburg Events Center for the Train Show.
    • BSM MEETING - 11/19/16 - Ron met with Brian Engler of the Buffalo Science Museum who invited WNYRHS, SPM, HDC, Lighthouse, etc to participate with a display at an "Engineering Exhibit" at the BSM on Feb 19th through the 25th, 2017.
    • HDC BOARD MEETING - 11/22/16 - The HDC Board held their monthly meeting. Marty L. explained Grove crane maintenance.
    • BLA BOARD MEETING - 11/29/16 - The Buffalo Lighthouse Association held their monthly Board Meeting.

    DONATIONS - We have received the following donations of artifacts and supplies. Our sincere thanks to all our loyal supporters:
    • Barb & Don Owens - donated a case of water and a box of paper towels. Thank You Barb & Don!
    • Ron Dukarm - donated a box of Coffee Filters. Thank You Ron!
    • Paul Mayer - donated a box of cleaning materials. Thank You Paul!
    • Robert Winter - donated a N Guage Model layout. Thank You Robert!
    • Noel Varela - Noel donated 50 Doritos chips and a large can of Coffeemate. Thank You Noel!
    WORK ACCOMPLISHED
    • BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS - 11/1/16 - Tony watered the plants, Nestor and Tony cut up branches and placed them in the dumpster.
      11/12/16 - Steve tarped our tow truck for the winter. Joe checked out our heat problems. Al O. and Adam P. did maintenance, replaced an Air Intake Filter, and got the system working.
    • HOUSEKEEPING - 11/3/16 - Tony replaced the tables and chairs in the meeting room after the SPM 1st Wednesday presentation. Barb mopped the floors, cleaned restrooms and emptied the trash and cans.
      11/8/16 - Tony emptied the trash from Saturday's Estate sale. Tony also assisted NKPHTS in disposal of excess material.
      11/10/16 - Barb collected the trash, removed cans & bottles and vacuumed floors. Mail was delivered to Church , SPM and HVAC Engineer. Tony placed trash in the dumpster.
      11/15/16 - Barb cleaned lobby areas. Nestor moved our propane tanks to the Guardhouse. Peter replaced restroom supplies.
      11/22/16 - Steve K. dropped off Auction Baskets that people won at the Train Show, Jerry handed them out. Al O. cleaned air filters on the furnace. Barb O. did surface cleaning and cleaned restroom. Joe removed food from second refrigerator and turned it off as we only need one now.
      11/29/16 - Barb did surface cleaning, mopped floors, cleaned restrooms and removed trash and cans. Barb also called our dumpster company about a pick up schedule.

    • HVAC INSTALL - 11/10/16 - Ed continued pursuing options to move our newly donated Lima 990-TC 90 crane. We are looking at towing it to the HDC.
      11/15/16 - Ed and Nestor measured the roof and building to calculate the HVAC lift. Ed has arranged for a 40-ton crane to do the lift.
      11/29/16 - Ed photographed infrastructure above the ceiling in the 2nd floor janitor closet. He also arranged for a visit by the electrical contractor.

    • ARCHIVE BUILDING - 11/1/16 - Nestor and Tony erected shelving in Archive Building.
      11/3/16 - John Slater brought in more NKPHTS archives for sale at Quick Estate Sale on Saturday.
      11/5/16 - Nestor and Tony erected more shelving. Steve worked on archives.
      11/10/16 - Nestor and Steve erected more shelving.
      11/12/16 - Steve worked on archives.

    • MECHANICAL - 11/5/16 - Marty and Adam worked on our Grove crane.

    • HOSPITAL BUILDING - 11/10/16 - Ed and Ron went over ELHS construction proposals for building improvements. HVAC install will be dependent upon gas feed. A new double door entry is being considered. Drop ceiling planned along with glass-block windows.

    • LIBRARY -11/1/16 - Jim, Donna, Chris, Pat and Ed worked on Library files.
      11/3/16 - Jim, Donna, Pat and Ed worked on Library files. John inventoried Conrail personnel files in the Hospital Building.
      11/5/16 - Jim, Donna, John and Ed worked on Library files.
      11/8/16 - Jim, Donna, Pat and Chris worked on Library files.
      11/10/16 - Jim, Donna, Ed and Shirley worked on Library files. Tony covered books.
      11/12/16 - Diane and Ed worked on Library files.
      11/15/16 - Jim, Donna, Pat and Chris worked on Library files. Peter worked on archives.
      11/19/16 - Jim, Donna and Chris worked on Library files.
      11/22/16 - Jim, Donna, Pat, Ed and Chris worked on Library files. Peter worked on archives.
      11/29/16 - Jim, Donna, Pat, Ed and Chris worked on Library files.



    December 2016
    By Ron Dukarm

    COMMUNITY OUTREACH - The Heritage Discovery Center continues to host local community events and has become the meeting place for all of our affiliate partners.
    • WNYRHS BOARD MEETING - 12/1/16 - The Western New York Railway Historical Society held their monthly Board meeting.
    • BIGS MEETING - 12/3/16 - The Buffalo Irish Genealogy Society held their annual fall members meeting.
    • WELLSVILLE TOUR - 12/5/16 - Ed, Ron and Nestor visited a Wellsville company to look over a locomotive crane and several flat cars that might be available for donation if they can be moved.
    • AREA-A MEETING - 12/6/16 - Joe, Ed and Don met with Area A developer on contract specifications.
    • STEEL PLANT MUSEUM - 1st WEDNESDAY EVENT - 12/7/16 - The SPM held their monthly program. Steve Cichon, a long time broadcaster, historian, and author presented "90 Years of Buffalo Radio and TV" to an enthusiastic audience.
    • WELLSVILLE TOUR - 12/8/16 - Below are photos from Ed Patton of a "Burro" style crane and flat car we looked at on Monday. More information on the possibility of transportation will be sought.
    • FW Webb MEETING - 12/10/16 - Ron and Ed met with John Kowalczyk of the F. W. Webb Company about potential lease of new Area A buildings.
    • BANK MEETING - 12/13/16 - Joe and Don met with financial officials regarding HDC property investments.
    • ELHS MEETING - 12/13/16 - Ron and Ed held discussions with ELHS officials concerning long term lease and improvements to the Hospital Building.
    • ENGINEER MEETING - 12/13/16 - Ed was informed by bridge engineers that draw bridge machinery may be available for donation.
    • BIGS MEETING - 12/13/16 - The Buffalo Irish Genealogy Society held their annual membership meeting.
    • HDC BOARD MEETING - 12/29/16 - The HDC Board held their monthly business meeting.

    DONATIONS - We have received the following donations of artifacts and supplies. Our sincere thanks to all our loyal supporters:
    • John Kowalczyk - donated a laminated copy of a 1935 Railway Labor Act and a 2017 calendar. Thank You John!
    • Tom Gould - donated a framed, 2' x 4' locomotive drawing. Thank You Tom!
    • Jim Long - donated 6 pliers, 24 rolls of toilet paper, a dozen 6-paks of water, 11 Railroad DVD’s, 3 Railroad Books, 7 Railroad Magazines and an aluminum folding table. Thank You Jim!
    • CSX RAILROAD - donated a $2,000 check to help put our freight cars back on the rail. Thank You CSX!
    • Mark Landgraf - donated 4 boxes of several hundred PRR car diagrams which were all scanned into a computer. Thank You Mark!
    • FRA - We were notified by the Federal Railroad Administration that they will donate to the HDC, 4 skid-loads of several thousand Railroad movie films from their Pueblo testing facility in Colorado. Thank You FRA!
    WORK ACCOMPLISHED
    • BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS - 12/1/16 - Ed made arrangements for Ron and Nestor and himself to visit company in Wellsville next Tuesday for the possibility of a donated track mobile and two 40ft. flat cars.
      12/3/16 - Al and Steve did maintenance work on the boiler in the HDC.
      12/6/16 - Al finished maintenance work on the boiler and restarted the heat.
      12/15/16 - Joe stopped by to correct an electrical outage in the Pump House and start heat tapes on the pipes.
      12/22/16 - City Inspectors completed their annual inspection on our elevator and issued our compliance certificate.

    • HOUSEKEEPING - 12/6/16 - Barb did surface cleaning.
      12/8/16 - Dumpster was picked up today.
      12/13/16 - Barb did surface cleaning and restocked the janitor supplies and coolers.
      12/20/16 - Don & Barb checked on our snowplowing contractor and applied salt to ice. Steve fixed a towel dispenser and replaced ceiling tiles.
      12/22/16 - Jerry & Barb served as docents and did routine housekeeping.
      12/29/16 - Barb vacuumed & swept floors. Steve lubricated the main gate lock and adjusted times on our heating system.

    • HVAC INSTALL - 12/8/16 - Ed met with Mike and an electrical contractor concerning wiring of new HVAC roof units. Blueprints and pricing will be sent to HDC.

    • ARCHIVE BUILDING - 12/1/16 - Nestor, Tony and Steve G. erected more shelving.
      12/3/16 - Steve erected more shelving.
      12/10/16 - Steve worked on archives.
      12/17/16 - Steve worked on archives. Joe Schveder worked on EL archives.
      12/29/16 - Steve worked on building more shelving.
    • HOSPITAL BUILDING - 12/17/16 - Joe Schveder met with Ron and Ed concerning new ELHS lease.
      12/29/16 - ELHS requested to rent 1,600 sq. ft. in building. Rusty had blueprints drawn up. ELHS desires to move their national store and sales operation to HDC.

    • LIBRARY -12/1/16 - Jim, Donna, Pat and Ed worked on Library files.
      12/3/16 - Jim, Donna, Diane and Ed worked on Library files.
      12/6/16 - Jim, Donna, and Ed worked on Library files.
      12/8/16 - Ed worked on Library files.
      12/10/16 - Ed, Diane, Jim, Donna and Tom worked on Library files.
      12/13/16 - Ed, Pat, Jim & Donna worked on Library files.
      12/15/16 - Ed, Jim & Donna worked on Library files. Ed received word that several hundred large format map scans are completed and will be soon delivered to the HDC.
      12/17/16 - Jim, Donna, Pat, Diane and Ed worked on Library projects.
      12/22/16 - Ed worked on Library projects.
      12/29/16 - Jim, Donna, Pat, Diane and Ed worked on Library projects.

    		WNYRHS 2016 Fund
    2016 WNYRHS PRESERVATION FUND APPEAL
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    Contact Us: Orchard Park - 716-662-7002       Williamsville - 716-633-7002
    WNYHDC Inc., 100 Lee Street, Buffalo, New York  14210 - 716-821-9360
    All Donations to the Heritage Discovery Center are Tax-Deductable!

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